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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “Seeing these short stories by Laurell K. Hamilton was a treat. Some were good, some were great, and some can be skipped over. My biggest problem with the whole shebang is the cover. This book has nothing to do with women in bondage attire eating candy. Actually, this book has no sex in it at all....” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Most of the stories are from Hamilton's early writing, and it shows. Her style has definitely become more refined with the Anita Blake series, but I think she worked on describing sexual tension more than a full-bodied story. It was okay, but not something I'd want to read again.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“For an excellent collection of paranormal romance stories of many different subsets, look no further than Strange Candy. The stories collected therein give an excellent depiction of Laurell K. Hamilton's range as an author. Each story has a personalized introduction from the author and it's nice to have added perspective on a story's history rather than just reading it cold. Some of them were considered failures by editors, others display the goals she set for herself as a novice author. I've never read anyone who takes as many risks as Hamilton does within the paranormal genre. Though not every story hit home with me, there were a few that I felt were stellar.”
Carol wrote this review Thursday, April 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting compilations. ”
Kathryn wrote this review Wednesday, February 20, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Those Who Seek Forgiveness is set in the Anitaverse, right before Guilty Pleasures. Back to the old pre-porn Anita, a story about a zombie raising where not everything that the client tells Anita is the truth, which has repercussions.
wyvernfriend wrote this review Sunday, September 16, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A Lust of Cupids. A very short story about two people trying hard to avoid cupids that are determined to get them involved with each other. I disliked the fact that the characters really didn't have much of a choice and my reaction to finding out that my parents had been involved would have been incensed anger.
The Edge of the Sea was partially about LKH's relationship with the sea and partially about a woman being killed by a mer-man. Did stray into some of the mer legends and was a different story.
A Sacrcity of Lake Monsters is a Nessie story. Had some good ideas lurking that didn't quite surface.
Selling Houses is another story set in Anitaverse, but none of the regular characters are in it. This is the sort of story that you expect to read in compilations (rather than LKH's slightly re-written part of a book). It's a story of an estate agent selling to the newly legal vampires. I liked this one.
A Token for Celandine is set in the world of Nightseer. A healer goes to seek redemption for some evil magic she did. Very black and white look at the world.
A Clean Sweep is about a superhero called Captain Housework. Oh yes indeed, that man we all would love to have, but in this story he snaps.
The Curse Maker is also set in the world of Nightseer and was about a bard who had been cursed and the people who set out to break it. Features a vampire sword.
The Geese is about goose who was a little girl who had a geas laid upon her to kill her parents murderer - by her parents murderer, becoming a goose allowed her to grow up. What will her mate do when she becomes human?
House of Wizards is about a non-magician marrying into a magical family. In a world where magicians have all the rights this could be seen as a way of getting up in society this shows how she copes. I wasn't really impressed with some of the ways she coped.
Here Be Dragons is possibly my favorite story. It is about a doctor who rehabilitates violent criminals. In a world where psionics is a science, psionics are trained by the government but some of them are too dangerous. This is about a child and how the adult copes.
Winterkill is yet another story set in the Nightseer universe. The main character is a lot like Edward of the AB series - she has found that killing ordinary humans are far too easy and only kills wizards. She's hunting a wizard who killed her family, she uses some of the rules of the world to fix things. Reads like a transcript of a roleplaying session.
Stealing Souls is another story set in the Nightseer universe. A wizard has been stealing and imprisoning souls in order to boost his power, and something must be done to stop him. Two of those souls are the heroine's sisters. Features a vampire sword.
The Girl who was Infatuated with Death was previously printed in Bite where I read it, a girl with bone cancer who is about to lose one leg and possibly more is hunted by Anita because she's underage.
A very mixed bag, some of the stories are quite short and many of them could possibly make good longer stories but there would also probably be too much sex if they were lengthened.”
“Marnie said: 3 Stars
Play Book Tag Shelf wrote this review Saturday, October 8, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is a compilation of short stories of hers. Some are stories that she wrote when she was first published. They show her progression as a writer and are different than her Anita or Merideth books. They didn't have a wow factor for me but a few I wouldn't have minded continuing. They were up to her dark standards. Even horrible cupids which I do not think I had experienced before. My only disappointment was that the one Anita Blake story I believe I had read elsewhere so that was a let down at the end of the book. Overall an interesting read that required little thought or time which sometimes is a very good thing”
“Strange Candy By Laurell K. Hamilton
Marnie wrote this review Saturday, October 1, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
3 Stars
This is a compilation of short stories of hers. Some are stories that she wrote when she was first published. They show her progression as a writer and are different than her Anita or Merideth books. They didn't have a wow factor for me but a few I wouldn't have minded continuing. They were up to her dark standards. Even horrible cupids which I do not think I had experienced before. My only disappointment was that the one Anita Blake story I believe I had read elsewhere so that was a let down at the end of the book. Overall an interesting read that required little thought or time which sometimes is a very good thing”“Most of the stories are from Hamilton's early writing, and it shows. Her style has definitely become more refined with the Anita Blake series, but I think she worked on describing sexual tension more than a full-bodied story. It was okay, but not something I'd want to read again.”
Chelliterate wrote this review Tuesday, September 6, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The #1 New York Times bestselling author's short story collection-including an all-new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story-now in paperback.
~Ang wrote this review Wednesday, August 3, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
From a woman who marries into a family of volatile wizards to a couple fleeing a gang of love-hungry cupids, from a girl who seeks sanctuary in the form of a graceful goose to the disgruntled superhero Captain Housework, readers will revel in the many twists and turns of fortune in these fantastical fairy tales and lush parables. Even hardened vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake gets blindsided by the disturbing motives of her clients in the new "Those Who Seek Forgiveness" and in "The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death."" ~ From http://www.laurellkhamilton.org
I absolutely loved this book! It was a lot of fun to read a short story or two a night, and it was great to see the different sides of one of my favorite authors. This anthology consisted of such a wide variety of stories, you never got bored! I enjoyed the comedy and (attempted) snubbing of love in the Cupid story. Selling Houses was great, especially considering I work in a real estate law office, it just goes to show you should know your clients! I think my favorite was Geese, a story of determination, honor, and love.”
“some good short story and some not so good story ”
trish valle wrote this review Tuesday, July 5, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
