Places to Be, People to Kill

Reviewing an anthology of short stories has to be one of the hardest things a reviewer can do, especially if the stories are all written by different authors. In this book, we are given twelve different stories by twelve different authors but with one theme uniting them all: assassins. The genres include science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, and horror. Like all anthologies, there were some I liked, some I didn't care much for, but not because of the writing. Each story is well crafted and well written. Because we are dealing with assassins, some touch on the macabre and are a little too graphic for me, but that is a personal issue and not one of craft. Overall, the stories were very good. If you don't have a lot of time to invest in reading, anthologies are a good place to go. Each story is complete with beginning, middle, and satisfying - if sometimes bizarre - endings. They're good for a quick read when you don't have time for a novel. If you like the odd, sometimes bloody, occasionally funny, but always intriguing world of assassins, then this book is for you. Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder 08/16/2007

This short story book includes a new Vree and Bannon short story! Tanya Huff's assassins from her Quarters series are back, once again a prequel to their first adventure (No Quarter) Vree and Bannon are set on another target.. sort of. This time they are put in the unenviable situation of trying to decide if their target is guilty BEFORE they kill him! This was a great Vree and Bannon short and well worth getting your hands on the collection!

This twelve never before published tales focuses on the fantasy genre's professional hitmen (and women), assassins as they have not been seen before (at least to the knowledge of this reviewer). The authors go deep into the psyche of what makes an assassin (naturing vs. nurturing), but not during the adrenalin rush of a planned kill; instead the tales occur during non productive time though a death or two happens. The compilation provides differing reasons why someone would choose to become a paid killer ranging from avarice, the thrill of the kill, the gene pool, or feeding a family. Think of this book as the assassin's résumé. Fascinatingly, in several of the tales this stereotypical antihero actually honors life as sacred because they take it away so effortlessly. The stories are well written running the gamut from a serious look at why one becomes an assassin (see "Fealty" by S. Andrew Swann and "Bloodlines" by Jim C. Hines) to a satirical look at why not ("Hang Ten" by Jean Rabe). In each of these fun contributions the assassin is a terrific antagonist who is always ready for population control assignments as their prime mission is PEOPLE TO KILL. Harriet Klausner