Carniepunk by Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, Jennifer Estep, Allison Pang, Kelly Gay, Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Meding, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Jaye Wells, Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler
Published by Simon and Schuster
Age Group: Adult
Format: Anthologies and Short Story Collections
Genres and Categories: Demons, Fae/Fey, Vampires, Steampunk, Urban Fantasy
Series: Hell on Earth #4.7, Abby Sinclair #0.5, , Charlie Madigan #4.5, Elemental Assassin #8.1, Blud #0.5
My Rating:
Published on: 23rd July 2013
Pages: 448
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Waterstones
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A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals.

Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . .

RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”

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I’ve never been one for tales of the circus or carnivals. There’s never been anything about them that has beckoned to me and sucked me in – until reading the Carniepunk anthology. With Carniepunk I finally got the immersive and magical feel of the carnival. I not only fell in love with the atmosphere created in these pages, I fell in love with the stories and the authors. I ended up with a whole bunch of new authors and books added to my TBR after this one (you’ve been warned! :P).

What impressed me most about this anthology was the breadth of topic, tone and frivolity. There are some dark stories in this one, some adorable ones, and some downright hilarious ones. You hear people say that there’s “something for everyone” and I’d say that applies to Carniepunk.

Click here to view my other Horror Anthology reviews!

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