Monsters "exist in violation of the way we think things ought to be," write Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (Steampunk!), editors of another delightful (often frightful) anthology of short fantasy fiction--this time about some lovable monsters, the choices they pose and the humans they meet.
The introduction to this anthology of 15 stories provides information (and an entertaining pop quiz) about the contents. The well-known authors chose to portray monsters of different types: vampires, embedded spirits and harpies, among others. The strong writing brims with misdirection, humor, horrors and twisty endings. Paolo Bacigalupi's "Moriabe's Children" raises questions about the definition of family: Can the krackens of the deep be kinder to a girl than her own mother is? Holly Black's rollicking "Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (The Successful Kind)" prepares readers to survive a pirate attack on a smuggler's ship (e.g., "Don't hide in the cargo hold, because everybody wants what's in the cargo hold"). "Mothers, Lock up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying" by Alice Sola Kim features a group of friends who met at an event for Korean adoptees, who summon a spirit (called "Mom") that literally takes possession of them--to the girls' increasing dismay.
This substantial volume will provide older teens--and adults--with hours of thoroughly enjoyable reading. A monstrously entertaining anthology. --Ellen Loughran