Phil Brucato

Super disappointing. The book doubles down on the stereotypes used in oWoD rather than trying to move past them. The breeds are not fleshed out well, the formatting is not used consistently, and nothing seems to be playtested, well, at all. There is a single box that says how its not balanced and that's okay (no its not), but not only is this horribly unbalanced, a ton of the options in here are either broken or just not fun or playable.

The authors are apparently obsessed with fucking and shitting because every page mentions one and/or the other. The text is obsessed with sex in a way that is not sensuous or complex or anything - its very flat and juvenile on top of being repetitive.

The characterization and story samples are also terribly lazy and cliched, and typically hinge on gratuitous, needless rape.

Huge letdown.… (más)

While there were a few stories that just didn't speak to me, this anthology (on the whole) is quite good. As usual, the de Lint and Gaiman stories were my favorite of the bunch, but other standout authors/stories (IMO) were Terry Windling, Shira Lipkin, Angel Leigh McCoy, SatyrPhil Brucato, Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg and Laurel K Hamilton. It definitely makes me want to pick up a Sooj Tucker CD and hear the vocals to go with some of her lyrics.

2010 Reread--Even more excellent than I remembered. Recommended (if you can find it).… (más)