Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy

by Dana Stabenow (Editor)

Overview

Investigations of a Different Kind
 
Conjured from the minds of today’s most innovative authors, Powers of Detection features a dozen tales of mystery and fantasy, set in worlds where sleuths may wield wands instead of firearms—and criminals may be as inhuman as the crimes they commit.
 
From a magical boarding school murder to a courtroom where a witch stands trial, from ancient legends of Alaska and Egypt to stories featuring such familiar faces as Sookie Stackhouse and such familiar places as the Nightside, these paranormal procedurals reveal the mysterious behind the mystery…
 
Includes stories by…

Donna Andrews ٠ Michael Armstrong ٠ Anne Bishop ٠ Jay Caselberg ٠ Mike Doogan ٠ Laura Anne Gilman ٠ Simon R. Green ٠ Charlaine Harris ٠ Anne Perry ٠ Sharon Shinn ٠ Dana Stabenow ٠ John Straley
 
“Highly original tales.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Everyone’s heart is in the right place and, in the best stories, their tongues are firmly in their cheeks.”—Mystery Scene

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101208526
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/05/2004
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	545,157
File size:	291 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dana Stabenow, a New York Times bestselling author and Edgar Award winner, has written twenty Kate Shugak mysteries, four Liam Campbell mysteries, three science-fiction novels, and two thrillers, and she also freelances for Alaska magazine. She was born, raised, and lives in Alaska, where she was awarded the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2007.

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Powers of Detection is a collection of 12 never-before-published short stories that blend the mystery and fantasy genres. This "magic-and-mayhem anthology," as described by editor Dana Stabenow, includes stories by Anne Perry, Charlaine Harris, Simon R. Green, and Sharon Shinn.

Noteworthy tales include "Fairy Dust" by Harris, a brilliantly captivating Sookie Stackhouse story in which everyone's favorite telepathic barmaid must unravel the mystery behind the murder of a beautiful fairy; and Donna Andrews's "Cold Spell," a magical whodunit that pits a sickly wizard and his ingenious apprentice against a mysterious assassin. Green's "The Nightside, Needless to Say" features Larry Oblivion, a hard-boiled private investigator who, upon learning that he has been murdered, must figure out who has turned him into maggot food. With no one else to turn to, he seeks help from his partner, a seductive detective who also dabbles in the dark arts. Can magic save Oblivion from becoming one of the undead? Anything is possible in the Nightside!

The most profoundly moving story, however, is Perry's "The Judgement," about a woman on trial for murder by witchcraft. Accused of killing her brother-in-law after he allegedly refused to have an affair with her, Anaya is charged with making a barn collapse on top of him through sorcery. Her only hope lies in the hands of the Judge.

For readers who enjoy both mystery and fantasy, this diverse anthology -- where the private eyes utilize deductive prowess as well as supernatural power and the culprits really are monsters -- is a must-read. Paul Goat Allen

bn.com

This uneven all-original story anthology, edited by Edgar-winner Stabenow, showcases 12 authors from both the mystery and fantasy fields. Highly original tales include Anne Perry's "The Judgment," which presents a trial for murder by witchcraft in a stunning new moral light; Alaska-based Michael Armstrong's "The Boy Who Chased Seagulls," which sensitively reworks an Aleut legend of crime and punishment; and Anne Bishop's "The Price," which offers gender-reversal with a vengeance. Deft irony pervades Laura Anne Gilman's ESP-ridden "Palimpsest," but other attempts at shape-shifting hard-boiled detectives and cunning criminals into fantasy realms are less successful. Simon R. Green's gloomy "The Nightside, Needless to Say" and Jay Caselberg's "Cairene Dawn" seem forced, though Caselberg has a whopper of a closing line, while John Straley's stomach-wrenching raven story, "Lovely," has a lot of gore and little saving grace. Mike Doogan's "The Death of Clickclickwhistle," an interstellar romp, has its Star Trek roots showing, and both Donna Andrews's "Cold Spell" and Sharon Shinn's "The Sorcerer's Assassin" suggest Harry Potter's Hogwarts without the special effects. Stabenow's own "Justice Is a Two-Edged Sword," her first sally into sword and sorcery, treads ground already familiar from a multitude of feminist quest trilogies. Agent, Martin Greenberg at Tekno Books. (Oct. 5) FYI: Stabenow is the author of A Taint in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel (reviewed in Mystery above). Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly