This one amused the ever-loving crap out of me. I'm a fan of urban fantasy, stylish and intense characters, slightly absurd situations, ordinary people struggling against undercurrents of the occult (and, relatedly, all-powerful assholes who get more than they're bargaining for), divine beings living incognito in the modern world, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and this story had all of those, and more. This story made me laugh, howl, scream (angrily, at Doug), and talk excitedly to my wife. The only thing that could have made this story more awesome would be if the Airship Adventures zeppelin had somehow gotten involved... but we can't have everything.
And then we'd have an argument about whether or not this story is steampunk.
Not bitter. Not bitter at all.
Anyway, I'm not sure the story would have made sense with the addition of Airship Adventures, and as the crit group is constantly reminding me, making sense is a good thing.
It's 6:22 AM when I am now and I'm a little confused. I was trying to make a point. Where was I again?
Right, Terrible Ones. Excuse me. Anyway, I also loved M. K. Hobson's reading, but then I always love M. K. Hobson's readings. Her voice has that perfect combination of acid sarcasm and hard-edged urban yrgh (6:22 AM) that really works for some stories - and yet, she can also soften her voice for some lines and deliver a totally different effect when required. I think if M. K. Hobson and Wilson Fowlie had a baby and that baby was raised by Cheyenne Wright, that child would have the most expressive, flexible, and buttery voice in the universe. Dave Thompson could do his introductions and then he could read Tim Pratt stories and the world would fall at his feet.
What the hell was that? Seriously, Paladin, what the hell was that? You know what? 6:22 AM is no excuse. It's time to stop this post before someone gets hurt. Besides, it's 6:28 AM now.
I give this story yrgh out of five zeppelins, which probably means six and a half or so. And I apologize to Wilson Fowlie, M. K. Hobson, and Cheyenne Wright (who's plenty busy with his actual child) and all of their children and spouses, now and in perpetuity. Not Dave Thompson, though - he had it coming.