About the Book
- Genre and Sub-Genres: Urban Fantasy, SciFi, Western
- Theme: Brave and bold heroines
- Editor: Martin H. Greenberg, Kerrie Hughes
- Contributors: Jane Lindskold, Nancy Holder, Lilith Saintcrow, Jeanne C. Stein, Tanya Huff, Anton Strout, Jim C. Hines, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Elizabeth A. Vaughn, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Alexander B. Potter, Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Description
Thirteen urban and paranormal tales of strong women, armed with weapons they are not afraid to use, as well as fists and feet of fury, who face monsters and bad guys-and are not above rescuing men in the process. The main idea behind this anthology is strong women with the ability to find the weapon most necessary at the time and the courage to use it.
Stories
"The Drifter" by Jane Lindskold
- This story is set in the west, with the main character drifting into a small town chasing after a monster. She does carry a gun, but circumstances force her to use other weapons when the two finally meet. — Old west. Something is taking the children of the settlers and Indians, and Prudence Bledsoe aims to find out what it is and how to stop it.
"Our Lady of the Vampires" by Nancy Holder
- Set in the Great Depression here—a young girl is put into an orphanage as the stock market crash takes its toll on one wealthy family. Of course, there’s something preying on the girls in the orphanage, and with some help, the main character decides to take action. No gun in this one.
"Best Friends" by Lilith Saintcrow
- We get vampires again in this one, with one moving in on Becca’s girlfriend and her mother. When it becomes obvious that he’s feeding off of them, Becca sets out save them . . . but things don’t always go as planned. There is a gun in this one, and it does play a crucial role. —— Becca's best friend Kate has step-father problems of the night-walker sort.
"Elizabeth and Anna’s Big Adventure" by Jeanne C. Stein
- The main character here is merely 8 years old, but she still keeps her wits about her when monsters break into her house while her parents are away at a party. With the help of her babysitter, she manages to overcome her own fear. — 8- year-old Elizabeth and her bounty hunter babysitter save each other from a revenge-seeking criminal.
"Lupercalia" by Anton Strout
- The big bad guy here is Love. Literally. Jilted too many times by the same guy, Leis goes after him with a vengeance, crossbow and chains in hand. —— Leis Colchis isn't just gunning for her ex, she's aiming for Cupid, who started the whole damn thing.
"Murder, She Workshopped" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Assassin-cum-writing maven stalks paranormal foe on the way to a new career. —— An assassin really wants to be a writer attending a writer’s workshop. She’s there to kill, but secretly is trying to learn everything she possibly can at the critique sessions so she can pursue her writing career. Of course, things don’t go as planned. The main character learns something about herself as the story unfolds.
"Heart of Ash" by Jim C. Hines
- A dryad finds a way to become what she needs to be, kicking Were butt all the way. —— The story starts out with a vampire. The main character is a nymph who becomes whatever her lover wants. In this story, she’s essentially a superhero, taking out supernatural bad guys. But as the story progresses, the relationship changes and suddenly Lena finds herself changing as well, even though she doesn’t want to.
"Jiang Shi" by Elizabeth A. Vaughan
- This story is actually part of a sequence begun in previous anthologies. We get another Chinese vampire here, along with the ninja rats and possum mage from the previous stories. No gun here; lots of blades.—Pre-menpausal, middle- aged Kate touches sacred jade and becomes the Wise One, Bearer of the Scale, Chosen of the Emperor Dragon.. and target of Chinese nightmares come to life.
"No Matter Where You Go" by Tanya Huff
- The main protagonist here is a vampire, so the monsters end up being something else. A couple of surprising things happen in this one.
"Signed in Blood" by P.R. Frost — Tess Noncoire series
- She’s on her own this time though, her imp Scrap gone on a personal quest. She gets a call from a filker friend, because something seems to be draining her audiences of their energy and she wants Tess to figure out who or what it is. No gun. Something mightier instead.
"Broch de Shlang" by Mickey Zucker Reichert
- A mother defends her two daughters, and herself, from escalating snake attacks . . . only to find out that perhaps these attacks are a little more personal than she thinks.
"The Wooly Mountains" by Alexander B. Potter
- Something in the woods of New Hampshire is killing off chickens and sheep and one herder intends to find out what. It can’t be werewolves or any of the known Uncanny in the area though, they’ve signed agreements to integrate into society. So what could it possibly be? A unique monster (or two).
"Invasive Species" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
- Sci-fi territory—a pest controller becoming a passenger on a luxury space liner in order to figure out what’s been munching on some metal in order to eradicate the problem. It turns out to be something other than metal mites.
References