Mean Streets (anthology)
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''Mean Streets'' is a 2009 anthology of four novellas featuring protagonists from four
urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporary urban area, urban-affected setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual charac ...
series. The book promotes the characters and authors to existing readers of genre, as well as provides new readers to the genre a sample of each series. It was well-received as providing good, intriguing stories consistent with style of each series. The four stories collected in this book are "The Warrior" from
The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was p ...
series by
Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, M ...
, "The Difference a Day Makes" from the Nightside series by Simon R. Green, "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" from the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, and "Noah's Orphans" from the Remy Chandler series by Thomas E. Sniegoski.


Contents

;"The Warrior" featuring Harry Dresden from
The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was p ...
series by
Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, M ...
Private investigator, and wizard, Harry Dresden warns his friend Michael Carpenter that someone is spying on him. Carpenter, a former heavenly warrior in the Knights of the Cross, was living a quiet life in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
with his wife and children after suffering injuries in his last battle. They find someone is trying to steal Carpenter's enchanted sword. After an attack Dresden suspects church involvement and seeks clues from Father Forthill. The kidnapping of Carpenter's daughter leads to confrontation near
Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
with a rogue holy warrior named Roarke Douglas to exchange the sword for Carpenter's daughter. ;"The Difference a Day Makes" featuring John Taylor from the Nightside series by Simon R. Green In Nightside, private investigator John Taylor and his friend Dead Boy are sitting in a bar called Strangefellows when a crying woman, named Liza, bursts in seeking Taylor's help. She cannot remember the past day, nor how she arrived in Nightside. Taylor uses his power of Sight to locate her husband, Frank. Dead Boy drives them to Rotten Row, where they find Frank at Silicon Heaven, a place for technosexuals. The host explains that Liza was there the day before but fled after learning about what Frank wanted. As Frank is being merged with a machine, Liza storms in and rips his heart out, though the Frank-machine no longer required it to live. ;"The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" featuring Harper Blaine from the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson The will of a Mexican woman leaves private investigator, and Greywalker, Harper Blaine a sum of money on condition she hand-deliver a small figurine of a dog to the grave of Hector Purecete in
Oaxaca City Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding munici ...
on the
Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...
. Even though these people are unknown to her, she accepts. On the way to Oaxaca she meets the dead woman's lawyer who tries to dissuade her from continuing. In Oaxaca she enlists the help of the teenage son, Mickey, of her host in helping her navigate the city and translating. While visiting a graveyard, Blaine finds another figurine just like the dog and is told that hers had been subject to witchcraft. After a few dead ends, she eventually finds the grave of the correct Hector Purecete and the fraud and blackmail by the lawyer that necessitated the elaborate set up. ;"Noah's Orphans" featuring Remy Chandler from the Remy Chandler series by Thomas E. Sniegoski. Remy Chandler, a private investigator and former angel known as Remiel, is grieving the recent death of his wife, Madeline, when the angel
Sariel Sariel (Hebrew and Aramaic: שָׂרִיאֵל ''Śārīʾēl'', "God is my Ruler"; Greek: Σαριηλ ''Sariēl'', ''Souriēl''; Amharic: ሰራቁያል ''Säraquyael'', ሰረቃኤል ''Säräqael'') is an angel mainly from Judaic tradi ...
, of The Grigori, visits and informs him that
Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
has been murdered. Sariel recruits the reluctant Remy to investigate and transports him to the oil rig where Noah had been living to examine the murder scene. With Remy as a witness, Sariel captures a suspect and tells Remy that the suspect is a Chimerian, a species created by God prior to humans and previously thought to have been wiped out in Noah's flood. Remy investigates further and discovers that Noah may have been sympathetic to the Chimeria. Ultimately, he concludes that Noah was protecting the remaining Chimeria and that it was the Grigori who had killed Noah in an attempt to complete the extinction of the Chimeria.


Style and genre

''Mean Streets'' is an anthology, collecting four novellas. Each story is an original piece in four existing
urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporary urban area, urban-affected setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual charac ...
series published by Roc Books. The book was meant to cross promote series between one another, so fans of one series could try something similar or new readers could sample several styles in the subgenre. While all four series use a private investigator as their main character, "The Warrior" of
The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was p ...
, set in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
between '' Small Favor'' and '' Turn Coat'', used more "dry wit", while the Nightside story "The Difference a Day Makes" used more "darker humor". "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" uses more "mystery and intrigue", as well as
Mexican culture Mexico's culture emerged from the culture of the Spanish culture, Spanish Empire and the preexisting Pre-Columbian Mexico, indigenous cultures of Mexico. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both Western civilization, western and Indi ...
in the backdrop. "Noah's Orphans", set between the novels ''A Kiss Before The Apocalypse'' and ''Dancing On The Head of a Pin'' of the Remy Chandler series, is a murder mystery that uses biblical figures, like
Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
and
Sariel Sariel (Hebrew and Aramaic: שָׂרִיאֵל ''Śārīʾēl'', "God is my Ruler"; Greek: Σαριηλ ''Sariēl'', ''Souriēl''; Amharic: ሰራቁያል ''Säraquyael'', ሰረቃኤል ''Säräqael'') is an angel mainly from Judaic tradi ...
, as characters.


Publication and reception

The book was released January 4, 2009, as a trade paperback published by Roc Books, an imprint in the
Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...
. An unabridged audiobook version, narrated by Dion Graham, Richard Poe, Mia Baron, T. Ryder Smith, was released in April 2009. The book was well-received, with the reviewer in ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' writing, "All tories aresolid and suspenseful, these stories are sure to please", and Kimberly Swan of Darque Reviews writing, "They're equally well-told and intriguing ... This is a keeper that will easily rise to the top of the list of favorite anthologies for fans of the genre." Similarly, book reviewer Harriet Klausner wrote "Each tale is well written feeling complete even in the novella format and complement one another as the writers rose to the occasion of expectations from their fan base." The critic at Monsters and Critics concluded that "Imaginative, yet humanizing storylines with familiar characters make this collection a treat and a great introduction for readers new to the genre." The ''Publishers Weekly'' reviewer selected Sniegoski's "Noah's Orphans" as the best of the four stories noting that "Sniegoski manages to make a far-fetched setup both plausible and moving". The editor at SFRevu wrote "the depth of characterization and emotional conflict n "Noah's Orphans"stands out". The ''Entertainment Examiner'' reviewer identified both "Noah's Orphans" and Butcher's "The Warrior" as equally the best stories saying “Both Sniegoski and Butcher infuse their characters...with solid, relatable emotion that truly makes you care about what is going on. Their action and dialogue is tense and engaging, even in the calmest scene, and the details they use are vivid enough to create a strong mental image of the scene without taking over the story."Vogt, Josh, "Book review: Mean Streets", ''Entertainment Examiner'' (June 15, 2009). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved February 9, 2013. Other reviewers found "The Warrior" to be typical of the Harry Dresden series. Richardson's "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" was called "a delightful tale" and "an intriguing mystery" that "neatly merges noir conventions with a fantastical plot", though the characterization was panned as being "flat and inexpressive". Though described as "a roller coaster ride of a story" and "wildly imaginative" Green's "The Difference A Day Makes" was found to employ "gratuitous macabre writing" in trying to describe "increasingly twisted and depraved scenarios, using the same stock descriptions and dialogue". Another reviewer wrote that "Green goes overboard" describing Nightside so that "story is more about the setting than any actual plot... akingthe ending feel like a letdown".


References

{{reflist * 2009 anthologies Fantasy anthologies The Dresden Files Urban fantasy novels