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Masked Lou Anders Books

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Masked Lou Anders Books

Used to be, if you had a book with superhero prose fiction in it, the stories were mostly going to focus on either making the heroes into inhuman serial killers in spandex or turning them into contemptible buffoons.

Superhero prose has definitely come around since comics began to be seen as a more respectable art form. Most of the focus in this book is on twists on the superhero genre that still come across as (mostly) respectful of the cape-and-cowl set, with a lot of the stories written by people who are best known for writing actual comic books.

The stories include:
* “Cleansed and Set in Gold” by Matthew Sturges, about a hero whose powers rely on a secret just as terrifying as the plague of monsters afflicting the countryside;
* “Where Their Worm Dieth Not” by James Maxey, which focuses on the question of why superheroes and supervillains die and are reborn so often;
* “Secret Identity” by Paul Cornell, a wonderful and very funny story about a hero whose secret identity has its own secret identity;
* “The Non-Event” by Mike Carey, a heist-gone-wrong tale told from the POV of a low-level supercrook;
* “Thug” by Gail Simone, an absolutely outstanding tale in which we get the heartbreaking life story of a superstrong but dimwitted super-lackey;
* “Vacuum Lad” by Stephen Baxter, a sci-fi tale about a guy whose power lets him survive in outer space;
* “A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows” by Chris Roberson, which focuses on a magic-using pulp-era hero battling demons in L.A.;
* “Downfall” by Joseph Mallozzi, a mystery in which a reformed villain tries to find out who killed Earth’s most powerful hero;
* “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (and Villains Too)” by Bill Willingham, which is pretty much exactly what the title says — a complete superhero universe, wrapped around a big summer crossover and alphabetized for easy reference;
* and plenty of other stories besides.

Any sort of anthology like this is going to have some good stories and some not-so-good stories, and I’m glad to say that most of these fall on the good side of the equation. Far and away, my favorite stories were the ones by Gail Simone, Bill Willingham, and Paul Cornell, but the majority of the stories in this book are just plain great. Even the ones I disliked still had some small bits I was able to enjoy.

Not a perfect anthology, but certainly one of the better ones of this type I’ve seen. if you’re a superhero fan, this is definitely something you’ll want to pick up.


Tags : Amazon.com: Masked (9781439168820): Lou Anders: Books,Lou Anders,Masked,Gallery Books,1439168822,FIC028010,Anthologies (multiple authors),Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,Fantasy fiction, American,Fantasy fiction, American.,Fantasy fiction, English,Fantasy fiction, English.,Superheroes,Superheroes;Fiction.,FICTION Anthologies (multiple authors),FICTION General,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FICTION Science Fiction General,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Science Fiction - General,Science Fiction And Fantasy,Science fiction,Short Story

Masked Lou Anders Books Reviews

I ordered this after seeing several of the authors listed. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The book provides a wide range of hero/villain stories that are atypical. While the book does include the typical tights and cape story, the best stories are the ones that are a little different. My personal favorite short story in the collection is Downfall.
This is a great collection of fiction because it uses the basis of superheroes to examine meaningful tips in unexpected ways. This isn't my grandfathers' campy Superman, or my father's 80's political comics, but rather a current selection to examine philosophical basis of characters and actions.
This is the best collection of superhero themed short stories I've ever seen - there's not a lot of competition to it within this genre, but in it's own right it's a 5-star worthy short story collection.

I wouldn't give it to a tween or earlier - there are a couple of stories that might be a bit mature (no, not "adult") for them.
Unless I misremember, I really, really enjoyed all but two or three stories in this anthology. The thing really is surprisingly good. The story "Call Her Savage" really doesn't fit at all and wasn't really to my taste, but I just couldn't believe how many stories in here I really liked. And the writing's good! I mean, not just passable, but--by the standards of fun, non-serious fiction--it's really good. Much, much better than the average just-for-fun read. I'm a huge fan of Austin Grossman's _Soon I Will Be Invincible_, and, until now, I've always told everyone that that's head and shoulders above other books in the genre. I still rank it at the top, but, honestly, I think this anthology isn't all that far behind.
Ever since Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' complex and literate, Watchmen, came out there have been more intelligent examinations of the world of superheroes. Deeper explorations of the personal angst and separation experienced by these heroes, moral confusion, unavoidable inconsistencies, and the overpowering weight of responsibility have provided great fodder for smarter tales. Joseph Mallozzi's contribution in this collection called Downfall captures this succinctly with the line, "Always playing to the media, their public acts of altruism little more than a patina glossing over the ugly truths - alcoholism, malignant narcissism, anger management issues."

It seems we have created a sub-cottage industry to the original super hero comic book trade. This has meant more original efforts that move the genre forward. Take into consideration the movies Hancock, Unbreakable and The Incredibles, Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay, Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, and one will see that characters in bright tights and capes have evolved.

And to my surprise, while reading this collection, I read a story in the February 26, 2011 edition of The Wall Street Journal called, Bam! Pow! Superhero Groups Clash In an Epic Battle of Good vs. Good. It covers the true story of individuals dressing up as superheroes in the Seattle area (among them Phoenix Jones - Guardian of Seattle, Zetaman, Knight Owl, Dark Guardian, and Mr. Raven Blade). And like the stories in Masked these real-life characters are revealed to have conflicts amongst themselves. Life imitating art indeed.

This collection has a dark and deep tone that appeals. The stories are all highly original and cover a range of subjects that add reality to the unreal. It begins with Cleansed and Set in Gold by Matthew Sturges which introduces a mash-up of epic proportions including "plausible" superheroes as conflicted individuals. It is a great kick-off story with fun lines given the genre like "I don't have a fascinating origin story" and "His conclusion was that the Ghouls are a gift from the seventy-second century, sent back in time by some enterprising villain to plague the twenty-first".

"Atomahawk", "Retaliator", "She-Devil" are members of "The Law Legion" waging a never-ending battle against "Prime Mover". How awesome are those names? This tale, Where Worms Dieth Not, explores the challenges of crime fighting and the dark abysses it can send even the most noble. Another story in the collection called, Secret Identity, explores homophobia (yes homophobia). I will not be a spoiler here as the story is ingenious.

And how about a story from the villain's perspective? The Non-Event by Mike Carey covers two-bit hoods who benefit from an occurrence which gave one in ten people various super powers. This line explains it, "I don't mean supervillains, you understand I mean good, old fashioned burglars, bank robbers, and stick-up merchants who just happen to have picked up powers during the endoclasm. We're not interested in ruling the world, or destroying it, or having a big pointless punch-up with a bunch of twats in tights. We just ply our trade, when we're allowed it, do the job, and then clock off."

The collection is wildly entertaining exploring emotions, situations, and relationships in the super hero universe with humor and intelligence.
Used to be, if you had a book with superhero prose fiction in it, the stories were mostly going to focus on either making the heroes into inhuman serial killers in spandex or turning them into contemptible buffoons.

Superhero prose has definitely come around since comics began to be seen as a more respectable art form. Most of the focus in this book is on twists on the superhero genre that still come across as (mostly) respectful of the cape-and-cowl set, with a lot of the stories written by people who are best known for writing actual comic books.

The stories include
* “Cleansed and Set in Gold” by Matthew Sturges, about a hero whose powers rely on a secret just as terrifying as the plague of monsters afflicting the countryside;
* “Where Their Worm Dieth Not” by James Maxey, which focuses on the question of why superheroes and supervillains die and are reborn so often;
* “Secret Identity” by Paul Cornell, a wonderful and very funny story about a hero whose secret identity has its own secret identity;
* “The Non-Event” by Mike Carey, a heist-gone-wrong tale told from the POV of a low-level supercrook;
* “Thug” by Gail Simone, an absolutely outstanding tale in which we get the heartbreaking life story of a superstrong but dimwitted super-lackey;
* “Vacuum Lad” by Stephen Baxter, a sci-fi tale about a guy whose power lets him survive in outer space;
* “A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows” by Chris Roberson, which focuses on a magic-using pulp-era hero battling demons in L.A.;
* “Downfall” by Joseph Mallozzi, a mystery in which a reformed villain tries to find out who killed Earth’s most powerful hero;
* “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (and Villains Too)” by Bill Willingham, which is pretty much exactly what the title says — a complete superhero universe, wrapped around a big summer crossover and alphabetized for easy reference;
* and plenty of other stories besides.

Any sort of anthology like this is going to have some good stories and some not-so-good stories, and I’m glad to say that most of these fall on the good side of the equation. Far and away, my favorite stories were the ones by Gail Simone, Bill Willingham, and Paul Cornell, but the majority of the stories in this book are just plain great. Even the ones I disliked still had some small bits I was able to enjoy.

Not a perfect anthology, but certainly one of the better ones of this type I’ve seen. if you’re a superhero fan, this is definitely something you’ll want to pick up.