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This was a book I almost thought I wouldn't get round to as it had sat in my Kindle Unlimited library for so long, but I'm glad I did as it's a cracking anthology full of writers I'm excited to read more of including S.W. Lauden, Dietrich Kalteis, Eryk Pruitt and Sam Wiebe among others. The 80s premise worried me a little in the first story - Valley Girl by Kat Richardson - with its OTT dialogue for the title character, but it was still a fine story. A lot of these are just great crime stories t...
Synopsis/blurb…The Fast Women and Neon Lights anthology is a wild criminal romp inspired by eighties crime movies and television shows, as well as the wacky, over-the-top eighties style and aesthetic. These eighteen hard-hitting, emotional, and often-hilarious stories written by some of today's top neo-noir authors will disturb you, make you laugh, and most of all, keep you highly entertained from cover to cover! Car thieves, down-on-their-luck Karate guys, out-of-control valley girls, Air Jorda...
What a great collection. The idea that the eighties are a decade which could be used as a theme for pulp fiction just like the fifties evoked a certain time, place, and mood, is fantastic. At its best, this set of stories takes us on a journey back to a decade that is evoked by musical references as if KROQ were playing loudly in the background. You have Tiffany playing at a level to blast your ears off as a bloody trail is left during a burglary. You have references to the Oingo Bongo concert a...
As with any anthology, the stories are a mixed bag. Some are great, others are not. The weird part is that two of them are fanfic. I have nothing against fanfic in principle, but it's weird encountering it when you aren't expecting to.
This collection has a lot of fun with its theme and comes at it from a variety of angles. I was familiar with a fair number of the authors presented here, but not all of them, for which I was glad. The tone varies from black humor (Sarah M. Chen, whose entry was probably my favorite here) to somber. I like short story collections as "palate cleansers" between novels, and this one did the trick nicely.
"Neon noir"? I have to admit that I had never heard that term before... Anthology editor Michael Pool describes the essence of neon noir as "Bright lights, glass-block windows, dark cityscapes filled with unsavory elements all looking for an easy come up, only to discover that nothing in life comes easy. Femme fatales... wacky characters..." he believes it is most appropriately applied to neo-noir films of the 1980's. It is in that spirit that this compilation of stories is presented. The eighte...
Overal review:Good anthology, all of the thirteen stories had something to keep my attention, even the works that did not make me go wow (in a positive way). This is a collection worth owning.Standout stories:1.) "Valley Girl" -- Kat Richardson: The interrogation of a murderous, spoiled girl (Kim) goes bad for her lawyer (Marberg), and the cop (Willet) who is interrogating her. Good read, nice end-twists.2.) "Big Shots" -- S.W. Lauden: Fun, fast and darkly funny tale about Gary, a heroin-hooked...
This collection was the tale of two halves. The first I would give five stars without a second though and the second I would give three. I would've even given two if it wasn't for editor Michael Pool's fun, Coen-y closer NIGHT THIEF. My favorite story of the collection was Eryk Pruitt's hilarious and visceral murder mystery IT'S MORNING AGAIN IN LAKE CASTOR,which not only riffs off the eighties but really functions according to a logic of the pre-internet era. Made me perversely nostalgic. Other...
Very uneven. The premise was great but most of the stories fell short.
Eighteen complex short stories make up the anthology Fast Women and Neon Lights. As made clear by the subtitle, Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir the tales in this book are noir in style and heavily steeped in the glitz and glamour of the 80s. The music, the hair, the clothes all play their atmospheric role in these short stories where things often take a very dark turn under the neon lights.After a short introduction by publisher and Editor Michael Pool and a forward by Will Viharo, the read starts w...
Stellar read. Has such an incredible variety of writing styles, each interesting and compelling, it would be hard to pick a favorite. Highly recommend!
