Lies My Mother Told Me, by Caroline Spector

There are a whole lot of authors involved in the Wild Cards series, but the consistency is really quite good.  I haven't read any in awhile, but Lies My Mother Told Me is quite consistent with the theme.  It's edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass, and our story appears in his Dangerous Women anthology.

The premise is pretty simple, but leaves infinite room.  A virus has emerged that changes people, without regard to physics or logic.  Any power or curse is possible.  So we instantly get superheroes and supervillains.  No problems with how they get the powers.

Our story here shows how the politics of the long series continue to evolve.  Bubbles, a very powerful Ace (superhero) is being manipulated through her friend Joey, a very different and troubled Ace.  Bubbles has raw power--she can absorb pretty much infinite damage, and hand it back out in powerful bubbles of force.  Joey can raise and control the dead.  They confront a figure representing one of the larger organizations.  They never figure out which one, but it's menacing.  It's a fun adventure story, the action in a Wild Card story is always great.  2 stars, but almost 3 for me.  My only complaint is that it just seems too easy.  Maybe Caroline Spector just makes it look that way.  It's all good.

Caretakers, by Pat Cadigan

Retirement homes have been on my mind lately.  I know people going into them, and I worked in one for many years.  It was a pretty good job, really.  But bad homes are pretty common, and it is very hard not to worry.  Such is the theme for Cadigan's story.  It's speculative fiction, but it could sure enough be real. 

Caretakers is really well written.  We have a complex personal relationship to add meat to the speculative theme.  The protagonist has a younger sister she's never taken very seriously, for what look like pretty good reasons.  And a mother in a nursing home.  The little sister starts to suspect that the home is up to something.  But the staff means well...do read it, this is quite good stuff.  3 stars.  I can't believe I've never reviewed anything by her before, I know I've read some other stories, but there it is...

Name the Beast, by Samuel Sykes

Continuing in Dangerous Women--Name the Beast is an interestingly written story.  The protagonist is a schict, a member of a race of somewhat wolf-like beings that live among humans.  It is very mystical in approach, but with some very ordinary grounding elements.  Kalindris has a strained, mystical relationship with her husband and a very ordinary, irritated relationship with her child.  We also see humans, and her complex reaction to them.  Humans are for killing, but...

It's different enough in approach, and decent enough, to give 3 stars.  Not so easy to read, but worth it.

Pronouncing Doom, by S. M. Stirling

We are getting toward the end of Dangerous Women--not quite there yet.  Post-apocalyptic times are certainly dangerous, but the protagonist here is "dangerous" as duly constituted justice.  Pronouncing Doom illustrates rough (but actually pretty clean) justice.  This group of survivors has adopted Earth-centered worship and Scots clan justice, and metes it on a pretty clear psychopath.  The lesson - trust your instincts.  You can tell when an author writes a lot, and Stirling is prolific.  Also polished.  2 stars, it's a decent read but very much done.

Hell Hath No Fury, by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hell Hath No Fury is a pretty much straight-up horror story in Dangerous Women.  Not seriously shocking or weird.  Can't think of much to say about it.  2 stars.

Virgins, by Diana Gabaldon

Virgins is a prequel story in Gabaldon's Outlander series.  Interesting that she works across several genres.  This may be in sequence on the timeline but is out of sequence in written order, so hard to judge the series.  But it seems to go on a bit.  Some nice comic moments and action.  2 stars from me.

City Lazarus, by Diana Rowland

City Lazarus is a short little crime tale in Dangerous Women.  This is the best link I could get for it.  It's a little bit speculative, mostly about what would happen if New Orleans allowed the Mississippi to shift to the Atchafalya.  I have visited New Orleans a few times, but tend to agree that too much is made of it. Our protagonist agrees, but needs to watch out for that city defender he's dating.  2 stars.