If you have a place in your heart for old ballads and folklore, you really can’t go wrong by reading “Out of Tune,” edited by New York Times Bestseller Jonathan Maberry, and published by JournalStone.
“Out of Tune” is an anthology featuring all new stories that are influenced by old ballads from not only the UK region, but also America. An additional nice feature is an explanation at the end of each story that tells the ballad of origin and singers who have performed these tunes, many of whom you will recognize.
The anthology starts off with a familiar trope, “Wendy, Darling,” by Christopher Golden, who not only puts an interesting story to the ballad of origin, but also sets it in the Peter Pan universe (and if you are familiar with Golden, this probably comes as no surprise—and if you aren’t familiar with Golden, you really need to start reading his books).
Next up I was delighted to see that David Liss was included in this anthology. I read his novel “The Coffee Trader” several years back and was ecstatic to read in his bio that “The Coffee Trader” is being developed for film and “A Conspiracy of Paper” is being developed for television. It’s always a plus when the bio sections of anthologies give you information you didn’t previously know, adding to the fanboy value. At any rate, his story “Sweet William’s Ghost” is another strong edition to the book.
I really wasn’t disappointed with any story here, and while some I enjoyed better than others, I always looked forward to the ballad origin at the end of each entry.
You can’t go wrong with “Out of Tune.” It has a stellar lineup of writers, also including Gary Braunbeck (everything he writes is great, isn’t it?), Kelley Armstrong, Nancy Holder, Simon R. Green, Lisa Morton, Jack Ketchum, Jeff Strand, Jeffrey J. Mariotte, and more. You get the picture. This is one not to miss.
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