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    Carniepunk
    Carniepunk
    Carniepunk
    Audiobook14 hours

    Carniepunk

    Written by Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, Kevin Hearne and

    Narrated by Candace Thaxton and Kirby Heyborne

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals.

    Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy’s biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world. . . .

    RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 23, 2013
    ISBN9781442366701
    Author

    Rachel Caine

    Rachel Caine (1962–2020) was the New York Times–, USA Today–, and #1 Wall Street Journal–bestselling author of more than fifty books across multiple genres, from adult thriller to urban fantasy/science fiction, as well as works for young adults. With millions of copies sold, she was a frequent guest at conventions in the United States and around the world. Her popular book series include the Morganville Vampires novels, the Great Library series, and the #1-bestselling Stillhouse Lake books. Caine lost her fight with a rare and aggressive cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, in November of 2020.

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    Reviews for Carniepunk

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Great Listen!!! Great Variety of Story will tell other friends.
    • 5/5
      Some of the stories only loosely feature a carnival setting, but they've all got the feeling of sureal and bizarre wonderment indicative of the midway.
    • 4/5
      I read anthologies to find new authors. I'm grateful if I find 1-2 stories I actually enjoyed reading. Imagine my surprise with Carniepunk. I do believe I will research and read at least 70% of the authors. Shock, awe, amazement! How the editor managed to get such a high percentage of interesting and intriguing stories and authors is beyond me but kudos! And thanks!
    • 4/5
      My library was offering several short stories as audio books so I gave it a try.

      I read a lot of Seanan’s McGuire’s stuff and I wasn’t disappointed in this at all. It is a standalone story and give a good sense of what makes a great writer. The story covers a teen girl whose mother is a real mermaid with the carnival she travels with. As the story unfolds you find out that this is the only life she has ever known and everyone is family. But they have returned to a town they haven’t been to in 17 years and some people have a long memory. A good buildup and a bittersweet ending to this story.
    • 2/5
      Too dark for me, but I read most of them and quite enjoyed the Kevin Hearne, Rachel Caine and Seanan McGuire stories.
    • 4/5
      Kevin Hearne (THE IRON DRUID series) had announced he was a contributor to this anthology a few months before the release date, and so I felt compelled to get it. Especially since it had a short story from the IRON DRUID series Hearne writes. However, seeing that it had several authors I have read, it added to value of what I was getting. This was a great read, each story having something to do with carnivals, whether it was twisted and dark, or revenge, or finding a missing person. Hearne's contribution sticks out to me, as does Estep's short of the ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN. As usual, there were a couple stories that didn't hit the mark for me, but overall, was a good read - even if you are afraid of clowns!
    • 4/5
      That was far too brief :-)
    • 4/5
      AN S&S anthology of S&S authors, set to a carnie theme. Good assortment of tales, mostly dark fantasy (set to YA, Urban Fantasy, etc.). The opening and closing stories were the best, "Painted Love" by Rob Thurman and "Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea" by Seanan McGuire. Also enjoyed Delilah S. Dawson, Allison Pang, Rachel Caine, and... heck, all of them were enjoyable in one way or another. Many were tie-in stories to the authors' novel series. Good recommendation. 4.25 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of urban fantasy stories; they all have some sort of a carnival theme to them. Most of the collection was pretty good. Like with all of these anthology collections there were a few stories that were amazing and a few that I intensely disliked.My favorites were “The Three Lives of Lydia” by Dawson (this is set in the world of Sang which I adore), “The Cold Girl” by Rachel Caine (just an amazing story), “Hell’s Menagerie” by Kelly Gay (this was set in the Charlie Madigan world which I love and was a great story), and “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea” by Seanan McGuire (I am a huge McGuire fan and loved this story).Overall this is a decent collection of urban fantasy stories from some of the most popular UF authors out there. I enjoyed the dark carnival theme throughout. You can see below for ratings and brief descriptions of each story.“Painted Love” by Rob Thurman (4/5 stars)This was an interesting story about an entity that likes to experience humanity. When he accidentally gets involved with a sociopath he takes matters into his own hands. I enjoyed this; it was creative and creepy.“The Three Lives of Lydia” by Delilah S. Dawson (5/5 stars)I always love revisiting the world of Sang...Dawson writes amazing short stories (I like them better than her full length novels). This was beautifully written and very dark. It follows Lydia and Charlie’s story. I absolutely loved it.“The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne (4/5 stars)A great short story featuring Atticus and Granuaile going to a carnival that is not what it seems. Very fun and well written. This was a great addition to the Iron Druid Chronicles“The Sweeter the Juice” by Mark Henry (2/5 stars)I didn’t really like this one. It was set in a post-apocalyptic zombie world and features drug addicted trannies tracking down a new drug that is supposed to truly transform them. It was weird and hard to read and not enjoyable.“The Werewife” by Jaye Wells (4/5 stars)I liked the irony of this story; it was darkly humorous and interesting. It’s about a guy who is exasperated with his wife-turned-werewolf.“The Cold Girl” by Rachel Caine (5/5 stars)This was a really good story about a girl stuck in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend. When she finds out about some very dark secrets of his, her life is in danger. However, the boyfriend gets exactly what he deserves in the end. This was a very good story and I really loved it.“A Duet with Darkness” by Allison Pang (4/5 stars)This was a decent urban fantasy story about a woman who has magic powers related to hearing music. She is apparently bound to a demon already but is tempted with a magical violin by another demon. This was beautifully written and a well done story.“Recession of the Divine” by Hillary Jacques (2/5 stars)This is about a woman named Olivia who is trying to eke out a living as an insurance adjuster. However it ends up Olivia isn’t exactly mortal. I didn’t really like this story much it was boring and I almost stopped reading it a couple times.“Parlor Tricks” by Jennifer Estep (3/5 stars)This is a quick story about Gin and Bria going to a carnival to find a missing teen. What they find is an expert Air Elemental. This was okay; this set in the Elemental Assassin world.“Freak House” by Kelly Meding (4/5 stars)This is about a half djinn heroine who goes to a super expensive freak show to find her djinn father. I assume this is some background around how the heroine got into Para law enforcement but I am not sure. This would have probably been better with some more background on the heroine. It was a well done and entertaining story though.“The Inside Man” by Nicole Peeler (4/5 stars)This was a super creepy clown story that I enjoyed. It features some of the side characters from the Jane True series as they go to investigate a case for a manticore who hires them.“A Chance in Hell” by Jackie Kessler (3/5 stars)This story was okay but definitely not my favorite. It’s about an ex-succubus who has to save her friend from a demon at a carnival who is trying to steal her friend’s soul. Lots of sex in this one and not all that easy to read. I was a fan of Kessler’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series but this story wasn’t great.“Hell’s Menagerie” by Kelly Gay (5/5 stars)I love the Charlie Madigan series and it was wonderful to revisit this world. This story features Emma (Charlie’s daughter) and Emma’s “father” Rex. They venture into Charbydon to rescue some Hellhound puppies. This was a bittersweet story that I really enjoyed. It was great to watch Emma coming in to her own powers.“Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea” by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)I also loved this story. I am a huge fan of McGuire and really enjoy her writing style. This was an excellent story about a teen who is fighting against becoming a mermaid. Her mother is part of a traveling carnival and has already succumbed to mermaidism. This was beautifully written.
    • 4/5
      This is probably one of the creepiest anthologies I’ve read. I think there are only 2 stores that I skipped. Not because they were bad or anything, but one didn’t appeal to me, and the other, I have a healthy fear of clowns, and I just couldn’t do it.

      This anthology is sure to keep you on your toes. I absolutely loved the Jaye Wells short story. It was twisted, and awesome. Also if you read the one by Jennifer Estep, make sure you’ve read to at least book 4 in the Elemental Assassin’s series, otherwise there are big spoilers. I plan on picking up books by some of these authors, especially Kevin Hearne.

      I love how every story had the carnival aspect to it. Some of them the whole event didn’t take place at a carnival, but that’s where the dilemma began, or ended. There’s just something about carnivals that makes them seem magical.

      I highly suggest this book. You’ll find yourself wanting to join in the festivities, or run in fear.
    • 5/5
      Normally with any anthology they’ll be a few stories I like and some I either hate or just don’t get. ‘Carniepunk’ is an exception; there are a few stories I love, a lot I like and none I hate or don’t get. I’m not sure if it’s because of the subject matter or because of which authors have work included in it, but this is a great collection. These carnival themed stories are very dark, but, for the most part, not gruesome. The only annoyance I found was that a number of the stories were set in worlds that are the settings of series and had some presumption that the reader would be familiar with that world; on the other hand, these stories provided an introduction to some series I might follow up on.
    • 4/5
      A solid set of stories revolving around the midways, freak show tents and rides of the ever magical traveling carnival. The lights may glitter and the games may beckon, but watch where you walk and who you talk to, or you may never go home again. Of course, in this world the carnival's no safer for its crew....Not a happy, happy, joy, joy read - although the carnage and violence might make Ren & Stimpy giggle. Standouts for me: Rob Thurman's, which opens the book, Kevin Hearne's druid's outing in the heartland, and Seanan McGuire's mermaid tale. The others, while eminently readable tend to blur in my memory. Worth borrowing, but not necessarily buying.
    • 4/5
      I was supplied with an early release copy of the book via NetGalley.This anthology was a challenge for me based on premise alone. Even when I was a kid, I was not a fan of circuses or carnivals. I have never had a clown phobia or anything like that, but something about those places has always carried a creepy vibe for me. So reading an entire anthology about carnivals? Oooh boy. I was creeped out before I even started reading. The good thing about short stories is that I can read in small bites. For many anthologies like this, there tend to be a few stand-out stories and the rest are mediocre. I was really impressed by what Carniepunk offered. There were only a few stories that left me feeling confused or meh or were straight out too dark for my liking, but I enjoyed about 3/4 of the lot. Some were so outstanding that now I want to read more by those authors. I also want to note that all of the stories here are on the dark side of urban fantasy. This isn't light and fluffy stuff. It's about souls and demons and midways that lead straight to hell (or are in hell to start).To elaborate on a few of my favorites:- "Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea" by Seanan McGuire. This story ended the book, and wow, there's a reason for that. It's beautiful and tragic, and offers a completely fresh take on mermaids. I also liked that it came from the perspective of someone in the circus family.- "The Demon Barker of Wheat Street" by Kevin Hearne. Kevin is a friend of mine, and I love his Iron Druid series. This was a fun tale with Atticus, Oberon, and Granuaile and a carnival that offers options far more unhealthy than deep fried Twinkies.- "Freak House" by Kelly Meding. I haven't read any of Meding's novels, and this story really piqued by interest in her world. Her half-djinn protagonist has some unique powers, and I just plain loved the voice.
    • 4/5
      A wide range of stories, all with a carnival or side show as part of the theme. We’ve got things that happen due to who runs or works at the carnival as well as the carnival just being the setting for where something takes place. I currently read or had read books by 6 of the 14 authors, but after reading this found 4 or 5 others I wouldn’t mind checking out. For most of the stories it’s the side show that’ll get you. All are a decent length for being short stories and there are plenty of good authors to discover in this book. Painted Lot by Rob Thurman. Not related to any current series. 2.5 stars. Doodle, a world traveler that hooks up with someone for a couple of weeks just to observe and experience, is spending time with a psychopath carnival worker who has marked his next victim. The story is heavy on philosophy and we don’t get much of a picture on Doodle. Didn’t do much for me.The Three Lives of Lydia by Delilah S Dawson. Part of the Blud (steampunk) series. 4 stars. A woman wakes up naked in another world full of vampires, werewolves and other scary things, but for the first time has met someone who sees the real her. The story goes from decent to really good when the story twists and we learn Lydia’s true story. The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne. Iron Druid Chronicles. 4 stars. A druid, his female apprentice and his telepathic dog attend the Wheat Street Festival while out of town and find the side show is run by demons with a much darker agenda than just taking an entrance fee. The magic is not wild or flashy – and not even always available as they fight for their lives to shut them down. I do read this series and it makes a nice edition. The Sweeter the Juice by Mark Henry. This doesn’t appear to be related to any series. Horror. 2 stars. The story takes place after an apocalyptic zombie plague where zombies are still attacking and the barter system is left in its wake. A transgender must find a drug as barter for her doctor to continue treatments and it can only be found in Coney Island. I give it only 2 stars because I don’t enjoy reading horror and I felt uncomfortable during the entire story. I know that some will feel that “uncomfortable” is what makes a horror a story good and would rate this higher.Werewife by Jaye Wells. . This doesn’t appear to be related to any series. 4 stars. A wife became a werewolf after a visit to the carnival a year ago and full moons are rather stressful for her husband. So when the carnival comes around again, he wants to go and get some answers. Told from the husband’s point of view which is a nice twist on a werewolf story. The Cold Girl by Rachel Caine. Not sure if this is related to a series. 3 stars. A girl learns the guy she’s been in love with for years has a different side she discovers when looking in his phone while at the carnival. In this case the carnival and the person running it aren’t necessarily the scariest things around. Liked the outcome.A Duet With Darkness by Allison Pang. From the Abby Sinclair series. 3.5 stars. Mel is a musical prodigy who can see music and notes as colors—she has Wild Magic—and joined a band instead of the normal path a talented violinist would take. She longs to shine but is held back on purpose by her partner, a fallen angel. But the lure of playing a special violin at the carnival… well pride is a sin. I found the story interesting. Recession of the Divine by Hillary Jacques. Unknown if this is related to anything else. 2 stars. A loss assessment contractor investigates fire damage at a game booth at a carnival and it’s obvious something bad is going on. She’s taken captive when they realize she sees people’s memories and her captor wants to use her to get rich. He has no clue who or what she is. I found the story confusing as there isn’t a clear delineation between the memories picked up and what’s actually happening. But I’m reading an ARC, so perhaps some of that will be edited yet.Parlor Tricks by Jennifer Estep. Elemental Assassin series. 3 stars. Detective Bria Coolidge asks her sister, the assassin known as the Spider, to join her at the carnival while she asks questions about a missing teen last seen at the carnival the night before. Gin’s elemental skills are needed to save themselves when they learn the truth. A decent addition to the series.Freak House by Kelly Meding. A Strays short story. 4 stars. Shiloh’s djinn father is missing and she gets a lead on him in Denver and has to hook up with Julius who was contracted to locate a missing leprechaun when they learn of an exclusive traveling show of freaks that only the rich are invited to see. I’m new to this author but out of all of the stories in this anthology, this one presents the background information in the best manner. I enjoyed the writing style and the story.The Inside Man by Nicole Peeler. A Jane True short story. 4 stars. When the biggest, meanest supernatural boss in Chicago tells the gals at Triptych they need to discover why his sister and everyone in her town seems to have become dull with no memories, they really can’t say no. They find a clown enthralling entire towns and taking their memories. This story has a much different feel than the others in this anthology. Not only with what’s happening, but how the girls deal with the situation. A Chance in Hell by Jackie Kessler. A Hell on Earth story. 3.5 stars. A former succubus is dragged to the carnival by her roommate who is teaching her how to be more human when she notices the barker is a demon of greed who would like nothing more than getting his hands on her new shiny soul. As always, the author injects humor throughout the story.Hell’s Menagerie by Kelly Gay. A Charlie Madigan story. 4 stars. Teenage Emma heads off into Charbydon (hell) knowing she’ll get in trouble with her mother, Charlie, along with the school for using their portal to get there. But the puppies and their mother of a hellhound she’s close to have been kidnapped and Brim, the hellhound tracks them to a menagerie at a carnival filled with creatures that wouldn’t be allowed on Earth. Emma is determined to release all of the creatures. I’ve missed that last book or two. Emma comes into her own in this story; finally understanding how to use her powers. I’ll have to go back and read the books I missed.Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea by Seanan McGuire. Unrelated to a series. 3 stars. Ada grew up in the Miller Family Carnival, the daughter of a mermaid who is their side show headliner. Problems arise for Ada when the carnival returns to the town where her mother joined the carnival almost 18 years ago. It’s not the carnie folks that are creepy in this story.Read as an ARC provided by Edelweiss/Above the Treeline.