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    Mean Streets
    Mean Streets
    Mean Streets
    Audiobook10 hours

    Mean Streets

    Written by Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Simon R. Green and Thomas E. Sniegoski

    Narrated by Dion Graham, Richard Poe, Mia Barron and T. Ryder Smith

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Featuring New York Times best-selling authors Jim Butcher and Simon R. Green, and national best-selling authors Kat Richardson and Thomas E. Sniegoski, Mean Streets offers four novellas from the hottest names in contemporary paranormal suspense. Running the gamut from demons and werewolves to zombies and black magic, these whodunits crackle with otherworldly secrets, making for a noir collection with an extra set of fangs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 15, 2009
    ISBN9781440709401
    Mean Streets
    Author

    Jim Butcher

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in Independence, Missouri. 

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    Reviews for Mean Streets

    4/5

    32 ratings24 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Listened to the audiobook.
      The Butcher story has completely faded from my memory, so I guess I didn't care much for it. 1 star

      Simon Green's story was very strange and unsettling. 3 stars

      Kat Richardson's story was great, I loved the day of the dead and the animal feel. 5 stars

      Thomas Sniegoski's story was pretty good, although not good enough to make me want to look up any of his other work. 3 stars
    • 4/5
      Mean Streets is one of the best anthologies I've read in a while. It only has four different pieces in it, but they're all novellas, and all by strong, experienced writers. I don't think any of them are here riding on someone else's name on the book cover.Jim Butcher's "Warrior," the first piece, is very good. It follows Harry and the Carpenter family after they experienced some major changes in the last Dresden novel. I could have stood a little more Molly, but Harry and Michael were the focus characters and they worked out some things that really needed to be dealt with. I'm glad I read this before the next Dresden novel, because I feel there's important character development. I seriously recommend this book to all Dresden fans.I haven't read any of Simon R. Green's novels, though I've heard of the Nightside series and thought about picking one up. If "The Difference a Day Makes" is typical, though, I may not bother. He is a good writer, so I'm not sure what it is that bothered me so much. I know that something framed as one of the nastiest things people could choose to do in this piece isn't even in my top 10, but I feel there's something else that I just can't quite articulate yet.I've read all three of Kat Richardson's Greywalker novels and enjoyed them enough that I plan to keep reading. "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" is my favorite piece of her work, hands down. There's more light, somehow, and that's important to me."Noah's Orphans" is my first exposure to Thomas E. Sniegoski, as far as I can recall. It was an interesting piece. I found myself wondering about Remy Chandler's past, about how the character has developed. If there are novels featuring that character, I may give them a read. In any case, it brought up some interesting questions about faith and obedience. I think it would have been more personally relevant to me about 20 years ago, though.
    • 4/5
      The stories were excellent but knowing the various series helps add something to them. The reason this got a 4 instead of a 5 was Greywalker short story. It wasn't a bad story but I kept falling asleep [twice] while trying to read this one. I'm not familiar with the series it comes from but the story was not dependent on that series. I really had to struggle to read this and after the second time, I skipped a few pages to get through it. The ending was not bad and I didn't have the same trouble with falling asleep as I did with the first part. I can't blame not knowing the series because I haven't read the Remy Chandler series but reading the Chandler story made me pick up that series to read next.
    • 4/5
      I'm a big Jim Butcher fan so I read this book mainly for a Dresden fix. I did enjoy the other stories included, especially "Noah's Orphans" by Thomas E. Sniegoski. The characters in his story intrigued me enough to think about seeking out some of his other work.
    • 4/5
      Previously I read this book for the short story by Kat Richardson. This time I read the Jim Butcher short for the Dresden Files, "The Warrior." This short story was a satisfying follow up to the end of Small Favor. We see another side to Michael that he'd never shown before. We also see a bit about how other powers view Harry and his efforts, which so often go unappreciated.And I've found my favorite Harry Dresden quote yet. It sums up Harry perfectly:"Harry Dresden. Saving the world one random act of destruction at a time."That's Harry Dresden, in a dozen words or so.
    • 5/5
      I picked this book because I enjoy Jim Butcher's work, but I loved the short stories by Kat Richardson and Thomas Sniegoski also, so I have two new authors to read. All of the works are short stories featuring detectives in a series.
    • 3/5
      The Warrior by Jim ButcherPublished in Mean Streets anthology. A Dresden File short story.The title of the story does not fit though. But if Butcher is going to develop this short story to something more, then maybe yes. But the story as it is, no. There are four more short stories in the book but I did not read them. I was only interested in Jim Butcher's work. The Warrior is short and sweet. A 3 out of 5.Caption from the back:Harry Dresden - Chicago's only professional wizard - tries to protect a friend from danger and ends up becoming a target himself.
    • 5/5
      Another anthology I enjoyed perhaps more than I thought I would (traditionally I buy an anthology for one author, and that's the only one I liked). This was a good one!Loved the Dresden story. Harry is getting pictures of former Knight Michael, leading him to believe Michael is being targeted for trouble now that he's given up his Sword. Instead we get a wild ride involving secret Church societies, Knights and former commandos - excellent stuff.The John Taylor story was pretty good - these are getting a bit worn, in my opinion. The freaky characters and extreme setting, while fun, are getting a bit worn and sounding more and more like proselytizing. Could be just me.Harper Blaine has been dragged into delivering a mysterious clay dog to Oaxaca, Mexico to be placed on a specific grave on a specific day. The problem: she doesn't know the person who's will specifies SHE do it, and doesn't know the person upon whose grave the dog need be placed (or where precisely the grave is). When the clay dog is broken, revealing strange hairs tied together inside and a new dog ghost following her around, the mystery deepens.... excellent story!The last story is not by an author I have been following, so I was a bit lost - it's about an angel on earth named Remy. I won't go further, because I couldn't do the story justice, with no history to go on.All in all, an excellent anthology - left me wanting more!
    • 3/5
      Okay collection of four urban fantasy novellas.
    • 4/5
      The short stories contained within are memorable and enjoyable reading.
    • 4/5
      Okay, I confess. I’m a Harry Dresden addict; so much so that I fear I’ll soon end up shelling out for hardbacks instead of patiently waiting for paperback editions. Still, in the meantime, Mean Streets is a set of four novellas that includes a Harry Dresden tale, so it was a good option to keep both me and my husband happily reading.The Warrior by Jim Butcher provides a satisfying transition between heroic Michael’s accident and his subsequent, possibly more normal life. Harry Dresden is still the faithful friend, still reluctant keeper of the sword, and still the target of dangerous foes. I really enjoy the way the author weaves glimpses of truth and forgiveness into his stories of magic and fear, and I enjoyed his portrayal of religious fervor gone right and gone wrong. I’m still desperately awaiting my next paperback, but I’m glad I didn’t allow myself to miss this tale.Simon R Green’s John Taylor is another fun character. My husband doesn’t like him (yet) quite as much as I do. Maybe the dream-like quality of shifting rules and realities is harder for a scientist to absorb than Harry Dresden’s world. But I love the characters and dialog and the wild imagination. And I love the way the reader gets to put together the clues in Simon Green’s tales. The Difference a Day Makes was quite definitely wild and odd, but it made its own kind of sense and I really enjoyed it.Harper Blaine is fast catching up with Harry Dresden as one of my favorite characters. Kat Richardson’s tale, The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog, takes her to Mexico and invests the “gray” of her paranormal sight with all the colors and delights of the Day of the Dead. I loved the way a different attitude to life and death was portrayed and incorporated into her mythology. And I loved the dog. (Don’t worry, no animals were harmed, etc…)The final story in this set involves a character I’d not met before, fallen angel Remy Chandler. He’s certainly a fascinating guy, inhabiting another fascinating world, just a stone’s throw from our own. Combining Noah’s flood with refurbished warehouses in Boston is no mean feat, and the tale was complex and intriguing. I suspect I’ll be looking out for more of this author’s books soon.These Mean Streets certainly have a lot to offer any reader of paranormal mysteries, whether or not you’ve met the characters before—fine additions and fine introductions for your reading pleasure.
    • 4/5
      Mean Streets•The Warrior, by Jim ButcherThis story takes place after "Proven Guilty" as Michael Carpenter recovers from the wounds that inspire him to renounce holy-sword-wielding. Typical Dresden, but without the monsters.•The Difference a Day Makes, by Simon R. GreenThis is a nice story that makes me want to look into the protagonist a little deeper. He's not Harry Dresden, but he is powerful enough (and highly respected by the worst of the worst) to live in that part of the world that is for sure creepy/scary.•The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog, by Kat RichardsonThis is rather a cute story, with some pretty prosaic magic…but altogether convincing (real close to being believable) and entertaining. This is another story that inspires me to want to read the precursor story(s).•Noah's Orphans, by Thomas E. SniegoskiThis is the one story that bothered me most; I just can't find it in me to accept the premise of one of the original warrior angels—created by GOD the Almighty to punish the renegade angels just after the Fall—who now wants to live as a human, rather than serving the Almighty in whatever way instructed. Would you want to give up your powers as an adult human to run around as a 2-year old? My understanding is that the difference between us and angels is much greater than the difference between a dog and us.OK, allowing for the basic concept, the particular plot is not so bad…some of the creatures that Noah couldn't fit in his arc have been found and Noah (several thousand years older now) is killed trying to protect them.The plot line is reasonable, it's just the premise that I can't buy.Altogether, I give the book 4 stars because of the good stories...and the promise they provide for the future.
    • 5/5
      Mean Streets is an anthology of 4 novellas.I bought it for the Harry Dresden entry, but was pleasantly surprised by the other entries.The Warrior by Jim Butcher centers on his wizard character Harry Dresden. Harry receives threatening photos of Michael Carpenter, former Knight of the Cross. Harry currently has Michael's sword as well as one of the other swords, and someone wants them. The story is tightly paced with enough description and background for those unfamiliar with the series to follow along. It has an interesting twist to it at the end.The Difference a Day Makes by Simon R. Green was probably the weakest entry. A normal woman adrift on the streets of Nightside enlists the aid of private eye John Taylor to find out what she's forgotten. Her only memory is following her beloved husband. Green has an intriguing world built up, especially with Dead Boy and his car from the future, but the story suffers from too much repetition and not enough substance. Green seems to want to hit his reader over the head with the fact that Nightside is a dangerous place and Rotten Row is even worse. He goes on and on about it so much that the whole ending seemed rather anticlimatic and not all that horrific.The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog by Kat Richardson also suffers in it's pacing. I found her world building interesting, and I'll be looking into her Greywalkder series. Harper Blaine receives a bequest from a woman she's never heard of. It seems simple enough. All she has to do is take a clay dog and place it on a man's grave during the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico. This piece had some fascinating background on Mexico's Day of the Dead, and all the mythos involved with it. There was a lack of action though to really pull the piece through, so it dragged in places. All in all it was interesting, but not of the page turning sort.Noah's Orphans by Thomas E. Sniegoski was another strong entry. The story revolves around his character Remy Chandler. Remy is actually the angel Remial living on earth as a regular human. He is approached by the Grigori Sariel to investigate the death of Noah. Millenia after Noah saved the chosen from the great flood, he becomes obsessed with those that weren't on the Ark, but managed to survive. Now Noah has been murdered and the Grigori leader forces Remy to help in the investigation. The story is well paced and the world building thorough. Remy is a fully realized character. I'll be looking into this series as well.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this collection of supernatural Noir detective stories. Their tone is just right for the type of story they are.The Warrior, by Jim Butcher, may be my favorite story of his yet. Not just for the characters and action, but the ideas presented with care and thoughtfulness, leaving us something to chew on at the end puts it in my favorite type of reading category.The Difference a Day Makes, by Simon R. Green, was my least favorite because it was sordid and hopeless, but even so, several characters were interesting, as was the world it was set in.The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog, by Kat Richardson, was not only interesting and compelling, having to do with Mexico and the Day of the Dead, but it was well written. I will have to seek out more of her writings.Noah's Orphans, by Thomas E. Sniegoski, was a bit on the bizarre side for me, however, I found the ideas (playing with the story of Creation) and characters (angels, fallen and otherwise) interesting enough that I would give the author another try.
    • 4/5
      A great glimpse of some of the better writers of the noir/urban fantasy genre. If you already loved any of these writers, I think the short novella you would have from any one of them would be worth the buy. If you only like/know one, you get a great chance to experience the work and world of the others. And if you've never read anything like it, here is your chance for a small little buffet. Find something you like you should definitely go back for more.
    • 4/5
      This included four novellas by wonderful authors. I was very excited to read both Butcher's and Green's stories since I love those series. I also was interested in reading Richardson's and Sniegoski's series since I really want to read those series. Overall I found the stories I expected to like were nothing special; the best of the bunch was Sniegoski's "Noah's Orphans." I think I was a bit disappointed with this book because I expected it to be really awesome.- The Warrior by Jim ButcherThis story was about Michael and Harry trying to keep Michael's family safe from someone who wants to steal the two Holy Swords that Harry has been keeping hidden. Overall the story was okay, but seemed a bit tired to me. It was interesting to hear a bit more about why Harry has the holy swords. As a huge Dresden fan, I didn't think this was the best Dresden story I've read but it was kind of interesting. (4/5 stars)- The Difference a Day Makes by Simon GreenThis novella was set in the Nightside. John Taylor and Dead Boy were the main characters and are approached by a woman who wants Taylor to find a days worth of memories that she's lost. I realize that not everyone reads the Nightside series so a lot of the back story stuff was necessary. Still, a lot of the general description of the Nightside was taken word for word from other books. John Taylor spent a lot of the story ranting about how dangerous the Nightside is. I also didn't think that the characters were very engaging. Even Dead Boy was kind of disengaged for most of the story. An okay Nightside story but nothing awesome here. (3/5 stars)- The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog by Kat RichardsonI have been interested in starting to read Richardson's Greywalker series. I was hoping this novella would give me some insight on how I would like her as a writer. This was another okay story but was nothing spectacular. Harper gets a black dog statue from an old woman's will; the old woman wants her to put the statue on a grave in Mexico and Harper doesn't know why. Of course there is more involved than Harper originally thinks. I thought Harper's ability to see into the Grey was kind of interesting, but not all that creative (reminded me of many other character abilities). The plot of the mystery got a bit confusing with a whole bunch of names involved where the reader never meets the people. Definitely not an action heavy series. Again an okay story, but didn't sell me on the Greywalker series as something I will love (3/5 stars)- Noah's Orphans by Thomas E. SniegoskiI have also been interested in reading Sniegoski's first Remy Chandler book "A Kiss Before the Apocalypse". This story was a Remy Chandler story and gave me a great feeling for Sniegoski's writing style. In this story Remy is approached by a dark angel who tells him Noah (yes, the arc guy) has been murdered. There is more to the story though Noah was trying to save the race that existed before humans, the race that God sent flooding to wipe out. It looked like God may have not succeeded though. Remy has to embrace his angelic nature against his will to solve Noah's mystery and possibly save humanity.This was a great story. I couldn't believe how complex and interesting all of the characters were. The plot line was mysterious, interesting, and intricate. Remy was a character that I wanted to know more about. In my opinion this was the best story in the book and saved this anthology from being mearly blah. Great story, may offend the zealously religious though. (4/5 stars)
    • 3/5
      Do you like your detective fiction hard-boiled? Does your fantasy reading tend towards the Gothic? Combine the two and you have Mean Streets, a collection of four novellas by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson and Thomas Sniegoski. Urban fantasy, a new genre with a growing audience, takes fantasy elements and places them in real life, contemporary settings. From what I've read of it to date, urban fantasy leans towards the dark, a perfect setting for detective novels. Mean Streets presents four of the best selling authors in the genre and introduces their popular detective characters: Harry Dresden, John Taylor, Harper Blaine and Remy Chandler. Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden is a wizard/detective who works the mean streets of Chicago. While detectives are typically on the outs with the local police, Harry is also on the outs with the local wizardly authorities. In "The Warrior", Harry must protect an old friend while staying out of the line-of-fire himself. In spite of the use of magic, "The Warrior" remains close to the traditional detective story, things remain relatively reality based. Simon R. Green takes us into realms far beyond reality, and far beyond the mean streets of London where "The Difference a Day Makes" takes place. Within London, is a darkly magical section mere mortals fear to enter called the Nightside. It's a very low-rent, Vegas version of Daigon Alley, where anyone can go to find things one wouldn't want to have or do in the light of day. What happens in the Nightside is supposed to stay in the Nightside. What happens in "The Difference a Day Makes" is closer to David Lynch than it is to Dashell Hammet, but it makes for an entertaining story none-the-less.Kat Richardsons "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" is the longest piece in Mean Streets which brings up my main problem with fantasy as a genre-- length. Visit any bookstore's fantasy and science fiction and you'll see many titles coming in at over 1000 pages only to find they're the first of a series. Mystery fiction rarely reaches the 400 page mark. Ms. Richardson's novella is good, but it suffers from too much talking. Detectives do have to interview the suspects and one can certainly lead to another, but "The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" took much longer than it needed.The final novella in Mean Streets is "Noah's Orphans" by Thomas E. Sniegoski. Whether or not readers will enjoy Mr. Sniegoski's work depends on how they react to his premise. His detective is Remy Chandler, a former angel. Chandler is trying to live his life as a human, but continues to find himself in situations that force him to use his angelic powers. In "Noah's Orphans" another angel hires Chandler to find Noah who has disappeared from his home on an oil platform in the middle of the ocean. Things get stranger from there. Has reading Mean Streets won me over to urban fantasy? Are magical hard-boiled detectives going to find a home on my TBR shelf? I say never say never. If you wonder around the entire bookstore like I do, you never know where your eye will land or what cover will reach out and grab. Who knows what combination of genres someone will come up with next.
    • 3/5
      Not bad! I was happy to read the Jim Butcher story; it dealt with a peripheral character I had been wondering about whose situation hadn't been addressed in the most recent full-length book. The Kat Richardson story was well done; she did the best out of all of them in creating a stand-alone story that didn't require much recap or reference to her books (although the character association is nice to have and I have read her books--which are good). The story by Simon R. Green was a bit uneven; I've been encountering a lot of his short stories recently and this was the weakest so far. It was pretty repetitive, and I think the story could have been told in about half the length. The only author I wasn't already familiar with was Thomas E. Sniegoski, but I think I'll pick up some of his books now. He has an interesting premise.
    • 5/5
      I picked up this book for the Greywalker novella by Kat Richardson, The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog. This was an excellent story, short, snappy, tightly plotted and well written. In this novella, Harper is named in a stranger’s will, and asked to fulfill a woman’s last request. She is to bury a clay dog in a certain, unidentified grave in Mexico – on the Day of the Dead. The characters are interesting, especially the dog! This is now my favorite Greywalker story. The Difference a Day Makes by Simon Green was also a good story. It involves the Nightside, a hidden part of London where time is flexible and all sorts of strange creatures roam. Interesting world and characters, including a sentient car with a bad attitude! Another excellent, interesting story is "Noah's Orphans" by Thomas E. Sniegoski. The protagonist of the story is Remy Chandler, a fallen angel who has roamed the earth for thousands of years, trying to understand what it is like to be human. He is asked to help solve the murder of Noah (yes, of the ark! Poor guy lives 2000 years and then is murdered) . A great twist is that Remy, as an angel, can communicate in any language, included that of animals. He is accompanied by his dog, Marlow. I loved the fact that Remy and Marlow talk, and commiserate about the loss of Remy’s wife. It is touching, and sad, and very authentic. At least it is how I imagine a dog would talk...All in all, an excellent anthology and well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      I mainly read this for the Dresden Files novella Warrior by Jim Butcher, which did not disappoint, but I actually enjoyed all four stories the anthology contained. Simon R. Green's story about John Taylor was typical of the Nightside books, but it was fun and suspenseful nonetheless. Although the other two stories by Richardson and Sniegoski weren't as great, they kept me entertained and didn't last longer than necessary. Had I been familiar with these authors' characters, I might have enjoyed their stories more. Overall, this was a fun, entertaining read that gave me a couple of new authors to keep my eye on in the future.
    • 4/5
      The Dresden story here follows the fall out with Michael after his injuries at the end of Small Favor. It is pretty heavily invested in the concept of men as nurturers, like much of Butcher's recent work.

      Interestingly, it supports White Picket Fence Mythos. More to follow
    • 4/5
      I picked this up for the Harry Dresden story, and I stuck around for the Kat Richardson story and the fallen-angel-turned-private-eye story ("Noah's Orphan's"). I end ed up skipping Green's "The Difference a Day Makes" 'cause I just couldn't get into it - maybe I'd need to read the first in that series...Harry Dresden begins receiving threats aimed at his good friend Michael and Michael's family, and they must work together to discover and 'neutralize' the threat - exciting, with Harry's delightful sarcasm, Harry ends up getting a little lesson in fate.Harper Blaine gets an assignment to bring a clay dog to a grave in Mexico from a woman she's never met, and spends a couple creepy nights in graveyards and solves a decades old mystery at the same time.Remy Chandler, a private detective (once a fallen angel) is mourning his wife's death when he's asked to find Noah's (yes, that Noah) murderer. Unusual, and Remy's that tough guy who can't help but do the right thing, even if it's going to make things much, much harder for him.Recommended to fans of these series, though harder to get into if one is not at least familiar with the urban fantasy genre.
    • 4/5
      The Dresden story here follows the fall out with Michael after his injuries at the end of Small Favor. It is pretty heavily invested in the concept of men as nurturers, like much of Butcher's recent work.

      Interestingly, it supports White Picket Fence Mythos. More to follow
    • 5/5
      Urban fantasy fans, pay heed! "Mean Streets" is an awesome anthology with stories by four big-hitters of the genre. In one book, you can visit with Chicago wizard Harry Dresden, Nightside PI John Taylor, Greywalker Harper Blaine, and fallen angel Remy Chandler in their own worlds. Stories of murder and attempted murder most foul, but with magic added to the mayhem.For those who are unfamiliar with the above names, they are the creations of Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, and Thomas E. Sniegoski. This anthology gives you a chance to get a feel for each writer's style and characters and it's hard for me to believe that you won't find at least one (and likely all four) to your tastes.