My review of Shimmer’s pirate issue is up at The Fix.  I thought JJA did a fine job of picking a good mix.  I liked better than half of the stories.  The problem I had is the same problem many have with all themed issues/anthologies:  the more specific the theme, usually the less successful the effort.  Considering that, I found this endeavor to be above average.

For the record, J. Kathleen Chaney is on my flist, so before I denoted “A Hand for Each” the best in the issue I gave it considerable thought.  I see no COI here as I’ve never workshopped with J. and this is the only story of hers I‘ve ever read.  Despite that I felt “A Hand for Each” lacked stylistic brilliance--yeah, I’m pretty damned picky--it’s the only story in the issue that I found truly memorable and that still haunts me.  I bet that’s why Shimmer put it first in the line up.

If anyone’s curious, my second favorite story was “The Furies” by Rajan Khanna.  This one appealed to my more debauched side.  A shipful of pirate women and what it might mean to be the only man aboard who has “something” to lose....  This one cuts deep, if ya know what I mean.  Call me perverse, but I found this amusing.  As long as it’s not my own “business” the pirate women are going after with a cutlass. wink