Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives is a wonderfully badass anthology of stories edited by Justin Gustainis. The collection features 14 sleuths together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases involving vampires, demons, succubae and other seedy beasties.
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Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go bump in the night, but we are the ones who bump back!”
Once again the folks over at Edge have come up with a fantastic anthology for fans of eerie urban fantasy. Those Who Fight Monsters contains stories written by some of the best paranormal authors out there, such as Tanya Huff, Rachel Caine, T. A. Pratt, and many more. There is something for every horror fan out there, from stories with vampires from old folklore and legends (can’t reveal the name of the story since it would totally ruin the surprise), to stories like Chris Marie Green’s “Soul Stains” which is a unique spin on vampires, a new mythos that I haven’t come across before. And fans of Huff’s Blood books and the Smoke and Mirrors series will be happy to find a deliciously dark story starring Tony Foster. Hurray Tony!
Now, while Those Who Fight Monsters contains some kickass vampire stories, I have to admit that the other non-vampiric stories were some of my favorites. Simon R. Green’s “The Spirit of the Thing” is one of the best ghost stories I have read in ages, it was twisted, sinister and mysterious, just as a ghost story should be. “Dusted” by Laura Anne Gilman was another great one, any story that has gnomes, fauns and pixies in it is an automatic win for me.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book, there wasn’t a single story I didn’t enjoy, which is a rarity when it comes to anthologies. Every story was well-written, different, yet fit in with the book perfectly. As said above, all of these stories feature the paranormal, but only a few actually have vampires in them. But in spite of that I highly suggest picking up a copy of Those Who Fight Monsters, it’s a wonderfully chilling and unique collection.
– Moonlight
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