In Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, the character of Blanche Dubois says, “I don’t want realism. I want magic!”–a quote that aptly describes this collection of tales related by their relationship to their cities. Many of the exploits and adventures within the stories could have mundane explanations. Maybe the mother really did kill her daughter in Michael A Stackpole’s “The Devil Within,” or maybe the character was imagining the sounds coming from beneath her bed in Judi Rohrig’s ”Falls the Shadow.” But who wants to read about that when there could be something truly extraordinary about the circumstances?

Admittedly, not all the stories were to my liking, but on the other hand I found several new authors I wanted to try out. There were also returning favorites from whom I was delighted to read more. As seems usual for anthologies, there were so-so stories and then there were more intriguing stories. Of the thirteen stories contained, eight of them were interesting, but not attention-grabbing, while the five I enjoyed the most held a little something extra.

“The Devil Within” by Michael A. Stackpole: This is a story set within the universe he created for his character Trick Molloy, who’s pulling time as a private investigator for this story. Stackpole gives new meaning to the phrase “religious fervor.” I was pleasantly surprised by Trick’s cynicism; there’s nothing I like more than a character who’s an unrepentant cynic. Stackpole does a good job of laying the foundation for the world without bogging the story down with too much exposition. I found it intriguing that for a person to tap into their magical ability, they had to have a “trip”–a catalyst, really.

“Falls the Shadow” by Judi Rohrig: This is my first experience with this writer, though she appears to have several stories in anthologies waiting on my TBR pile, so I’ll have to read those, as well. This is the classic case of things that go bump in the night but with a twist on what those critters are. I freely admit I don’t understand this story completely; parts of the action jumbled themselves together, and the explanations were confusing, but the idea of it intrigued me and kept me reading. I would definitely love to see the idea expanded into a novel, or given a few more stories to flesh it out a bit.

“We Burgled It, We Sure Did” by Mickey Zucker Reichart: Leprechauns! This is a story about what happens when people believe a little too much in some of the old tales. Following the Leprechauns’ speech pattern is a little mind-bending, but the resolution to their problem makes a whole lot more sense than you’d believe from the premise alone.

“Disarmed and Dangerous” by Tim Waggoner: This is a short story featuring Waggoner’s zombie PI, Matthew Richter. I love the Matthew Richter books (Nekropolis and Dead Streets, both from Angry Robot Books), but even for someone without prior knowledge, Waggoner sets forth the background details well. Humor, a little bit of horror, and action abound, and it was also nice to see Matthew’s friendship with Papa Chatha deepen.

“‘Twas the Happy Hour After Christmas” by Robert Wenzlaff: Santa walks into Thor’s bar, and the two of them share stories about what it’s like having mythologies that keep changing on a mortal’s whim. Poor Santa is sick of the commercialism of the holiday ruining his life and just wants a vacation. Meanwhile Thor, who’s had his own share of publicity problems, comes up with a solution. This was a short, amusing, and intriguing piece full of incidents such as what happened to Odin and how he got his eye back.

In the end, the anthology stood out for one reason to me–each story captured some of the magic and uniqueness that can only be found if you live in a city. Amid the constant lights, streams of traffic, and seeming sleeplessness, a city holds a powerful magnetism for ordinary and paranormal folks alike. This collection spotlighted the best of those feelings. ( )

The thing I like about anthologies is finding new authors. Didn't find anything new or noteable for me. I enjoyed only around 1/2 of these stories which is less than usual for me. ( )

This is a better than expected anthology - usually in a book like this, you get one or two very good stories, and the rest are mediocre, or not good at all.

Trollbridge - Timothy Zahn. I liked this story. I was waiting for the sneaky twist at the end, and the twist surprised me.

Snatch as Snatch Can - Mike Resnick. A solid story by Mike Resnick. A good gangster story with magic.

Psycho Danny and the Video Man - Margaret S. Lundock. This story is different than most urban fantasy. A very enjoyable read.

The Devil Within - Michael A. Stackpole. Hurting Child with Magic makes the Nanny crazy. I liked it. I think I've seen variations of this story in any number of anthologies and tv shows.

Wee-Kin Warrior - Mark Tassin - Conscripted human must fight a fairy war. This was an okay story.

Falls the Shadow - Judy Rohrig. Its an interesting story about ghosts, and ghost hunters.

We Burgled it, Sure we Did - Mickey Zucker Reichert. This one was good until the ending. I don't like gimmicks.

London on the Brink of Never - Steven Savile. Man gets trapped in Londen Hell. A bit sad.

Rose - Jackie Cassada. Its a good story, but I don't like references to the Rainbow Bridge. I think its a silly idea and it totally ruined the story.

An Excess of Joy - C.J. Henderson. What a lovely story of how the world was saved.

Stannis - Anton Stout. In which a Gargoyle finds a new purpose in life. An okay story, not that great.

Faerie Dome - Dean Leggit. A very odd, creepy little story. I'm not sure what I think about this one.

Disarmed and Dangerous - Tim Waggoner. I really don't remember this story except its a zombie detective who keeps loosing parts.

Good Morning Heartache - Bradley P. Beaulieu. Story about a Mother finding her son, another father coming to terms with his son's death. Its good.

'Twas the Happy Hour After Christmas - Robert Wenzlaff. Santa needs a break. A bit gimmicky.

Helvik's Deal - Vicki Steger. Good Luck isn't all its cracked up to be.

Second Choices - Brian M. Thomsen. The devil is tricky and will make you do things you don't want. ( )

Mostly excellent stories in this anthology- well-written, and usually with nice twists. ( )