This was produced via kickstarter apparently. I didn't know that until I happened across a review, I think it was Tor.com I initially read about it. It's an Anthology that asked for submissions with a prompt of,

"Roller Derby, nightclubs, glam aliens, (literal) party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, debauchery, etc."

...which sounded like heaven to me. So I bought it for next to nothing on 'smashwords', about $3.95 or something I think, which was a steal considering one or two of the stories are worth more than that on their own.

I won't go through each story individually due to them all being well written and wonderful in their own way, but of course in every Anthology their are always the stories that you love more than others. For me I particularly enjoyed the ones that dived right into the whole 'Roller Derby' scene complete with various aliens and other strange goings on. It sent me right back to the '80s when we'd go daily to the hall in our local sports centre and stumble around the large wooden-floored hall there in an attempt not to go arse-upwards in time to the music that blasted out. I remember one lad that gained one hell of a reputation for being the best skater that ever lived. He was there all the time, whenever we arrived he would already be whizzing around, jumping over the fallen with unnatural ease and generally being a god of the rink.

I've never seen a real, proper Roller Derby but some of these stories really make me feel as though I have, while at the same time hoping I'll get the chance for real one day.

There are a few stories that didn't hit the spot with me at the time, the more serious ones usually, or those few that only very subtly hint at the whole 'Roller Derby, nightclubs, glam aliens...' prompt given to those submitting. However, I would jump at the chance to see a 'Glitter & Mayhem 2' enter the fray and will be keeping an eye out on their website just in case another kickstarter appears. If it does, do yourself a huge favour and jump right on it ASAP. I certainly will be. In the meantime, do yourself another favour and head on over to smashwords(or any number of other sites) and download the best time you'll have since those dim and distant memories of the '80s.

Fantastic Anthology. Highly recommended. Buy it now...!

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This collection was really a 2 star read for me but I am bumping it up because it hosts an entire cast full of lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer characters (no gay, intersex, asexual that I recall). There needs to be a lot more of this showing up as "normal" in fiction. Unfortunately, despite a variably diverse character list the stories themselves left me wanting.

This collection just tries too hard. It wants you to be able to taste glitter and it falls short and floats in that nebulous range of "too much" and "not enough" all at once. Most of the stories needed a toning down because they were just silly and not particularly "fun" silly, just eye rolling. At the same time most also needed a sharp spurring in the ribs. They needed to look deeper at raves and roller derby and find what makes them tick and what draws people in. The stories started to run together: superficial, short skirts, making out with random people, drug use, attempting to use language choices to make the characters sound "cool" based on the author's television research. Even the roller derby stories were silly. No camraderie, just more drug use, making out, etc. I gave up hope at the halfway mark. Thankfully there were two stories in the latter half that helped me limp to the end.

If you bought this for Seanan's story (guilty) you will be pleased. I think this story will appeal to non-Seanan fans (by which I mean, people who haven't read Seanan yet - what other kind is there?) as well. It is one of the only stories that lurks a little deeper, looking at derby as an actual sport and the relationships of people in and out of derby. A fun, light read. Well worth it. I really enjoyed getting to see more of Antimony and Artie and it made me excited for the next InCryptid novels.

The second story I found well worth the read was "Bess, the Landlord's Daughter, Goes Out for Drinks with the Green Girl". This story actually outclassed Seanan's and I adored it and wished it would never end. Whereas other stories lagged this story's timing is brilliant and has real depth. I will be adding some Sofia Samatar books to my tbr list immediately.

A few other stories were good additions, but I can't even recall their names. Unfortunately the rest ran the gamut from "almost there!" to "meh" to unreadable (only 1 thankfully). If you can't get enough raves or roller derby no matter how well written - read on. If you would like to read an anthology with lgbtqia representation - read on. Beyond that. Proceed with caution.
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Highly amusing. As should be expected, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. I will have to think about it and will write up a more detailed review later.

However, I will say now that the InCryptid short by Seanan McGuire (which is why I bought this ebook to begin with) is well worth the price of admission. So much fun. ( )

This book gives you exactly what it says on the cover: glitter and mayhem. I have never read so much disco, roller skating/disco/derby, glitter, and drugs in one place. And I loved it.

I tried to make a list of the stories that stood out for me and realized I was listing pretty much the entire table of contents. It's hard to pick favorites, though "Sister Twelve: Confessions of a Party Monster" by Christopher Barzak was a great retelling of a fairy tale and will stick with me for a long time.

(Note: I participated in the Kickstarter for this book.) ( )

It was nice to finally meet Antimony. I hope this doesn't preclude a book with her as the main narrator. ( )