Masked

[RPG Post]

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439168822?ie=UTF8&tag=nprim-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439168822" target="_blank">

<span style="font-size: 17pt">Masked</span></a>

I did not know whether to start with something of the history of superheroes, super villains and superpowers or to start with a rock, a hill and a cursed old man. Finally I decided that this should be about the stories in Masked, edited by Lou Anders. Masked is an anthology of superhero stories. Not a shared universe like Wild Cards, but each a separate creation of a group of talented writers who write across the spectrum of comics, prose novels and short stories and television.

The stories in Masked observe, respect and sometimes deconstruct the tropes of superheroes and super villains. But more importantly they are all, to varying degrees “good reads.”

Stories include:

<ul><li>"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges</li><li>"Where Their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey</li><li>"Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell</li><li>"The Non-Event" by Mike Carey</li><li>"Avatar" by Mike Baron</li><li>"Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory</li><li>"Thug" by Gail Simone</li><li>"Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter</li><li>"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson</li><li>"Head Cases" by Peter David and Kathleen David</li><li>"Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi</li><li>"By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn</li><li>"Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu</li><li>"Tonight We Fly" by Ian McDonald</li></ul>

What's in Masked?

The following blurb, pulled from Amazon has been edited to leave out some spoilers.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: From Booklist (via Amazon)</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Since Clark Kent first donned his red cape in 1938, comic-book superheroes have been steadily gaining notoriety in all niches of popular culture. In the last decade, with novels such as Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay (2000), superheroes have even gained respectability in mainstream literature. This volume of short fiction, featuring all manner of costumed crusaders and average-appearing citizens harboring secret crime-fighting identities, continues the trend. Under the guardianship of Prometheus Books’ SF editor Anders, some of the leading names in comics and speculative fiction make contributions here...Although several tales stray into pulp-fiction territory, countering Anders’ promises of literary merit, every author here provides abundant creative vision and a sure sense of heroic storytelling.

--Carl Hays</div></div>

I found several of the stories weaker entries, notably “Avatar” by Mike Baron and “By My Works You Shall Know Me” by Mark Chadbourn, not because of any flaws in the writing but because I felt the ideas in them were either nothing new (Avatar) or were obvious within the first couple of paragraphs (By My Works). And "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson seemed more a pastiche minus the satire than a sincere homage to Pulp fiction. It is a very thin line, one where straddling the razor's edge seems to have cut deeply rather than placed him on either side.

Standouts for me were “Cleansed and Set in Gold” by Matthew Sturges and “Downfall” by Joseph Mallozzi. Both were darker in nature, reflections of the pain that comes with knowledge, not just power. “Message From the Bubblegum Factory” by Daryl Gregory was lighter in tone yet still seeped in distrust of the motives of the superpowered, and where we draw the line between “hero” and “villain.”

In a book of 15 stories one expects some to stand out for good or bad or simple mediocrity. But even the lesser stories held my attention. The tales of Masked were gripping enough I read the entire book straight through, no escaping any story early. I recommend it.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439168822?ie=UTF8&tag=nprim-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439168822" target="_blank">Check Out Masked on Amazon</a>