Chicks Kick Butt-Kerrie Hughes and Rachel Caine (Editors)

Chicks Kick Butt
Kerrie Hughes and Rachel Caine (Editors)
Tor, Jun 7 2011, $14.99
ISBN: 9780765325778

With a nod to the Chicks Ahoy anthologies (edited by Esther Frieisner), Chicks Kick Butt is a fun urban fantasy collection starring strong feisty females. Many of the thirteen entries occur in the respective author’s universe. Rachel Caine's “Shiny” stars a Weather Warden, her Djinn lover and a rookie fighting terrorists. Karen Chance's “In Vino Veritas” concentrates on the dhampir fighting Chinese gangsters. Rachel Vincent's “Hunt” focuses on rookie werecat battling predators. Lilith Saintcrow's vampire searches for “Monsters” but rescues a werewolf. In 1937 P.N. Elrod insists “Vampires Prefer Blondes” as a vamp and his nightclub dancing best gal battle an ancient bloodsucker. Morgan Kingsley knows what happens when the wrong type visit in “Nine Tenths of the Law” by Jenna Black. Cheyenne McCray’s “Double Dead” is a Night Tracker contribution. Delilah Street investigates the “Monster Mash” in Carole Nelson Douglas’ tale while L.A. Banks provides a vampire war in Wanted: Dead or Alive. Also Jeanne C. Stein provides an Anna Strong “Superman” short. Susan Krinard, Nancy Holder and Elizabeth A. Vaughan introduce their fans to new realms.

Fans of the various series that populate most of the compilation will enjoy the latest actions of these Chicks Kick Butt though the format size and the limiting serious theme does not allow much plot development or satirical skewering. Still these are fun light frolics as the gender bending females kick the butt of their opponents including males.

Harriet Klausner