Reviews

This shared-world anthology about a mysterious metaphysical employment agency is uneven in execution but pleasingly consistent in tone. Benjamin Kane Ethridge's "The Slaughter Man" is an old-school science fiction power fantasy about a slaughterhouse worker. In Brett J. Talley's "The Sacrifice," an ex-soldier sees a Lovecraftian horror. Joseph Nassise's "One Job Too Many" is a competent time travel adventure about another ex-soldier. Anne C. Petty's "We Employ" is a story of aliens and shades of moral truths. Jonathan Maberry's "Strip Search," easily the best of the five though the least connected to Limbus, is an engaging paranormal noir that's funny and horrific in equal measure. Though missteps keep the anthology from being truly top-notch, the execution and intriguing theme leave the reader wanting more. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

For certain individuals who find most jobs unsuitable or who are simply at the end of their rope, the mysterious organization known as Limbus, Inc. intervenes with a job offer too good to be true. In this initial volume of a shared-world anthology, five authors provide their takes on one-of-a kind jobs that are not always survivable. From editor Etheridge's raw story of a man hired to provide meat for an alien "princess" ("The Slaughter Man") to Jonathan Maberry's Lovecraftian tale of a bizarre businessman's club ("Strip Search"), these tales display various facets of an organization whose ulterior motive remains, so far, a great secret. Joseph Nassise, Brett J. Talley, and Anne C. Petty round out the contributors. VERDICT Though the employment agency frame might not seem compelling, the stories cut to the heart of sf, fantasy, and horror. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.