Down These Mean Streets

The Dark Side of the City

By: Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell - editor

Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Cary Hite, Allison Hiroto, Alexander Cendese, Tim Lounibos, Kimberly M Wetherell

New fantasy and science-fiction stories with a hard-boiled noir twist—focusing on the mean streets of the city.

“Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” (Raymond Chandler)

Humans have always been fascinated by darkness. Especially the darkness of a city at night, when the black sky is made ever more inky by the pools of illumination dropped under streetlights. We harken to the sound of streetcars in the distance. We are drawn to the garish flash of club signs and marquees. We love the danger of shadowed alleyways, of wealth and poverty living side by side.

We love the city. It’s a part of us.

Whether the mean streets be in an alternate past charmed with dark magic or the dirty alleyways of futuristic crowded space stations, the city—and its darkened streets—will always fascinate us. Here then, an anthology of all new stories of science fiction and fantasy with a hardboiled noir twist that acknowledge that the city is a living, breathing entity...and it isn’t always on our side.

Stories by: Laurell K. Hamilton, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Mike Massa, Steve Diamond, Robert E. Hampson, Chris Kennedy, Marisa Wolf, Griffin Barber, Robert Buettner, Hinkley Correia, Casey Moores, Patrick M. Tracy, and Dan Willis.

©2024 Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Not very exciting

I didn’t love this collection of mediocre stories. None of them grabbed me. They are readable enough but not engaging.

A great anthology

Like all anthologies this book has it good stories and it's great stories but you won't find any bad ones here. Mike Massa's story is a particular favorite.

Mix of OK and unlistenable

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised Correa put his name on this. Some of the stories were pretty good.

Some were little more than mental masturbation for the author.

It might be more tolerable if it was read, rather than an audible book (so the more pompous aspects could be skimmed )- but in general it’s a “do better”/fairly obvious half-assed money grab.

A great collection of excellent stories

This is a bunch of top flight nuor stories all tied tightly to the cities they are set in. A good use of your time and reading budget.

Assignment: city specific noir

Plus side: the 14 short stories, each around an hour long, are titled within the Table of Contents.
Down side: the ToC doesn’t identify the author, so you still need to listen to discover who wrote what.
Further, although authors get introduced at the start of each short, the narrators themselves aren’t identified, so if there’s some you can’t abide, you’ll just have to deal with the audio land mine when it hits.

The foreword claims the theme of these shorts was to write city-specific noir, pointing out that some stories simply must be set in certain locations. Casablanca and Chinatown were used as examples.
That sort of worked for some, but when layering in space, magic, or alternative histories, several lost points for missing the mark. There were enough here for me to enjoy, and only two I didn’t care for at all.

This type of anthology is for those who like self-contained stories. Near as I could tell, none of these connected to existing series and thus enjoyment doesn’t depend on knowing character backstories or that world’s magical canon.

This may be the daily deal, however the current sitewide sale means the previous anthology by this same group of authors (No Game For Knights) is priced even better. If anthologies are your jam, this is a twofer.
Or, go for my favorite anthology by this particular group : Noir Fetale. Triple threat.

1. Ophir Chasma by Kacey Ezell - traditional detective short … on Mars
2. Yokoburi by Hinkley Correia - Japan fantasy with Yokai, Oni and lightning mages- but meager imagery
3. Empire in Splinters by Mike Massa - supernatural espionage in an alternate WW history⭐️
4. Streets of Circumfrisco by Robert E Hampson - dames in space, with odd 4th wall nod to noir narration
5. He Who Dies With The Most Scars by Patrick Tracey - pirates & necromancy! Wish this was a series⭐️
6. Fool’s Gold by Dan Willis - 1931 with alchemist gumshoes
7. Central After Dark by Casey Moores - hahahaha … I can’t spell Albequirky. ⭐️⭐️
8. Ghosts of Kaskata by Marissa Wolf - an ode to veterans
9. A Devil’s Bargain by Steve Diamond - a werewolf in Sacramento- not nearly as sexy as in Paris
10. Urban Renewal by Chris Kennedy - space station caper
11. 1957, The Dark Side Of Paradise by Robert Butner - post WW noir, but dreary
12. Breathe by Griffn Barber - necromancy and a monster v. monster POV ⭐️⭐️
13. It’s Always Sunny In Key West by Lauren K Hamilton - vampires from a new angle- dug it ⭐️⭐️⭐️
14. Low Mountain by Larry Correia - Murderbot vibes as an A.I. investigates crime against its own ⭐️⭐️

Mostly winners

Collection of good-to-great stories. Varied narration, fair-to-great. Some authors played loose with the "theme". A few stories seemed like something that was cut as excess from something bigger.

Far above average anthology. Hope there's more of these coming, no reason not to repeat the themes (femme fatale, gritty investigator, city underbelly) or twist/subvert them for more installments.

Good stories, good theme

Overall I liked it. Nothing earth shattering, but a fun listen. I only skipped one story and rolled my eyes at one other but made it through.

Fabulous!

I loved all the stories! Can't wait for the next anthology in this Noir theme.

Good Stories

This is a good collection of short stories that seem to mostly have the hard-boiled PI (or something close to it) as their theme. Some of them are set in fantasy worlds and some in science fiction. It's highly entertaining and exposed me to a lot of authors I hadn't read before. Well worth your time.