No Game for Knights

By: Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell - editor

Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Cary Hite, Alexander Cendese, Tim Lounibos

“Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn’t a game for knights.” (Raymond Chandler)

In a world of criminals, thugs, con artists, cheats, and swindlers, there must be a man to stand against the powers of darkness and corruption. A man not afraid to walk the mean streets—whether they be those of 1930s Los Angeles, an ancient fantasy realm, or some far-flung planet of a future star empire. He is a man who knows that a “good man” is not always a “nice guy”. But when the chips are down, he understands that a hero does the right thing, even if it means losing everything.

He is Sam Spade. He is Philip Marlowe. He is Rick Deckard. He is Harry Dresden.

He is all these men and more.

Now, join Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell as they present all-new stories of fantasy and science fiction with a hardboiled detective bent by today’s top authors.

Grab the bottle of Scotch from your bottom desk drawer. Light a cigarette. Tilt your fedora back on your head. But don’t forget to watch your back. This is No Game for Knights.

Stories by: Laurell K. Hamilton, Larry Correia, Christopher Ruocchio, Michael Haspil, D.J. Butler, Kacey Ezell, Griffin Barber, Robert Buettner, Sharon Shinn, Craig Martelle, Chris Kennedy, S.A. Bailey, G. Scott Huggins, Nicole Givens Kurtz, and Rob Howell.

Larry Correia is the creator of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-selling Monster Hunter International series, with first entry Monster Hunter International, as well as urban fantasy hardboiled adventure saga The Grimnoir Chronicles, with first entry Hard Magic, and epic fantasy series The Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, with first entry Son of the Black Sword. He is an avid gun user and advocate who shot on a competitive level for many years. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a military contract accountant and a small-business accountant and manager. Correia lives in Utah with his wife and family.

Kacey Ezell is a medical emergency helicopter pilot, recently retired from the USAF, who also writes sci-fi/fantasy/alt history/horror fiction. Her first novel was a Dragon Award finalist in 2018, and her stories have been featured in Baen’s Year’s Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction compilation in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, her story “Family over Blood” won the 2018 Year’s Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction Reader’s Choice Award. She writes for Baen and Chris Kennedy Publishing.

©2021 Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

awesome

great read. loved all the short stories. each one kept me wanting more from each title.

Mostly Good

Not ever story was a hit but the ones that were I didn't want to end. Overall most of the authors captured the hard boiled detective feel.

Outstanding collection

One of the best genre collections I’ve ever listened to. From first to last, not a dud to be found. I will get everything I can find from every author included.

Meh

Not nearly.as good a collection as the other compilations. Only a couple of really good stories.

Just cops & mobsters shorts in different genres

Fourteen mostly traditional stories of cops and knights versus the usual big bad Them. Even though the genres changed from fiction to sci-fi to fantasy, or from past to present to future, few of these gave enough attention to setting, world building, or any characters beyond the MC. Of the three anthologies by this group (Noir Fatale and Down These Mean Streets), this was my least favorite.

Other features: There’s a Table of Contents. The narrators are solid. All the shorts clock in around an hour. Most appear to be standalones. There were two with F bombs. Most were on the decidedly tame end. There don’t seem to be repeats, although I see that Mr. Correia is now offering short story collections made up entirely of his creations, so the last short here may exist elsewhere.

1. 1957 by Robert Buettner - straight up WW intrigue, Casablanca style⭐️
2. Faint Hearts by Griffin Barber, Kacey Ezell - space station / aliens don’t add much to detective noir
3. The Lady in the Pit by DJ Butler - whispered fantasy with a confusing cast and hazy motivations
4. All in the Family by Nicole Givens Kurtz - another detective story for which laser guns add nothing
5. Sammy Oakley and the Jewel of Amureki by Laurell K. Hamilton - MC is a squirrel channeling Zootopia
6. Utopia’s Sheep by Craig Martelle - washed up detective in a world where humans are slaves to A.I. ⭐️
7. Pandemonium by Sharon Shim - like The Equalizer, but starring a shapeshifter
8. Pagan by S.A. Bailey - seedy, full of genetically modified baggage, F bombs don’t elevate this
9. The Hound of Bstd’s Villa by G. Scott Huggins - absurdist fantasy, three stooges style with what-wolves
10. Midnight Ride by by Chris Kennedy - another detective in space, taking a job for a dame
11. The Incomparable Treasure by Robin Howell - wizards and mobsters and meh fantasy
12. Storm Surge by Michael F Haspil - featuring MC Alex from the author’s Graveyard Shift ⭐️
13. Gutter Ballet by Christopher Ruocchio - steampunk gritty in a future empire gone wrong ⭐️⭐️
14. Allegation of an Honorable Man by Larry Correia - a fun caper within the MHI universe ⭐️