Fast Ships, Black Sails edited by Jeff and Ann Vandermeer

I was never a big fan of pirates (ninjas, on the other hand…) but nonetheless, the very word evokes adventure and the high seas. Fast Ships, Black Sails doesn’t really stray far from that expectation and delivers eighteen stories marked with action, treachery, and a sense of wonder. A good chunk of the stories revolve around traditional concepts of a pirate… There are several other stories that I really enjoyed in this collection as well as some that I found to be ho-hum. Overall, your impression of Fast Ships, Black Sails will depend on your expectations. If you’re looking for unconventional literary stories, this isn’t the place to find them. If you want pirates and adventure, go grab this anthology. The gems — there are a couple of ‘em and I’m not even a huge pirate fan — in my opinion more than make up for the stories that didn’t strike my fancy. Read the rest.