I love discovering new authors. A few months ago, I signed up for a grab bag of books from a publisher and this was included in the pack. I saved it until the end, as I was unfamiliar with the author, now I wish I would have moved it towards the top of the queue. Heroes and Villains is a collection of 4 short stories, all dealing with clear protagonists and adversaries. In some ways it reads like a classic comic book (and I mean that in the best sense) as there are is little in the way of moral ambiguity.
The first story is probably my favorite, as it tells the tale of 5 stage magicians who decide to confront Hitler in the period right before World War II begins. At first, I was a bit concerned they would incorporate real magic into the fight, but no, everything is illusion, deception and sleight of hand. The plan they concoct to stop Hitler is an inventive one and is grounded in the real life obsession that the Nazis had for occult phenomena. I have a passing knowledge of that regime but there were references to people or items in the story that made me stop and research to find out that yes, they were true (such as a high ranking Nazi leader being a homosexual). I love it any time I can finish a story with both a smile and bit of new knowledge.
The second story takes a tired old trope of someone uncovering vampires and adds a unique twist. Shiner tries to base these vampires a bit more in reality and with fairly clear objectives. Were there some echoes of The Night Stalker in this? Sure. But the character is not a hard boiled cynic, he is a father who is a lawyer and just trying to keep his head afloat after personal tragedy. The ending on this one was a bit too pat for me, but I found it to be a fun read until that point.
Next comes a tale of cats and dogs at a local garbage dump that is a fairly naked allegory for how autocrats rise and take power (in some ways this is a companion piece or prequel to the first story about Hitler). One dog gains a few followers, really just one hard core follower, and influences the rest of the dogs to harass and force out the cats that live in the same area. Also, we have the first instance of an actual feline furry in this story. Is it fun and relevant in today’s society? Absolutely. But it does pale in comparison to the first two entries.
The last story was, unfortunately, the weakest. Spy stories have never been to my taste and this had a very 60s vibe to me in that it was sexist and more than a bit insular in how the Egyptians were portrayed. This story could be skipped.
Would I recommend this collection? Without question. One great story, one very good one and one good one out of four is a high batting percentage in my opinion. I will definitely keep my eyes out for more books by Mr. Shiner.