I liked the individual stories but felt the connection between the stories was lacking.  Each story was well-written with excellent characters.  It was easy to imagine myself in the stories.

I was pleasantly surprised by this anthology. It managed to surprise me more than once, and I loved the diversity of all the stories.

Since they are all so different, here’s a little something for each and every one of them. Even if I have more things to say for some and less for others, I didn’t disliked any of them. (And a wider conclusion on my overall feelings at the end)


Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut, by Cat Rambo
I read, reviewed and deeply enjoyed an anthology by Cat Rambo in the past so I was super happy to encounter her again in another anthology.
Here, I was reinforced in my initial thought that I needed to read more from Cat Rambo.
We follow a team of super heroines, some left their previous team because of harassment, and others just want to join a team. It focuses on Ms. Liberty, a cyborg created by young scientists. She wonders about her sense of self. This is a story about love and heroism, and is mostly about the characters and their discussions, about genders and being a superhero in the world they live in, what they feel, while the fights in the city are just mentioned in passing.

Destroy the City with Me Tonight, by Kate Marshall
Wow. This one was such an innovative vision of the super hero origin story. It looks at it via the idea that some people got a disease where a certain city calls to them, where they must go if they don’t want to experience pain in their bones, and here they become a guardian of the city and its inhabitants, magically forgotten by everyone they knew. I really loved the twists.

I read these first two stories before sleeping, and I kept thinking about them. I thought that even if all the other stories were disappointing, I could not give this anthology less than 3 stars on goodreads, just because of these first two. They really blew my mind and I would totally have bought a novel with these premises.
I was excited to read this anthology but didn’t have any expectations; after these two my expectations went off the roof!

Fool, by Keith Frady
This one is about the “bad guy”, Dr. Entropy, who is about to finally destroy the Earth. Except pushing the button isn’t as easy as he thought it would be. What is a villain without a hero to stop him?
This was a really great story, especially for people who are fascinated by villains and good and evil. (Which I am!)

Pedestal, by Seanan McGuire
Oh how I love to read Seanan McGuire short fiction! And this one did not disappoint, once again!
About a young woman superhero who tries to live her life in anonymity, but just cannot because people are jerks. Still, it was really nice in the end and like the first two stories, I was not expecting such a level of emotion and positivity. She has a power that has to do with her reflection and that was something I’d never seen before. Perfect idea for a short story, because I’m not sure a full novel could have worked with this idea, but I wouldn’t say no to more with this character.

As I Fall Asleep, by Aimee Ogden
Here we are with a superheroine disoriented by her surrounding and trying to keep on doing her mission while not sure about what is happening. While not the best, the final twist was truly heart-wrenching. The central theme here is growing older as a superhero.

Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning, by Jennifer Pullen
I don’t feel this was really in the theme. While the woman the main character fall in love COULD be a superhero, she isn’t. Still, it was not a bad story. But it was sad and deals with something I’m not comfortable with: child birth. Thankfully, while the anthology deals with this maybe twice, it was never in an awful way like I have encountered in the past in other anthologies or scifi stories.

Inheritance, by Michel Milne
About a boy and the powers he inherits from his absent father, a famous superhero who cannot stay home since he always has to go save someone or someplace. This was really sad and sweet, the difficulties of maintaining relationships while being a superhero is a big theme in this anthology and I liked how this played out here.

“People like legends. They don’t like people.”

Heroes, by  Lavie Tidhar
Welp this was a hard one. This one is set in Berlin and deals with war crimes and torture, when one person wonderful gift is used in the most horrific manner. While I found it important, it was short and I was relieved to go on another story after this one. I’m “glad” to see the nazi theme was only used once here on Behind The Mask.

Madjack, by Nathan Crowder
Another one about the offspring of a “super person”, tinted with rock music. It kinda made me think of Marvel’s Starlord, except the main character here is a young woman. While not much happened, I liked this story, how the main character gets to understand things about her father and about herself.
I feel I also can safely say this was a touching tribute to David Bowie.

Quintessential Justice, by Patrick Flanagan
Quintessential Justice really made me smile a lot. Here we are with some kind of superhero manager, Jaleesa, who works for the “Support Services Division of The Justice Guardian Brigade” and has to take care of a superhero (who talks in a very pompous way) who’s not very popular with the public but is still doing his best. Their platonic relationship was great and I enjoyed seeing them get to understand each other.

The Fall of the Jade Sword, by Stephanie Lai
This story is set in Australia among the Chinese community and in the future, where airships and augmented bicycles are normal. So there was a strong steampunk vibe in this story which I really liked. It is a story that really made me travel, but that I felt was very confusing at times. Still, it was fast paced and Mok-Seung was a great main character to follow.

“She sits by the window, a book in her lap. She’s reading The Art of War, a highly suitable text for a young woman growing up in a foreign land.”

Origin Story, by Carrie Vaughn
I’m not sure how I feel about this story. It was about a young woman who stumbles on her old boyfriend from high school, except he is now a supervillain robbing bank. It was entertaining but I don’t know how I feel about the end. I guess I would have wanted to know what happened after that. Still, the idea was good, not a bad addition to the anthology.

Eggshells, by Ziggy Schutz
Oh how I loved deeply this story. It is about Penny, a young superhero-to-be, and she gets injured while… playing hockey. She get a concussion which will affect her more than she thought she could be. This story deals with family, identity, dealing with a trauma and recovery. It was really a powerful story, in a very different way than the others.

Salt City Blue, by Chris Large
I still don’t know what to think about this story. Helen Marshal is a powerful woman, but not in the same way we’ve seen until now in this anthology. She’s a businesswoman, kinda mean to her employees and set on having the life she wants to. The superhero element here would spoil the story I guess so I’ll shut up, but I really loved the end, and still need some thinking on others. If anyone wants to discuss this one with me, do not hesitate.

Birthright, by Stuart Suffel
I don’t really know what to say about this one. It was interesting but I feel it was like a preliminary draft that an author would write about their world-building. For me there was something lacking, but I’m sure other people would love it. That’s the thing about anthologies, there’s a story for everyone, eventually.

The Smoke Means It’s Working, by Sarah Pinsker
This quote actually works super-well on describing the story so I’ll just live it there!

“Another day, another new job, and she was still no closer to her goal of becoming a superhero’s sidekick.”

Torch Songs, by Keith Rosson
Set in a carnival where ex-supervillain now sits and wait to die out after they’ve been arrested. This was depressing and ends in a cliff-hanger, but I liked the camaraderie that unfold between two old super villainess.

The Beard of Truth, by Matt Mikalatos
This was a slice of life story in a world where people can suddenly get superpowers, just like that. So when that happens, they have to call a number and state their superpower to be registered. Our main character here suddenly realise everybody has the urge to tell him their deepest secret or deepest truth that they wouldn’t reveal under other circumstances. This was actually very funny and the perfect length.

Over an Embattled City, by Adam R. Shannon
About an alternate earth and the main character is looking to put things in order, except everyone thinks she’s lost her mind. That was cool and I was very eager to know what was going on and how this would end.

Origin Story, by Kelly Link
So there’s two stories with the same title in this anthology, that’s weird but at the same time, considering their title and the subject, I understand.
I feel this was a weird story to end the anthology on. I didn’t really love that one, it was confusing with weird names, deciphering who was who and when they were talking. In the end I managed the figure things out but I was disappointing to end such a great anthology with that one.
Also, TW: rape.


So, I would TOTALLY recommend this anthology. While I didn’t love all of the stories (and it is totally normal and fine), they all had their place in here and I feel that the ones I didn’t connect with still have the potential to be someone’s favourite. This will make everyone see super heroes/villains in another light.

Some stories were lighter than others, some were really dark, but they all complement each other on what it must be to be a super-powered person, live in a world with super-powered being or live in the future… As a whole, it mostly showed the dark side of the superhero life, or the aftermath of this life, but it still was a great reading experience.

I also loved the fact that a lot of the stories had a woman or young woman as their main character. Plus it can be noted that there are almost as many women writers in there as men, with almost a 50/50 ratio and I appreciate the effort. AND not every character was white and straight, with settings variating quite a lot. So the diversity aspect of the anthology was another +1 on why I would recommend it!

While I expected to see some of the ideas in there, others totally took me by surprise and I feel this anthology is a beautiful gem, with a lot of original content in the growing theme of superpowered people, whether they are superheroes or supervillains.

An anthology of short stories that show how depressing it is to be a superhero. This book is full of angst and the dark side of doing good.

<i> *I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in return for a fair review.*</i>

Holy Angst Batman!  This sure is an angsty bunch of stories.  Super depressing.  Anyone who decides to become a hero is stupid (judging by these stories).  These are stories of the lives behind the mask.  The mask of superheroes.  Turns out superheroes have crappy lives, who knew, eh (maybe anyone who has watched most superhero movies and seen how angsty and depressing superheroes are)?

<b>Cat Rambo: Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut</b>
FF; All Female Super Team

A group of all female superheroes boredly do stuff.  Like bicker amongst themselves, interview potential new team members, fight others (and have the fight be basically described in the story in the super exciting way of one liners like 'fought parallel versions of ourselves').

One is a cyborg, another is an alien, another is a shape-shifting blob, another is 'the brain', etc.  Two of them flirt with the idea of dating each other and then do.  Hence my 'FF' tag.  

Rating: 3.21

April 13 2017

<B>Kate Marshall: Destroy the City with Me Tonight</b>
Amnesia; Mental Illness; Forgetfulness

Apparently superheroes and super villains are a disease.  A virus.  One that can be sexually transmitted.  And, as seems to be a common theme in this book based on the few stories I've read so far, being a superhero or villain is a super depressing angsty life to have.  A curse, not a benefit.

Rating: 3.12

April 13 2017

<B>Keith Frady: Fool</b>
Super villain; mad scientist; secret lair; Tropical Island; volcano; robots

Just in case you didn't know - superheroes aren't the only ones with crappy, depressing, angsty lives - super villains also are super depressing people.  The one here.  Dr. Entropy who lives in a volcano on a tropical island building 'death machines' and stuff like that (also robots).  He's inches away from pushing a giant red button that may or may not actually be connected to anything, though he believes that if he pushes it he will end all life on earth (well, at least human life).  He is weirdly reluctant to push the button, though, and keeps monologuing.  And doing even more monologuing.  While starring up to see if anyone will stop him.  Then more monologuing.  

Rating: 3.03

April 13 2017

<B>Seanan McGuire: Pedestal</b>
Paparazzi

Paparazzi really are scum of the earth.

A young superhero attempts to go out in civilian clothing to get some stuff, like ice cream.   You know normal human level stuff.  She's afraid to go out, though, because, like how I started this mini-review, paparazzi are scum - as in, there are people who will thrust cameras in her face and take her picture.  

Well, a blogger stops inches from her in the ice cream aisle and taunts her, then takes her photo. Posts it.  Then, because the blogger left 'location' on - a giant squid appears and starts destroying the supermarket and the superhero has to fight the giant squid.  Meanwhile the blogger continues to taunt her.  Because, well - scum of the earth and stuff.  I can seriously see an advantage of being a super-villain in this universe.  I wanted to rip the blogger's balls off.

Of note: I believe this story falls within the same universe as McGuire's superhero series (Velveteen vs.).

Rating: 3.45

April 13 2017

<B>Aimee Ogden: As I Fall Asleep</b>
Mental Illness; Background LGBT Character*

A woman destroys a secret lab. Smashing computers and stuff.  Beating up her former side-kick who, it appears, has turned traitor.  

Story reminded me of one I'd read by Jude McLaughlin, the one where a reporter interviews an old retired superhero.  Well no reporters here. Just an old ex-superhero with diminished mental abilities due to aging.

* The other woman in the story mentions how she had been on a date with a cute woman when she had to get involved in the action in this story

Rating: 3.7

April 13 2017

<B>Jennifer Pullen: Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning</b>
Cyborg

A man meets a woman. Flirts. Dates. Marries. Time passes. Babies attempted to be born - fail. More time passes.  Kind of both boring and annoying.

My greatest problem with this story is the part where it is set in the future and there kept being little comments here and there like 'what do you expect, hover-chairs, just because we live in the future?'  Um, you don't live in the future; you live in your own present. But, meh, whatever.  Close behind that 'greatest problem' would be the blunt style of the story.   (Then there's the part where no superheroes are actually characters in the story).

Rating: 3.0

April 13 2017

<B>Michael Milne: Inheritance</b>
PoC, Family

A boy of a failed marriage grows older.  His mother is an accountant.  His father is . . . a superhero (and mostly absent father).  The boy himself has 'inherited' super powers himself and attempts to fit in as best as he can.  The mother, divorced from the father, dates others, marries others, many others. The end.

Rating: 3.39

April 13 2017

<B>Lavie Tidhar: Heroes</b>
Berlin, Spies, Cold War

Two superhero powered spies sit around in a room watching one of the gates into/out of East Berlin while waiting for the arrival of 'Medicus' - an ex-NAZI 'superhero' who was still in East Berlin when the Soviets took over back during WWII and then worked for them.  The two spies, one from the USA, one from the UK, fight Jewish superheroes to 'help' the ex-NAZI go into US control.

Rating: 3.42

April 14 2017

<B>Nathan Crowder: Madjack</b>
Music; Aliens

A female musician plays on stage, suddenly she just 'knows' her father is dead, and everyone within, if I recall correctly, 30 rows begins crying (for this musician has emo power - sense others emotions/project emotions onto others).

Quite interesting and good story - I want more.  So far it is/was the best story in the collection.

Rating: 4.30

April 14 2017

<B>Patrick Flanagan: Quintessential Justice</b>
Sidekick/support

This story is set from the point of view of a sidekick/support person – not a Robin type but more of a Alfred type.  The kind of person who help get coffee, not the kind who will help fight bad guys.  

Well there’s this superhero dude who is named QED.  He goes about his day and the support person follows along behind.  Constantly suppressing, and occasionally letting her eyeballs roll hard.  For, you see, QED is a pompous type who needs constant reassurance and constant praise – so much so that there are paid ‘plants’ in the crowds who will cheer for QED.    Oh, and once, the superhero actually does get into a fight with a villain.

Not a super exciting story but . . . there.  And read.

Rating: 3.10

April 17 2017
<B>Stephanie Lai: The Fall of the Jade Sword</b>
Melbourne, Australia, Steampunk

A young Chinese woman grows up in some steampunk like Melbourne in some unknown date.  She reads of a hero bouncing around named Jade Sword.  She, the young woman, is not Jade Sword.  She reads 'Art of War'.  She sits on someone else's steam-bicycle and gets chased for her troubles. She falls off a roof.  A few confuse her with Jade Sword.  The real Jade Sword interacts with her, but it is unclear if the young woman realizes, in both encounters (one 'in costume', one 'in civilian guise'), that she has encountered Jade Sword.  Refuses to be trained by Jade Sword. Or doesn't. Bloody confusing story.

Rating: 2.7

April 17 2017

<B>Carrie Vaughn: Origin Story</b>

A woman gets stuck in a bank robbery/hostage situation and expectedly recognizes the supervillain.

Nice enough story.  Certain issues with it that I can't recall now beyond feeling that I had certain issues with it.

Rating: 3.73

April 17 2017

<B>Ziggy Schutz: Eggshells</b>
Young Adult

A young woman slip and falls, knocks her head against the ice.  Has trouble remembering things.  This symptoms go on long after they should have 'stopped' but she doesn't tell anyone and just continues on.

Quite a nice story really.

Rating: 4.55

April 17 2017

<B>Chris Large: Salt City Blue</b>

A rich powerful woman likes hanging out at bars.  As a consequence, she begins glowing.  

Interesting story.

Rating: 3.89

April 17 2017

<B>Stuart Suffel: Birthright</b>

A young woman in something like 2021 A.D. wanders around on motorcycle. Swims. Does stuff. She's elaborately described in the beginning - the thing that makes her a mutant - I couldn't make heads or tails of the description.  So . . . she's different.  And is the daughter of a 'birdwoman' - both mutated by the 'Darwin bombs' that had been dropped.

And . . . um . . not really sure what all else to say.  

Rating: 3.50

April 17 2017

<B>Sarah Pinsker: The Smoke Means It's Working</b>
Sidekicks

A woman you wants to, someday, become a sidekick has gone to a special school so that she can operate a robot.  Specifically a robot that helps wander wreckage, find people, and attempt to say to save them (as in, here's someone under debris, lift debris, lift person, carry person to an EMT person).

Neat story.

Rating: 4.15

April 17 2017

<B>Keith Rosson: Torch Songs</b>
Supervillains; carnivals

At a carnival several 'oddities' sit in a tent. People wander and stare at them.  One used to be a supervillain, but is now just a shrivaled up thing.  The point of view is with this 'thing', this 'Madam' of many names.

Interesting enough story.  Deeper than my rating my suggest.  But ultimately fails as being just a snippet. A snippet that ends with a cliff-hanger.

Rating: 3.30

April 18 2017

<B>Matt Mikalatos: The Beard of Truth</b>
Superheroes; Slice of life

A man, while driving around one day, suddenly realizes he has a superpower - the ability to, just by existing, get people to tell him the truth.  Out-pourings of truth (though it seems more like - 'gets people to tell him super depressing things, while truthful, they are also the darkest things the person thinks is 'the truth').

Apparently people can just suddenly get superpowers.  And, as part of that, they have to call a specific number. So he does.  And stuff unfolds.

Just a small slice of life type story.  Oddly satisfying for all of its shortness.

Rating: 4.15

April 18 2017

<B>Adam R. Shannon: Over an Embattled City</b>
Alternate Timelines/earths

A young woman of about 16 heads into the city, the city of New York, to . . . do many things.  It is hard to say without being all spoiler-y.

She remembers another city, another time.  She's like a character I read in something else, someone who had reached into their pocket and pulled out a coin. Had that years date on it.  But some other guy was the head on the dime, the 10 cent piece. And that was how he knew he had slipped from one reality to another.  Just like him, the lead character in this story 'slipped' from one reality to another - unlike him, the reality she came from is slowly disappearing - it's less of an alternate time/world/universe, and more of a reworking/unmaking/remaking of a specific time-line.  

Neat story.

Rating: 4.22

April 18 2017

<B>Kelly Link: Origin Story</b>
Waitress

A waitress rolls around some ruins with the guy who she grew up with.  Whose name is, apparently, Bisquit.  Oh, and he's a superhero.  He's in town for a parade.  She's there because she lives there with her mom.

Weird and strange story. 

Rating: 3.00

April 18 2017

<b>OVERALL</b>
<b>Cat Rambo: Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut</b>: 3.21
<B>Kate Marshall: Destroy the City with Me Tonight</b>: 3.12
<B>Keith Frady: Fool</b>: 3.03
<B>Seanan McGuire: Pedestal</b>: 3.45
<B>Aimee Ogden: As I Fall Asleep</b>: 3.70
<B>Jennifer Pullen: Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning</b>: 3.0
<B>Michael Milne: Inheritance</b>: 3.39
<B>Lavie Tidhar: Heroes</b>: 3.42
<B>Nathan Crowder: Madjack</b>: 4.3
<B>Patrick Flanagan: Quintessential Justice</b>: 3.10
<B>Stephanie Lai: The Fall of the Jade Sword</b>: 2.7
<B>Carrie Vaughn: Origin Story</b>: 3.73
<B>Ziggy Schutz: Eggshells</b>: 4.55
<B>Chris Large: Salt City Blue</b>: 3.89
<B>Stuart Suffel: Birthright</b>: 3.50
<B>Sarah Pinsker: The Smoke Means It's Working</b>: 4.15
<B>Keith Rosson: Torch Songs</b>: 3.30
<B>Matt Mikalatos: The Beard of Truth</b>: 4.15
<B>Adam R. Shannon: Over an Embattled City</b>: 4.22
<B>Kelly Link: Origin Story</b>: 3.00
Overall ----------------------: 3.5455

April 18 2017

Superheroes. Superpowers. I'm a huge fan. Wasn't quite sure how to rate it, but in the end decide to be generous. Not every story in this anthology was a standout, but the quality was notably consistent and some were surprisingly good. Surprisingly, because with exception of 2 or 3 names, most of the authors were unknown to me and I've only read Vaughn previously. Majority of the stories have a female angle, female protagonists, etc. Don't think I should have read them all in a row in two sittings, this is the sort of thing to sample now and again, when the mood strikes. Also, first couple of stories don't really draw you in as much as the subsequent ones, but there are at least a few tales so original and clever, it makes the book well worth the price of admission. With superheroes' boombastic adventures all over tv and cinema, this anthology offers the obverse of the glitz and glamour, dealing with the actual social and emotional ramifications of donning the tights and, of course, the mask. Thanks Netgalley.

In a nutshell: very well-crafted anthology with lots and lots of amazing, thought-provoking stories, both by established authors (Kelly Link and Seanan McGuire for example) as well as authors who are less well-known. I enjoyed this mix of different voices a whole lot.

I have been thinking about this review all morning and still do not know how to write it. I always find anthologies difficult to assess and to review - there are so many things happening and obviously some stories resonate more with me than others. Also, for me the stories tend to blend into each other and I cannot always remember every one enough to even have an opinion about it after finishing the whole collection. That said: this was a pretty brilliant anthology. Tricia Reeks and Kyle Richardson obviously put a lot of thought and love and work into collecting these stories and to fit them into a more or less coherent order.

As you can tell from the title, this is a collection of superhero stories focussing on the maybe less often talked about aspects of being a superhero. Interestingly, most stories focus on female superheroes (and some supervillains) and the specific problems they might face (work/life balance, sexism in the workplace, losing your identity etc) and I obviously loved that to pieces. I don't know if this was on purpose or if those just were the stories the authors wanted to tell, but I appreciate it nontheless.

Every author put their own spin on the superhero genre and mostly they greatly succeeded. I did appreciate the newer voices more than the stories by the more established authors. Some standouts for me were Nathan Crowder's "Madjack" - a wonderful homage to David Bowie; Kate Marshall's beautifully imagined and original "Destroy the City with Me Tonight" (with the absolute best ending of all the stories); Aimee Ogden's "As I Fall Asleep" - sad and poignant and very very great; Carrie Vaughn's playful spin on a romantic comedy "Origin Story" (even villains have meet cutes!); and my absolute favourite of the book: Chris Large's "Salt City Blue" - I loved loved loved this one and its beautifully flawed main character and I do not want to spoil it but you should read it.

_____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Meerkat Press in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!

Entertaining and wellwritten - although those expecting lots of BAM! and POW!  may be disappointed as much of this material is about the personalities behind the mask. I enjoyed it.

This is a collection of twenty short stories about superhero's, but from a more personal side, almost their stories with their masks off. Not lot's of fighting of monsters and aliens, but internal struggles, finding themselves etc. And each story is written by a different author, so the styles vary slightly but with the uniqueness of there not really being a weak chapter, each is written with it's own merits, but of course there will be one or two you warm to ahead of the others. Although as I'm typing this struggling to think of one I had as a favourite!?! 

I think one aspect that amused me, and more from an observation that once I'd noticed it I couldn't ignore it, was that eighteen or nineteen of the twenty stories where all based around female superheroes or leads. Which isn't a problem at all! But did strike me as odd, different, not sure what the word is? Unique maybe, and found myself chuckling when I'd start a new story and once again it was a female superhero. Perhaps this is simply what we've had in history for years but in reverse, with mainly male dominated superhero stories. I don't know.

But overall I liked it.

I’m going to be honest, I was disappointed with Behind The Mask. Only a couple of the stories resonated with me – my favourite was probably Eggshells by Ziggy Schutz, about a young superhero who suffers a head injury and which explores the effects of that – and I certainly didn’t find any of them ‘laugh-out-loud funny’. However, I did like that there was a good variety of countries and cities represented, and I didn’t hate any of the stories.

I think this might be my shortest review ever, because I just don’t have that much to say about it. It was a nice idea that didn’t quite work for me. I must say though, that short stories rarely satisfy me. I always want to know more about the backstory, or what happens next, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that Behind The Mask didn’t work for me. I’m sad that it didn’t though, because I’d been really looking forward to reading it.

I started reading superhero comic books when I was a mere sprout in the 1960's.  I still love them-especially female superheroes. Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman was an inspiration, and  I would probably watch the current Supergirl series even if the star hadn't been on Glee.  


That's why I immediately jumped at the chance to read and review an ARC of  Behind The Mask: A Superhero Anthology from Net Galley.


                                   





 Sixteen of the twenty stories that appear in this volume are original to the anthology.  Only four are reprints.  The stories I liked best have never appeared anywhere else.   Other stories were well-written but didn't appeal to me.  There also were stories that didn't feel complete in themselves.  They were probably sneak peeks for upcoming novels.


My #1 favorite of the anthology was "Destroy The City With Me Tonight" by Kate Marshall.   I found it original and compelling.  It's a riff on the idea of superheroes being linked to cities.  The link in Marshall's story is  much stronger.  The story also deals with memory as a bond between human beings.   When that bond dissipates,  you feel isolated.  People with superpowers feeling disconnected from humanity is a dangerous situation.  The protagonist deals with an ethical dilemma that would cause her to morph from hero to villain if she made the wrong choice.


Another amazing standout story was "Madjack" by Nathan Crowder.  It was a moving story about a recently deceased rock star with powers that would be very useful for someone in that profession.  The protagonist is his daughter, a rock star in her own right.  If this were in another science fiction anthology, no one would consider it a superhero story.   It stretches the concept a bit, but I loved it.   I now want to read Crowder's fantasy novel, Ink Calls To Ink.


I think that what these stories had in common is that they involved characters with enough stature to be called heroes, characters that I admired because they struggled against becoming villains.   That's my motivation for reading about superheroes.   I want to believe in heroes.  I feel that they represent the best in us.  In this world where cynicism and noir are popular, I feel that superheroes are the antidote.   I found that hopeful vision in those particular stories of Behind The Mask which makes me glad that I read them.

A strong, varied anthology about superheroes, supervillains, and their regular lives.


The whole point of an anthology is to bring together wildly different styles and ideas, united by a single concept and see if it works. More often than not, it doesn’t. There’s always a varying ratio of duds to gems and it’s very rare to see a book of this kind that accomplishes the herculean feat of being good all the way through.
And yet here we are.

Behind the Mask presents 20 stories from 20 authors, all about heroes and villains and the way they live or influence normal people or see each other or… There is a wide range of ideas on display here, some more novel than others (The Beard of Truth is a nice story, but “what if your partner couldn’t lie to you?” is far from a fresh take on superpowers), and it is evident that all authors have a deep love of the superhero genre, as they gently poke fun at its conventions or outright skewer the sexist standards set in the last century and upheld out of sheer laziness.
I generally found the stories to be on the same level as a whole, though some stood out with more evocative writing styles and some boasted more unexpected stories that elevated the bland-ish writing. Still, there are some that I’d like to mention specifically, of course.
First, “Madjack”, a touching tribute to David Bowie and the power of music, that manages to evade the dangerous waters of schmaltzy hero worship, viewing its titular rockstar ubermensch through the eyes of his musician daughter. And its all the better for its downbeat, tasteful portrayal of her grief.
Second, “Pedestal”, which is extremely relevant and fun, though I have to admit that it is extremely on the nose at times, but some themes work even when subtlety is lost and this, thankfully, is one of them.
Third, “Salt City Blue”, which suffers only from pretty stale descriptions of sexual encounters that made me feel like the author himself wasn’t too interested in writing them. But the story is stellar and the side of heroes that it explores is new and exciting.
Fourth, “Torch Songs”, which Rosson writes the hell out of, even though the narrative could have used stronger pacing. It’s tough not to love this, as it is one of the better-written tales in the anthology, using vivid imagery and never flinching when the time comes to deliver a description that toes the line between “moody and atmospheric” and “gaudy”, always landing on the right side.
And, lastly, fifth, “Fool”, a tragedy which takes the “loser villain” trope, so often portrayed for laughs in cartoons and more comedic comic books, and plays it straight with a heartbroken man hoping to finally achieve some great dastardly deed and being unable to perform.
That’s not to say that the other stories aren’t good, I greatly enjoyed all of them, with just two stories being not entirely my cup of tea (The Fall of the Jade Sword, Origin Story #2). I would highly recommend this to anybody and everybody.

Overall, versatile and highly creative, this anthology sets some limitations for talented writers and lets us watch them flourish with each new story. A must-read for anybody who even remotely enjoys the concept of superheroes.

Thank you.                               
Enjoyed it.                                   
Will purchase copies for family and friends.