Okay, although I’m still reeling from the discovery that co-Siren Mehitobel Wilson and I share the same birthday, I’m now urging you to check out David Niall Wilson’s thorough and thoughtful review of Sins of the Sirens. It’s quite awesome. Thanks for the valentine, Dave!

He’s also just posted an interview with the most blasphemous Siren: me, of course. There will be interviews with all four Sirens, so stay tuned.

There have been two other reviews so far. I’m ambivalent about posting links to them. One is largely positive, but it’s clear the writer didn’t know the meaning of the word “theme.” He hadn’t read all the stories in the book, either, as he accused my story “The Last Word” (and others) of being about “fetishes, sexual dominance, sadomasochism and drugs.” While there’s certainly a common thread of dark desire in the stories, I can name three stories off the top of my head that don’t have even a hint of these elements in them. If you don’t count alcohol as a “drug,” then it’s much higher. (“The Last Word” has alcohol and clove cigarettes, so maybe he thought that was too druggy?) That’s at least 20-25% of the book. It also didn’t go through fact check and mixed up two of Bel’s stories. So you can’t really take what he says very seriously.

As for the other review, it was so juvenile, it’s barely worth mentioning. Despite the few good words in it about my work (he and David both liked “The Last Word”), it seethed misogyny. I was really hoping the more professional reviews would get out there first. Oh well!

But if you’re just dying of curiousity, Lisa Morton ripped Dude #2 several new ones with her knitting needle, and Bel discusses them all with her usual flair. Enjoy!