The traditional definition of science fiction is "I know it when I see it" but these days it's harder than ever to figure out where the boundaries are between science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and several other genres. To exacerbate this, it seems like very few make a real effort at consistency in classification, meaning that folks can no longer safely trot over to their favorite section of the library or bookstore and browse with some confidence that they'll find what they want. For example, my local library files each of the four books of a recent series under different genres - one in science fiction, one in romance, one in general fiction, and one in mystery. These days I look for my favorite authors and for new writers I might like anywhere and everywhere - in the process getting a reminder that every genre has good, bad, indifferent, and downright ugly within it.

The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 edited by Tricia Telep is a perfect illustration of the mismash that is the modern world of genre fiction. Fifteen years ago these stories would have been found in fantasy anthologies, in horror collections, in books of fairy tales, as small alternate press titles, or been unpublishable as too exotic or unable to fit within the constraints of the stricter genre boundaries of the time. They wouldn't have been collected together, not even in a broad anthology. I like the exposure to genres and styles I may not have otherwise read, but it makes for a very eclectic book.

I mentioned following authors from genre classification to genre classification as one way to filter through the chaos. I picked up this anthology because it contained a story by Gail Carriger, a new author who burst on the scene a couple of years ago with a witty, superbly written Victorian steampunk paranormal fantasy of manners (whew - talk about genre mixing!). Her story here - "Marine Biology" - is not part of the Parasol Protectorate series and is one of the more traditional paranormal romances of the book - if you ignore that both sides of the romance are male. It's by far my favorite story in the collection, one that surprises, features characters who jump off the page, and which still manages to conform to genre expectations at a time when those expectations are constantly changing. Bravo!

Several stories in the book take popular fairy tale characters - djinn are popular - and place them in non-traditional, modern situations. One of the more interesting of these is "The Getaway" by Sonya Bateman. The story of a car crash that wasn't what it seemed, a vengeful djinn, and the consequences of infatuation and loneliness, the story was somewhat predictable but very sad and very well written. Bateman makes you care about and root for the villain without making him good or anything less than the bad guy of the piece. That's hard to do and very effective when pulled off. It was here.

There are also shapeshifter stories, several were stories (not all of which feature wolves), and quite a few stories I'd classify as urban fantasy rather than paranormal romance. There is a romantic or sexual element in every story, but sometimes it's the focus and other times it's a minor element of the story. Telep's definition of paranormal romance (or, for that matter, romance) is a bit broader than my own, but that's okay. Nothing here is so overtly wrong for the genre that I can't justify its inclusion even if I wouldn't have tagged it as paranormal romance myself. Still, as mentioned above, it makes for a broad scope and folks looking for traditional romance stories with a paranormal element likely won't be happy.

Another common theme is biblical fantasy. I'm rarely a fan of angel stories and the angels here didn't really float my boat either. However, I do have to applaud Nathalie Gray for writing one of the most unusual biblical fantasy stories I've ever read. Called "The Demon's Secret", the protagonist of the story is Cain, alive and well and living in Montreal as a lackey of the demon Berith. He's essentially Lola, out to capture and tempt souls, himself trapped in a hell of his own making (not to mention Hell itself). There were elements of this story I didn't like, but I have to applaud the idea.

There's also a nice witch story, one that felt like Act II of an ongoing story but that had characters, a voice, and worldbuilding I really liked. I suspect "To Hell with Love" by Jackie Kessler is part of an ongoing series that you need to have read to fully appreciate the short story. There were several other stories that belonged to series, some of which work well on their own and others which are clearly meant to be enjoyed primarily by existing fans of the author and series. Surprisingly, all of those stories are original to this anthology (all of the stories in the book were previously unpublished). I suppose it's a good marketing ploy but I'd find it irritating if I were a loyal reader of those series (it's one thing to buy a book for a novella that's 1/3 or 1/4 of the total content, but when we're talking one story out of 17 that's obnoxious).

Of the seventeen stories in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 , some were fabulous, some were merely okay, and a few weren't really my cup of tea. I didn't hate any of the stories in the collection, but I did find some hard to read without having already read the associated series. If you like urban fantasy, paranormal romance, biblical fantasy, or tales that bring classical fairy tale creatures to the modern world, chances are good you'll enjoy at least some of the stories in this anthology. I know I did.

Recommended: Yes