Conceptually, it's a nice idea: a series of short stories, taking place all on the same night. However, by creating such an idea, the editor set up expectations that aren't followed through.

In publishing, there are two ways to present short stories. The first is a simple short story collection, such as the Tales of the Slayer volumes. The other way is through "braided novels", such as I, Robot (and what The Longest Night seems to be). These consist of stories that, while seemingly disparate, tie together to tell a more cohesive story.

When reading the description for The Longest Night, I expected the volume to be similar to 24: to tell a story, or an arc, through multiple (mostly) standalone stories, all in quick succession. However, there is nothing to tie these stories together, no common framework (not even what you would see in a braided novel).

While taken alone, these stories range from acceptable to great, together they seem forced. In fact, few of the stories have anything to do with the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year; hence the title). The Longest Night would have been better served to be a standalone collection, with each author free to use their own timeframe, rather than this incredulous mishmash. ( )