I often find short story anthologies uneven, but I was really pleased with this one. The stories are different and distinct but seem to share an overall tone and reflect well off each other. ( )

I adore superheroes. They are one of my weaknesses and as soon as I saw this book, I jumped on it. It did not disappoint. The stellar line-up of authors have crafted short stories that all approach superpowers differently, and in often unusual ways. Like the story where gaining superpowers means you end up being forgotten. Or the one where a retired superhero doesn't realized she's retired. A number of the stories showed the human side of superheroes, the stories about those who were in their lives or on the sidelines.

There were a lot of stories that seemed to just end, which was a bit frustrating. I wish those had been expanded upon just a bit so that they felt more complete. But overall, a really enjoyable collection of stories. Well worth the read for every superhero junkie.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

I thought I had reviewed this a while ago, but apparently I only finished the first half. The nice thing about that is that as I read my way back through, I paused at almost every story to reflect that I had liked it the first time around, and, inevitably, I enjoyed it again. The conceits in these stories are not new, but the handling of them feels fresh. "Destroy the City with Me Tonight" could be a serious version of The Tick's origin, and Lavie Tidhar's story should send you to his excellent novel with the same characters. Many, probably most, of the authors here are polished, experienced writers, and it shows. ( )

I love reading anthologies, but I'm afraid I didn't find that "Behind the Mask" was a particularly strong one. I didn't fall in love with any of the stories and although there were a few I enjoyed ("The Beard of Truth" and "Over and Embattled City" were probably my favorite ones) about half of the stories didn't work for me. I'd only recommended this book to anyone particularly fond of superheroes short fiction. ( )

Behind the Mask is a very entertaining anthology. Of course, there are stories that worked better for me than others, but overall, I had a lot of fun with the various takes on superheroes in this, stretching from origin stories to questions of inheritance, from every day obstacles to big fights.

Read more about each of the stories on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/04/23/behind-the-mask-a-superhero-anthology-ed-by-tri... ( )