Another great collection. There are some real gems here. My favorite - “Blue Knights BOunced from CVD Tourney” by Chris Bachelder - in which a sportswriter gets carried away and slides into the darker side of reporting. Very creative.

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While there are a few stories here that I wouldn't necessarily agree belong in a 'best of' anthology, I truly enjoyed the vast majority. The most refreshing thing about this anthology is the variety presented. It seems that many 'best of' anthologies show too heavily the tastes of a given editor, and a reader who gives a single straight read-through to the book will end up feeling as if they've been re-hashing the same themes and characters over and over again; this is far from the case here. Each of the stories is distinct from the last in every respect outside of southern origin, and each has a distinct charm and character. I'd highly recommend this anthology over any other I've recently read. ( )