As with most highly-anticipated books I've read lately, I think my expectations were just too high and there was no way the book could have lived up to them. I was distracted throughout and it took me ages to finish it, although I should have breezed through it considering it's an anthology and short stories should be able to hold my interest for their duration. I think the problem with several stories in this collection was that they didn't feel like short stories but the beginnings of stories that never quite got off the ground. Still others just felt pointless.

"Curses" - Jim Butcher: I'm not familiar with the Dresden Files (keep meaning to pick them up but other books keep getting in the way) but I think I'll take them up sooner because I absolutely loved this story. Great characterization, storytelling, and just simple fun.

"How the Pooka Came to New York City" - Delia Sherman: Generally I like Sherman's work, but this was one of those stories that didn't really go anywhere for me.

"On the Slide" - Richard Bowes: Interesting concept, but it didn't hook me.

"The Duke of Riverside" - Ellen Kushner: I know Kushner's famous for her Swordspoint books, but I've read a few other stories set in the 'verse and I have to admit, I don't like the stories, I don't like the characters and I don't like her storytelling. Besides, this isn't urban fantasy - it's straight-up high fantasy and it doesn't belong in this anthology.

"Oblivion by Calvin Klein" - Christopher Fowler: ... what? This story was absolutely pointless.

"Fairy Gifts" - Patricia Briggs: This was another story that I just loved. Briggs gets urban fantasy, and she gets it right. She hits all the notes - this was one of the few stories in the collection that I just devoured, no pun intended. ;)

"Picking Up the Pieces" - Pat Cadigan: An interesting take on the fall of the Berlin Wall, and I enjoyed the historical aspect of it, but the 'fantasy' bit was a bit vague for my taste.

"Underbridge" - Peter S. Beagle: Can Beagle write a bad story? Maybe I'm biased because I'm a Seattle girl and well acquainted with the troll, but this one warmed my heart. In a weird, twisted way.

"Priced to Sell" - Naomi Novik: Fun, doesn't take itself too seriously, and a good take on the genre.

"The Bricks of Gelecek" - Matthew Kressel: It could be argued that this story was deep, emotional and meaningful, but I just found it dull and dreary. Go ponder the meaning of humanity in another anthology.

"Weston Walks" - Kit Reed: ... huh? Again, kind of pointless.

"The Projected Girl" - Lavie Tidhar: An interesting concept, but I found all the detail given to the setting to be superfluous and overwhelming.

"The Way Station" - Nathan Ballingrud: Another interesting concept, but oddly delivered. It took far too long to figure out what Beltrane was, which makes me think that Ballingrud isn't a seasoned short-story writer. It shows.

"Guns for the Dead" - Melissa Marr: This story is clearly part of a bigger tale to be told, and it's painfully obvious. Perhaps I'm biased because I hated Marr's previous books, the awful fairy ones, but I have to say, her writing and characterization is much improved. The story, though, can't stand alone.

"And Go Like This" - John Crowley: Amazing.

"Noble Rot" - Holly Black: Normally I adore Black's work, but this was... no. Just no. And not because of the rotten meat-eating aspect, either. It was lacking a certain something, like maybe the ending was too easy.

"Daddy Long Legs of the Evening" - Jeffrey Ford: This isn't quite urban fantasy. I'd put it more in the horror category, and while I tend to like horror just fine, I didn't love this story. Just like in Noble Rot, something was lacking.

"The Skinny Girl" - Lucius Shepard: Predictable.

"The Colliers' Venus (1893)" - Caitlin R. Kiernan: I thought this was interesting and well-written, and had a nice steampunk tinge to it that didn't beat the reader over the head with a steam-powered dirigible.

"King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree" - Elizabeth Bear: This story frustrated me. I had no idea who/what Jackie and Stewart were, and when it was finally 'explained' I still didn't understand a bit of it. It was too long and too vague and not very exciting, which does not a good closing story make.

I guess I had high expectations because I've generally loved the anthologies that Datlow puts together, and thus I was disappointed. I guess I'll stick to reading her older stuff.