Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks

Elemental Assassin #8.1

by Jennifer Estep

Come one! Come all! Witness Gin Blanco—aka the Elemental Assassin, aka the Spider—go toe to toe against the Esmerelda the Amazing's Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns! Only at The Carnival of Wondrous Wonders!

A free story from the forthcoming Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and also includes Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells. Samples of all fourteen tales are included to tantalize and to tease. Come to the Carniepunk midway and explore the creepy, mysterious, magical world of traveling carnivals today!

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Short Stories, Magic, Novella, Steampunk

20 pages, ebook

First published June 3, 2013

About the author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer is the author of the Elemental Assassin, Section 47, Galactic Bonds, Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, and other fantasy series. She has written more than 40 books, along with numerous novellas and stories.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys hanging out with friends and family, doing yoga, and reading fantasy and romance books. She also watches way too much TV and loves all things related to superheroes.

For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit her website at www.JenniferEstep.com or sign up for her newsletter: http://www.jenniferestep.com/contact-....

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Happy reading, everyone! 😎

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this one had been a little longer. I think it could have made a really awesome creepy mystery story for Gin and friends to solve. But it was fun even this short. :)

[Sharon ∞❥ is an emotional book junkie ❥∞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

♦ Only read Jennifer Estep's Parlor Tricks ♦

Gin ends up at a carnival when she agrees to help Bria search for a missing girl.

This very short story manages to evoke all the necessary elements that most carnivals have...from the creepiness of clowns and the swarminess of performers to the smells of all that wonderful, greasy and oh so healthy carnival food.

I loved reading about Gin and Bria together and even better is reading about them working a case together. They really do compliment each other and it was great seeing Bria have Gin's back.

The best part was Gin trying her hand at the Wheel of Death!


Favorite quote:

♦ “This old girl’s still got it,” I murmured, straightening back up. “Parlor tricks and all.”

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved seeing Gin and Bria working side by side. This really is turning into a favorite series of mine.

[Liliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book

Gin is helping her baby sister Bria out on a case of a missing girl. This leads them to a traveling carnival, one that is quite strange and filled with even stranger people. And this missing girl might not be the only one who’s gone missing around this particular carnival. Gin's not a fan of this carnival, for more than one reason...

Each of the marks was shaped like a small circle surrounded by eight thin rays—a spider rune, my rune, the symbol for patience. Something I would need a lot of if this show was as cheesy and over-the-top as the rest of the carnival.

Gin and her sassiness... I swear! Lol. I love it! I liked this short story, overall, actually! It had action, a crazy setting, and lots of magic with and interesting air elemental. And of course our badass assassin Gin kicking ass alongside her sister Bria, who is pretty badass in her own way. I really liked that it was just Bria and Gin hanging out, getting in trouble, and then trying to get out of said trouble. Lol. It was short, sweet, and fun. What more could you ask for? Lol.

Oh! We do get some Easter Eggs: Karma Girl is mentioned, as is Cypress Mountain (which is where Mythos Academy resides!)

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the "Elemental Assassin" novella story, "Parlor Tricks" only. The rest of this particular collection featured samples of other authors, which I skimmed over. As I am bingeing this series, there is no current need for me to branch out to others.

"Parlor Tricks" is a neat bag of ... well, tricks, as it is the first story to feature Gin and her little sister, the cop Bria, on a mission together. They decide to spend the day a carnival that's come into town, and discover that a local teenaged girl has gone missing at the carnival just a day or two before. They decide to investigate it together, and quickly discover that there's a seedy underbelly to this particular travelling circus. As usual, it's good to see Gin in her element, cough, cough, and even better to see that Bria becomes a little bit morally ambiguous with her own dispensation of justice. All around, very nicely done.

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Jennifer Estep brings us a short story that deals with her character Gin Blanco - The Spider assassin and her cop sister Bria as they go to a carnival that has come to town to look for a missing girl. While the two of them are searching through the carnival Gin notices that after her sister asks the carnies if they had seen the missing girl they either get a text message on their phones or have someone give them hand signals. The mystery deepens when the center stage has called all the patrons toward it for a knife throwing show hosted by the ringleader Esmeralda. Gin notices that Esmeralda is an elemental like she is and she also notices that she can suck the air out of the room. This leads Gin and her sister to ask the ringmaster if she had seen the missing girl. Things take a turn for the worse but I won't spoil the ending. I highly recommend this short story to all Fantasy fans.

[Experiment BL626 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was a delightful interlude in the Elemental Assassin series, one of my favorite-adjacent urban fantasy series. Unlike the many other short stories in the series that are flashbacks and, to be honest, rather dull backstory building, this one took place in the present and had a fair amount of action. It was more than I thought it was going to have. Nothing that happened in the story had an impact on the series at large or would necessitate a read if you’re a follower of the series; it was only a slice of life story of a not-so-retired assassin, the series’ star Gin Blanco.

In this short story, Gin helped her younger cop sister, Bria, search for a lost girl at a transient carnival where the victim was last seen. I liked the story fine up until the bad guys ambushed our heroines and they almost got killed. I would have preferred Gin and Bria to discover the truth and the bad guys through their investigation. Our kickass heroines were lucky the bad guys didn’t kill them immediately. The Evil Gloating was cheesy but I admit it made the following asskicking gratifying.

The asskicking was my favorite part of the story, and I was ecstatic that Gin took no hesitation to magic up and magically whup their asses. Of course, she still used her special knives, her trademark weapon of assassination, but her super magic was what saved the day. I couldn’t believe this short story seemed to display more magic asskicking from Gin than most of the main books. I’ve been hankering for this kind of action because the series is unfaithfully stingy with it. I was happy to receive a good lengthy one in this short story.

In Conclusion

I rate Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks 3-stars for I liked it. This is a short story from the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology. You can get the individual short story for free as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Be advised that half of the ebook is the actual short story, “Parlor Tricks,” and the other half are excerpts of the other short stories offered in Carniepunk anthology. The free short story: good promotion. The excerpts taking up half of the ebook: bad promotion; publishers, don’t do this.

Anyway, if you’re looking for an urban fantasy appetizer as in-between read, this short story comes recommended. It’s simple: search for missing girl. It’s classic: good guys beat bad guys. It’s free.

[Risco · Rating 1 out of 5]

We've all heard of "chick flix", well now we have Menstrual manuscripts. I read this as a prelude to the full book which was on my list as a fan of Kevin Hearne. He should be embarrassed to be in this anthology with all these women discussing fashion as much as plot. There was only one male in the story and he was dumb, ugly, and totally controlled by....wait for it... a woman. And killed mercilessly by .....you guessed it .... another woman. Talk about the dumb dude syndrome. If the author spent as much time telling the story as she did describing the clothing in minute detail, maybe I wouldn't have fallen asleep in the middle. Like: “country-fried clown wearing blue-and-white gingham coveralls, a blue shirt, and brown boots that were about five sizes too big”; “woman wore a short red ringmaster’s coat over a ruffled white silk shirt and black satin short-shorts. Black tights encased ........ a pair of black stiletto boots gave her a few more inches of height.....her tall black top hat”; “dressed in a sleeveless green silk shirt and black pants, but the most interesting thing about him was the black leather sash”. The only guy in the story and “the most interesting thing about him" was his "black leather sash”, wow! I felt like I was reading a cross between "Teen Magazine" and "Vogue".

This story of life sucking by the old from the young has been told in variation so many times from Dorian Gray to Star Trek, where, by the way, Dr. McCoy wore a snug pair of black trousers that were loose in both the seat and crotch as they gently fell over his knees to end in a mushroom form where they were tucked meticulously into his Federation issue black boots that zipped up the side and sported a medium height heel to accent the slightly pointed toes, the sporty, but practical trousers were complimented by a sometimes golden-beige and sometimes cornflower blue (never red - that meant you wouldn't make it to the next commercial) long-sleeved shirt/top adorned with piping about the collar and cuffs, the over told story line should be retired. GIVE IT A PASS

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks as part of the Carniepunk Anthology which I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I should have known. I skipped this installment of Carniepunk when I read the book because I knew that I would soon be reading Deadly Sting and (when I'm paying attention) I like to keep my series reads in order. When I added Deadly Sting to my Bout-of-Books list I should have just thrown Parlor Tricks into the mix. Honestly, it was inevitable.

A perfect little glimpse into the Elemental Assassin world. I love Gin and having just her and her baby sister Bria featured in this short read was fun. Well as much fun as a scary, dangerous carnival can be. As per usual, Gin dispenses her own brand of justice with her trusty blades, but this time she has a little help from her sister. There was even enough time in Parlor Tricks for some mouth watering food descriptions.

This one was short and sweet but still full of the wit, fun, danger and action that readers have come to expect from the Elemental Assassin series.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story featuring Gin Blanco of Estep's Elemental Assassin (Spider) series. This was free on Nook, so I thought I'd give it a try, and it turned out to be an enjoyable, noir-ish, pretty well written tale, enough so that I'll be interested in checking into the series itself. The magic system described in this book was severely lacking in explanation, but I'm thinking maybe this is covered more so in depth in the actual Elemental Assassin books. A little too much focus on the "her hair was the color of", "her eyes looked like", but it fit the theme of the story, and Gin seems quite the bad ass heroine, so, makes up for it. The CarniePunk anthology looks to be a pretty interesting read, with several acclaimed authors represented, so I will be looking forward to that as well.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah! Clowns. Why'd there have to be clowns? I think I need to cultivate Gin's scowl to make them run away if they get too close. Or just wear a handful of knives on me at all times.

So. Gin and Bria are looking for a missing girl. Bad things happen. Gin gets to kill folks. I love that part. I also love that Gin unabashedly chows down on corn dogs and cotton candy. I approve of BOTH those things. *thumbs up* all around. Well, except for the clowns. They get a thumbs DOWN.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

Parlor Tricks was a free Kindle book I downloaded on 06/03/13 for the Why Buy the Cow? reading challenge.

[Natalia Rox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy picking up anthologies once in a while because you get to browse authors. I have done research to do into some new books, but the two authors I already love, Jennifer Estep and Rachel Caine had awesome short stories included.

I am a fan of Estep's elemental assassin series and experiencing Gin Blanco somewhere as normal as a carnival was a treat. it's her usual save the day kind if story, but hey she does it so well, why the hell not?

pick up a copy (hint Amazon's kindle store has it for free....)

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parlor Tricks by Jennifer Estep - a short story featuring Gin Blanco from her Elemental Assassin series which is one of my favorite series, so of course I adored it. It involved Gin and her sister Bria attending a carnival while looking for a missing girl. I loved the way Gin and Bria worked together to defeat the villains.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There have been good Gin Blanco novellas, and there have been not so good Gin Blanco novellas. Parlor Tricks is one of the latter. It was too short for anything really interesting to happen and carnivals . . . well, carnivals are creepy.

Still, I love Gin and her "Ta da"s made it worth it.

[Cas ♛ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! From the first paragraph, the word Carnival appears. Jennifer Estep introduces the subject fast, and the story goes fast! I was sad to see it all end, but I loved Bria and Gin's character in Parlor Tricks. Wonderful.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story of Gin and Bria searching a carnival for a missing child. Things go exactly how you would expect with Gin at a carnival. Not a real long story, I read in about an hour.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story! I found it engaging & well-written, and the relationship between Bria & Gin was endearing, so I quickly became emotionally invested in them. I particularly enjoyed Gin's spunky attitude & narration, haha, though I mistakenly thought she was a man for 75% of the story. It wasn't until Arturo said "the other chick" that I realized he must have been talking about Gin because there was no way he could have been referring to any of the other women. I was really surprised since "Gin Blanco" is a masculine name if I've ever heard one, and all of her speech & actions seemed to code masculine too. I get the feeling that it was intentional on the author's part, though, and I took it as an opportunity to challenge my assumptions about gender. I'm very enticed to check out the rest of Estep's Elemental Assassin series based on this story, but I'm still a bit hesitant since Gin's codename is "the Spider" and... I'm a huge arachnophobe, lmao.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is part of the Elemental Assassin series. I've actually read several other short stories set in this world, as well as the first book, so it was cool to catch up with Gin again.

Gin and Bria are sisters who go to the carnival looking for a missing teenage girl, but they get more than they bargained for when Esmerelda the Amazing sets her sights on Bria. Good thing Gin is also an Elemental Assassin...

What a fun story! What starts out as two sisters going to the carnival soon becomes the mystery of what happened to a missing girl last seen at the carnival, and delves into the cunning secrets of a ringmaster who is willing to do whatever it takes to stay young.

I really enjoyed it! I also should get back into this series. 😊

[Laurla2]

-published in the anthology "carniepunk" - but i only read this story.

gin and bria head to a carnival to investigate a missing girl. gin doesn't like carnivals and there's a good reason for her not to like this one when she and her sister get knocked out and wake up in cages.

"you don't like carnivals?"
"not particularly. there are already enough people around here looking to con you without you having to actually pay for the privilege."

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series: Elemental Assassin #8.1
Rating: 3 stars - I liked it

This was a short story featuring Gin and Bria at a carnival. It definitely was a creepy circus and I agree with Gin that clowns can be creepy. I liked this one because it was just Gin and Bria taking on the bad guys. They made a good team.

You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[JB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only liked the first story ☹️

I don’t like to give spoilers on the books that I read. I believe the blurb on the back is enough for you to decide if you will read the book or not. If you choose to read, enjoy!

[Angie ☯ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really to short; it could have been a nice little adventure for the gang. But it was Gin and it was fun.

[Nefol_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Elemental Assassin story was the only fully fleshed short. The rest felt like bridge chapters removed from a full novel.

[She · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not short stories

These are not stories, they are at best a single chapter out of the middle of a story. Don’t waste your time,

[Heather McLaughlin]

Liked this very much. I think I will need to check out this series.

Well. Goodreads says I have read these. I remember nothing. Wow.

[Debbie Chittenden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely frustrating!

I'm incapable of understanding why all but one of these "stories" is considered short stories. Jennifer Estep is the only author that truly presented with a story. Shame on everyone else for coming across as if you did as well.

[Clare dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of "Carniepunk" from the publisher and WOW! What a treat. I give "Carniepunk" a 4 $$$$, or 4 **** stars. Just the great YA authors that wrote short stories for this anthology was mouth watering , add to that the theme of carnivals and you've got yourself very good odds (unlike the odds on any carnival's midway) of enjoying a few...or in my case all of the novella's.
It was truly remarkable how one theme could be interpreted in so many fantastically different and unique tales. The writing in most of the stories was so descriptive that I could smell the popcorn , taste the sugary cotton candy clouds as I was being transported to the world created by each author.
The variety of paranormal , steampunk , historical , urban, and of course paranormal romance was great. There wasn't a dud in the bunch. Everyone knows there's that seedy side to the carnival so it offered many different ways to exploit that truth.
I even found some new authors to check out. That's another great thing about this book. After you have been transported to all the different carnivals the last few pages of the book give you a detailed explanation and contact info for each author the book showcased. If you want to read more by any specific author this anthology gives you the directions to each authors website or blog, plus what else they have written.
I usually don't enjoy short stories because just as I'm getting settled into the world and it's characters... It's finished? Not so with this collection. I felt satisfied with the content of each story.
Due to so many of the authors having entire series revolving around certain characters it was fun to read about them and their experience with the carnival.
From drag-queens dealing with a zombie apocalypse aftermath to Bludmen, Djinn, shape - shifters, mermaids, and much , much, more "Carnipunk" did not disappoint.
I would recommend this book to anybody who's ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the carnival! This book should have blinking lights & blaring music & the scent of deep fried everything. Reading "Carnipunk" was like a night spent on the midway. Exciting , shocking, unbelievable wonders & fun for all ages! "Carniepunk " the book is just like it's theme. When you've turned the last page it feels the same as handing over your last ride ticket. Then you return home with memories and a big smile on your face.
Make sure to add "Carnipunk " to your t.b.r. list. It's a collection you don't want to miss!
For more talk of mind boggling books and more check out http://www.mouseheadandtales@weebly.com for more reviews and advance notice about upcoming books in a variety of genre's!

[Sandy S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars


PARLOR TRICKS is a short story (found in the Carniepunk Anthology) in Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin series. Although this particular storyline is not pertinent or instrumental in the Elemental Assassin series ( and it does not further the current storyline) it does show a side to Gin as her relationship with her sister Bria grows closer with every otherworld encounter.

The premise follows Gin and Bria as they search for a missing sixteen year old girl last seen at the travelling carnival in Ashland. As fans of the series know, nothing is as simple as a missing girl. Bria and Gin will soon discover that there is more to the carnival acts than meets the eye. Someone knows something but everyone is afraid to talk. When Gin and Bria find themselves on the receiving end of some elemental magic, it will take the actions of two sisters to stop the Amazing Esmerelda and uncover the secret to her everlasting youth.

PARLOR TRICKS can be found in the FREE anthology CARNIEPUNK released June 2013. Among Jennifer’s fellow contributors are Rachel Caine, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and also includes Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells. Each short story brings the mysterious world of the travelling carnival onto the pages of Carniepunk. If you are a fan of Jennifer Estep,Parlor Tricks a bonus short story featuring Gin and Bria in the supernatural world of the Elemental Assassin.

www.thereadingcafe.com

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Mediocre, but fun. Since this was an Elemental Assassin short story, I was confused as to exactly what and who and how, since I've never read any of the EA books. Still, I was able to pick up on the whole Elemental thing early on, and easily followed the story from there. I'm also very picky about how circuses and carnivals and such are depicted in literature (it needs to give me the same creepy-high that seeing an actual show would), so that caused the "meh" reaction. As did the fact that I'm not really much of an urban fantasy type of person.

The mystery itself reminded me a lot of the Grimm season 1 episode "Tarentella," (yes ignore the fact that I just said I don't like UF, and that's kind of what Grimm is) where Charlotte, the oh-so-creatively-named spider-Wesen, sucks the life out of youthful dates, so that she can stay young. This story has a beauty-sucking witch, not a life-sucking spider, but it was just so darn similar, I had to make the connection.

I wouldn't necessarily say that this hooked me, and made me want to pick up the anthology and read the rest of the stories, but it was a fun short read that gave me a bit of creepy-circus happy-boost.

[James Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, only three stars for this short story by Jennifer Estep. It is here featured in whole, as it does in the Anthology, "CarniePunk." There are brief excerpts of the other shorts that comprise the rest of the anthology. I only gave this three stars because JE could have written this in her sleep. There is only a modicum of the usual snarky humor and exquisite magic and knife-work readers of the series have come to expect. I suppose it might get some not familiar with Gin Blanco to give the series a try. It does read more like a "let's squeeze as much info about Gin Blanco in a short space and maybe people will investigate the series. Otherwise, it does nothing to advance the story arc and only serves as a vehicle to show what a force Gin can be, and with her sister with her, they make a formidable pair.
The plot is too thin to bother with summarizing beyond saying that Gin and her cop sister, Bria, go to a carnival from which a girl disappeared the night before. They find her, violence ensues - outcome predictable.
I will say that if the reader is not familiar with the "Elemental Assassin" series, this story is good enough to perhaps stir some interest among those person. Overall, not bad.