The Devil You Know (Paperback)

The stories contained within this book concentrate more on the people (none of whom are vampires) and the local color of New Orleans and they're all very interesting and slightly "odd" in their own way.

I even enjoyed "Nothing of Him That Doth Fade" which appears to be disliked by many readers. Yeah, it's bleak and horribly sad but that's the point. It paints a realistic portrait of a lovely love affair gone painfully bad. Love is like that sometimes. "Pansu" is a favorite of mine. It's bizarre and an oh-so-very-funny take on possession and exorcism. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories featuring coroner Dr. Brite (the last, about a child, was tough for me to read at times but worth the effort in the end) and I'm anxiously awaiting Poppy's next novel "Liquor" (many of the stories here feature characters from that upcoming novel). The only story that left me cold was the one set in the Matrix universe "System Freeze". I'm not a super huge fan of the Matrix and I'm sure that explains my lack of enthusiasm for this story. It was just an "eh" read for me ~ the details have already flown completely out of my head. "Burn Baby Burn" set in the "Hellboy" universe worked much better for me.

Make sure you're not hungry before starting the stories because most contain delectable descriptions of New Orleans cuisine.

And as for the stories...

Dispatches from Tanganyika: A Foreword--Reminds me of the forward to Neil Gaiman's "Smoke And Mirrors." Here you will find brief notes Poppy has written on many of her stories, as well as an...explaination for her new (remarkable) writing style.

The Devil You Know--Cute. This story is nowhere near as "horrific" as many of her earlier short stories. Instead, it wonderfully reflects the front cover's "quirkiness."

O Death, Where Is Thy Spatula?--Reintroducing Dr. Brite, coroner of New Orleans and Poppy's alter-ego. (You may remember Dr. Brite from "In Vermis Veritas" in her previous short story collection.)

Lantern Marsh--Very sweet, and vaguely Ray Bradbury-esque. An odd story of childhood and change. Not scary at all.

Nothing Of Him That Doth Fade--This is the only story that really left me cold. It's definately not one of her best--Brite admits as much in the forward.

The Ocean--A dark story of Orpheus in modern times. Poppy's kind of, um, *intense* about people who think that this is a vampire story. Because it's not.

Marisol--More fun and games with Dr. Brite in the kitchen of New Orleans. This story gives a strong message out to all us reviewers out there...be careful what you say!

Poivre--Not really fiction at all. This is more of an anecdote about an incident that happened at one of the author's favorite restaurants. Very cute, really.

Pansu--Hysterical. Just very, very funny. Spoofs "The Exorcist." When I first heard descriptions of this story ("An ancient demon from the East seeks the pleasures of the flesh...") I thought that this would be a serious story. It's really definately NOT.

Burn, Baby, Burn--I forget what this story was based on, but it was good. Very "Firestarter."

System Freeze--Written in the same world as "The Matrix." It's okay. Not being a big fan of the movie, I'm not one to judge.

Bayou de la Mère--We get to see Rickey and G-Man (of "The Value of X" fame) on vacation in this short piece. G-Man is still trying to reconcile Catholisism and his sexuality, making this a very poignant piece.

The Heart of New Orleans--Probably one of the BEST things Poppy has ever written, and the last Dr. Brite story in here. This story is humerous and sad and really, really shows the true heart of New Orleans. Anne Rice, eat your heart out.

A Season in Heck--A little taste of what's to come, methinks. This story takes place at Rickey and G-Man's restaurant, Liquor. However, Our Couple is not the focus of this story. No, this tale concentrates on Paul, a young line chef in the restaurant, and who has a *terrible* crush on G-Man. Bad boy!

All in all, this is an A+ collection from one of my personal favorite authors. Her new, sparser, more honest voice makes all of these stories seem a little more realistic than her earlier volumes--not in the sense of the supernatural, but in the sense of human behavior. Poppy remains one of the few authors who can take me from laughter to tears and back again in ten pages, and this collection is proof of that.