Bingo 4: Hold Steady
Drew Hayes has been one of very few authors who has been both reasonably consistent and prolific without getting dull; he’s also a favorite of mine, so for all those reasons, he counts as Holding Steady. What’s new is that Villains’ Vignettes Vol 1 is a story without a connecting plot building; the three tales are a bit long to be short stories, so maybe we’ll call them novelettes. The style somehow manages to be straightforward but still have snappy dialogue and atmosphere; that’s one thing I’ve always kind of appreciated, the clever without obviously trying too hard.
All three of these are kind of standard super-hero/villain stories (an isekai, Halloween takeover, and the truth behind Christmas) but that’s also what Hayes does, take trop-y popular culture and have fun with them in a generally entertaining way. Even if the stories are familiar there’s usually a twist, such as who the Guardian of Christmas is (not Santa, he’s different), how do you beat/escape from the Halloween spell, and who finally slays the evil demon the ‘hero’ is summoned from another world to help the priestess destroy.
I will say that you do need some familiarity with the Villains’ Code series (ongoing) to really get the most out of this collection since there are quite a few references to things in the two novels; I have to admit since it’s been a while since I’ve read them, I had a little trouble with who a few characters were. Some of the newer characters are also amusing (guess which side ‘Fashionistador’ is on, hero or villain) and some are there as functional plot devices that still manage to have a moment or too (Tangle the elf has things to say about Tori cussing in his presence).
The introduction places these stories after the events of the second novel, which makes sense given references to what happens in that book, but also suggests the intriguing possibility that some of the storis here might have something to do with the main plotline that will be continuing. I have my suspicions about which/what that could be, but time will tell. It’s something to look forward to if nothing else.
