Most of the stories were intense and rather dark, some less so, but all of them were rhetorically effective thought provoking. The last one was the best (I read this book over half a year, so of course I'd say that) ( )

As an anthology, like others, this book has it's ups and downs. That said, the high points of the book are very high and make it more than a worthwhile read. The collection of authors is fantastic and the stories, while not all spectacular, definitely grab the attention and keep you wanting more. A fun read.

This is a very mixed bag, ranging with stories remarkable in that they were published at all to stories by authors like Neil Gaiman, Robert Silverberg, and Jane Yolen. Some of the stories were haunting and chilling, such as Sarah Pinborough's "Snow Angels", Yolen's "An Infestation of Angels", and Chelsea Quinn Yarboro's "Thy Spinning Wheel Compleat". Others were just silly, poorly written, or were extremely hard to get into. The latter applies in particular to Brian Stableford's "Molly and the Angel", among others.

Still more treated the theme of angels as a call to please write a story that uses angels somehow, and squeezed it into this anthology mentioning, "Oh, yes, and an angel. The end."

It can certainly be said that this could have benefited by a better editor, who perhaps could have tightened the theme and weeded through the dreck a little better. Given the lengthy "About the Editor" at the end mainly comprised of book titles as opposed to any real information, it should have perhaps been self-evident that Jones cares more about quantity over quality. (I will certainly admit that I wasn't expecting so many stories in this anthology.)

Is it worth the $15-$20 that will likely be the cover price? Not at all. Is it worth the price of free from getting it to review or getting it from the library? Absolutely. Find it used, find it at the library, but even if you choose not to, you won't be missing much. ( )

Like most anthologies, Visitants is a mixed bag. Unfortunately, this bag included more than its fair share of less than inspired stories. Still, it has enough gems to make it worthwhile: Neil Gaiman’s “Murder Mysteries” and Jane Yolen’s “An Infestation of Angels” alone are worth the cover price.

Visitants, an anthology about angels both good and bad edited by Stephen Jones, is definitely a mixed bag. Most of the contributors will be known to those who follow speculative fiction, and some are household names, such as Robert Silverberg and Neil Gaiman, and Ramsey Campbell for those living in the UK.

This was an anthology that I really wanted to like, and while many of the stories were good, most of them didn’t hold my attention long or have me thinking about them afterward. But there were a few that most assuredly had me glad that I read them.

Sarah Pinborough’s Snow Angels is a haunting story as seen through the eyes of a terminally ill young boy living with others in a group environment where they have been placed so their families don’t have to watch them die. The use of first person will draw you in and make you feel so much a part of a story that you wouldn’t want to face yourself.

Thy Spinning Wheel Compleat by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro reminds me of a cross between a creepy episode of The X-Files that focused on an Amish-like community and the movie The Village, but on steroids. This one ups the ante comparatively, and will leave you with a creepy feeling that maybe you should watch over your shoulder if you live near a “closed” community.

A few other highlights are Old Mr. Boudreaux by Lisa Tuttle, The Fold by Conrad Williams, and With The Angels by Ramsey Campbell. The Silverberg story was also interesting, to a point.

Several of the stories didn’t meet my expectations, but there is enough in here that any reader who enjoys tales of the weird will should be able to find something to their liking. ( )