The result is an interesting if patchy collection where a straight crime caper rubs shoulders with an extraterrestrial con job and historical mystery with supernatural fantasy.
Although it is a bold experiment and I sympathise with the editors' attempt to combat the increasing fragmentation of the publishing market, I'm not sure it is entirely successful.
In part this is a matter of personal preference, but it also reflects the difficulty of arranging a collection around a central theme.
For all the differences in style and form there are only so many possible variations on the classic trickster, and while some stories are great fun and very clever,
21 of them en masse can lead to aesthetic indigestion. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying stories by authors I would never otherwise have bothered with.
Rogues is fun to dip into and I am certainly going to check out the editors' previous two collections, Warriors and Dangerous Women.
Cushla McKinney is a Dunedin scientist.
