Some great stories but some hard to follow. Generally good reding ( )

Multiple short stories on 'Noir' theme. None really stand out, some better than others (as with many collections of short stories), many with quite predictable twists and a lot just left me with a feeling of 'meh'.
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I received my advance copy through the Early Reviewers program, as an ebook.

I enjoy noir as a genre, and I was pleased to realise as I read through this collection that there were stories based in the USA, the UK and even China.

As is always the case with anthologies, some stories were better than others, and some more appealing than others. I appreciated the pathetic nature of the characters in 'Going Clean', the strange, laugh-out-loud humour of 'Fifty Shades of Maigret', the unravelling of 'The First Suspect'.

Noir, as a genre, whether in literature or cinema, deals with low-life shady characters who live on the edge of society and the law. Good stories could well make the reader feel uncomfortable, but are unlikely to make one say "That's how I want to live!". I'm just pleased these characters are in literature and not in my real life. ( )

I received an e-book of "Bang! an anthology of modern noir fiction" through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program. Unfortunately, the pdf sent to me was replete with publisher's markings meant for the printer to decipher and other formatting problems, such that I couldn't actually read the book (and my kindle app doesn't accept mobi/kindle texts not bought from amazon, weirdly enough). I am sad about this because it looks like an interesting volume, full of stories by authors whose names I don't know (I only recognized the names of Maxim Jakubowski and Rhys Hughes in the table of contents). However, all is not lost: I will simply have to *buy* the book when it is published, so not a terrible blow after all! DNF.

Yet another read I only finished out of obligation, not because I enjoyed it.
I found this a rather indifferent collection of short stories. The settings and background stories were even OK, but the action felt rather lame and predictable. If 'Noir' entails bland, straightforward story-telling without a single plot twist, I guess this genre just is not for me. I felt bored throughout. ( )