Short pieces with some relationship to the topic of horse racing. Some are originals, but most were solicited by magazines with a particular word limit. I enjoyed collision course for its melding of food, journalism and “the ephemeral nature of success.”

Uneven in the depth of their stories; some forced irony; still, generally entertaining is the “Francis style.”

Nothing here that matches the best Francis can offer, but there are interesting bits that reflect on “the English” during this period before the 21st century.

2.5

Some very great stories but a few that are at best quite ordinary. Still a Dick Francis collection, not to be missed for the story-telling!

What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

This format of short stories didn't work for me. Much preferred his regular novels.

I enjoyed a couple of these, especially Song for Mona and Haig's Death, the latter of which was exciting and brilliant. However, for the most part Francis works better in a longer format and most of these stories were lacking the character depth and humor I have come to expect from this author.

Hold your breath...

As with any work by Mr. Francis there are horses - usually all running in the same direction. I do not follow horse racing, but I do read Francis books about the sport. They are always interesting, at times exciting, and always a pleasant read. This one, and the added short stories, kept my attention and led to my ignoring the clock. No bother when you are reading the work of a good author.

Collection of downer short stories.

Eine Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten. Man kann sie genauso wenig weglegen wie die Romane von Dick Francis. Lauter kleine Kunstwerke mit Personen, die einem schon auf den wenigen Seiten ans Herz wachsen.

This is a book of short stories (mystery stories) by Dick Francis. I loved it. All the stories had some connection to the world of horse racing. What great characters, too. The stories had been created over the span of quite a few years, so that made the collection even more interesting to read. I think that anyone who likes Dick Francis' mystery novels would enjoy this book.

Short stories & I don't usually get along but these were pretty good, & entertaining in the usual DF way. They contain the author's spare prose & humour, much condensed, & the over-riding theme would seem to be justice. I enjoyed them all.

I'm the last person on earth to be caught with a "NY-times bestseller" in hand, yet here I was. Having depleted my library's reserve of Rex Stout titles for entertaining mindless reading, I was too winded to reach out for my fantasy comfort food (which, to me, is far from mindless) and even Raymond Chandler seemed too heavy-handed, to give a snapshot of my mental state of late.
What we have in this reviewed title is a decent page-turner that fulfills the sole task for which it has been intended: to provide light and easy-going amusement for a reader whose overcooked brain is in need of a good cooling down and whose stressed-out consciousness is in need of a harmless commitment-free distraction. Just as lite beer is geared primarily towards after-work off-duty casual times and shouldn't be compared to stronger, more pedigreed ales (a comparison which obviously disadvantages the former), so should this collection of easily digestible short stories not be mentioned in the same breath as the high-brow classics of American literature.
That being said, I found this collection to be exactly what the doctor ordered, for what it's worth. Dick Francis, as ever, revolves around his favorite equine world of the racetrack, and all the unscrupulous stuff that is teeming under its surface. The crimes are white-collar (no spilled guts, no violence), and instead of investigations they build up towards abrupt denouements with fast-paced suspense, stripped-down and episodic and, as far as the short-story medium goes, adequately satisfying.
This is clearly a big shot writing slick commissioned pieces geared to "sell" to the targeted audiences of publications he is composing for, and there were moments in the prose where that slick mainstream professionalism showed through and made the reading repugnant (a story commissioned by a women's magazine features a lovable faultless female protagonist who is exploited by nasty men around her - O RLY??? [sic]). Overall though, Francis writes with an emotional detachment of a quick-eyed lawyer who is on everybody's side at once yet has no qualms about manipulating his pawns. In the true American style, the value of (the belief in?) basic human decency and what-goes-around-comes-around mentality shows through. He is an ex-jockey, hence presumably his insider's knowledge of all the pitfalls of dealing with horses on professional level. I've probably written a longer review than the book is worth, but nevertheless - recommended for those seeking an easy read that is guaranteed not to involve the thought-processor at all. Liking horses is of course a plus.

Summary: A collection of thirteen short stories related to the horseracing world.

I admittedly know just about nothing about horseracing, but these tales were quick and fun!
Some were a bit more clever than others. Overall, a surprisingly pleasant anthology.