A thrilling read with complex characters and dynamic storylines. The book successfully melds characters stories together while maintaining an exciting and detailed account. Very good read. This is an author I will keep my eyes on.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and while this one was not as good I still enjoyed some of the stories. All the stories in this collection are based on famous paintings. Some really work and others fall short. Not all the stories are mysteries. My favorite was Deaver's A Significant Find. Enjoy this collection and artwork.

I really enjoyed Block's previous art-themed collection of short stories "In Sunlight or in Shadow" based on the paintings of Edward Hopper. This time around, there is no one single artist, rather he allows the writers free rein to pick their own.
While this leads to a more varied selection of short stories, it does mean it's a less cohesive whole, jumping from one genre to the next with plenty hits, but notably more misses than last time around. Once again he manages to bring together an impressive roster of writers, but some of the stars of the last compendium, such as Stephen King, leave a noticeable hole in the collection. If you haven't read "In Sunlight or In Shadow" I'd suggest you go there first. While there is still plenty to delight in this collection, it's just not as compelling as its predecessor.

I’d really enjoyed In Sunlight or in Shadow, a collection of short stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, so grabbing a copy of this collection (once again edited by Lawrence Block) was a no-brainer for me. There’s a brilliant cast of writers here, including big-time sellers such as Lee Child, Michael Connelly and Jeffery Deaver but also some lesser known names (to me, at least), some of whom had written stories included in the Hopper collection.

This time around the art works were individually selected by each writer and ranged from the relatively well know to the obscure. Connelly chose to use the third panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights by (of course) Hieronymous Bosch as the catalyst for his story of a series of bizarre murders whilst Kristine Kathryn Rush told a tale centred on the bombing of Cleveland’s Museum’s version of Rodin’s The Thinker, in 1970. Of the seventeen stories, I’d say that all but a couple grabbed me and held my attention for the short time it took me to read them through. I thought a few (for instance, offerings by Jill D. Block, Justin Scott and Joe R. Lansdale) were outstanding.

I do like this way of centring stories around a piece of art, it gives the reader a central point of reference – even more poignant if you’re familiar with the painting or statue in question. It’s a strong collection and if you like crime fiction there’s a good range of styles here. Highly recommended.

Lawrence Block continues the “art and writing experience” from In Sunlight or In Shadow with this exciting title “Alive in Shape and Color.” Sixteen authors choose paintings that are catalysts for exploring the paintings before them. The art becomes a portal into another time, a character’s motivation, a dilemma, a dream or a nightmare. The authors are as varied as the paintings, but always surprising and unsettling. David Morrell chose a Van Gogh self-portrait to explore those so passionate about art. Kristine Kathryn Rusch uses an actual event to “think” upon Rodin’s Thinker. Justin Scott’s choice of a Clyfford Still canvas unveils the more pernicious side of the art world. Jeffrey Deaver goes all the way back to the cave paintings of Lescaux but places the action in modern times. Michael Connelly slyly references the artwork of H. Bosch, in a LA setting. While those were my favorites, I cannot forget the darker works of Joyce Carol Oates, S J Rozan and Thomas Pluck – their stories still echoed in my head long after I finished this book. Alive in Shape and Color should be on the gift list for your friends that enjoy great art and excellent writing. It gives insight into what can inspire an author and how story can be shaped around a painter’s vision. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. I read it on Bluefire Reader and the quality of the art prints was very good.

I love anthologies. It is always nice to see favorite authors like Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, and read their great stories but it also a nice treat to discover new authors as well. This book was absolutely phenomenal and I can not wait to purchase a copy and add it to my collection.

Editor's note: This review will run in Mountain Times (Boone, NC) print and online Nov. 30, 2017, to coincide with publisher's release date.

Art for literature's sake: Lawrence Block's 'Alive in Shape and Color' a fitting encore

Great art makes for great reading — that was the premise behind Lawrence Block’s literary rock star-filled anthology in December 2016, “In Sunlight or in Shadow,” and that’s the idea behind that volume’s competent encore, “Alive in Shape and Color,” due on bookstore shelves a little less than a year later, on Dec. 5.

Like its predecessor, “Alive in Shape and Color” (Pegasus Books) calls on Block’s deep author connections to fill the volume. Although Stephen King — and, surprisingly, Block himself, a five-decade veteran of fiction production — opted out of this release, other names that already populate your home bookshelves — Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child and a dozen others — make a second, or in a very few cases, first, appearance with strong offerings of stories influenced by a particular piece of art.

Unlike “In Sunlight or in Shadow,” in which each tale was inspired by an Edward Hopper painting, “Alive in Shape and Color” allowed the authors themselves to finesse their own brand of artistry from a work of their choosing. And so, we have the expected — Gauguin, Rockwell, O’Keefe, van Gogh — side by side with the esoteric, say, “The Cave Paintings of Lascaux” or a piece of art that is not a painting at all, i.e. Rodin’s “The Thinker.”

But like its companion tome, these are no throwaway stories dashed off as a favor to a friend who needed an A-list of authors to overlay the cover art. Indeed, speaking to the effort that even the most productive of these writers put into “In Sunlight or in Shadow,” the result was award winning stories. King’s piece for that volume, “The Music Room,” earned an Edgar nomination, while Oates’ “The Woman in the Window” has been selected for “The Best American Mystery Stories 2017,” by way of two examples.

Which explains David Morrell’s “Orange is for anguish, blue for insanity,” a tale in "Alive in Shape and Color" that creates a fictional artist so real you’ll Google the name to fact-check yourself, Deaver’s “A Significant Find” with its Poe-esque flair for the macabre or 14 others that will do what a short story does best — leave it resonating in your brain a week later.

Couple the tales with the excellent production of the volume from Pegasus, including full color reproductions of the art, and not only is the $25.95 price your best value for a keepsake volume, it's a deal even at twice the $12.99 cost of the Kindle edition.

Some books, after all, are simply better in hardcover, and that includes those whose visual displays are worth a thousand words — and then some.