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vorsoisson's review
3.0
On the whole, I was a little disappointed by this short story collection; I had high expectations of an anthology, edited by McKinley, but none of the stories other than McKinley's own "The Stone Fey" particularly resonated with me. And if you want to read "The Stone Fey", I'd recommend the stand-alone illustrated version.
Still three stars, though. A disappointing McKinley collection is still better than most collections.
Still three stars, though. A disappointing McKinley collection is still better than most collections.
clevermird's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
After the insanity that was Draco, I needed a palate cleanser and more Robin McKinley seemed like the perfect place to find one.
However, as I started, it quickly became clear that there wasn't a lot of Ms. McKinley in this book, as it's an anthology by various authors, with her contributing only the final story and editing. Nonetheless, this book was a really enjoyable time and while, as is pretty much always the case, some of the stories resonated more than others, I feel like I've found a bit of hidden gem here.
The book has nine stories in it, the longest about 35 pages and the shortest around 12, all designed around the idea that the land itself would be a prominent feature of the story. The stories we get:
"Paper Dragons" - An unnamed narrator travels to San Francisco to help an eccentric neighbor with his quest to build a dragon
"The Old Woman and the Storm" - At the dawn of all things, Arram meets a mysterious and capricious old woman.
"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" - Hiram, Sonja, and their parents' vacation is derailed to a mysterious English town that is slowly sinking into the hillside
"Flight" - A psudo-history of the only tribe never conquered by the great Ob empire
"Evian Steel" - On the island where no man is allowed to spend the night, a young noblewoman joins an order of sword forgers and meets a mysterious older girl with a secret
"Stranger Blood" - A young man with a bad leg discovers that death is stalking the remote border fortress where he lives when a woman with a dark past arrives
"The Curse of Igamor" - A corrupt noble controls his populace with threats of a cursed horse with a long back
"Tam Lin" - Retells a classic Scottish ballad about a young woman who falls in love with a fairy knight
"The Stone Fey" - In a remote village, a shepherdess falls under the spell of a hill spirit
The stories have a pleasing variety to them - "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "Curse of Igamor" are lighthearted children's tales while "Flight" and "Paper Dragons" have a sadness and longing to them. "Tam Lin" and "Evian Steel" reference well-known tales and "Stone Fey" and "Stranger Blood" are set in the worlds of other works by the authors. Settings range from classic high fantasy to pseudo-steampunk and everything in between.
Ironically, the story that led me to seek this book out in the first place (Stone Fey) is one of the weaker entries with McKinley's frequent sin of fumbled endings showing up again here and the Damarian setting seeming more window dressing than anything actually connecting it to The Blue Sword or The Hero and the Crown.
"Flight" was probably my favorite, fitting the brief to perfection and featuring both creative worldbuilding and an engaging writing style that kept me invested despite being one of the longest stories.
I definitely recommend this one as I found myself really enjoying uncovering all the unique directions the stories would take and waiting to see how they ended. It's fast, fun reading and is a great way to break up longer or more serious reads with a few really creative ideas
However, as I started, it quickly became clear that there wasn't a lot of Ms. McKinley in this book, as it's an anthology by various authors, with her contributing only the final story and editing. Nonetheless, this book was a really enjoyable time and while, as is pretty much always the case, some of the stories resonated more than others, I feel like I've found a bit of hidden gem here.
The book has nine stories in it, the longest about 35 pages and the shortest around 12, all designed around the idea that the land itself would be a prominent feature of the story. The stories we get:
"Paper Dragons" - An unnamed narrator travels to San Francisco to help an eccentric neighbor with his quest to build a dragon
"The Old Woman and the Storm" - At the dawn of all things, Arram meets a mysterious and capricious old woman.
"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" - Hiram, Sonja, and their parents' vacation is derailed to a mysterious English town that is slowly sinking into the hillside
"Flight" - A psudo-history of the only tribe never conquered by the great Ob empire
"Evian Steel" - On the island where no man is allowed to spend the night, a young noblewoman joins an order of sword forgers and meets a mysterious older girl with a secret
"Stranger Blood" - A young man with a bad leg discovers that death is stalking the remote border fortress where he lives when a woman with a dark past arrives
"The Curse of Igamor" - A corrupt noble controls his populace with threats of a cursed horse with a long back
"Tam Lin" - Retells a classic Scottish ballad about a young woman who falls in love with a fairy knight
"The Stone Fey" - In a remote village, a shepherdess falls under the spell of a hill spirit
The stories have a pleasing variety to them - "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "Curse of Igamor" are lighthearted children's tales while "Flight" and "Paper Dragons" have a sadness and longing to them. "Tam Lin" and "Evian Steel" reference well-known tales and "Stone Fey" and "Stranger Blood" are set in the worlds of other works by the authors. Settings range from classic high fantasy to pseudo-steampunk and everything in between.
Ironically, the story that led me to seek this book out in the first place (Stone Fey) is one of the weaker entries with McKinley's frequent sin of fumbled endings showing up again here and the Damarian setting seeming more window dressing than anything actually connecting it to The Blue Sword or The Hero and the Crown.
"Flight" was probably my favorite, fitting the brief to perfection and featuring both creative worldbuilding and an engaging writing style that kept me invested despite being one of the longest stories.
I definitely recommend this one as I found myself really enjoying uncovering all the unique directions the stories would take and waiting to see how they ended. It's fast, fun reading and is a great way to break up longer or more serious reads with a few really creative ideas
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, War, Violence, Misogyny, Racism, Colonisation, Death, and Pregnancy
danaherrmann's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
singinglight's review
3.0
edited by Robin McKinley
This the second time I've read this anthology. Oddly enough, I think I liked it more this time around. There were still a few stories I wasn't as wild about. But "Flight" by Peter Dickinson, "The Old Woman and the Storm" by Patricia McKillip, and "The Stone Fey" by Robin McKinley herself were all, in my opinion, excellent. They were also, interestingly enough, the stories which I felt best fulfilled the stated mission of the book: "the stories...must have a particularly strong sense of location, of the imaginary land each was laid in."
Having just read Fire and Hemlock, Joan Vinge's "Tam Lin" provided an interesting counterpoint. Fire and Hemlock is still my favorite (although Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard comes in at a very close second). It may have something to do with the length--book length lets Diana Wynne Jones build up her characters much more effectively. But I think it's mostly that I prefer Fire and Hemlock's conclusion. While both are somewhat bittersweet--something lost and something gained--Fire and Hemlock felt both more real and more hopeful to me.
"Stranger Blood" by P.C. Hodgell was another of my favorites. Again, there was a strong sense of the land and culture as something both distinct and real.
All in all, I'd definitely recommend this anthology if you enjoy reading fantasy, especially fantasy set in a specific location.
Book source: Southern Oregon University library
This the second time I've read this anthology. Oddly enough, I think I liked it more this time around. There were still a few stories I wasn't as wild about. But "Flight" by Peter Dickinson, "The Old Woman and the Storm" by Patricia McKillip, and "The Stone Fey" by Robin McKinley herself were all, in my opinion, excellent. They were also, interestingly enough, the stories which I felt best fulfilled the stated mission of the book: "the stories...must have a particularly strong sense of location, of the imaginary land each was laid in."
Having just read Fire and Hemlock, Joan Vinge's "Tam Lin" provided an interesting counterpoint. Fire and Hemlock is still my favorite (although Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard comes in at a very close second). It may have something to do with the length--book length lets Diana Wynne Jones build up her characters much more effectively. But I think it's mostly that I prefer Fire and Hemlock's conclusion. While both are somewhat bittersweet--something lost and something gained--Fire and Hemlock felt both more real and more hopeful to me.
"Stranger Blood" by P.C. Hodgell was another of my favorites. Again, there was a strong sense of the land and culture as something both distinct and real.
All in all, I'd definitely recommend this anthology if you enjoy reading fantasy, especially fantasy set in a specific location.
Book source: Southern Oregon University library
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