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readingnut2_0's review against another edition
5.0
I was only interested in the short story "Justice"
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
4.0
This is an awesome collection… Really. As usual, I was a little skeptical while picking up a book of short stories because very few short stories can actually satisfy my book-wormish curiosity. Mostly I am left feeling cheated because I always need to no more – it happens with novels too.
I have very little knowledge of Tarot yet these stories practically spoke to me. Based on the cards of Major Arcana, this series of stories embodies the factors that these cards stand for. Sometimes the stories physically feature a card and sometimes they just signify each card. As a result each story is unique – they can be classified into different genres ranging from sci-fi to horror. Each story being written by a different author has a different narrative style too. So while, there’s a theme to tie them together – the stories stand apart from each other. Also the common denominator in all these stories is the fact they are all well written and fascinating on their own.
It is difficult to point out just one story that stood out for me… but my favourites were Phoenix by Laura Eno, The Moon by J.H.Sked, On the Shoulders of Muses by Jessica McHugh and Transformation by Timothy Smith.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
claredragonfly's review
3.0
Like most anthologies I read, this was a mixed bag for me.
A lot of the stories were very poorly edited, which may have skewed my ratings in some places. The anthology really could have used a copy editor to go over the whole thing, but it seems to have been left up to individual authors.
There was more horror than I expected, which is actually a good thing--I love horror almost as much as fantasy, but I was expecting this book to be mainly fantasy. People who don't like horror should probably steer clear, though!
"On the Road to Devil’s Gulch" by Peter Giglio - ***
The story was decent, but I wanted more plot. I felt like the ending to this story was really the middle of some other story. The narrator didn't get a complete arc.
"The Intern’s Story" by Lon Prater - ***
Again, a decent story, and I did like the conceit of faeries only showing up in photographs, but I didn't feel as though the narrator had a complete story arc.
"Deadly Son" by Billie Sue Mosiman - **
In this case I didn't think the narrator got a story arc at all. She is a priestess and seer to King Solomon, and if anyone gets a story arc, it's him, but I'm not sure he did. The story felt very scattered to me--sometimes it was about the priestess, sometimes it was about King Solomon and Queen Sheba, sometimes it was about their son--and I think would have been better served as a much longer story with room for several POVs.
"Flesh in Frame" by Spike Marlowe - ****
Short and sweet and creepy.
"Dmitri and the Mad Monk" by Kris Austen Radcliffe - ***
I found this one pretty hard to get into because the relationships between the characters were not clear, but it did get pretty exciting toward the end. I liked the different magical powers.
"On the Shoulders of Muses" by Jessica McHugh - *****
Unusual concept, in a great story with a perfect ending. I just wish the term "blood muse" had been explained--I'm guessing that meant born to be a muse, but that doesn't explain why it seemed to be so significant or asking about it offensive.
"A Modern Affair" by Eden Baylee - **
I was too frustrated by the character not saying she was married to really like the story, but the ending was good.
"Squashfest" by Annetta Ribken - ***
I liked the characters, but this is another one that ended abruptly--the significance of the card, the Chariot, was never made clear. This one really seemed like a prologue, not a story that stood on its own.
"A Promise In the Dark" by Rochelle Maya Callen - ***
Decent story, not well written but I liked the worldbuilding.
"The Hermit" by Red Tash - ***
I liked the story, but couldn't really get into the characters or make sense of the world. I did really like the way the Hermit's lantern was used in the story.
"Vista Bridge" by MeiLin Miranda - *****
Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of MeiLin's work and 90% of the reason I picked up this anthology is her name. However, I think I would consider this the best story in the anthology even if I weren't already familiar with the author. I literally couldn't put my phone down to stop reading this at any point. The main character was wonderful and had a very unusual power with an intriguing take on luck.
"Justice" by Catie Rhodes - ****
This was a fun story, though I found it unexpectedly violent for the lighthearted tone.
"Path of Sacrifice" by Matthew Bryan - *
I had a very hard time following this one and ended up skimming most of it. This is another one where the story seems more like a prologue than a standalone story and I think it could have been tightened up a lot.
"Transformation" by Timothy Bryant Smith - ****
Sweet and sad. The characters felt very real.
"Reply All" by Anne Chaconas - *****
Hilarious story and the email structure was perfect. Don't skim the email headers even though they get repetitive! They are crucial. However, this story seemed to have the least connection to its Tarot card of all of them.
"Hoarder" by Patti Larsen - ****
Very creepy, very sad, very well done. I'm not sure if the author is a fan of the TV show Warehouse 13, but this story definitely reminded me of it. Too bad Pete and Myka didn't show up to help the main character...
"After the Fall" by Jordan L. Hawk - ****
Sweet little romance. I liked the backstory with the psy soldier getting his powers burned out.
"L'Etoile Flamboyant" by Samantha Henderson - *****
Wow! This is definitely an author I'll be looking for in the future. Excellent post-apocalyptic world building and fascinating characters. Gorgeous and strange and creepy and sad.
"The Moon" by J. H. Sked - ****
Very beautiful and very sad. I liked the literal use of the Tarot card as magical object and the strong friendship between tow old women.
"The Strange Case of Sal and the Solar Elixir" by Tristan J. Tarwater - *****
Cool worldbuilding. Liked the story and the main character. I did get the feeling that it was a prologue--it's definitely the very beginning of this character's adventures--but it formed a complete story on its own and has definitely made me want to see if there are more books about this character.
"A Body for your Birthday" by Jennifer Wingard - ***
I really wanted to like this story; the characters at the beginning were fantastic. But the mystery was unsatisfying, the ending too easy, and it switched POV halfway through so that the characters from the beginning didn't actually get closure.
"Phoenix" by Laura Eno - ***
The character and world were fairly interesting, but most of the story was taken up with backstory rather than present action. And when it did get to present action, I didn't understand what was going on and I definitely didn't understand the ending.
Note: I received this anthology as a free download from Story Cartel in exchange for a review.
A lot of the stories were very poorly edited, which may have skewed my ratings in some places. The anthology really could have used a copy editor to go over the whole thing, but it seems to have been left up to individual authors.
There was more horror than I expected, which is actually a good thing--I love horror almost as much as fantasy, but I was expecting this book to be mainly fantasy. People who don't like horror should probably steer clear, though!
"On the Road to Devil’s Gulch" by Peter Giglio - ***
The story was decent, but I wanted more plot. I felt like the ending to this story was really the middle of some other story. The narrator didn't get a complete arc.
"The Intern’s Story" by Lon Prater - ***
Again, a decent story, and I did like the conceit of faeries only showing up in photographs, but I didn't feel as though the narrator had a complete story arc.
"Deadly Son" by Billie Sue Mosiman - **
In this case I didn't think the narrator got a story arc at all. She is a priestess and seer to King Solomon, and if anyone gets a story arc, it's him, but I'm not sure he did. The story felt very scattered to me--sometimes it was about the priestess, sometimes it was about King Solomon and Queen Sheba, sometimes it was about their son--and I think would have been better served as a much longer story with room for several POVs.
"Flesh in Frame" by Spike Marlowe - ****
Short and sweet and creepy.
"Dmitri and the Mad Monk" by Kris Austen Radcliffe - ***
I found this one pretty hard to get into because the relationships between the characters were not clear, but it did get pretty exciting toward the end. I liked the different magical powers.
"On the Shoulders of Muses" by Jessica McHugh - *****
Unusual concept, in a great story with a perfect ending. I just wish the term "blood muse" had been explained--I'm guessing that meant born to be a muse, but that doesn't explain why it seemed to be so significant or asking about it offensive.
"A Modern Affair" by Eden Baylee - **
I was too frustrated by the character not saying she was married to really like the story, but the ending was good.
"Squashfest" by Annetta Ribken - ***
I liked the characters, but this is another one that ended abruptly--the significance of the card, the Chariot, was never made clear. This one really seemed like a prologue, not a story that stood on its own.
"A Promise In the Dark" by Rochelle Maya Callen - ***
Decent story, not well written but I liked the worldbuilding.
"The Hermit" by Red Tash - ***
I liked the story, but couldn't really get into the characters or make sense of the world. I did really like the way the Hermit's lantern was used in the story.
"Vista Bridge" by MeiLin Miranda - *****
Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of MeiLin's work and 90% of the reason I picked up this anthology is her name. However, I think I would consider this the best story in the anthology even if I weren't already familiar with the author. I literally couldn't put my phone down to stop reading this at any point. The main character was wonderful and had a very unusual power with an intriguing take on luck.
"Justice" by Catie Rhodes - ****
This was a fun story, though I found it unexpectedly violent for the lighthearted tone.
"Path of Sacrifice" by Matthew Bryan - *
I had a very hard time following this one and ended up skimming most of it. This is another one where the story seems more like a prologue than a standalone story and I think it could have been tightened up a lot.
"Transformation" by Timothy Bryant Smith - ****
Sweet and sad. The characters felt very real.
"Reply All" by Anne Chaconas - *****
Hilarious story and the email structure was perfect. Don't skim the email headers even though they get repetitive! They are crucial. However, this story seemed to have the least connection to its Tarot card of all of them.
"Hoarder" by Patti Larsen - ****
Very creepy, very sad, very well done. I'm not sure if the author is a fan of the TV show Warehouse 13, but this story definitely reminded me of it. Too bad Pete and Myka didn't show up to help the main character...
"After the Fall" by Jordan L. Hawk - ****
Sweet little romance. I liked the backstory with the psy soldier getting his powers burned out.
"L'Etoile Flamboyant" by Samantha Henderson - *****
Wow! This is definitely an author I'll be looking for in the future. Excellent post-apocalyptic world building and fascinating characters. Gorgeous and strange and creepy and sad.
"The Moon" by J. H. Sked - ****
Very beautiful and very sad. I liked the literal use of the Tarot card as magical object and the strong friendship between tow old women.
"The Strange Case of Sal and the Solar Elixir" by Tristan J. Tarwater - *****
Cool worldbuilding. Liked the story and the main character. I did get the feeling that it was a prologue--it's definitely the very beginning of this character's adventures--but it formed a complete story on its own and has definitely made me want to see if there are more books about this character.
"A Body for your Birthday" by Jennifer Wingard - ***
I really wanted to like this story; the characters at the beginning were fantastic. But the mystery was unsatisfying, the ending too easy, and it switched POV halfway through so that the characters from the beginning didn't actually get closure.
"Phoenix" by Laura Eno - ***
The character and world were fairly interesting, but most of the story was taken up with backstory rather than present action. And when it did get to present action, I didn't understand what was going on and I definitely didn't understand the ending.
Note: I received this anthology as a free download from Story Cartel in exchange for a review.
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