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35 reviews for:
Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy
Sharyn November
35 reviews for:
Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy
Sharyn November
I started reading this book for the story _In the House of the Seven Librarians_ by Ellen Klages. A coworker had given me a chance to read that short story several years ago, and while it took me a while to find the book again, I really wanted to re-read this whimsical little story about Dinsy and her seven librarian guardians. Once I finished that short story for the second time (loved it just as much as the first time!), I decided to read the rest of the book. Most of the stories where pleasant over all and a couple were also great short reads. A couple of them were so.... abstract, that they didn't strike me as anything worth recommending. So, 4 stars because while most of this anthology was a fun experience, there were couple stories here not worth bothering with.
A wonderful collection of short stories by very talented authors.
I enjoyed the first compilation by this editor, Firebirds, much more than this one, though I still found a few stories to enjoy. I found a lot of the spirit of the first book was missing in this, and the stories didn’t seem quite as strong. My favorite, which I wasn’t expecting to like, was “In the House of the Seven Librarians,” concerning seven old-fashioned librarians who lock themselves in their old library when a modern one is built across town. There were several stories I started and skipped and a few that just went nowhere.
Nice collection of all-original YA fantasy and sci-fi stories published by Firebird Press (an imprint of Puffin). Some highly regarded authors are represented in here including [a:Tanith Lee|8694|Tanith Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433005489p2/8694.jpg], [a:Charles de Lint|8185168|Charles de Lint|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494881016p2/8185168.jpg], [a:Diana Wynne Jones|4260|Diana Wynne Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1597798776p2/4260.jpg], [a:Tamora Pierce|8596|Tamora Pierce|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209044273p2/8596.jpg], [a:Patricia A. McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg], and [a:Alan Dean Foster|11735|Alan Dean Foster|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207233026p2/11735.jpg]. I enjoyed many of them but, as usual, I was also very happy to read some from authors I'd never heard of before. I read one story between each novel I've read so It's taken me a little more than a month to read these 16 stories.
Read straight through. Naturally it was a mixed bag.
The Good:
The Real Thing - Allison Goodman - Had it's problems, but I she got one really awesome character in there, so that made up for the problems mostly.
In the House of the Seven Librarians - Ellen Klages - Really liked it up until maybe the end. It got a little weird, but didn't ruin it.
Perception - Alan Dean Foster - Probably my favorite altogether, though I'm not sure what it's doing in this anthology. None of the characters were really teenagers as far as I could tell. They were only ever described as young. Still, I really liked the idea and the execution.
The House on the Planet - Tanith Lee - I did struggle with this one at first. I thought it was kind of bland. That the character problems were typical and not at all interesting, but as the story progressed, it got better and better and I loved how it ended. It just brought everything together. I think I'd like it as a full book to be honest.
The Bad:
Huntress - Tamora Pierce - The most bland out of them all, which I found surprising as I like Tamora Pierce (what I've read of her before anyway). I think it was just the story rather than the writing that I just did not find interesting at all.
Unwrapping - Nina Kiriki Hoffman - This was fine, mainly because it was short, but just not substantive enough to be worth reading.
I'll give you my Word - Diana Wynne Jones - May just not be a ran of the author's writing as I didn't like Howl's moving castle all that much either. It's whimsical and fun, but I think the writing just isn't for me.
The Wizards of Perfil - Kelly Link - Didn't like the basis of the story, but written fairly well.
Quill - Carol Emshwiller - Weird dinosaurs
Blood Roses - Francesca Lia Block - this one literally didn't make sense
The Okay to Mediocre:
Little (Grrl) Lost - Charles de Lint - I enjoyed the first half and it was a captivating idea. Of course it's basically the first chapter of a book the author was working on or something.
Wintermoon Wish - Sharon Shinn - Actually really liked this one, but it was the most basic romance one would expect for teenagers. I think it was just the writing that brought this one down to be honest.
Jack O'Lantern - Patricia A. McKillip - Fine, but didn't really understand what the point of the story was if there was one.
Hives - Kara Dalkey - I actually kind of really enjoyed this one, but the character annoyed me. I liked that it was kind of Veronica Mars, but in a dark dystopian teenage world if that makes any sense.
Cousins - Pamela Dean - I liked this one a lot as well, it just got a little weird/too philosophical at one point for it to really be good. I liked the world - and of course I come to learn it's in the same world as several other published works.
What Used to be Good Still Is - Emma Bull - Bittersweet. I liked the relationship between the two characters and thought it was really sweet. I liked the town and the mountain and that we actually got a male point of view. (there were only two others in this whole anthology that had male POVs and this was the only romance. )
The Good:
The Real Thing - Allison Goodman - Had it's problems, but I she got one really awesome character in there, so that made up for the problems mostly.
In the House of the Seven Librarians - Ellen Klages - Really liked it up until maybe the end. It got a little weird, but didn't ruin it.
Perception - Alan Dean Foster - Probably my favorite altogether, though I'm not sure what it's doing in this anthology. None of the characters were really teenagers as far as I could tell. They were only ever described as young. Still, I really liked the idea and the execution.
The House on the Planet - Tanith Lee - I did struggle with this one at first. I thought it was kind of bland. That the character problems were typical and not at all interesting, but as the story progressed, it got better and better and I loved how it ended. It just brought everything together. I think I'd like it as a full book to be honest.
The Bad:
Huntress - Tamora Pierce - The most bland out of them all, which I found surprising as I like Tamora Pierce (what I've read of her before anyway). I think it was just the story rather than the writing that I just did not find interesting at all.
Unwrapping - Nina Kiriki Hoffman - This was fine, mainly because it was short, but just not substantive enough to be worth reading.
I'll give you my Word - Diana Wynne Jones - May just not be a ran of the author's writing as I didn't like Howl's moving castle all that much either. It's whimsical and fun, but I think the writing just isn't for me.
The Wizards of Perfil - Kelly Link - Didn't like the basis of the story, but written fairly well.
Quill - Carol Emshwiller - Weird dinosaurs
Blood Roses - Francesca Lia Block - this one literally didn't make sense
The Okay to Mediocre:
Little (Grrl) Lost - Charles de Lint - I enjoyed the first half and it was a captivating idea. Of course it's basically the first chapter of a book the author was working on or something.
Wintermoon Wish - Sharon Shinn - Actually really liked this one, but it was the most basic romance one would expect for teenagers. I think it was just the writing that brought this one down to be honest.
Jack O'Lantern - Patricia A. McKillip - Fine, but didn't really understand what the point of the story was if there was one.
Hives - Kara Dalkey - I actually kind of really enjoyed this one, but the character annoyed me. I liked that it was kind of Veronica Mars, but in a dark dystopian teenage world if that makes any sense.
Cousins - Pamela Dean - I liked this one a lot as well, it just got a little weird/too philosophical at one point for it to really be good. I liked the world - and of course I come to learn it's in the same world as several other published works.
What Used to be Good Still Is - Emma Bull - Bittersweet. I liked the relationship between the two characters and thought it was really sweet. I liked the town and the mountain and that we actually got a male point of view. (there were only two others in this whole anthology that had male POVs and this was the only romance. )
The authors who I like from other things, I also liked here. All around they were interesting but I just don't like short stories as much.
I'm a voracious reader of fantasy, and have recently made forays into the realm of science fiction, so i had high hopes picking this up, especially since i recognized several of the contributing authors.
That said, it was okay. Some stories (such as Wintermoon Wish, and Hives) were really good (albeit maybe a little freaky). Some were no more than merely enjoyable, and some i didn't care for as much. Blood Roses was so confusing. I read it three times and still have no clue what's happening or what the point was. But the only story I sincerely hated was Huntress - the premise of which I found kind of disturbing, and the New Age goddess thing was weird - a major disappointment since i'm a Tamora Pierce fan.
I'll probably be a little more careful about picking up fantasy anthologies in future, but this wasn't bad overall. Firebirds Rising was a mix of the good, the excellent, and the ugly.
That said, it was okay. Some stories (such as Wintermoon Wish, and Hives) were really good (albeit maybe a little freaky). Some were no more than merely enjoyable, and some i didn't care for as much. Blood Roses was so confusing. I read it three times and still have no clue what's happening or what the point was. But the only story I sincerely hated was Huntress - the premise of which I found kind of disturbing, and the New Age goddess thing was weird - a major disappointment since i'm a Tamora Pierce fan.
I'll probably be a little more careful about picking up fantasy anthologies in future, but this wasn't bad overall. Firebirds Rising was a mix of the good, the excellent, and the ugly.
A collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories that will give you a small taste of everything you would like to read.
Many good stories. Not really about Firebirds though just science fiction/fantasy books. Some of them aren't that great and some of them I wish were longer.
I read a little over half the stories and skimmed/skipped the rest.
Only a couple of stories really stood out to me: Wizards of Perfil and the one about the seven librarians. Can't remember the name.
The rest either made no sense or were made for like middle-schoolers/overly dramatic teenagers.
I really liked the Wizards of Perfil and would actually read a full story of this. Same with the seven librarians.
I stopped on a story about a girl and her sister getting painted for her sister's wedding or something. Idk. I got bored and have found so few good gems in this book I dropped it. I skimmed Hives, and Quill. Neither really stood out to me.
Usually books that rate this low I usually remove from my shelves (unless they are a part of a highly rated series). This one I'm keeping for the two short stories I mentioned.
Only a couple of stories really stood out to me: Wizards of Perfil and the one about the seven librarians. Can't remember the name.
The rest either made no sense or were made for like middle-schoolers/overly dramatic teenagers.
I really liked the Wizards of Perfil and would actually read a full story of this. Same with the seven librarians.
I stopped on a story about a girl and her sister getting painted for her sister's wedding or something. Idk. I got bored and have found so few good gems in this book I dropped it. I skimmed Hives, and Quill. Neither really stood out to me.
Usually books that rate this low I usually remove from my shelves (unless they are a part of a highly rated series). This one I'm keeping for the two short stories I mentioned.