Scan barcode
braynard's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Like most writers, I have a deep love for all things stationary. I have always had a large stack of pretty notebooks waiting for me to use. There has always been crayons and pencils and pens begging for my attention. And I love a good fountain pen. So, when I saw a book about pens at my local comic con, I was hooked.
I had high hopes for this short story collection—a combination of my own love and the book seller’s sales tactics. Unfortunately, this fell quite short of my expectations.
I had high hopes for this short story collection—a combination of my own love and the book seller’s sales tactics. Unfortunately, this fell quite short of my expectations.
“Community of Magic Pens” is a short story anthology all centered around the idea of pens and how they impact our lives. Most of the stories take the term “magic pens” literally, meaning that most are fantasy or science fiction.
To be honest, I think the requirement to focus on pens is where the problem started. A magic pen would be an interesting item to add to a larger piece, but making it the center point of a story means that the conflict had to revolve around the pen. Pens are beautiful and useful and lovely, but they are not narratively interesting. Most stories ended up falling back on a simple internal conflict—usually the main character struggling to write—that was solved by the pen being amazing or magical in some way. Basically, they all ended up being “Believe in yourself and you can do anything!” stories. And these kinds of stories get very old, very fast.
This issue was no doubt worsened by the project format and goal. It is a collection of short stories designed to show readers how much writers love their pens. The short story format meant that the writers had limited time and space to explore their ideas, which meant any deeper implications had to be ignored in favor of a complete narrative arc. The emphasis on loving pens means that the stories had to show the pens in a positive light. No particularly dangerous or harmful pens were shown. This means that writers had to fall back on simplistic plots and world building.
I am not upset that I read this collection. I think that the idea behind it was poorly thought out but chosen with all the best intention. I also think that younger readers might appreciate the simple plots more than me, so it is a good option if you have kids who love pens. That said, I will not reread it anytime soon.
juliajeffress's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
editorbrenna's review
4.0
I'd never really thought about pens other than as tools to write with. This collection of short stories gave me a whole new perspective.
Community of Magic Pens is a collection of forty short stories written by a cast of diverse authors. There are stories from all genres: science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, satire, mystery, etc. and every story prominently features a pen in some way.
I find it difficult to review short story collections when each story is written by a different author. This collection had both highs and lows for me.
Some of the stories in this collection didn't grasp my attention, and I think the writing in a few of the stories could be improved. As a whole, though, this collection impressed me with the range of stories and imagination. I was particularly drawn to the speculative fiction stories because the worlds and characters in those stories were more refreshing to me in some ways.
I also appreciated the diversity of voices in the collection. The authors represent different sexualities, genders, abilities, races, and religions, and it was particularly satisfying to read pronouns other than "he" and "she."
The bite-sized stories in Community of Magic Pens makes it easy to pick up and put down, which is fantastic for on-the-go reading or for something small to break up the day. It's different from any short story collection I've read before, and I would definitely read it again.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Release Date: May 4, 2020
Thank you NetGalley and Atthis Arts, LLC for the e-ARC!
Community of Magic Pens is a collection of forty short stories written by a cast of diverse authors. There are stories from all genres: science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, satire, mystery, etc. and every story prominently features a pen in some way.
I find it difficult to review short story collections when each story is written by a different author. This collection had both highs and lows for me.
Some of the stories in this collection didn't grasp my attention, and I think the writing in a few of the stories could be improved. As a whole, though, this collection impressed me with the range of stories and imagination. I was particularly drawn to the speculative fiction stories because the worlds and characters in those stories were more refreshing to me in some ways.
I also appreciated the diversity of voices in the collection. The authors represent different sexualities, genders, abilities, races, and religions, and it was particularly satisfying to read pronouns other than "he" and "she."
The bite-sized stories in Community of Magic Pens makes it easy to pick up and put down, which is fantastic for on-the-go reading or for something small to break up the day. It's different from any short story collection I've read before, and I would definitely read it again.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Release Date: May 4, 2020
Thank you NetGalley and Atthis Arts, LLC for the e-ARC!
minervacerridwen's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Disclaimer: I wrote the story "Memory Malfunction" which is part of this anthology.
I really loved Community of Magic Pens. It's not only a fun cover, though that's also definitely true, but most of the stories have a lot of depth, a very specific atmosphere, and so many different kinds of magic that you can't ever look at a pen and think it's "just an object" anymore. (Though in all honesty, pens had been magical objects to me for a very long time, so on that point I'm probably biased.)
When I review anthologies, I often point out some of my favourite stories, but it's almost impossible to do that here. These stories were ALL good. And I loved the way the anthology was built up as well. In some places, it seemed like the stories had been put together in sets of two, where they both put the spotlight on a different aspect of similar themes. I noticed this with "The Last of Your Kind" and my own story, for example, but also with the fairy tale-themed stories near the end of the book. It highlighted even more how diverse the takes on the theme are, and what a wide range of genres is being covered. There are clever stories, funny stories, comforting stories, emotional stories. And I can't say if it's "just" because I'm one of the writers, but to me the sense of community was definitely tangible behind them all.
Even though I mean what I say about not being able to pick favourites because far too many titles come to mind when I try, I do want to give a special shoutout to "Today, I am a Fountain Pen" as the story I will probably return to reread several times.
I really loved Community of Magic Pens. It's not only a fun cover, though that's also definitely true, but most of the stories have a lot of depth, a very specific atmosphere, and so many different kinds of magic that you can't ever look at a pen and think it's "just an object" anymore. (Though in all honesty, pens had been magical objects to me for a very long time, so on that point I'm probably biased.)
When I review anthologies, I often point out some of my favourite stories, but it's almost impossible to do that here. These stories were ALL good. And I loved the way the anthology was built up as well. In some places, it seemed like the stories had been put together in sets of two, where they both put the spotlight on a different aspect of similar themes. I noticed this with "The Last of Your Kind" and my own story, for example, but also with the fairy tale-themed stories near the end of the book. It highlighted even more how diverse the takes on the theme are, and what a wide range of genres is being covered. There are clever stories, funny stories, comforting stories, emotional stories. And I can't say if it's "just" because I'm one of the writers, but to me the sense of community was definitely tangible behind them all.
Even though I mean what I say about not being able to pick favourites because far too many titles come to mind when I try, I do want to give a special shoutout to "Today, I am a Fountain Pen" as the story I will probably return to reread several times.
More...