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notturna's review against another edition
4.0
I bought this book for its inclusion of a Garth Nix short story, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the tales contained within.
songwind's review against another edition
4.0
All in all, a very good collection of short stories. They ranged from standard fantasy to urban. There was really only one story in the collection that I disliked, and several that I greatly enjoyed.
spitzig's review against another edition
3.0
Eh, for most of the stories. Of course, I loved the Gaiman story. A few others were ok. Most of them were a waste of time.
I think I need to stop reading these collections of different authors. It just leads me to read a bunch of authors I've never heard of. And, for a long time, I've tried to read books based on reputation. Sturgeon's Law-90% of everything is crap. And, I don't want to read crap.
I think I need to stop reading these collections of different authors. It just leads me to read a bunch of authors I've never heard of. And, for a long time, I've tried to read books based on reputation. Sturgeon's Law-90% of everything is crap. And, I don't want to read crap.
jackdoud's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
sparklingreader's review against another edition
5.0
Fantasy stories ignite the imagination in ways that realistic fiction can not. Characters are larger than life. Conflicts mean life and death – often for an entire race or culture.
In this collection, editors Dann and Dozois, have collected unpublished short stories from a variety of well-known fantasy authors. Each story is about a wizard, but rarely do they appear in the pointed hat and starry cape (like the one on the cover of the book):
Orson Scott Card introduces us to the mages of the elements, who draw their power and their forms from nature.
Mary Rosenblum creates a magical world of colorful auras and a mysterious villain, threatened with oblivion by the real mask they wear.
Terry Dowling takes us to a special school, where students make choices that affect not only their own magical power and abilities, but those around them as well.
Journey through hell and talk to the devil with stories from Andy Duncan and from Terry Bisson.
There is no way to give proper accolades to every story and author represented in this book. Pick up the book and choose one of the excellently crafted stories to embark on a magical mini-vacation today! There are 18 destinations to choose from; a little something to suit every fantasy reader.
lanzajr26's review
2.0
Overall this wasn't a bad collection of short wizardly and magical stories, but there were just a few too many Harry Potter clones to make it stand out. I only found a few of the stories to be original enough to be memorable. I appreciate short stories where I can find the, unfortunately the Harry Potter effect has really watered this genre down.
jay9813's review against another edition
4.0
Dark Alchemy is a collection of short stories suited to those who love fantasy, wizard/mage stories in particular. Some stories are traditional and some are modern. I think that if you come to this book having a fondness for one style, you’ll come away from it with a taste for the other too.
I usually like my fantasy to be dark or comic, or both (think Discworld or Dunsany). But I found myself really enjoying some of the higher fantasy stories and even some of the urban tales, which I often struggle to get on with. I mean, ooookay, I totally found myself, like, enjoying being in the world of the teenagers in Mary Rosenblum’s Color Vision (ok, I’ll stop that now). Melanie is friends with a mysterious boy named Cris who spends his time sitting in a wheelchair in an overgrown garden. Together with another friend, Jeremy, they embark on a dangerous adventure involving magical trees and a form of synesthesia which is even harder to explain than the real thing. There’s even a tree fort to really get you wrapped up in adolescent reminiscence.
The stories which really stood out for me were Orson Scott Card’s Stonefather, Neil Gaiman’s The Witch’s Headstone, Garth Nix’s Holly and Iron and Peter S. Beagle’s Barrens Dance. Stonefather was the last story in the book and I read it in the bath, resulting in one of those I’ll just try a quick short story… I’m engrossed… that was great… argh it’s cold scenarios. It’s probably the most traditional story in the book and perhaps unnecessarily rambling at times, but it’s got some great imagery and a believable folk-lore feel to it.
The Witch’s Headstone was the first story in the book (good editing there Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois) and is a proper, feel-good, typically Gaiman tale. It’s full of likeable characters and fuzzy feelings without seeming like it’s only written for kids. Holly and Iron showed some great writing by Garth Nix.
Barrens Dance has made me want to check out more of Peter S. Beagle’s work, an author I’m not familiar with. It was an intriguing story with an intelligent writing style. It’s told directly to the reader by the narrator and it’s easy to imagine sitting around a fire, listening to this storyteller.
It’s also worth mentioning Tad Williams’ The Stranger’s Hands, Patricia A. McKillip’s Naming Day, Terry Dowling’s The Magikkers and Gene Wolfe’s The Magic Animal. All of these were solid stories, good enough to make me want to read more by each author.
I’d love to read a novel-length version of The Stranger’s Hands. A mystery man who says nothing but grants people’s wishes by clutching their hands is a great premise. Naming Day was a little too Harry Potter-ish for me (sorry, I’m not a fan), but it was certainly great fun to read and a sweet tale of adolescent friendship. The Magikkers and The Magic Animal are both wonderful stories and more traditional in style than many in the book.
Review from Examining the Odd - https://examiningtheodd.com/2018/01/19/dark-alchemy-say-hello-to-eighteen-different-wizards/
I usually like my fantasy to be dark or comic, or both (think Discworld or Dunsany). But I found myself really enjoying some of the higher fantasy stories and even some of the urban tales, which I often struggle to get on with. I mean, ooookay, I totally found myself, like, enjoying being in the world of the teenagers in Mary Rosenblum’s Color Vision (ok, I’ll stop that now). Melanie is friends with a mysterious boy named Cris who spends his time sitting in a wheelchair in an overgrown garden. Together with another friend, Jeremy, they embark on a dangerous adventure involving magical trees and a form of synesthesia which is even harder to explain than the real thing. There’s even a tree fort to really get you wrapped up in adolescent reminiscence.
The stories which really stood out for me were Orson Scott Card’s Stonefather, Neil Gaiman’s The Witch’s Headstone, Garth Nix’s Holly and Iron and Peter S. Beagle’s Barrens Dance. Stonefather was the last story in the book and I read it in the bath, resulting in one of those I’ll just try a quick short story… I’m engrossed… that was great… argh it’s cold scenarios. It’s probably the most traditional story in the book and perhaps unnecessarily rambling at times, but it’s got some great imagery and a believable folk-lore feel to it.
The Witch’s Headstone was the first story in the book (good editing there Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois) and is a proper, feel-good, typically Gaiman tale. It’s full of likeable characters and fuzzy feelings without seeming like it’s only written for kids. Holly and Iron showed some great writing by Garth Nix.
Barrens Dance has made me want to check out more of Peter S. Beagle’s work, an author I’m not familiar with. It was an intriguing story with an intelligent writing style. It’s told directly to the reader by the narrator and it’s easy to imagine sitting around a fire, listening to this storyteller.
It’s also worth mentioning Tad Williams’ The Stranger’s Hands, Patricia A. McKillip’s Naming Day, Terry Dowling’s The Magikkers and Gene Wolfe’s The Magic Animal. All of these were solid stories, good enough to make me want to read more by each author.
I’d love to read a novel-length version of The Stranger’s Hands. A mystery man who says nothing but grants people’s wishes by clutching their hands is a great premise. Naming Day was a little too Harry Potter-ish for me (sorry, I’m not a fan), but it was certainly great fun to read and a sweet tale of adolescent friendship. The Magikkers and The Magic Animal are both wonderful stories and more traditional in style than many in the book.
Review from Examining the Odd - https://examiningtheodd.com/2018/01/19/dark-alchemy-say-hello-to-eighteen-different-wizards/
carrionlibrarian's review
2.0
Just read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. The first story is a chapter from that book anyway (this anthology being published before The Graveyard Book came out). Many of the other stories seemed phoned in.