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greg1984's review against another edition
2.0
"The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham - 5 stars
"Vampires in the Lemon Grove" by Karen Russell - 2 stars
"Holiday" by M. Rickert - 4 stars
"Hum Drum" by Gary McMahon - 2 stars
"Splitfoot" by Paul Walther - 2 stars
"The House of Mechanical Pain" by Chaz Brenchley - 3 stars
"The Last Worders" by Karen Joy Fowler - 2 stars
"The Monsters of Heaven" - 2 stars
"The Fiddler of Bayou Teche" by Delia Sherman - 3 stars
"Mr. Poo-Poo" by Reggie Oliver - 1 star
"Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand - 2 stars
"The Tenth Muse" by William Browning Spencer - 2 stars
"The Drowned Life" by Jeffrey Ford - 1.5 stars
"Vampires in the Lemon Grove" by Karen Russell - 2 stars
"Holiday" by M. Rickert - 4 stars
"Hum Drum" by Gary McMahon - 2 stars
"Splitfoot" by Paul Walther - 2 stars
"The House of Mechanical Pain" by Chaz Brenchley - 3 stars
"The Last Worders" by Karen Joy Fowler - 2 stars
"The Monsters of Heaven" - 2 stars
"The Fiddler of Bayou Teche" by Delia Sherman - 3 stars
"Mr. Poo-Poo" by Reggie Oliver - 1 star
"Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand - 2 stars
"The Tenth Muse" by William Browning Spencer - 2 stars
"The Drowned Life" by Jeffrey Ford - 1.5 stars
soelo's review against another edition
I did not read every story. I am not a big horror fan.
Great: The Cambist and Lord Iron was great and makes philosophical point without being dry
Vampires in the Lemon Grove
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
Good:
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again
Splitfoot
Rats - true, sad
Winter's Wife
Not as good:
Up the Fire Road
Holiday
Great: The Cambist and Lord Iron was great and makes philosophical point without being dry
Vampires in the Lemon Grove
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
Good:
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again
Splitfoot
Rats - true, sad
Winter's Wife
Not as good:
Up the Fire Road
Holiday
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
I've been buying this series every year for 18 years, starting with the third volumne (and I picked up the first two as well). This series is great not only for the short fiction contained in each book, but for the essays that appear in the beginning. You get a nice overview of fantasy and horror books, an obit section, film and music overview as well as comics, but not Marvel and DC. It's a must read for me.
This editon was better than last years. Sometimes, the editions seem to have too much from other anthologies the editors have done; this is not the case here.
LIke most editions, this one has a few "really, you thought this was good" stories in it, but overall the stories are wonderful. The collection starts out strong with "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham. This short story should be a must read for any business major. The collection also finishes on a high note, at least for us dog lovers, with "The Evolution of Trickster Stories AMong the Dogs of North Park After the Change" by Kij Johnson.
Other stand out stories include "Vampires in the Lemon Grove", "The House of Mechanical Pain", "Mr. Poo-Poo", and "Winter's Wife". "Winter's Wife is particularly good because of how it is told; not too much but not too little either. The too little being told is the problem with a few of the stories, including "The Last Worders".
For me, the best story in the collection is "Rats" by Veronica Schanoes, though I would argue that it is not fantasy nor horror. It is a poignant fairy tale, a real fairy tale.
This editon was better than last years. Sometimes, the editions seem to have too much from other anthologies the editors have done; this is not the case here.
LIke most editions, this one has a few "really, you thought this was good" stories in it, but overall the stories are wonderful. The collection starts out strong with "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" by Daniel Abraham. This short story should be a must read for any business major. The collection also finishes on a high note, at least for us dog lovers, with "The Evolution of Trickster Stories AMong the Dogs of North Park After the Change" by Kij Johnson.
Other stand out stories include "Vampires in the Lemon Grove", "The House of Mechanical Pain", "Mr. Poo-Poo", and "Winter's Wife". "Winter's Wife is particularly good because of how it is told; not too much but not too little either. The too little being told is the problem with a few of the stories, including "The Last Worders".
For me, the best story in the collection is "Rats" by Veronica Schanoes, though I would argue that it is not fantasy nor horror. It is a poignant fairy tale, a real fairy tale.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
As with most anthologies, there are two losers for every enjoyable story. In this case, though, I generally disliked stories purely because they did not fit to my personal taste. (A few too many were pretentious stories about the mystical ways of writers.) Still, it was a nice change from disliking stories because they're sloppy cliched messes.
I enjoyed:
"The Cambist and Lord Iron: A fairy tale of economics" by Daniel Abraham. A debauched lord with unlimited wealth and power finds amusement out of setting unsolvable riddles to a humble money-changer.
"The Last Worders" by Karen Joy Fowler. Twin sisters think precisely alike--until a small betrayal that tears them forever assunder.
"Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand. A young boy observes his mysterious neighbor Winter, and Winter's equally fascinating and obscure new wife from Iceland. I love the magic here.
"A Reversal of Fortune" by Holly Black. Black is one of the very few authors who can write believable lower class teenager protagonists. Nikki lives in a trailer park with her erstwhile brother and devoted dog, and spends the summer missing her best friend and getting most of her calories from candy stolen from her job. When her dog is hit by her crush's truck, she challenges the devil to a candy-eating contest: she could win her dog's life, or lose her soul. Luckily, Nikki is as clever and gutsy as she is stubborn.
"The Boulder" by Lucy Kemnitzer is a well-crafted modern perspective on the classic "stolen beneath the Hill" fairy tale.
"The Hill" by Tanith Lee. The only one of the "horror" stories herein to actually have a scary moment. Disturbing imagery and a great concept, but the real strength here is the main character's sensible inner voice. The ending spends a little too much time explaining every bit of the mystery, but Lee does a good job of laying the clues throughout the story.
"Lovers: (Jaafar the Winged)" by Khaled Mattawa is the only poem I liked in this collection, despite Billy Collins's inclusion.
"Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again" by Garth Nix is a great adventure story. Nix is a true adept at creating interesting fantasy worlds and relatable heroes. Hereward is a mercenary knight who likes fine clothes, scarred lovers, and his former nursemaid, current companion, the ensorcelled puppet Fitz.
The anthology ends with the excellent "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change" by Kij Johnson. The animals of Earth all learned to speak in the same moment, but their newfound ability to communicate makes their former loving owners wary, shamed, and distrustful. Really interesting meditation on slavery and trust.
I enjoyed:
"The Cambist and Lord Iron: A fairy tale of economics" by Daniel Abraham. A debauched lord with unlimited wealth and power finds amusement out of setting unsolvable riddles to a humble money-changer.
"The Last Worders" by Karen Joy Fowler. Twin sisters think precisely alike--until a small betrayal that tears them forever assunder.
"Winter's Wife" by Elizabeth Hand. A young boy observes his mysterious neighbor Winter, and Winter's equally fascinating and obscure new wife from Iceland. I love the magic here.
"A Reversal of Fortune" by Holly Black. Black is one of the very few authors who can write believable lower class teenager protagonists. Nikki lives in a trailer park with her erstwhile brother and devoted dog, and spends the summer missing her best friend and getting most of her calories from candy stolen from her job. When her dog is hit by her crush's truck, she challenges the devil to a candy-eating contest: she could win her dog's life, or lose her soul. Luckily, Nikki is as clever and gutsy as she is stubborn.
"The Boulder" by Lucy Kemnitzer is a well-crafted modern perspective on the classic "stolen beneath the Hill" fairy tale.
"The Hill" by Tanith Lee. The only one of the "horror" stories herein to actually have a scary moment. Disturbing imagery and a great concept, but the real strength here is the main character's sensible inner voice. The ending spends a little too much time explaining every bit of the mystery, but Lee does a good job of laying the clues throughout the story.
"Lovers: (Jaafar the Winged)" by Khaled Mattawa is the only poem I liked in this collection, despite Billy Collins's inclusion.
"Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again" by Garth Nix is a great adventure story. Nix is a true adept at creating interesting fantasy worlds and relatable heroes. Hereward is a mercenary knight who likes fine clothes, scarred lovers, and his former nursemaid, current companion, the ensorcelled puppet Fitz.
The anthology ends with the excellent "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change" by Kij Johnson. The animals of Earth all learned to speak in the same moment, but their newfound ability to communicate makes their former loving owners wary, shamed, and distrustful. Really interesting meditation on slavery and trust.
jayme's review
4.0
This book was a total surprise. I got it expecting to pick out a few of the better looking stories to read at most and I expected a lot of the stereotypical stories you would think are included in a fantasy and horror anthology. There wasn't a single dragon or elf in the whole book and I could not have been happier about that. The stories were incredibly original and I read ever single one.
However, I wasn't a huge fan of the poetry, but I'm in no position to criticize poetry in the first place.
These are my five favourite stories from the lot, the best of the best:
1.The Cambist and Lord Iron by [a:Daniel Abraham|134|Daniel Abraham|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207149629p2/134.jpg]
2.Winter's Wife by [a:Elizabeth Hand|40983|Elizabeth Hand|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219875344p2/40983.jpg]
3.The Gray Boy's Work by [a:M.T. Anderson|31688|M.T. Anderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1247706514p2/31688.jpg]
4.The Merchant and the Alchemists Gate by [a:Ted Chiang|130698|Ted Chiang|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208187207p2/130698.jpg]
5.The Evolution of Trickster Stories by [a:Kij Johnson|110153|Kij Johnson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220146486p2/110153.jpg]
And I have a sixth, "Rats", because it was such a unique way to use a fairy tale. I haven't read anything like it before.
However, I wasn't a huge fan of the poetry, but I'm in no position to criticize poetry in the first place.
These are my five favourite stories from the lot, the best of the best:
1.The Cambist and Lord Iron by [a:Daniel Abraham|134|Daniel Abraham|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207149629p2/134.jpg]
2.Winter's Wife by [a:Elizabeth Hand|40983|Elizabeth Hand|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219875344p2/40983.jpg]
3.The Gray Boy's Work by [a:M.T. Anderson|31688|M.T. Anderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1247706514p2/31688.jpg]
4.The Merchant and the Alchemists Gate by [a:Ted Chiang|130698|Ted Chiang|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208187207p2/130698.jpg]
5.The Evolution of Trickster Stories by [a:Kij Johnson|110153|Kij Johnson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220146486p2/110153.jpg]
And I have a sixth, "Rats", because it was such a unique way to use a fairy tale. I haven't read anything like it before.
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