Scan barcode
abrahamismail's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pencilled_robin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This book introduced mu younger self to so many amazing authors and worlds! Highly recommend it.
ronsos's review
I read 5 stories from this book. I like to read short stories one or two at a time, as pallette cleansers between novels. I've found that reading a bunch in a row doesn't really work for me. Anyway, a few quick thoughts on the stories I read:
In The Lost Lands George R R Martin
Good story, a riff on shapechanging and the cost of magic. This involves a classic bargain with a wizard when you agree to pay the price with knowing the cost until later. I have liked GRRM in shorter format more in some ways that his longer writing.
4 of 5 on the short story scale
John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner Susanna Clarke
This really resonated with me. The king inadventently crosses a commoner. Commoner doesn't know its the king but is bent on revenge. King has no idea who is messing with him and why. A bit of a moral lesson and the story is light.
5 of 5 on the short story scale
The Ereshkigal Working Jonathan L Howard
Quirkly zombie apocalypse story with a snarky protagonist. I expected to enjoy it more but it was unremarkable.
3 of 5 on the short story scale
The Word of Unbinding Ursula Le Guin
Didn't connect with this.
1 of 5 on the short story scale
Counting the Shapes Yoon Ha Lee
I liked the idea of mathematical magic and would have liked to hear more about it. The story mostly focused on familial relationships and betryals in an ongoing war of dark vs light. It was ok
2 of 5 on the short story scale
In The Lost Lands George R R Martin
Good story, a riff on shapechanging and the cost of magic. This involves a classic bargain with a wizard when you agree to pay the price with knowing the cost until later. I have liked GRRM in shorter format more in some ways that his longer writing.
4 of 5 on the short story scale
John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner Susanna Clarke
This really resonated with me. The king inadventently crosses a commoner. Commoner doesn't know its the king but is bent on revenge. King has no idea who is messing with him and why. A bit of a moral lesson and the story is light.
5 of 5 on the short story scale
The Ereshkigal Working Jonathan L Howard
Quirkly zombie apocalypse story with a snarky protagonist. I expected to enjoy it more but it was unremarkable.
3 of 5 on the short story scale
The Word of Unbinding Ursula Le Guin
Didn't connect with this.
1 of 5 on the short story scale
Counting the Shapes Yoon Ha Lee
I liked the idea of mathematical magic and would have liked to hear more about it. The story mostly focused on familial relationships and betryals in an ongoing war of dark vs light. It was ok
2 of 5 on the short story scale
fongolia's review
3.0
I only borrowed this anthology to read The Ereshkigal Working, a short story by Jonathan L. Howard featuring my favourite antisocial necromancer Johannes Cabal.
There's also Neil Gaiman's How to Sell the Ponti Bridge, which I'd read somewhere else.
There's also Neil Gaiman's How to Sell the Ponti Bridge, which I'd read somewhere else.
jessrock's review
3.0
I read this short-story collection because of the astonishingly high number of good writers in it, though it turns out most of the stories are reprints - I was disappointed to find that the [a:Susanna Clarke|8842|Susanna Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207159127p2/8842.jpg] story was one I'd already read in [b:The Ladies of Grace Adieu|15161|The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories|Susanna Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166671092s/15161.jpg|3088909], though at least the others were all new to me.
There weren't any bad stories in the collection, though most were pretty forgettable, and the editing in the book is atrocious (words are frequently mistyped as other words in a way that suggests the stories were scanned in and OCRed poorly, like be/he). The [a:Orson Scott Card|589|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1294099952p2/589.jpg] story, "Jamaica," was the only one that truly kept me riveted, though its ending was disappointing. I enjoyed that the [a:Lev Grossman|142270|Lev Grossman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235241496p2/142270.jpg] story was connected to his novel [b:The Magicians|6101718|The Magicians|Lev Grossman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275764604s/6101718.jpg|6278977], and apparently several of the other stories are also set in worlds their authors have written novels about. However, nothing I read was enough to get me excited about reading more from any of those authors, and I think my biggest disappointment with this book was that it didn't turn me on to any new writers.
This is an engaging enough book if it falls into your hands, but probably isn't worth seeking out unless there's a particular story in it that you want to read.
There weren't any bad stories in the collection, though most were pretty forgettable, and the editing in the book is atrocious (words are frequently mistyped as other words in a way that suggests the stories were scanned in and OCRed poorly, like be/he). The [a:Orson Scott Card|589|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1294099952p2/589.jpg] story, "Jamaica," was the only one that truly kept me riveted, though its ending was disappointing. I enjoyed that the [a:Lev Grossman|142270|Lev Grossman|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235241496p2/142270.jpg] story was connected to his novel [b:The Magicians|6101718|The Magicians|Lev Grossman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275764604s/6101718.jpg|6278977], and apparently several of the other stories are also set in worlds their authors have written novels about. However, nothing I read was enough to get me excited about reading more from any of those authors, and I think my biggest disappointment with this book was that it didn't turn me on to any new writers.
This is an engaging enough book if it falls into your hands, but probably isn't worth seeking out unless there's a particular story in it that you want to read.
lamusadelils's review
3.0
Aunque muchas de las historias ya las había leído (las de Kelly Link, Rober Silverberg, Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman y Ursula K. Leguin), dentro de este contexto es una buena selección. Como es habitual en las antologías, tiene sus eslabones débiles.
Lo que mas me gustó es como en pocas historias se puede dar un recorrido entre los diferentes tipos de magos, hechiceros y brujos, todos teniendo varios elementos en común pero siendo tan diferentes como sus autores lo son. También me agradó la introducción, donde se menciona el papel que tienen este tipo de personajes y su magia en un mundo donde la tecnología parece magia suficiente.
Lo que mas me gustó es como en pocas historias se puede dar un recorrido entre los diferentes tipos de magos, hechiceros y brujos, todos teniendo varios elementos en común pero siendo tan diferentes como sus autores lo son. También me agradó la introducción, donde se menciona el papel que tienen este tipo de personajes y su magia en un mundo donde la tecnología parece magia suficiente.
onceandfuturelaura's review
2.0
Read it because I'd heard some of the authors on The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast (http://geeksguideshow.com). Couple of gems - The Ereshkigal Working and One Click Banishment both delighted me -- but a bit of a slog overall. There was a relentlessness to it that was overwhelming.