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A review by minervacerridwen
Community of Magic Pens by Robert Perez, Lawrence Miller, Gerri Leen, Minerva Cerridwen, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Vijay Varman, Ether Nepenthes, Z.Z. Claybourne, N.R. Lambert, Stella B. James, Elizabeth Shaffer, Holly Schofield, Lorraine Schein, Dawn Vogel, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Robert Kingett, A. P. Howell, J.S. Bailey, Victoria Hollis, Lena Ng, Adam Kissel, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Beth Goder, Andrew K Hoe, Ethan Hedman, E.D.E. Bell, Avery Montavon, M. Kaur, Nicole J. LeBoeuf, K. Alysee Simon, M. R. DeLuca, Jannae' Sifontes, Z. Ahmad, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Rai Rocca, Mikko Rauhala, Gustavo Bondoni, Ava Kelly, Kella Campbell, Joy Givens
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.