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A review by caidyn
Neverland's Library by R.S. Belcher, Roger Bellini, Jeff Salyards, Keith Gouveia, Tim Marquitz, T. Frohock, Mark Lawrence, Marsheila Rockwell, Ian Creasey, Brian Staveley, Marie Brennan, Mercedes M. Yardley, Joseph R. Lallo, J.M. Martin, Miles Cameron, Pete Rawlik, Tad Williams, Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Don Webb, Betsy Dornbusch, Kenny Soward, Stephen McQuiggan, William Meikle
4.0
Deception: 5/5 - I really liked this one. Great opener. Very Biblical, yet it never was said to be. Honestly, I wanted more. I want to know more about the world they're in, what laws they had. There was an amazing amount of worldbuilding in just a few pages.
Shadow Dust: 4.5/5 - Another one where I just wanted to know more about the world. Hints were given, hints that kept me reading to find out more. I liked the whole thing with witches and the folklore of Salem. Definitely unique and interesting. It makes me wonder what happened.
Dead Ox Falls: 4.5/5 - So far, this is a really good selection of stories. I liked how it was told by the father, forced to see what his son had become. Really, I just want to know more about what a "leach" is and why they're so hated.
Redemption at Knife's Edge: 3/5 - Another one where I just liked the lore of it. In these, I just want to know more about the world. I think that's my problem. I want to know more, and then I might find myself disappointed with not catching all that the author wanted me to.
A Soul in Hand: 3/5 - Hm. I'm not quite sure how I felt about this one. Definitely my kind of short story. When I wrote one, my teacher wanted something short and a few pages, but I wrote about ten plus pages. Still, the story didn't feel complete. If I had to label it, it was one that definitely had the failure at the end, that the protagonist didn't learn the lesson. That's probably why I was left with that disappointed feeling.
The Machine: 2.5/5 - I felt like I missed something with this one. The story just didn't click with me. I didn't get a sense of the characters or the point of the story. It was nice for the most part, but I just didn't gather the meaning behind it or the bigger picture of it.
Season of the Soulless: 3/5 - I think I liked this one because it reminded me of how war works. People are killed or bartered for a use. Still, the writing, for me, wasn't spot on. There were a lot of conjunctions to the writing, making it clunky from how I read it.
Redfern's Slipper: 4/5 - Love. That was a good one just because of the stupidity of love and all of that. Made me smile and laugh, along with reminded me of the way old fairytales were told.
Fire Walker: 4/5 - What got me for this one was the rebuilding of a relationship between father and son.
The Height of Our Fathers: 4.5/5 - This was a great coming of age story. Seeing a parent for who they really are, through adult eyes and not through the eyes of a child.
The Last Magician: 5/5 - Wow. This one really struck. The magic in life is only when you're a child. Poignant.
Restoring the Magic: 3/5 - It was a bit of a letdown since it just ended, right when things were starting to get interesting. Plus, I figured out the whole big secret pretty early on.
Charlotte and the Demon Who Swam Through the Grass: 3.5/5 - The mixture of mental illness and the magical was great. I really enjoyed that bit. Other than that, the story fell flat, even though I liked the way she overcame her demons.
On the Far Side of the Apocalypse: 3/5 - It took a while to get there, to the point, but I did enjoy it. Biblical again, another thing that was nice and different. Taking a spin on religion and stories that most would have heard once in their life.
The Stump and the Spire: 2.5/5 - Another one where I felt to miss something that made it really good. I did like the idea of encouraging the wonder in life that showed through with William and, at the end, his sister.
Love, Crystal, and Stone: 3.5/5 - The symbolism with finding yourself was good in this one. It reminded me of adolescence, the anger and confusion followed by finally figuring out who you are and what makes you happy.
A Tune from Long, Long Ago: 2.5/5 - Enjoyed the tie-in with the song, professor, and college student, but I still feel like it missed something. The bit of an oomph that pushed it higher in my mind.
An Equity in Dust: 4/5 - Murder. Politics. Of course I would like it. Plus an interesting world I would love to learn more about. This one sold me.
Centuries of Kings: 4.5/5 - Very quick, but very good. I got the whole bit of the world and of the protagonist. The journey of it was great, far different from the journey in any other story so far.
Renaissance: 4/5 - A fun end for this collection. It definitely wasn't a flat story, and it was good in many different ways. From the lessons of going into poverty to finding love. It was a good ending story.
Final rating: 3.7
Shadow Dust: 4.5/5 - Another one where I just wanted to know more about the world. Hints were given, hints that kept me reading to find out more. I liked the whole thing with witches and the folklore of Salem. Definitely unique and interesting. It makes me wonder what happened.
Dead Ox Falls: 4.5/5 - So far, this is a really good selection of stories. I liked how it was told by the father, forced to see what his son had become. Really, I just want to know more about what a "leach" is and why they're so hated.
Redemption at Knife's Edge: 3/5 - Another one where I just liked the lore of it. In these, I just want to know more about the world. I think that's my problem. I want to know more, and then I might find myself disappointed with not catching all that the author wanted me to.
A Soul in Hand: 3/5 - Hm. I'm not quite sure how I felt about this one. Definitely my kind of short story. When I wrote one, my teacher wanted something short and a few pages, but I wrote about ten plus pages. Still, the story didn't feel complete. If I had to label it, it was one that definitely had the failure at the end, that the protagonist didn't learn the lesson. That's probably why I was left with that disappointed feeling.
The Machine: 2.5/5 - I felt like I missed something with this one. The story just didn't click with me. I didn't get a sense of the characters or the point of the story. It was nice for the most part, but I just didn't gather the meaning behind it or the bigger picture of it.
Season of the Soulless: 3/5 - I think I liked this one because it reminded me of how war works. People are killed or bartered for a use. Still, the writing, for me, wasn't spot on. There were a lot of conjunctions to the writing, making it clunky from how I read it.
Redfern's Slipper: 4/5 - Love. That was a good one just because of the stupidity of love and all of that. Made me smile and laugh, along with reminded me of the way old fairytales were told.
Fire Walker: 4/5 - What got me for this one was the rebuilding of a relationship between father and son.
The Height of Our Fathers: 4.5/5 - This was a great coming of age story. Seeing a parent for who they really are, through adult eyes and not through the eyes of a child.
The Last Magician: 5/5 - Wow. This one really struck. The magic in life is only when you're a child. Poignant.
Restoring the Magic: 3/5 - It was a bit of a letdown since it just ended, right when things were starting to get interesting. Plus, I figured out the whole big secret pretty early on.
Charlotte and the Demon Who Swam Through the Grass: 3.5/5 - The mixture of mental illness and the magical was great. I really enjoyed that bit. Other than that, the story fell flat, even though I liked the way she overcame her demons.
On the Far Side of the Apocalypse: 3/5 - It took a while to get there, to the point, but I did enjoy it. Biblical again, another thing that was nice and different. Taking a spin on religion and stories that most would have heard once in their life.
The Stump and the Spire: 2.5/5 - Another one where I felt to miss something that made it really good. I did like the idea of encouraging the wonder in life that showed through with William and, at the end, his sister.
Love, Crystal, and Stone: 3.5/5 - The symbolism with finding yourself was good in this one. It reminded me of adolescence, the anger and confusion followed by finally figuring out who you are and what makes you happy.
A Tune from Long, Long Ago: 2.5/5 - Enjoyed the tie-in with the song, professor, and college student, but I still feel like it missed something. The bit of an oomph that pushed it higher in my mind.
An Equity in Dust: 4/5 - Murder. Politics. Of course I would like it. Plus an interesting world I would love to learn more about. This one sold me.
Centuries of Kings: 4.5/5 - Very quick, but very good. I got the whole bit of the world and of the protagonist. The journey of it was great, far different from the journey in any other story so far.
Renaissance: 4/5 - A fun end for this collection. It definitely wasn't a flat story, and it was good in many different ways. From the lessons of going into poverty to finding love. It was a good ending story.
Final rating: 3.7