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Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction by Lloyd Alexander, Nancy Farmer
calhale1989's review
5.0
Firebirds is an incredible anthology. I picked this book up in the library several years ago and it really changed how I viewed anthologies in general. There are a lot of powerful short stories in this collection that I think are real heavy hitters such as Cotillion by Delia Sherman, Little Dot by Diana Wynne Jones, an Beauty by Sherwood Smith.
Based on the current political climate I have found that Hope Chest by Garth Nix is an inspiring and hopeful story of how good can overcome evil in a very real way while still being full of magic and fantasy. Garth Nix is obviously a well known author but I have have never read much of his work. This story really did open me up to his works.
Overall the collection is full of gems and each one is a story that bring something unique and special to the anthology.
Based on the current political climate I have found that Hope Chest by Garth Nix is an inspiring and hopeful story of how good can overcome evil in a very real way while still being full of magic and fantasy. Garth Nix is obviously a well known author but I have have never read much of his work. This story really did open me up to his works.
Overall the collection is full of gems and each one is a story that bring something unique and special to the anthology.
avsdhpn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
yabetsy's review
4.0
Original stories written to celebrate the imprint at Penguin Putnam re-releasing works by well-known fantasy authors, including Lloyd Alexander, Nancy Springer and Garth Nix. Several different kinds of storytelling will only whet readers appetites for more. From Delia Sherman's version of an urban fairy midnight ball, to Garth Nix's fantastic Old West fantasy shoot-out, to Sherwood Smith’s “Beauty", which has a princess wondering what happens when someone doesn’t get their full allotment of Beauty. Do they get sympathy? Her gorgeous older brother just tells her to stay away from mirrors… This collection literally has something for every teen, including the opportunity to lead them to more books. This remains one of my favorite collections, years after its release.
aemkea's review
4.0
Gaaaah, I love these Firebird anthologies!!!!
They are so good, and SO MUCH FUN to read!
They are so good, and SO MUCH FUN to read!
juliana_aldous's review
4.0
This is a nice little collection of fantasy if stories--especially good if you enjoy urban fantasy or retelling of fables and fairy stories. I'm not clear on why the title says Science Fiction as I didn't find any in here. That said, a good way to discover some future fantasy authors.
shanyreader's review
5.0
I mean...SCIENCEFICTION/FANTASY...it's a collection of short stories, and really--all of them were good. None of them were complete misses but almost all of them brought out the true spirit of both these genres. They were fun to read once you got into them, and the book as a whole was a successfull collection of these amazing stories.
yourbelovedissy's review
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
ne0the0ne's review
Read The Baby in the Night Deposit Box by Megan Whalen Turner to teens.
metaphorosis's review
4.0
This is one of the better anthologies I've read. All anthologies are something of a mixed bag. The reader's taste very seldom meshes exactly with the editor's, or the editor has had to make some compromises along the way. Firebirds is substantially above average.
The book is helped, of course, by having some very big names in SFF - [a:Lloyd Alexander|8924|Lloyd Alexander|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1200328980p2/8924.jpg], [a:Patricia A. McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg], [a:Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg], to name a few. Aside from her first couple of books, I've never read anything by McKillip that wasn't terrific, and that's true here.
The value of anthologies is in introducing readers to new authors. Here, I read a story ("Beauty") by [a:Sherwood Smith|12350|Sherwood Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1339177179p2/12350.jpg], an author I'd never heard of. I was struck by how well developed the world was for a short story. It turns out that's because it is a well developed world. But I nonetheless immediately went out and bought the related novel, [b:Crown Duel|21060|Crown Duel (Crown & Court #1-2)|Sherwood Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309213505s/21060.jpg|4398231]. I'll be looking up [a:Nancy Farmer|8360|Nancy Farmer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207168030p2/8360.jpg] as well. But this anthology also has some other surprises. "Max Mondrosch" was a startling departure from the Lloyd Alexander of the Chronicles of Prydain ([b:The Book of Three|24780|The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain, #1)|Lloyd Alexander|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317791689s/24780.jpg|1149593]), but no less good because of it.
The editor says she built the book around a graphic novel by [a:Emma Bull|22548|Emma Bull|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220945364p2/22548.jpg] and [a:Charles Vess|10763|Charles Vess|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1273720560p2/10763.jpg], and I looked forward to it. I'm sorry to say that that story is by far the weakest in the book. Happily, almost all the other stories range from good to excellent.
In short, well worth picking up.
The book is helped, of course, by having some very big names in SFF - [a:Lloyd Alexander|8924|Lloyd Alexander|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1200328980p2/8924.jpg], [a:Patricia A. McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg], [a:Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg], to name a few. Aside from her first couple of books, I've never read anything by McKillip that wasn't terrific, and that's true here.
The value of anthologies is in introducing readers to new authors. Here, I read a story ("Beauty") by [a:Sherwood Smith|12350|Sherwood Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1339177179p2/12350.jpg], an author I'd never heard of. I was struck by how well developed the world was for a short story. It turns out that's because it is a well developed world. But I nonetheless immediately went out and bought the related novel, [b:Crown Duel|21060|Crown Duel (Crown & Court #1-2)|Sherwood Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309213505s/21060.jpg|4398231]. I'll be looking up [a:Nancy Farmer|8360|Nancy Farmer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1207168030p2/8360.jpg] as well. But this anthology also has some other surprises. "Max Mondrosch" was a startling departure from the Lloyd Alexander of the Chronicles of Prydain ([b:The Book of Three|24780|The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain, #1)|Lloyd Alexander|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317791689s/24780.jpg|1149593]), but no less good because of it.
The editor says she built the book around a graphic novel by [a:Emma Bull|22548|Emma Bull|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220945364p2/22548.jpg] and [a:Charles Vess|10763|Charles Vess|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1273720560p2/10763.jpg], and I looked forward to it. I'm sorry to say that that story is by far the weakest in the book. Happily, almost all the other stories range from good to excellent.
In short, well worth picking up.
acidsunshinee's review
4.0
I really loved this anthology. I started reading it because of Garth Nix and just kept going. I found a few new favorite authors from the shorts contained within.