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rebelbelle13's review
3.0
I believe this is the first fantasy short story collection that I've ever read, so this was a new experience for me, and overall, I enjoyed it. I'd like to start this review with a caveat; that I don't know who Andre Norton was, nor have I read any of her works. I also did not read the forward, the conclusion, or the open letter to Norton. I read solely the short stories by the litany of wonderful authors in this collection. Below, a breakdown of the stories themselves and their ratings.
Sea Wrack by Marion Zimmer Bradley; a story involving one of Bradley's characters from a previous series. It entails sorceress Lysande dealing with a mermaid luring villagers to their deaths. Well done, didn't feel like I was missing out by not reading the rest of the series. 4.0
Lior and the Sea by Diane Duane; easily my favorite story in this bind-up. About a sorceress (think Aes Sedai) that falls in love with the sea, and the sea takes corporeal form to be with her. Atmospheric and beautifully romantic. 4.5
The Pale Girl, The Dark Mage, and the Green Sea by Tanith Lee; A witch falls in love with a dark mage and the sea gets them together. Great story, but way too short and told too much in prose, almost poem-like for my liking. 3.5
The Forest by Poul Andersen; A native culture sends one of their own into a magical forest to attempt to find food and a new way of life for their people. He finds a race of natives who worship a dark god. Too much setup, not enough dark magic and wonder, leaves you with a little bit of Dances With Wolves in your mouth, with a bit of a twist ending. 3.0
The Shadow Hart by Sandra Miesel; a woman loses the love of her life to a hunt and tries to set his spirit free from the chains of another ghost. Tough to follow, not enough information given, and I didn't care enough about the characters. 2.0.
The Woman Who Loved Reindeer by Meredith Ann Pierce; Another native story, this one told much better than the last. A woman raises her nephew who is the son of the god of the forest. Touching, beautiful and a quiet, introspective story. 3.5
The Price of Lightening by Jayge Carr; A royal tries to usurp power from the rightful heir and a wizard steps in to challenge him. This story was ridiculously hard to read. It was like a bot wrote it after reading 200 or so other vanilla fantasy stories. I couldn't follow what was happening and didn't really care how it ended. 1.5
Bright Eyed Black Pony by Nancy Springer; a young heir runs away from his power hungry family to find a wizard on an island, who constantly changes the shape of his horse. Cute story, light, and a definitely reprieve from the story preceding it. 3.5
A Flock of Geese by Anne McCaffrey; A group of travelers from different parts of time on the same planet travel together in a time traveling cave. I would have loved to have seen more of this story. The characters were interesting and the idea was new and different. I didn't care for the woman in charge. She was overly controlling and bossy. 3.5
Of Law and Magic by CJ Cherryh; A woman looking for help for her wayward brother finds it in the form of a 200 year old librarian/historian/sorceror. She, unknowingly, bends luck around her to change her fate. This gave me serious Doctor Who/companion vibes. Toss in a little Mat Cauthin from Wheel of Time and that wraps up this story nicely. I wanted more! 4.0
Team Venture by Jo Clayton; A woman holds two souls in her body and travels with 4 animals that she can speak to telepathically. She stumbles upon a massacre and helps local soldiers determine what happened. This sounds more interesting than it is. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. 3.0
Sky Sister by Diana Paxson; a woman on a mission is injured by bandits and is saved by a girl who can change into a bird. She brings the woman to her sky home to heal and meet her family. Intriguing, different, and truly left me wanting more. 3.5
Defender of the Faith by Judith Tarr; A muslim assassin can teleport to kill her quarry. Too much religion, not enough fantasy, and really nothing interesting here. 1.5
Catalyst by Katherine Kurtz; A group of royal children are attacked in their home, and one of the boys discovers he has the ability to heal. A good short, contained story. Gave you everything you wanted and nothing more. 3.5
Foxwife by Jane Yolen; An angry man moves to an island where he meets and falls in love with a woman who can shapeshift into a fox. Reads like a fairy tale, ends happy. What more could you ask for? 4.5
As it happens, there are very few middling stories here. Either they were really good, or they really weren't, as it often happens. Overall, I enjoyed myself and I'm really glad I found this collection.
Sea Wrack by Marion Zimmer Bradley; a story involving one of Bradley's characters from a previous series. It entails sorceress Lysande dealing with a mermaid luring villagers to their deaths. Well done, didn't feel like I was missing out by not reading the rest of the series. 4.0
Lior and the Sea by Diane Duane; easily my favorite story in this bind-up. About a sorceress (think Aes Sedai) that falls in love with the sea, and the sea takes corporeal form to be with her. Atmospheric and beautifully romantic. 4.5
The Pale Girl, The Dark Mage, and the Green Sea by Tanith Lee; A witch falls in love with a dark mage and the sea gets them together. Great story, but way too short and told too much in prose, almost poem-like for my liking. 3.5
The Forest by Poul Andersen; A native culture sends one of their own into a magical forest to attempt to find food and a new way of life for their people. He finds a race of natives who worship a dark god. Too much setup, not enough dark magic and wonder, leaves you with a little bit of Dances With Wolves in your mouth, with a bit of a twist ending. 3.0
The Shadow Hart by Sandra Miesel; a woman loses the love of her life to a hunt and tries to set his spirit free from the chains of another ghost. Tough to follow, not enough information given, and I didn't care enough about the characters. 2.0.
The Woman Who Loved Reindeer by Meredith Ann Pierce; Another native story, this one told much better than the last. A woman raises her nephew who is the son of the god of the forest. Touching, beautiful and a quiet, introspective story. 3.5
The Price of Lightening by Jayge Carr; A royal tries to usurp power from the rightful heir and a wizard steps in to challenge him. This story was ridiculously hard to read. It was like a bot wrote it after reading 200 or so other vanilla fantasy stories. I couldn't follow what was happening and didn't really care how it ended. 1.5
Bright Eyed Black Pony by Nancy Springer; a young heir runs away from his power hungry family to find a wizard on an island, who constantly changes the shape of his horse. Cute story, light, and a definitely reprieve from the story preceding it. 3.5
A Flock of Geese by Anne McCaffrey; A group of travelers from different parts of time on the same planet travel together in a time traveling cave. I would have loved to have seen more of this story. The characters were interesting and the idea was new and different. I didn't care for the woman in charge. She was overly controlling and bossy. 3.5
Of Law and Magic by CJ Cherryh; A woman looking for help for her wayward brother finds it in the form of a 200 year old librarian/historian/sorceror. She, unknowingly, bends luck around her to change her fate. This gave me serious Doctor Who/companion vibes. Toss in a little Mat Cauthin from Wheel of Time and that wraps up this story nicely. I wanted more! 4.0
Team Venture by Jo Clayton; A woman holds two souls in her body and travels with 4 animals that she can speak to telepathically. She stumbles upon a massacre and helps local soldiers determine what happened. This sounds more interesting than it is. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. 3.0
Sky Sister by Diana Paxson; a woman on a mission is injured by bandits and is saved by a girl who can change into a bird. She brings the woman to her sky home to heal and meet her family. Intriguing, different, and truly left me wanting more. 3.5
Defender of the Faith by Judith Tarr; A muslim assassin can teleport to kill her quarry. Too much religion, not enough fantasy, and really nothing interesting here. 1.5
Catalyst by Katherine Kurtz; A group of royal children are attacked in their home, and one of the boys discovers he has the ability to heal. A good short, contained story. Gave you everything you wanted and nothing more. 3.5
Foxwife by Jane Yolen; An angry man moves to an island where he meets and falls in love with a woman who can shapeshift into a fox. Reads like a fairy tale, ends happy. What more could you ask for? 4.5
As it happens, there are very few middling stories here. Either they were really good, or they really weren't, as it often happens. Overall, I enjoyed myself and I'm really glad I found this collection.
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