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sarahlreadseverything's review
3.0
'The Witch of Duva' and 'Glitches' were definitely the highlight of this collection.
tani's review
4.0
I really liked this as a way to get acquainted with new-to-me authors. The short stories were fun, for the most part, and I now have a couple of books that I know I'd like to read, specifically Cinder and Shadow and Bone. I would consider it a worthwhile experience, I'm not usually much for short stories.
avora's review
3.0
I read this because I already read 3/5 of the short stories and their respective series. Loved The Witch of Duva (The Grisha) and Glitches (The Lunar Chronicles) and was hoping the anthology would introduce me to 2 new series that I might like. I read Legacy Lost and most of its series a couple of years ago and found those books to be decent, but not great. I felt kind of indifferent to the 2 other short stories, especially as I feel less inclined to start new dystopian novels, considering how many I already have on the backburner. Witch of Duva and Glitches were the two standouts in this anthology.
metaphorosis's review
3.0
It seems to be the thing these days to give away short stories packed with a teaser for a novel. Sometimes (as in [a:Peter F. Hamilton|25375|Peter F. Hamilton|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1235123752p2/25375.jpg]'s [b:If at First . . .|11820585|If at First . . . (Short Story)|Peter F. Hamilton|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328161996s/11820585.jpg|16775008]), the teaser is longer than the story.
I think this is a great idea. The reader gets free stories, and information about where to get more from that author. It works particularly well with anthologies like this one.
What I don't like is that many publishers aren't particularly upfront about what they're doing. I like to know what I'm getting. If (as with Hamilton) it's primarily a marketing tactic, fine. But when I open an anthology, I expect it to be mostly stories.
To be fair, in this anthology, Tor does include a note about the authors' debut novels, but the table of contents shows only the stories. I was expecting more story, less novel. Caveat emptor, but if the publisher had been more clear about what they offered, I still would have downloaded and read the book, just with lower expectations.
Here, the novel excerpts are largely related to the stories. In fact, I assume that most of the stories were written specifically for this particular marketing device. That's not bad, but some of them feel more like prefaces than true stories.
My opinion seems to largely track that of other commenters. [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1325565916p2/4575289.jpg]'s "The Witch of Duva" is the best piece here, and the only one that tempted me to follow up on the author. While it was nice to see a faux-Slavic setting, it wasn't entirely convincing. [a:Marissa Meyer|4684322|Marissa Meyer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1357318852p2/4684322.jpg]'s "Glitches" was also a nice piece, though in contrast to others, it seemed to work best as a short story. I'm not sure I'd be interested in the novel. [a:Anna Banks|504038|Anna Banks|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1317874738p2/504038.jpg]' "Legacy Lost" had some positive points, but it leaned far more toward romance than fantasy, and the novel excerpt only confirmed this.
All in all, a decent free way to check out the writing style of some new authors.
I think this is a great idea. The reader gets free stories, and information about where to get more from that author. It works particularly well with anthologies like this one.
What I don't like is that many publishers aren't particularly upfront about what they're doing. I like to know what I'm getting. If (as with Hamilton) it's primarily a marketing tactic, fine. But when I open an anthology, I expect it to be mostly stories.
To be fair, in this anthology, Tor does include a note about the authors' debut novels, but the table of contents shows only the stories. I was expecting more story, less novel. Caveat emptor, but if the publisher had been more clear about what they offered, I still would have downloaded and read the book, just with lower expectations.
Here, the novel excerpts are largely related to the stories. In fact, I assume that most of the stories were written specifically for this particular marketing device. That's not bad, but some of them feel more like prefaces than true stories.
My opinion seems to largely track that of other commenters. [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1325565916p2/4575289.jpg]'s "The Witch of Duva" is the best piece here, and the only one that tempted me to follow up on the author. While it was nice to see a faux-Slavic setting, it wasn't entirely convincing. [a:Marissa Meyer|4684322|Marissa Meyer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1357318852p2/4684322.jpg]'s "Glitches" was also a nice piece, though in contrast to others, it seemed to work best as a short story. I'm not sure I'd be interested in the novel. [a:Anna Banks|504038|Anna Banks|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1317874738p2/504038.jpg]' "Legacy Lost" had some positive points, but it leaned far more toward romance than fantasy, and the novel excerpt only confirmed this.
All in all, a decent free way to check out the writing style of some new authors.
joyful808's review
5.0
What a great way to seek out the next great good book to read. This this is an anthology of five very fantastical stories. First, I thoroughly enjoyed "Legacy Lost" by Anna Banks and subsequent first chapter of [b:Of Poseidon|12425532|Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon, #1)|Anna Banks|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327879889s/12425532.jpg|17375535] which I downloaded and read entirely before continuing to the next author's contribution. Second in line, "The Witch of Duva" by Leigh Bardugo, I didn't care for at all. Too Grim for me. The third author, Jennifer Bosworth, is clearly a gifted writer. Her contribution, "Prophet" continued in the sample of her novel "Struck". The story just got too dark for my taste. Fourth, the adrenalin infused spectacle, "Dress Your Marines in White" by Emmy Laybourne was exactly that. However, her 1st chapter sample of [b:Monument 14|12753231|Monument 14 (Monument 14 #1)|Emmy Laybourne|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337779838s/12753231.jpg|17894351] is what I most appreciate from this author's contribution. I have that on my want-to-read list. Finally, Marissa Meyer's "Glitch" is simply so unique and engrossing that makes the full length novel [b:Cinder|11235712|Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317794278s/11235712.jpg|15545385] a must-read.
virginiaduan's review
3.0
Tor is very clever. They hooked me with the short stories and now I have to read more from the featured authors.
Legacy Lost by Anna Banks - I loved this world! I immediately reserved my copy of Of Poseidon upon reading the prequel short story as well as the sample chapters. Loved the characters and love story. Fascinating world!
The Witch of Duva by Leigh Bardugo - The best story in the anthology. Super creepy and sinister. Just perfect. *shudders* LOVED. 5 STARS for this story. Plus, I hadn't realized I already put the book, Smoke and Bone on hold. Can't wait.
The other stories were fine, but by far the stand outs were the first two.
Legacy Lost by Anna Banks - I loved this world! I immediately reserved my copy of Of Poseidon upon reading the prequel short story as well as the sample chapters. Loved the characters and love story. Fascinating world!
The Witch of Duva by Leigh Bardugo - The best story in the anthology. Super creepy and sinister. Just perfect. *shudders* LOVED. 5 STARS for this story. Plus, I hadn't realized I already put the book, Smoke and Bone on hold. Can't wait.
The other stories were fine, but by far the stand outs were the first two.
royalrainboww's review
3.0
'Legacy Lost' reminded me an awful lot of The Swan Princess - here are a young man and woman who have been destined to marry their entire lives, and now that they're older, the boy catches sight of the girl and it's insta!love because she's beautiful. I mean, eventually he finds that she's independent and strong, brave and intelligent, but that isn't what ends the animosity. Is it The Pull? Maybe. But as Grom himself said, shouldn't he have sensed Nalia years earlier, when he first became old enough to mate? And besides, at the beginning of the story, he senses her in the Chamber of Ceremonies, but he feels nothing but loathing for her. It's only after he realizes that she's turned into a total babe since the last time he saw her that he's like, "Oh, okay, so maybe it won't be so bad." And then he gets super angry when she doesn't want him back and plots to embarrass her by making her love him and then reject her. I mean, how petty can you get? I'm super pissed that she dies in the end, because she was the only remotely interesting character in this story, even if she did end up falling in love with an idiot.
'The Witch of Duva' has one of the best first lines I've ever read:
There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls.
And it was so, so good. It has all the elements of a perfect story: cannibalism, a witch who isn't a monster and a loving father who is, murky and frightening woods, an eyeless crow, and a pet bear cub. I love dark stories, and I especially love stories that make me squirm before I'm certain of what is happening because of the bad feeling I get in my gut. Is that bizarre? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I will definitely keep my eye on Leigh Bardugo. Her prose is wonderful and haunting, and marvelously crafts the atmosphere for this story, making you shiver as Nadya walks through the woods of Duva and smell and taste the scrumptious stew Magda cooks for her.
'Prophet' was interesting - the religious compound, presumably isolated from everything else, how even kissing is an affront to the Almighty, the leader or 'Prophet' who predicts that floods will come and still knowingly sentences a thirteen year old girl to three days in a cellar where she will most likely die drowned, and who then takes his son - MC Rance - to the hospital when he's struck by lightning, which I'm assuming is a no-no. I mean, most people who live in religious compounds like that don't believe in hospitals, right? And then Rance kills his father because he let Olivia - the aforementioned thirteen year old and the girl he was in love with - die. I mean, all that was great. It's just. It's just. I... wanted... more? Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not sure. I wanted to see what happened next, if he'd gone crazy or if he'd really been chosen by some supernatural power, which would have been really creepy but also great.
'Dress Your Marines in White' was chilling. I liked the small touch that those with type B blood would feel no effect - of course someone has to be immune to your weapon. The idea for the story was interesting, and the different effects that MORS had on people was, as well. Dr. Massey was a complete sociopath, and her characterization was nicely done. I especially loved the scene when she's described as watching the bloodbath with her hands on the glass, as if she were looking at a Christmas window at a store. I also liked how isolated James is from his family by his experience - because they weren't there, and they can't possibly relate. Still, there was something about how this story was written, especially some of the dialogue, that irked me. Sometimes it felt forced, or just not right. I would've liked to have seen the scene where General Montez shoots himself be a little longer, so we could have appreciated the effect MORS had on him. Instead, it was very quick, and all of the sudden he's on the floor dead along with Privates Sands and Gruin and the two guards who'd also been in the room and it's all over.
'Glitches' was fantastic. I've been wanting to read Cinder for a while and the voice and the setting of this short story, a prequel to that novel, didn't disappoint me. This, along with 'The Witch of Duva,' were probably my favorites from the anthology. 'Glitches' tells the story of how Cinder left Europe and arrived to New Beijing, and how she came to find that she had a very useful talent for mechanics. I really liked the following line, spoken by Iko, the family's android:
"I have a glitch, too. Sometimes I forget that I'm not human. I don't think that happens to most androids."
I'm looking forward to seeing Iko more often when I finally make it to Cinder.
As a whole, this anthology was pretty great. It struck a good balance between sci-fi and fantasy, and stories that are set in the future, in the past, or in time indeterminate. My favorites, as I said, were 'Glitches' and 'The Witch of Duva.' My least favorite was probably 'Legacy Lost,' mostly because I really didn't like Grom.
If you would like to read this, you can get a free Kindle copy here.
survivalisinsufficient's review
4.0
These are short stories/first chapters from some Tor authors who have stuff coming out - it was free on the Kindle (pretty good idea!) I really liked the Marissa Meyer story, but [b:Cinder|11235712|Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317794278s/11235712.jpg|15545385] is already on my to-read list anyway. I also liked the [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1325565916p2/4575289.jpg] story and will look for more stuff by her. The others were readable but nothing that inspired me to go search for more.