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triscuit807's review against another edition
3.0
Multiple author anthologies tend to be uneven in quality; this one is no different. There are a couple of amateurish stories and a couple novice level stories, a few average stories, and several really good ones. As is typical of a well edited anthology, the first and last stories (by Brozek and Lackey) are strong. My favorites were by Patton (one of her Haven Watch stories) and by Weldon. Those four alone are reason enough to read this anthology, but it is a must anyways for any fan of Valdemar and the blue-eyed Companions. I read this because I am one of those fans, but I also read it for my 2016 Reading Challenge "read a book of short stories" (PopSugar 2015).
morgandhu's review against another edition
3.0
I've been having a rather rotten time these past weeks, and so it was with some pleasure that I was able to get my electronic hands on a copy of Crucible, Mercedes Lackey's newest anthology of short stories set in Velgarth, the world where the Heralds of Valdemar and the Hawkbrothers and Shin'a'in and other such peoples live.
It's always enjoyable for me to revisit these places - there is, as I have often said, something about the universe Lackey created here that pushes my simple pleasure buttons.
As usual, Lackey's contribution "Vexed Vixen," was one of the ones I enjoyed the most. Others that stood out for me were Fiona Patton's "Before a River Runs through It," Jennifer Brozek's "Feathers in Need," Stephanie D. Shaver's "The Highjorune Masque," Elizabeth A. Vaughan's "Unresolved Consequences," and Dayle A. Dermatis' "Never Alone." But all of the stories were, in their own way, fun. Lackey knows what she wants in these anthologies, and she gets it from her contributors.
*Of the 18 short stories in this anthology, 15 were written by women, two by men, and one was a collaboration between a man and a woman.
It's always enjoyable for me to revisit these places - there is, as I have often said, something about the universe Lackey created here that pushes my simple pleasure buttons.
As usual, Lackey's contribution "Vexed Vixen," was one of the ones I enjoyed the most. Others that stood out for me were Fiona Patton's "Before a River Runs through It," Jennifer Brozek's "Feathers in Need," Stephanie D. Shaver's "The Highjorune Masque," Elizabeth A. Vaughan's "Unresolved Consequences," and Dayle A. Dermatis' "Never Alone." But all of the stories were, in their own way, fun. Lackey knows what she wants in these anthologies, and she gets it from her contributors.
*Of the 18 short stories in this anthology, 15 were written by women, two by men, and one was a collaboration between a man and a woman.
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