Reviews

Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction by Sharyn November

aleenak's review against another edition

4.0

Overall a far more enjoyable collection of stories than I anticipated. Ironically, one of my least favorites was the sole story I sought this anthology out to read in the first place (Cotillion, a rather indulgent, wish-fulfillment retelling of Tam Lin).

There were several good stories, but a few that stood out to me include:

Beauty by [a: Sherwood Smith|12350|Sherwood Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409757657p2/12350.jpg]
Medusa by [a: Michael Cadnum|22545|Michael Cadnum|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1261192848p2/22545.jpg]
Byndley by [a: Patricia A. McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg]
Hope Chest by [a: Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg]

wealhtheow's review against another edition

4.0

A really fabulous collection of YA scifi and fantasy short stories.

sandphin's review against another edition

4.0

My favorite stories in this anthology were "Little Dot" by Diana Wynn Jones-- a tale told from the perspective of a cat-- and "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" by Megan Walen Turner. I also liked the Garth Nix story a lot. There are several re-tellings of fairy tales. Nancy Farmer's tale about a changeling/girl with a disability made me very uncomfortable. There is one story in this collection that does not seem to be genre at all: "Chasing the Wind" by Elizabeth E. Wein, a story about flying in planes in Africa in 1950, as told from the perspective of a missionary's daughter. I kept waiting for something fantastical to happen. Overall I enjoyed this anthology a lot and would recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy or young adult literature. It is labeled "An anthology of original fantasy and science fiction" but is mostly fantasy, as I find to be true of most YA genre fiction.

zoe_m's review against another edition

2.0

There were only a few stories worth reading in the anthology, Little Dot by Diana Wynn Jones being the one that sticks in my mind. The rest I could have easily done without. I had to force myself to finish reading the book, always hoping that the next story would be better.

awildmaggo's review

4.0

3.5 stars

alice453y4's review

4.0

Gaaaah, I love these Firebird anthologies!!!!

They are so good, and SO MUCH FUN to read!

jeffy's review

My review from December 5, 2007

satyridae's review

3.0

I try to pull from my TBR shelves when I go on trips, and this particular anthology has been languishing for a number of years thereupon. I found the quality of the stories to be consistently high throughout, not as uneven as anthologies often are. There are, of course, a couple of standouts, which include the Tam Lin variant "Cotillion" by Delia Sherman that my Tam Lin fan friends should certainly seek out, and Nancy Farmer's 'Remember Me'. I left this one on the train, and was gratified to see a young man make his way through my car clutching it triumphantly to his bosom within an hour of my dropping it off.

skeletonwriter's review

5.0

I first read this anthology around 2010 when I was in high school. Nearly ten years later I still think about it. It's that good.

beccak's review

4.0

Well-selected selection of stories from some well-known and some lesser-known SF and Fantasy authors. Many stories are 5-star quality, although there are (as usual in an anthology) a few stories that didn't really speak to me.

Not only did I enjoy the stories, but then I was able to look up books by the authors whose stories I liked best (but had been previously unaware of) and now I have checked out books by them that I might not have otherwise discovered!

Appropriate for ages 16 and up.