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tessla's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
sleightholme's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
paapango's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
silvani's review
4.0
Amusing stories.
Honestly the author's notes rubbed me the wrong way a bit at times.
Honestly the author's notes rubbed me the wrong way a bit at times.
bookcrazylady45's review
4.0
Another book of short stories. I love stories that take place in and around my town with recognizable landmarks. It makes things cosier. Each story was a finely wrought gem.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
The stories have appeared in various other collections, but I haven't read most of them. Just two. The title story, about a marriage problem in Hades, is aboslutely wonderful. However, I LOVE the retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk complete with attack on manufactured bands. The story about a dragon in Toronto is very powerful. Very good collection. If you are a Henry or Vicki fan, they do not appear in any of the stories. (Which I did not find a problem).
Additionally, if you are a Star Wars fan you will enjoy the fine wine that is "Burning Bright". Now, I have to talk to my brother about my Princess Leia glass which he broke years ago!
Additionally, if you are a Star Wars fan you will enjoy the fine wine that is "Burning Bright". Now, I have to talk to my brother about my Princess Leia glass which he broke years ago!
corar's review
3.0
I enjoyed this collection of contemporary fantasy short stories gathered from different anthologies that Tanya Huff contributed to. While all the stories were entertaining, nothing really stood out to me. I liked the introduction to the each story that discussed what inspired Ms. Huff to write that particular story. However, I think that I missed a central theme that the original anthologies had. It felt like I was reading only a small part of the whole picture and would have enjoyed them more within their original collections instead of removed from them.
morgandhu's review
4.0
February Thaw is a collection of short contemporary fantasy from Tanya Huff. Contemporary fantasy - and its wildly successful subgenre, urban fantasy - is everywhere these days, but Huff was one of the early popularisers of the genre, back when most fantasy was epic and pseudo-medieval and heavily influenced by The Lord of the Rings. Oh, there had always been contemporary fantasy floating around - C. S. Lewis and H. G. Wells wrote some contemporary fantasies, and there was a air amount written for children, such as Mary Norton’s The Borrowers. But it wasn’t really until a few authors like Susan Cooper, Emma Bull, Peter S. Beagle, and a few other authors - definitely including Huff - started writing large amounts of contemporary fiction that the genre came into its own.
In this collection, Huff spins tales about many of the creatures that populate traditional fantasy - elves, dragons, wizards, elementals - placing them in modern settings, reminding us that the imagination can take root anywhere, in any time. From a look at the lives of the Olympian gods in today’s world, to the education of a new wizard, to a spiritual adventure in which the symbolism of the Tarot comes to life, these seven stories blend the sense of wonder that all fantasy evokes with a modern sensibility and often a large helping of humour.
In this collection, Huff spins tales about many of the creatures that populate traditional fantasy - elves, dragons, wizards, elementals - placing them in modern settings, reminding us that the imagination can take root anywhere, in any time. From a look at the lives of the Olympian gods in today’s world, to the education of a new wizard, to a spiritual adventure in which the symbolism of the Tarot comes to life, these seven stories blend the sense of wonder that all fantasy evokes with a modern sensibility and often a large helping of humour.
errantdreams's review
4.0
February Thaw is another relatively short, inexpensive ebook anthology of Tanya Huff short stories. And much like He Said, Sidhe Said and (especially) Swan’s Braid, it is worth every penny and then some.
February Thaw: Persephone has had a fight with her husband, Hades, and gone home to her mother, Demeter. Spring has come unfortunately early, and Demeter isn’t happy to have her relaxing winter cut short. She’s going to have to have words with that son-in-law of hers if she wants things to go back to their almost-happy normal.
Burning Bright: A young woman finds out she isn’t what she thinks she is… and she wants to go back to being just a young woman. It’ll take all of the wizards in the world–minus the one who died, of course–to figure out how to replicate the feat that made her human in the first place. I love the two young women who star in this one. Their friendship crosses wonderful boundaries in quirky ways.
When the Student is Ready: This tale is sort of a follow-on to the previous one, although taking part in a different part of the world with almost entirely different characters. A young woman is becoming the next wizard, and that puts her in great danger until she gets her powers under control. Coming to her rescue is the unlikely figure of a rambling, addled homeless man who’s willing to take her on as his apprentice–if he can keep his thoughts together long enough.
Jack is a modern-day adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk in which Jack trades a leather jacket for three magic guitar picks, and then tries to save a pretty young singer from a fate worse than death. Jack and his band buddies are hilarious, and I love the quandary the woman finds herself in and how she reacts to it.
Symbols are a Percussion Instrument: A busy and thoroughly modern woman gets dragged into a psychic reading by a friend. When she refuses to stick around for the reading, however, the cards get heavy-handed about delivering their messages. She needs to figure out how to reach beyond the everyday for the meaning of symbolism if she’s going to sidestep a potentially nasty ending. Not only is this a delightfully whimsical and funny story, but there was enough tension to really grip me, which is hard to do in a story this abstract! Huff brought it to life marvelously.
Shing Li-ung: This is a beautiful story of cultural heritage and magical protection that brought tears to my eyes. A young woman is given a mysterious talisman by her dying grandmother, but her brother may need the protection much more than she does.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Team: Sam is a camera operator at the Olympics, and she starts seeing competitors who aren’t on the program and don’t match any nation she’s ever heard of. Before long she’s taking it nearly in stride, but there’s one event left: basketball. And the fairies don’t plan to let the winner of the final game go unchallenged. On the surface this isn’t my usual type of story, but it’s handled so well through Sam’s choleric nature that it… just works.
I’m having so much fun catching up with Tanya Huff’s short stories in her ebook anthologies. I hope she keeps producing them!
Longer review available on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/review-february-thaw-tanya-huff/
February Thaw: Persephone has had a fight with her husband, Hades, and gone home to her mother, Demeter. Spring has come unfortunately early, and Demeter isn’t happy to have her relaxing winter cut short. She’s going to have to have words with that son-in-law of hers if she wants things to go back to their almost-happy normal.
Burning Bright: A young woman finds out she isn’t what she thinks she is… and she wants to go back to being just a young woman. It’ll take all of the wizards in the world–minus the one who died, of course–to figure out how to replicate the feat that made her human in the first place. I love the two young women who star in this one. Their friendship crosses wonderful boundaries in quirky ways.
When the Student is Ready: This tale is sort of a follow-on to the previous one, although taking part in a different part of the world with almost entirely different characters. A young woman is becoming the next wizard, and that puts her in great danger until she gets her powers under control. Coming to her rescue is the unlikely figure of a rambling, addled homeless man who’s willing to take her on as his apprentice–if he can keep his thoughts together long enough.
Jack is a modern-day adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk in which Jack trades a leather jacket for three magic guitar picks, and then tries to save a pretty young singer from a fate worse than death. Jack and his band buddies are hilarious, and I love the quandary the woman finds herself in and how she reacts to it.
Symbols are a Percussion Instrument: A busy and thoroughly modern woman gets dragged into a psychic reading by a friend. When she refuses to stick around for the reading, however, the cards get heavy-handed about delivering their messages. She needs to figure out how to reach beyond the everyday for the meaning of symbolism if she’s going to sidestep a potentially nasty ending. Not only is this a delightfully whimsical and funny story, but there was enough tension to really grip me, which is hard to do in a story this abstract! Huff brought it to life marvelously.
Shing Li-ung: This is a beautiful story of cultural heritage and magical protection that brought tears to my eyes. A young woman is given a mysterious talisman by her dying grandmother, but her brother may need the protection much more than she does.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Team: Sam is a camera operator at the Olympics, and she starts seeing competitors who aren’t on the program and don’t match any nation she’s ever heard of. Before long she’s taking it nearly in stride, but there’s one event left: basketball. And the fairies don’t plan to let the winner of the final game go unchallenged. On the surface this isn’t my usual type of story, but it’s handled so well through Sam’s choleric nature that it… just works.
I’m having so much fun catching up with Tanya Huff’s short stories in her ebook anthologies. I hope she keeps producing them!
Longer review available on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/review-february-thaw-tanya-huff/
hdungey's review
4.0
A collection of 7 stories of urban fantasy. Cranky wizards, a fire elemental, a reminder that George Lucas should have quit while he was ahead, and what REALLY happened to those missing Olympic medals. Witty, imaginative, and tightly constructed.
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