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curiouslibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I originally went in search of this book because a friend thought I would enjoy the story "In the House of the Seven Librarians," and told me that some of the other stories were "pretty good too." I picked it up and discovered that it was populated with some extremely well-known sf/fantasy authors! So I sat down to read the whole thing.
As in every anthology, there are some stories that are better than others, and some authors that I historically don't like. But I found one stand-out author whose work is new to me: Alison Goodman. And her story is apparently a side story from a previously published book. So, I will certainly be following up on that!
I really appreciated some of the choices that the editor, Sharyn November, made in putting this book together. She put the author bio and discussion of the story in the pages immediately following each story instead of the end of the book. Plus, she deliberately chose the order of the stories in such a way that you could read them in order if you so choose (which is my preferred method, and I know it puts me in the minority).
This is a YA book, and some of the stories are directly aimed at teens. But there is much here for an adult reader to savor as well if the YA stories are not your thing.
Highly recommended, and I will be checking out the other anthologies in this series.
As in every anthology, there are some stories that are better than others, and some authors that I historically don't like. But I found one stand-out author whose work is new to me: Alison Goodman. And her story is apparently a side story from a previously published book. So, I will certainly be following up on that!
I really appreciated some of the choices that the editor, Sharyn November, made in putting this book together. She put the author bio and discussion of the story in the pages immediately following each story instead of the end of the book. Plus, she deliberately chose the order of the stories in such a way that you could read them in order if you so choose (which is my preferred method, and I know it puts me in the minority).
This is a YA book, and some of the stories are directly aimed at teens. But there is much here for an adult reader to savor as well if the YA stories are not your thing.
Highly recommended, and I will be checking out the other anthologies in this series.
nematome's review
4.0
This is going to be a bit of a cheat review because I’ve acknowledged to myself that the only reason I checked out this anthology was to read the Joss and Mavkel story The Real Thing by Alison Goodman. I may choose to keep renewing this thing like a jerk so I can keep it and read the Kelly Link or Tamora Pierce stories, but for now I feel perfectly comfortable giving this anthology four stars based solely on the The Real Thing alone.
I love this story, but it’s bittersweet because it’s such a beautiful glimpse of everything that a Joss Aaronson series could have been. I’ve just visited Alison Goodman’s website and apparently she’s working on a “new series” so I have to assume that poor Joss has been set aside, at least temporarily if not forever.
I think that Joss and Mavkel will be marked down in the imaginary log where I keep track of these things as one of my favorite human/alien teams of all time. Joss is fierce, independent, and determined. She’s flawed in all of my favorite ways: she’s too blunt, too self-contained, and just a little bit damaged. Mavkel is a little bit damaged too: he’s desperate for the intense connection that he used to have with his now dead twin Kelmav. I thought that it was interesting that Singing the Dogstar Blues has no romance in it whatsoever. I found that refreshing and bold. Joss’ adventure really stood on its own without relying on any kind of hastily inserted love interest.
However, this story gives us a thrilling glimpse into all of the complications and humor that arise when Joss finds herself going on a date with a young comp kid and Mavkel is highly curious about the whole affair. There is also more information here about the tension that’s building between the comp kids (genetically engineered to be superior, but only allowed into the academy in small percentages) and the naturally conceived students from wealthy families.
Alas, all this story does for me is dramatically increase my desperation for another Joss and Mavkel adventure. Curse you for a horrible tease, Alison Goodman! Would it help if I begged? I’m not above begging here.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Spoon – Don’t You Evah
Joss, I will miss you terribly, but at least we’ll always have Spoon.
I love this story, but it’s bittersweet because it’s such a beautiful glimpse of everything that a Joss Aaronson series could have been. I’ve just visited Alison Goodman’s website and apparently she’s working on a “new series” so I have to assume that poor Joss has been set aside, at least temporarily if not forever.
I think that Joss and Mavkel will be marked down in the imaginary log where I keep track of these things as one of my favorite human/alien teams of all time. Joss is fierce, independent, and determined. She’s flawed in all of my favorite ways: she’s too blunt, too self-contained, and just a little bit damaged. Mavkel is a little bit damaged too: he’s desperate for the intense connection that he used to have with his now dead twin Kelmav. I thought that it was interesting that Singing the Dogstar Blues has no romance in it whatsoever. I found that refreshing and bold. Joss’ adventure really stood on its own without relying on any kind of hastily inserted love interest.
However, this story gives us a thrilling glimpse into all of the complications and humor that arise when Joss finds herself going on a date with a young comp kid and Mavkel is highly curious about the whole affair. There is also more information here about the tension that’s building between the comp kids (genetically engineered to be superior, but only allowed into the academy in small percentages) and the naturally conceived students from wealthy families.
Alas, all this story does for me is dramatically increase my desperation for another Joss and Mavkel adventure. Curse you for a horrible tease, Alison Goodman! Would it help if I begged? I’m not above begging here.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Spoon – Don’t You Evah
Joss, I will miss you terribly, but at least we’ll always have Spoon.
jmmeyer's review
5.0
This is a great collection. I only skipped one story and had to drag my way through one other. There were stories I would like to teach and stories I reread a couple of times. The collection is just great. I will be checking out a few new authors now as well. I wish they still did this anthology! Really worth the read. Love this collection.
gijanechosen's review
3.0
3.5 Interesting variety of stories and authors. I'm thinking about reading the other Firebird books now too.
I was in the middle of reading the short story Hives when it stopped making sense... the copy of the book I borrowed from the library by some defect is missing pages 371-402. So I unknowingly skipped from the middle of Hives to the end of Perception. It doesn't look like the book is missing pages so I must conclude it is a publishing error unfortunately. I am somewhat disappointed. I wanted to know how the one short story (Hives) ended and I wished to read the other.
Other than that I have really been enjoying reading this collection of short stories. I haven't always liked the stories I thought I would as much as I thought I would just by title or author. Conversely have found many some interesting new (to me) authors I would read again who I wasn't expecting to like so much.
I was in the middle of reading the short story Hives when it stopped making sense... the copy of the book I borrowed from the library by some defect is missing pages 371-402. So I unknowingly skipped from the middle of Hives to the end of Perception. It doesn't look like the book is missing pages so I must conclude it is a publishing error unfortunately. I am somewhat disappointed. I wanted to know how the one short story (Hives) ended and I wished to read the other.
Other than that I have really been enjoying reading this collection of short stories. I haven't always liked the stories I thought I would as much as I thought I would just by title or author. Conversely have found many some interesting new (to me) authors I would read again who I wasn't expecting to like so much.
cindywho's review
3.0
Lots of OK stuff - - They've already started to fade... "Hives" stood out for me, the Diana Wynne Jones was cute, but almost cliche for her.
anitad's review
4.0
I read this book to fullfill the goal read an anthology. It was an anthology of original science fiction and fantasy. I really like this genre, but i do not care for anthology. Written in a short story format, i would just really get into the story when it would be over. I perfer the full length books. Some of the stories in here are top notch i would like to see them lengthened and expanded for sure.
drmarti's review
I didn't read the whole book, just the story "House of the Seven Librarians," which was delightful.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
A collection of YA short stories. Yet another clunker from Charles DeLint, another terrifically imaginative story from Diana Wynne Jones, and several stories that felt all too much like snippets from a novel. Francesca Lia Block's story was literally just one of her dreams, transcribed--not a good read. There was no point to Tanith Lee's lackluster "The House on the Planet." Kelly Link's "The Wizards of Perfil" was evocative, if a little too surreal in places. Ellen Klages' "In the House of the Seven Librarians" doesn't delve deep but IS a really fun, comfortable read; it's the tale of seven librarians who shut themselves up in a library and raise a baby, with lots of sensory details and librarian in-jokes. The best story is Kara Dalkey's "Hives." As Oyceter said, it has a modern, truly teen-oriented tone that echoes Scott Westerfeld's Pretties series. In "Hives," a certain kind of cell phone hooks directly to your brain, leading to incredibly powerful, addictive cliques. The concept is chilling, the world-building intense, and I loved the main character.