Reviews - Dark Alchemy: Magical Tales from Masters of Modern Fantasy

True rating; 3.25 stars

To be honest I was expecting more from a collection of short stories written by "Masters of Modern Fantasy", as though most of the stories were interesting none of them stand out as amazing. On the other hand no story stands out as being outright awful, so I remain ambivalent to this collection.

sallyepp's review against another edition

4.0

This is a great anthology of really quality fantasy short stories from some of my favorite authors - Neil Gaiman, Kage Baker, Eoin Colfer, and others. So far my favorite story is the one by Kage Baker about mothers and daughters.

lushbug's review against another edition

3.0

Was very exctied about this book but i must admit it didnt blow me away with its amazingness! Gaimen and Nix had written stories for it and they both have fantastic imaginations so i read there stories first. Gaimens The Witches Headstone was a good short read about a living boy who lives in a gaveyard wit the ghosts there and one day starts talking to young witch burned and buried in an unmarked grave.
I didnt really like Nixss Holly and Iron-couldnt identify with the charaters and it didnt work as a short story.It tells the story of a young priness girl who lives as a bandit.
The other stories were alright but nothing really stood out or stayed with me afterwards. then agai ive never been a fan of short stories as like to get to know my characters-others may love these stories.

slammy90's review against another edition

3.0

L'ho comprato entusiasta per le storie di Neil Gaiman e Eoin Colfer.. Del primo era una storia già letta dell'antologia "Il cimitero senza lapidi e altre storie nere", del secondo una senza senso e fin troppo breve.

Delusione cocente :(

thatsadidiot's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

2.5
W zestawieniu znajdują się lepsze i gorsze opowiadania. Najbardziej spodobało mi się Gaimana (oczywiście), Rosenblum, McKillip, Hand i Lee.

sirena_bebee's review against another edition

4.0

I have been reading several of Jack Dann's edited collections lately (going alphabetically through my plethora of books), and I can say this was the first one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Almost all of the stories were intriguing. There were only a few that I felt it necessary to skim through, because they held little interest. This is definitely a must read for fans of magic.

wealhtheow's review against another edition

3.0

Neil Gaiman's "The Witch's Headstone" is a weird little tale of a boy living in a graveyard, surrounded by ghosts--they are also his teachers and only friends. Garth Nix's "Holly and Iron" is a novel take on the Norman conquest and the Robin Hood legend. "The Ruby Incomparable" is another wonderful tale by Kage Baker, and shares many characters with The Anvil of the World. Jane Yolen's "slipping Sideways Through Eternity" actually plagirizes *herself*, which takes doing (it's a terrible, pat, short-story version of The Devil's Arithmatic). Terry Dowling's "The Magikkers" tells the story of a school for magic--but unlike other magic schools, each student can only perform one piece of true magic. Will they keep it for themselves? Or "share" it with the headmaster? Creepily enough, the latter choice is the one the author favors. Orson Scott Card's "Stonefather" might have been a good story (I liked the world building) except that once again, it's the tale of a young, righteous man who upholds truth, justice and his own personal religion against the thoughtless cruelties of his fellows. In the end, of course the mocking, high-spirited girl says "I'm only a weak-skinned girl" before aquiesscing to be his nurturing mother/wife figure. Yay!

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