Reviews

Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy by Jane Yolen, Andrew M. Greeley, Fred Saberhagen, Judith Tarr, Adam Stemple, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Elizabeth Haydon, Diane Duane, Jacqueline Carey, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Morgan Llywelyn, Peter Tremayne, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Jane Lindskold, Ray Bradbury

aherrst's review against another edition

Very Irish,  hard to get in to bc too specific for places I've never visited

tessla's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

wetdryvac's review against another edition

5.0

In truth, I've only read Herself from this book - it was free from Diane Duane's site - and it rocked socks. So, tagging this book because I can't find a source anywhere else, and am unclear if adding a new record for the story would be ideal.

bickleyhouse's review against another edition

4.0

I've finally finished this wonderful collection of Irish Fantasy, edited by Andrew M. Greeley. This book includes stories by Ray Bradbury (one of my lifelong favorite authors), Tanith Lee, Charles DeLint, and many others. The topics range from space travel to tales based on actual Irish folklore.

I was going to try and name some favorites, but, truth be told, I liked them all pretty equally. Fred Saberhagen's story, "A Drop of Something Special in the Blood," was great, being one of his many vampire stories (I've read a few of Saberhagen's ventures into the "Dracula" mythology), and has a nice twist at the end. "The Cat With No Name" by Morgan Llywelyn is a wonderful tale about a little girl and her very special cat. "Speir-Bhan" by Tanith Lee is based on authentic Irish folklore and was another wonderful story.

Like I said, they are all good, and all held my interest very well. Truly a "Good Read."

noramjenkins's review

4.0

I really enjoyed the variety of stories in this book. I hadn't realized how much Laurell Hamilton pulls from Irish folklore in her stories--especially the Merry series.

ceskykure's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Lots of Good stories

nwhyte's review against another edition

http://nhw.livejournal.com/347467.html[return][return]Collection of fifteen fantasy stories set in Ireland, thirteen of them published here for the first time. [return][return]The authors are a stellar array: Diane Duane, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple, Judith Tarr, Elizabeth Haydon, Charles de Lint, Ray Bradbury, Andrew M. Greeley himself, Jane Lindskold, Fred Saberhagen, Peter Tremayne, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Jacqueline Carey and Morgan Llywelyn.[return][return]All of these are competent enough, but few really grabbed me. Most of them are either cut-n-paste from Celtic mist themes (merrows; the wee folk; a rather pedestrian retelling of the Oisin legend) or else simply transplant well-worn fantasy tropes into an Irish setting (a couple of vampire stories, one including Bram Stoker; a little girl with a ghost kitten).[return][return]My expectations may be too high. Being Irish myself, I hoped this collection might be of stories that didn't drip too much of Celtic mist, and didn't equate being Irish with being funny. I tend to sympathise with the heroine of Charles de Lint's "The Butter-Spirit's Tithe", who is chided for her lack of fervent Celtiosity by the narrator:[return][return]I shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems that for a woman born in Ireland, who makes her living playing Celtic music, you don't care much for your own traditions."[return][return]"What traditions? I like a good Guinness and play the dance tunes on my box - those are traditions I can appreciate. I can even enjoy a good game of football, if I'm in the mood, which isn't bloody often. What I don't like is hen people get into all that mystical shite." She laughed, but without a lot of humour. "And I don't know which is worse, the wanna-be Celts or those who think they were born to pass on the great Secret Traditions." [return][return]Of course, this being a Charles de Lint story in this particular anthology, she is in fact drawn into the "mystical shite" in one of the three particularly grabbing stories of the anthology. And of course, I too am susceptible to well-told stories in this genre; it's just that my demands of the authors are probably higher than the book's target readership.[return][return]On of the two other standout stories for me was Jacqueline Carey's "The Isle of Women", an episode from the Mael Duin saga, but told for a change from the point of view of the women, in Carey's typically sexy prose (though she tones it down here compared with her novels). I'll pretty much buy anything with her name on it these days.[return][return]The other great story was the very first, "Herself", by Diane Duane. I happened to catch the end of the story when the author read it at P-Con back in 2003, and was delighted to recognise it immediately. Rooted very much in the reality of 21st century Dublin, but the leprechauns etc are still trying to eke out a living in today's world; threatened, quite literally, by the Celtic Tiger. A hilarious bit of satire, which will have completely mystified those readers who only know Ireland from folk music and cinema.

delz's review against another edition

3.0

I really didn't feel like any of the stories stood out. Many of the stories took place in bars or were drunken tales that blended into one after another.

larisa2021's review against another edition

3.0

read only Carey & Bradbury's tales.

angielisle's review

3.0

I expected more from this book, with all the big names featured in it (Ray Bradbury, Jacqueline Carey, Charles De Lint, Peter Tremayne, and so forth). I was slightly disappointed. I couldn't get into a few of the stories - they were simply rehashes of stories that most fairy-fans already know. Only a couple were original enough to separate from the fairy tales of old.