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A review by arkron
A Fantasy Medley 3 by Kevin Hearne, Jacqueline Carey, Aliette de Bodard, Yanni Kuznia, Laura Bickle
3.0
Full review at my Blog.
Three of the four stories in this anthology are part of series. It was interesting to compare authors' choices how much introduction new readers would need - and thus duplicating well known elements from other stories in the series, which would be boring for readers who know the series already. I found that I couldn't stand Hearne's approach - the story was too short, there weren't enough new elements and in general too much repetition for my taste. The other authors had a well-balanced exposition, but the best was the standalone story from Carey.
A very nice mix of stories that I'd like to recommend. I guess, fans of one of those series might want to get the anthology alone for the respective entries. But it works also very well for readers who don't want to invest in new series.
★1/2 • Goddess at the Crossroads • short story by Kevin Hearne from the Iron Druid Chronicles • full review at my blog
★★★ • Ashes • 2015 • short story by Laura Bickle from [b:Embers|6610562|Embers (Anya Kalinczyk, #1)|Laura Bickle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421562657s/6610562.jpg|6748524] setting • full review at my blog
★★★★ • The Death of Aiguillon • novelette by Aliette de Bodard • a magically ruined city of Paris with a war between the Houses of Fallen • review
★★★★ • One Hundred Ablutions • novelette by Jacqueline Carey • a waterbearing slave's life among aliens • review
Three of the four stories in this anthology are part of series. It was interesting to compare authors' choices how much introduction new readers would need - and thus duplicating well known elements from other stories in the series, which would be boring for readers who know the series already. I found that I couldn't stand Hearne's approach - the story was too short, there weren't enough new elements and in general too much repetition for my taste. The other authors had a well-balanced exposition, but the best was the standalone story from Carey.
A very nice mix of stories that I'd like to recommend. I guess, fans of one of those series might want to get the anthology alone for the respective entries. But it works also very well for readers who don't want to invest in new series.
★1/2 • Goddess at the Crossroads • short story by Kevin Hearne from the Iron Druid Chronicles • full review at my blog
★★★ • Ashes • 2015 • short story by Laura Bickle from [b:Embers|6610562|Embers (Anya Kalinczyk, #1)|Laura Bickle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421562657s/6610562.jpg|6748524] setting • full review at my blog
★★★★ • The Death of Aiguillon • novelette by Aliette de Bodard • a magically ruined city of Paris with a war between the Houses of Fallen • review
★★★★ • One Hundred Ablutions • novelette by Jacqueline Carey • a waterbearing slave's life among aliens • review