The Berkley Showcase – New Writings in Science Fiction and Fantasy (1980) – What do you do with an anthology where you liked some of the stories and didn’t care for the others? I guess I’ll just go down the table of contents and give you my opinion of each one. This anthology had no specific theme and contains both fantasy and science fiction stories. Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat by Glen Cook – This may be the entire key to the unevenness of […]
“Finding Fantasy, Again”
Short story is not my normal genre. But I’m trying to expand my readership, and I like fantasy, so I took the plunge and bought “Neverland’s Library.” The compilation was a neat idea, where 21 different fantasy authors were asked to write a short story that captured the pure fantasy that we know and experience as children. Ultimately, it does its job. It was good; and I feel bad saying that because there were 4 stories in the collection that totally blew my socks off […]
Even Her Bicycle Was Evil
The Mammoth Book of Sorcerer’s Tales edited by Mike Ashley (2004) – I read this anthology immediately after I read Isaac Asimov’s Wizards compiled in 1983, so I thought there would be more differences as times have changed. There were some new ideas and new technology; however, not much had changed. I was surprised to see how few women writers were included after twenty years. The percentage in 1983 – 14%. 2004? 15%. As Geena Davis says about women in films, at this rate women […]
“To Be a Godey’s Lady….”
In my continual search for quantitative research on Godey’s Lady’s Book, I came across “Mr. Godey’s Ladies: Being a Mosaic of Fashions and Fancies” by Robert Kunciov, which after the disappointment of the “Sarah Josepha Hale” book, I was leery. I was pleasantly surprised however, by the wonderful reproductions and a few color plates of the original etchings, as well as the author’s selections of excerpts from the original text. He begins with a chronology of the types of fashions, detailing the trends, colors, and […]
A Whirling Light in the Woods? Let’s Split Up and Let the Cheerleader Go First!
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg – 1998 – I love science fiction anthologies. They’re short and sweet and easy to pick up and put down. I read so many of them, in fact, that I’m surprised this is my first anthology review. I especially enjoy anthologies written on a theme. This collection of short stories is all about aliens descending upon unsuspecting Earthlings and the challenges that ensue. Some are funny, some make you think, but none are not quickly forgotten. I do have some […]
Relief Shrivels and Blows Away
The perfect time to read horror and really feel it is on a cold grey day in January. The kind of day that’s so grey that you don’t really notice when night sets in, because day was never really here. Horror has never been my genre, but the same Facebook friend who brought Ken Scholes to my attention was offering a copy of the anthology in exchange for a review and I decided to expand my horizons. It was a good decision. I’m prone to […]