Wednesday 8 October 2014

FANTASY SHORT STORY COMPENDIUM REVIEW: Fearsome Magics - Ed. Jonathan Strahan

Release Date: 09/10/14
Publisher:  Solaris

SYNOPSIS:

A cabinet of magic! A cavalcade of wonder! A collection of stories both strange and wondrous, of tales filled with wild adventure and strange imaginings. Fearsome Magics, the second New Solaris Book of Fantasy, is all these things and more. It is, we think, one of the best books you will read all year. Award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan has invited some of the best and most exciting writers working in fantasy today to let their imaginations run wild and to deliver stories that will thrill and awe, delight and amuse. And above all, stories that are filled with fearsome magic! Authors include Garth Nix, K.J. Parker, Justina Robson, Ellen Klages, Christopher Rowe, Isobelle Carmody, Tony Ballantyne, James Bradley, Karin Tidbeck, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Frances Hardinger, Kaaron Warren, Genevieve Valentine and Robert Shearman.


REVIEW:

There are times when I want to settle down with a huge epic story and get lost in the world that the author has so lovingly built but there are others, when life and travel times won’t permit you to get that deep into a tale, so what do you do? Well if you’re like me, you pick up a set of short stories

This has two benefits:
1) Its nice and easy to open, read a tale and put it down again so either an escape in your lunchtime or break or to help fill a short journey without panicking about missing your stop.
2) A great way to try a huge variety of authors without spending a ton of money on just the one book.

What this title from Rebellion offers is a whole selection of authors who present a cracking set of stories based on a central theme. Its quite quirky to see what each one creates on that theme and with none treading the same ground it is a wonderful way to see how prose and pace can really make a tale for the reader. A real masterclass in writing.

All round a great book and whilst I did get annoyed with the odd story relying on a single line to make sense, the vast majority gave me a read that wonderfully filled my time, add to this some authors that I haven’t tried before that have now made my reading list and I’m a happy reader as my multiverse journey continues. Magic

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