4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent anthology, July 20, 2004
This review is from: The Magic Shop (Paperback)
"The Magic Shop" is one of the few anthologies I've read lately that has been entirely fulfilling. Denise Little, who edited this, did a superb job in finding seventeen writers to write about characters and their various experiences in various magic shops.
All seventeen stories were good, but the best three in my mind were these. First, Michelle West's "Dime Store Rings" was absolutely mind-blowing, partly because I don't like most of her writing and did like this, and partly because she managed to write a very sad story without undue pathos. Second, Rosemary Edghill's "A Winter's Tale" was another excellent Bast story; it's a story within a story, and the last few lines absolutely cause chills. Rosemary Edghill's short stories are always thought provoking, and almost always absolutely astonishing, and this one met or exceeded expectations. More Bast stories, please! And finally, India Edghill (yes, India and Rosemary are related) wrote a powerful story about Anastasia, the "lost princess" of Russia, and one which envisioned a happier and more positive future for her than she probably got (as no one knows for sure). India Edghill mostly writes historicals, and does a fabulous job with them; this story definitely reflects her skill and ability as a writer.
I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone over the age of about 14 (as some of the images in various stories are perhaps a bit graphic) or anyone over about 10 with parental or guardian supervision.
Five stars, highly recommended.
Barb Caffrey
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Truly Enjoyable Anthology, September 2, 2010
The stories here are very heartfelt and engaging. I greatly enjoy these anthologies edited by Denise Little. Ones that stand out for me are "Every Little Thing She Does" by Susan Sizemore, "Dime Store Rings" by Michelle West, and "The Fairest" by Von Jocks. Particular passages I feel are noteworthy: "There is a magic in childhood that slowly fades. Time hurts it, truth changes it, experience makes it something other than what it appeared to be. Magic is all in silence." "Silence is a way of hoarding things, and there are some magicks that die when hoarded, like cut flowers die." "Memory is kinder than reality, it always has been. We make our memories; we knit them together out of disparate events; we define ourselves by what we make."--Michelle West. "The People will learn to think of themselves as things apart from nature, which will lead them to self-destruction." "Love is the only thing that truly sets us apart from everything that has gone on before us. If not for love, we would be no more than the animals that exist in the forests, and swamps, and lakes." "Love is weakness. Love is strength also. You can't have the one without the other."--Mel Odom. "Perhaps a mirror's greatest power is that it lets you not just see yourself, but see how you see yourself."--Von Jocks. "The story had no proper end, but reality rarely does. It is the province of fiction to tie up loose ends, to punish the guilty and reward the good, to join the lovers together and answer all questions." "Belief is the most powerful-and sometimes the most dangerous-thing there is."--Rosemary Edghill
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and Humerous, February 6, 2009
This review is from: The Magic Shop (Paperback)
Great book with entertaining stories. If you like fiction with a good twist, these stories will not disappoint.
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