Customer Reviews

Spell Fantastic

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DAW fantasy collection has something for everyone, from an overwrought Sword & Sorcery tale by Robin Wayne Bailey---woman in breastplate with dagger named `demon-fang' falls in love with Death. Death has black silk sheets---to a gentle tale from Charles de Lint about a woman who wants to experience her dog's dreams.

Although S&S tales predominate, the stories I liked best were the oddballs that involved spells, but not from the standard grimoire. My favorite, "A Spatter of Later Stars" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, concerns a girl who paints faces at a carnival. She comes into her gift at age fourteen: the gift of making people feel beautiful---or otherwise. No death-dealing wizards. No women in breast-plates. Just a slightly-out-of-the-ordinary carnival family and a wonderful fourteenth birthday present.

"A Spatter of Later Stars" would have deserved inclusion in the wonderful "Magic in Ithkar" fantasy volumes which were edited by Andre Norton and Robert Adams, if (alas) the series hadn't petered out after Volume Four.

"And King Hereafter" is a Boscobel League story by Rosemary Edghill, involving a slight, sorcerous meddling with the Royal Succession in England---what if that awful American divorcee had died before she could marry the future king?

Another offbeat fantasy in this collection, "The Midas Spell" by Julie E. Czerneda could be said to involve wizardly meddling with American history. It's the story of an all-star running back who really, really wants his team to win the Super Bowl.

All in all, thirteen tales of (mostly) original magic, a leetle heavy on S&S for my taste.

Years after I bought this book new as a teen, I still occasionally crack it open and re-read the stories inside (which is rare for me, I hardly ever re-read a book). I'm sad the series fell out of print so quickly, and I will, one day, complete this series, if only because I like this and Catfantastic! so much. Spellsword seems to have a special place in my heart, such an endearing mix of humor and fantasy. Such a great nostalgia book :)

"Fantasy is fueled by spells, from those cast by simple love potions to the great working of magic which can alter the very nature of reality, destroy seemingly all-powerful foes, offer power of punishment, immortality or death..."

This wonderful treasury of short stories features written works by Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Michelle west, Jane Lindskold and many more.

This is the perfect book to take with you on a train, ferry, airplane ride or in the car. The short stories make it easy to read with interruptions, since each story is about 25 pages or so, give or take.

There are many compelling stories. Such as the one about the wizard who runs a magic shop and finds himself a prime suspect in a murder, to the very short story about a magical computer.

The only reason I did not deem this book 5 stars is because I sometimes find short stories dissatisfying. I am not criticizing any of the authors or their stories, but due to my personal tastes, I prefer regular novels. Compelling and "fantastic" nevertheless. *S*