Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction (Paperback)

~ Lloyd Alexander (Author), Nancy Farmer (Author), Meredith Ann Pierce (Author), Elizabeth Wein (Author), Michael Cadnum (Author), Kara Dalkey (Author), Nancy Springer (Author), Emma Bull (Author), Patricia A. McKillip (Author), Delia Sherman (Author), Megan Whalen Turner (Author), Laurel Winter (Author), Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Author), (Author), Diana Wynne Jones (Author), November Sharyn (Editor), Charles Vess (Illustrator) "Celia Townsend's mother brought up the subject of debutante balls for the first time in June..." (more)
Key Phrases: raw magic, ice garden, night deposit box, Alice May, Great Aunt Harriet, Madam Dalrymple (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Teens will find much to savor and celebrate in this dazzling collection of 16 short stories by some of the best fantasy writers around. A biographical sketch and note from each one follows every selection. The collection starts off with Delia Sherman's "Cotillion," a luscious and romantic version of "Tam Lin" set in Manhattan, 1969. Diana Wynne Jones's "Little Dot" will charm anyone who has ever loved a cat. Kara Dalkey elegantly retells Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" in "The Lady of the Ice Garden," and fans of Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel (Harcourt, 1997) will find great pleasure in "Beauty," his charming tale of one of Meliara and Shevraeth's children. Nancy Springer slyly twits the movers and shakers of the world in "Mariposa," a comic tale about a woman looking for her soul. An adaptation of the folksong "The Black Fox" by Emma Bull is complemented by Charles Vess's fine graphic interpretation. "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" by Megan Whalen Turner is a sweetly daffy look at how evil can be beaten with rules and regulations. In Lloyd Alexander's devastating "Max Mondrosch," a man tries to do everything in his power to get by and still fails utterly. The most disturbing story in the collection, however, is Garth Nix's "Hope Chest," in which innocent Alice May is saddled with the task of saving her family and her town from the creeping shadow of evil. A first-class collection.
Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. The only theme in this gorgeous tapestry of a collection is that all the authors are part of the Firebird imprint. The 16 stories are richly romantic in the broadest sense, and they effortlessly transport readers. Delia Sherman's opening "Cotillion" evokes the spell of lute music and New York City in 1969; Garth Nix's creepy "Hope Chest" is a Western stand-alone with a very unusual sheriff; Michael Cadnum and Meredith Ann Pierce turn old stories inside out. There's a cat tale (Diana Wynne Jones), and an odd changeling tale (Nancy Farmer), and a graphic novel by Emma Bull and Charles Vess. Nancy Springer takes a bemused and ironic look at what might happen when a girl wants her soul back. So many beguiling tales in one package make this a real find. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Firebird (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142403202
• ISBN-13: 978-0142403204
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #358,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #2 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Springer, Nancy
  #2 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wein, Elizabeth
  #3 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Dalkey, Kara

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For anyone looking for a highly engaging read., July 26, 2004

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction (Hardcover)

Firebird, a new imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, offers reprints of classic fantasy and science fiction books for both teenage and adult readers. One of their most recent original releases is a one-of-a kind anthology appropriately titled FIREBIRDS.

This magical collection covers a wide range of genres --- fantasy, romance, time travel, adventure, and suspense. Popular authors such as Garth Nix and Lloyd Alexander contribute tales, along with strong, newer voices Michael Cadnum and Megan Whalen Turner.

A description of a couple of the stories hardly does this vivid collection justice, but it does show that there is something for all readers here. In Nix's "Hope Chest," sixteen-year-old Alice, who is adopted, is surprised when the never-opened magic chest that she was discovered with as a baby springs open to reveal some powerful guns. Her hands know what to do with them but her heart does not, until evil comes to her town. In Turner's "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box," a child is slipped through the slot for night deposits, and is raised by the bank and its workers. The child, Penny, is happy enough until someone comes to claim her "deposit."

Editor Sharyn November is known for seeking input from teens, which is undoubtedly a large part of what makes this collection so strong. FIREBIRDS is a great gift for the many devoted fans of fantasy stories, or for anyone looking for a highly engaging read.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Spectacular Collection of Stories, November 9, 2003

By	Cameron M (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction (Hardcover)

This is an amazing collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories. There is a variety of popular authors, and great authors waiting to be discovered. This is sure to attract many fans and make fans of non-believers!

The calibre of the stories is excellent all around, there's not just a few good stories. Patricia McKillip's "Byndley", Nancy Springer's "Mariposa", Michael Cadnum's "Medusa" and Sherwood Smith's "Beauty" are among my favourites.

Some have sword and sorcery, some are fairy tale or myth retellings, and some have such a subtle ingredient of magic, you have to look closely for it. But they all ask us to believe, even if it's just for the time it takes to read this delicious volume.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid anthology with a few standouts, June 21, 2006

By	E. M. Rivera (San Juan, PR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Firebirds" came into my hands with high praise from sources I respected, and I was not disappointed. I was not overly impressed either. The collection of stories is fairly broad, but the focus is clearly on fantasy (broadly defined, not just swords and sorcery, although there is that too). I have no idea why it includes science fiction in the title, I can't remember a single title I would classify as SF.

There are several stories that revisit old tales to give them a new spin: "Cotillion" (D Sherman) places Tam Lin in 1960's New York, "The Fall of Ys" (MA Pierce) questions the character motivations of the original, "Medusa" (Cadnum)retells the story from the title character's point of view, "Lady of the Ice Garden" (K Dalkey) sets an Andersen tale in Japan. With the ties to classic tales and the strong female leads all around, these stories are particularly well suited for classroom use.

Changelings also play a prominent role: "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" (M Whalen Turner) in which a magical child is raised by a bank; the surprisingly effective "Hope Chest" (G Nix) which combines elements of horror, political dystopia and, of all things, the Western; "Remember Me" (N Farmer)in which a changeling's differences ostracize her family and "Flotsam" (N Kiriki Hoffman) an overly ambitious about a little boy lost among worlds that ultimately fails to move the reader.

Most of the stories feature female leads, but the two stories with male leads were standouts for me: "Max Mondrosch" (Lloyd Alexander)an understated and oddly comical story about the horror of modern life and "Byndley" (P McKillip) a more traditional tale of a wizard, a fairy queen, and the things that can be stolen in the forest.

Of the remaining stories, I would recommend "Beauty" (S Smith), an "odd princess out" o fthe sort that have become popular since "The Ordinary Princess". "Black Fox" (E Bull) also bears mention as the only graphic entry in the anthology, illustrated by Charles Vess.

"Mariposa" (N Springer), "Chasing the Wind" (E Wein), "Little Dot" (D Wynne Jones, for the magical cat lovers) and "The Flying Woman" (L Winter)were all fine stroies, but none of them proved memorable for me.

The title is definitely recommended if you are a fan of fantasy short stories or the Firebird authors. If this is not something you read every day, I would recommend a Datlow/Windling anthology, such as "The Faery Reel" or one of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (Datlow/Windling and Datlow/Link).