Firebirds | ||||||||
edited by Sharyn November | ||||||||
Firebird, 432 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Amal El-Mohtar
All this to say, I was really, really excited about the Firebirds anthology when it came out, and even more excited by the prospect
of reviewing it. I offer this by way of apology for any indulging in school-girlish glee on my part while describing its
contents. I offer also the testimony of my sister's puzzled looks, occasioned by my giggles, shocked exclamations and occasional
teary effusions while reading, in proof of the fact that this will be a fairly gushy review. And so, on with it.
Firebirds is, as Sharyn November puts it, "mainly a celebration of good writing," and it needs no other tag. Aimed mainly at a
young adult audience, it features stories by Delia Sherman, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia McKillip, Garth Nix, Emma Bull, Sherwood
Smith, Laurel Winter and Nina Kiriki Hoffman, to name a few completely at random. It presents a good mix of sixteen stories,
varying from the light cheerfulness of Nancy Springer's "Mariposa" to Lloyd Alexander's frankly terrifying "Max Mondrosch," but
inhabiting on the whole that land of insight, thoughtfulness and reflection that characterises Firebird's conception of
juvenile fantasy.
I'll get one of my few complaints over with early on: I was surprised by the anthology's claim to being a collection of
"original fantasy and science fiction." As far as I could tell, there aren't any science fiction offerings in here at
all. I didn't really feel the lack, since I wasn't expecting any (I hadn't paid close enough attention to the writing on
the cover, distracted as I was by its overall prettiness), but it should be noted that this is a fantasy collection through
and through. Much of it is urban fantasy of one variety or another, but I read nothing that I could call science fiction outright.
That being said, so many of the stories offer exactly what I want from short fiction: memorable plots and characters, clear,
engaging writing and a signature flair of the author's own. Megan Whelan Turner's "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" is a
perfect example of the above, and is, hands down, one of my favourite short stories ever; on its strength alone I'd
cheerfully recommend the whole anthology -- which, fortunately, I don't need to do, since I loved so many others. They
include "Dot," by Dianna Wynne Jones, an adorable story about an association of cats and the wizard they own, and
"Flotsam," by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, a beautifully moving story about broken families, magic, and hope -- and it's at
this point in the review that I pause, and realise how long this will drag on if I continue to list my favourites, of
which there are almost too many to properly deserve the name. Still, Patricia McKillip's "Byndley" is enchanting,
Sherwood Smith's "Beauty" succeeds in being amusing and engaging without sacrificing the one to the other, and Nancy
Farmer's "Remember Me" is heart-breaking and lovely. There's also a collaboration between Emma Bull and Charles Vess
on "The Black Fox," an adaptation of a traditional ballad, presented in graphic novel style, which is a delightful
surprise to come across in the middle of is otherwise a straightforward collection of short stories.
The anthology does, however, have the occasional disappointing moment. Garth Nix's "Hope Chest," which begins as a
promising alternate-world western, devolves into a confusing, disturbing, and ultimately unsatisfying hodge-podge that
left me feeling that it was a story that had never been properly finished. Kara Dalkey's "The Lady of the Ice Garden,"
a retelling of Andersen's "Snow Queen" set in Late Heian Japan, is beautifully written, and carried me along for the
most part, but I felt that the ending had been arbitrarily re-written to suit a particular message without taking
the rest of the story (which mirrors the original fairly closely) into consideration. Still, despite such occasional
blips, this remains a thoroughly enjoyable collection.
Suffice it to say, then, that these stories are, by and large, great. If you're in the mood for good, satisfying
fantasy, but don't have the patience or the time to indulge in a full length novel, picking up the Firebirds
anthology might be just the thing.
Amal has a history of reading anything with pages. Now, she reads stuff online, too. She sometimes does other things, but that's mainly it. |
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