books

Sarah A. Hoyt

Books: Fantasy

Anthologies

Faerie Tales (2004), Children of Magic (2006), Places to Be, People to Kill (2007), Better Off Undead (2008)

Faerie Tales (2004) edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Russell Davis

Published by Daw

Children of Magic (2006) edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes

As I have mentioned on many previous occasions, I am a huge fan of short stories. Occasionally I have been disappointed, but for the most part the anthologies I have read have good, especially the one edited by Martin H. Greenberg.

The theme of Children of Magic is (as you would guess from the title) children with magic and the ability to change the world around them. The major problem with this review, however, is that I only read a one or two stories at a time, and then left the book on the headboard for a few weeks while I was reading something else (anthologies are good for that). So it actually took me several months to read Children of Magic as it dropped to the bottom of the pile in favor of whatever I was currently reading during the day (or sometimes something more boring, to put me to sleep.)

"Titan" by Sarah A. Hoyt was another story I very much enjoyed. It tells how Leonardo da Vinci gained his powers, from the point of view of one of Leonardo's childhood friends.

I found the rest of the stories adequate, but not anything particularly I'd go out of my way for. Some of that may have been that several stories were about teenagers, and I tend to dislike stories about teenagers unless those characters are very well written. (I remember all to well what it was like to be a teenager, and dislike reliving those feelings.)

So if you like anthologies, you may want to pick up this collection. Or you could wait and see if any of these stories ends up in a "Year's Best" collection.

Rating: 6/10

Places to Be, People to Kill (2007) edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Brittiany A. Koren

I really like short stories, so I'm a sucker for anthologies. I've been burned a couple of times, but for the most part, anything that Martin H Greenberg has a hand in will most likely contain a majority of stories I'll enjoy. The fact that the stories were about assassins was an added bonus. (For some reason I love to read about characters I would want absolutely nothing to do with if I read them in life: assassins, thieves, and scoundrels. Places to Be, People to Kill contains all three.

As with most anthologies, there were some stories I especially liked, and some I cared for less.

Sarah A. Hoyt's story While Horse and Hero Fell was one I particularly enjoyed–it's a mix of science fiction and fantasy, and I especially loved the idea of a computer wizard. Sometimes geeks have what it takes to be people of action. It just takes the right motivation.

If you enjoy short stories–especially short stories about scoundrels and assassins, then I recommend that you check out Places to Be, People to Kill.

Rating: 6/10

The Secret History Of Vampires (2007) edited by Darrell Schweitzer

Published by DAW

Better Off Undead (2008) edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Daniel M. Hoyt

Anthologies edited by Martin H. Greenberg are usually ones I can pick up knowing that I'll like the majority of stories within.

This volume? Not so much. There were a handful of stories I thought were good, but for the most part? Meh.