I won this book through Goodreads First Reads program, and once again, I couldn't put up a review because of exams so it appears as though I've been reading this for weeks. However, Spirited was a relatively quick read and I finished it in a couple of days, a few weeks ago. I'll just go through this story by story:
Strangeways vs. the Wraith - Judith Graves:- So, this one wasn't very memorable, just looking at the title, I couldn't recall any parts of the story, except the hanging girl. Nevertheless, upon flicking through it, I thought it was very convincing as a story from the past, and I loved some of the vocabulary used in it, words such as: "blathering" and "confounded gadgetry". The ending, however, was quite disappointing. I don't really like how so many novels have to have romance, and this was no exception. Like many other stories, I believe this one could stand up on its own without the extra bits about their implied love (maybe this is too strong an emotion?) for each other.
The Senet Box - Jill Williamson:- I liked this story. It was interesting, but (kind of) educational at the same time. I don't know much history, but Jill Williamson cleverly intertwined fiction with actual historical events, making it enjoyable to read. It was also believable (to me) as being from the French past, and I quite liked the ending.
Stained - Mark Finnemore:- This story was memorable for me, because I really like the ending - it played with my emotions. On one hand I was happy, and on the other I was distraught. However, I'm glad it ended like it did, because if it happened the obvious way, it would have been too unbelievable. Also, it leaves the reader with questions, and I was thinking about it for a while after I had read it. This story was maybe one of my favourites in the book.
Thread of the Past - Dawn Dalton:- I found this one to be a tiny bit obvious in what was going to happen, and I couldn't get over how Letitia wasn't creeped out by Elijah considering how he acted. Like how he said to her, "I've been waiting a long time for you". What is that? How could you not think that's weird at all? Another thing that I didn't really like were the clichés in Letitia's character - the way she dressed, the deeper meaning in the differences between her and her classmates, even the slit wrists. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that slit wrists isn't heard of in teens, or that it isn't sad that some people do it, but that it's overdone in Letitia's type of character, and is very stereotypical.
The Cold One - Candace Havens:- This story is also one of my favourites, maybe because it was set in Finland, which I love because of SATW, but it was actually really interesting. Also, the narration was quite humorous, and the descriptions were really good, it felt like I was actually there in Finland.
Death Becomes Her - Kitty Keswick:- So the plot was good in this story, it was actually quite deceiving in that it made me think I knew what would happen, but did something different. But I liked that, since I like being surprised. I thought it was quite clever how Kitty Keswick kind of did a retelling of Cinderella, but not exactly the same plotline as some retellings strive to do.
The Oast House - Carmen Tudor:- I really liked this, although at first I couldn't really get into it. However, the main character was likable and there were a lot of really nice descriptions which were helpful in picturing the scene of events.
New Girl - Maria V. Snyder:- This story was the one I was most excited to read, as I absolutely love all of Maria Snyder's other novels, and it did not disappoint. It had a female protagonist who I didn't mind, as most girls in books really really annoy me, and a really good ending. It was also one of my favourites.
Aftermath - Halli Dee Lilurn:- This one was a bit forgettable and I don't really remember much of it, although that could be due to my cramming for exams. It had a cool family tree in it, though.
Phantom of the Prom - Linda Joy Singleton:- So it's maybe because I haven't read The Seer series, but I didn't get a few things. Like: what exactly is she, what does it mean to be a Seer, and why has she got a really freaky voice in her head who just speaks in riddles? Nevertheless, it was quite good even though the ending was slightly cheesy.
Night Queen - John W. Otte:- This story also joins the growing number of favourites I have in Spirited. I think it's a combination of: the reminder of learning about the Mary Celeste in Primary School, and finding it interesting; my fascination with space; and of course, good storytelling. The sense of The Night Queen being fraught with danger came through well, and the different personalities of the characters made it an engaging story.
To Hel and Back - Shannon Delany:- I found this story to be somewhat disappointing, being another one which I was looking forward to reading. The 3-D augmented reality, being the feature I anticipated, didn't work despite multiple tries and I found it really frustrating just holding up a book to my computer, looking like an idiot to everyone around me, with no images coming up. Despite this, the story was very memorable, even though that's probably from the weirdness of the protagonist falling for a robot. It's most likely because I'm kind of scared of robots, and it just seems unnatural that robots could be that much alike to humans. I don't like the thought of them becoming that advanced, and the fate of our world ending up like in The Terminator. But I do realise that that wasn't the point of the story, and that the robots should have been treated equally, because after all they were practically human, with emotions and all.
The Story of Late - Heather Kennedy:- This story is also one of my favourites. It made me feel a whole range of emotions: sympathy for Late, dislike for Tresska, and happiness by the end of it. I think this could easily be made into a book, that I would definitely read, because it's different. I don't think I've read much like this, and it's a bit reminiscent of fairytales I read when I was younger.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book as you can see by the number of favourites I have in it. There were a couple of let-downs, but I think I'll probably re-read it in the summer. In my opinion it's a good book, if you like reading a bunch of short stories, that is worth maybe 3.5*s.