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Fantasy
A brand-new original anthology series, a companion to the acclaimed Fantasy Magazine, an edgy and sophisticated magazine featuring a diverse spectrum of authors ranging from Holly Phillips and Theodora Goss to Stewart O'Nan and Peter S. Beagle.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
36 people want to read
About the author
Sean Wallace
160 books26 followersSean A. Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an award-winning American science fiction and fantasy anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for his work on Prime Books and for co-editing two magazines, Clarkesworld Magazine, and Fantasy Magazine. He has been nominated a number of times by both the Hugo Awards and the World Fantasy Awards, won two Hugo Awards and one World Fantasy Award, and has served as a World Fantasy Award judge.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 14, 2020
3 stars, just enough to claim space on my anthology shelves. 11 stories that adequately summarize one's expectations of FANTASY MAGAZINE...which means to say, this is why I cannot subscribe, as contents are a crapshoot. 4-5 oddities that range from dreamy eloquence to messenger pieces, all of which essentially tread water. 2 terrific tales (from Maura McHugh & Lisa Mantchev) and 4 other enjoyables make this a keeper. But only take the time to read this book if you already enjoy this magazine's style of fantastical writings.
September 9, 2020
This collection was better than I expected. All of the stories are good but I think “Bone Mother” by Maura McHugh is my favorite.
August 30, 2013
“Like your fantasy edgy, modern, and sophisticated?” OK, if that’s not a pretentious, self-congratulatory tagline, I don’t know what is. But the stories collected here aren’t bad. This slim volume seems to be aimed at getting people to subscribe to ‘Fantasy’ magazine (Now ‘Lightspeed’).
**** Goosegirl – Margaret Ronald. A very effective re-telling of the old fairytale of a princess and a goose-herder who switch places on the way to meet the princess’ betrothed. Although this is a many-times-told tale, I feel this telling really did bring something new and original to the story, while maintaining its kernel.
** All the Growing Time – Becca de la Rosa. Aims for a surrealist meditation on time and a relationship. But it didn’t work for me – the style was distancing.
**** Somewhere Beneath Those Waves – Sarah Monette. Just read this in Monette’s collection of the same title. In a seaside town, a woman is caught in a loveless marriage, a selkie is trapped by the cruel man who has stolen and hidden her skin, and a creepy museum curator hold the spirits of female ship’s figureheads in his gallery. When the three elements come together, all will gain their freedom.
*** Shallot – Samantha Henderson. I don’t know why it’s spelled like the vegetable. What if the Lady of Shalott was an alien with hypnotic powers? I feel like I’ve read a very similar story about the Lady of the Lake.
*** Bone Mother – Maura McHugh. (Not Maureen McHugh.) A tale from the point of view of Baba Yaga. Not bad, not more memorable than average.
*** The Greats Come A-Callin’ – Lisa Mantchev. As an inheritance gift, a woman receives the ghosts of her ancestresses. There are both good and extremely inconvenient aspects to this.
*** Zombie Lenin – Ekaterina Sedia . A Russian girl is rather obsessed with zombies, and seems to see them following her around. Nice, works on multiple levels, but seems a bit like an early work by Sedia.
** The Yeti Behind You – Jeremiah Tolbert. The stress and fear brought about by hearing there’s a baby on the way manifest, for this man, as invisible extinct animals that follow people around. Didn’t really work for me.
*** The Salvation Game – Amanda Downum. A nice, dark, paranormal-action fantasy. Good fun.
*** Sugar – Cat Rambo. A plantation owner runs her factory by using golems, and is emotionally torn between two women – one, dying, one living, and her complicated relationship with both of them. (I know Britomart is a name from Greek mythology, but it always sounds like a 24-hour grocery store, to me.) The setup here was very nice, but the style was distancing, to me.
*** Brother of the Moon - Holly Phillips. In a war-torn land, a twin leaves his sister and goes to make some kind of sacrifice that may save the land. Again, a nice feel to this, but too many unanswered and undefined questions – like, if this magic was possible, why didn’t one of the twins do this much earlier? What exactly IS the sacrifice, what happens? It felt either unfinished or like an excerpt.
**** Goosegirl – Margaret Ronald. A very effective re-telling of the old fairytale of a princess and a goose-herder who switch places on the way to meet the princess’ betrothed. Although this is a many-times-told tale, I feel this telling really did bring something new and original to the story, while maintaining its kernel.
** All the Growing Time – Becca de la Rosa. Aims for a surrealist meditation on time and a relationship. But it didn’t work for me – the style was distancing.
**** Somewhere Beneath Those Waves – Sarah Monette. Just read this in Monette’s collection of the same title. In a seaside town, a woman is caught in a loveless marriage, a selkie is trapped by the cruel man who has stolen and hidden her skin, and a creepy museum curator hold the spirits of female ship’s figureheads in his gallery. When the three elements come together, all will gain their freedom.
*** Shallot – Samantha Henderson. I don’t know why it’s spelled like the vegetable. What if the Lady of Shalott was an alien with hypnotic powers? I feel like I’ve read a very similar story about the Lady of the Lake.
*** Bone Mother – Maura McHugh. (Not Maureen McHugh.) A tale from the point of view of Baba Yaga. Not bad, not more memorable than average.
*** The Greats Come A-Callin’ – Lisa Mantchev. As an inheritance gift, a woman receives the ghosts of her ancestresses. There are both good and extremely inconvenient aspects to this.
*** Zombie Lenin – Ekaterina Sedia . A Russian girl is rather obsessed with zombies, and seems to see them following her around. Nice, works on multiple levels, but seems a bit like an early work by Sedia.
** The Yeti Behind You – Jeremiah Tolbert. The stress and fear brought about by hearing there’s a baby on the way manifest, for this man, as invisible extinct animals that follow people around. Didn’t really work for me.
*** The Salvation Game – Amanda Downum. A nice, dark, paranormal-action fantasy. Good fun.
*** Sugar – Cat Rambo. A plantation owner runs her factory by using golems, and is emotionally torn between two women – one, dying, one living, and her complicated relationship with both of them. (I know Britomart is a name from Greek mythology, but it always sounds like a 24-hour grocery store, to me.) The setup here was very nice, but the style was distancing, to me.
*** Brother of the Moon - Holly Phillips. In a war-torn land, a twin leaves his sister and goes to make some kind of sacrifice that may save the land. Again, a nice feel to this, but too many unanswered and undefined questions – like, if this magic was possible, why didn’t one of the twins do this much earlier? What exactly IS the sacrifice, what happens? It felt either unfinished or like an excerpt.
October 8, 2016
Not a bad collection of short stories, but nothing to get too excited about.
"Goosegirl" by Margaret Ronald. Not bad, but it left me with more questions than answers. 2/5
"All the Growing Time" by Becca De La Rosa. Intriguing premise. 3/5
"Somewhere Beneath Those Waves is My Home" by Sarah Monette. Bit of a cliched premise, but handled well. 4/5
"Shalott" by Samantha Henderson. Arthur, meet aliens. 3/5
"Bone Mother" by Maura McHugh. Where did Dracula come from? 4/5
"The Greats Come A-Callin'" by Lisa Mantchev. This one bored me. 2/5
"Zombie Lenin" by Ekaterina Sedia. You can't go completely wrong with zombies and chthonic deities. 3/5
"The Yeti Behind You" by Jeremiah Tolbert. Baby anxiety leads to yeti visions. It's complicated. 3/5
"The Salvation Game" by Amanda Downum. A sister strikes a deal with a witch to save her twin brother. 4/5
"Sugar" by Cat Rambo. A sad tale of golems, sorcerers, and lost loves. 4/5
"Brother of the Moon" by Holly Phillips. What happens when an old, worn down hero doesn't want to fight anymore? 3/5
"Goosegirl" by Margaret Ronald. Not bad, but it left me with more questions than answers. 2/5
"All the Growing Time" by Becca De La Rosa. Intriguing premise. 3/5
"Somewhere Beneath Those Waves is My Home" by Sarah Monette. Bit of a cliched premise, but handled well. 4/5
"Shalott" by Samantha Henderson. Arthur, meet aliens. 3/5
"Bone Mother" by Maura McHugh. Where did Dracula come from? 4/5
"The Greats Come A-Callin'" by Lisa Mantchev. This one bored me. 2/5
"Zombie Lenin" by Ekaterina Sedia. You can't go completely wrong with zombies and chthonic deities. 3/5
"The Yeti Behind You" by Jeremiah Tolbert. Baby anxiety leads to yeti visions. It's complicated. 3/5
"The Salvation Game" by Amanda Downum. A sister strikes a deal with a witch to save her twin brother. 4/5
"Sugar" by Cat Rambo. A sad tale of golems, sorcerers, and lost loves. 4/5
"Brother of the Moon" by Holly Phillips. What happens when an old, worn down hero doesn't want to fight anymore? 3/5
February 6, 2011
This collection had many amusing and different story subjects. From fairy-tale twists, Arthurian aliens, persistent imaginary friends, and dead relatives who take up your workspace. It could have actually had more tales included, since it's a relatively short anthology. Also some stories had actions that seemed unclear. But that didn't deflect much from the overall feel of each piece.
February 6, 2014
I enjoy short stories for the most part and some of these where very good others though needed to be a tad longer and have more to them. I am going to mail this book out as soon as I can to a friend and see what they think if they read it.
November 8, 2008
i won this in a raffle at Octocon 08, and really liked it. it's a collection of stories from Fantasy magazine (which i am now considering a subscription).
they were varied but all very good.
they were varied but all very good.
June 30, 2011
Slim collection of stories intended to serve as an introduction to Fantasy Magazine (although the stories are all original to this volume). Pretty good reads.
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March 6, 2012Anthology of stories from Fantasy magazine. Very good collection.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews