The Ancient

by Catherine Valenti, Sherry Briscoe, Marlie Harris

The Ancient is an anthology of short stories, all revolving around the notion of Aladdin’s Lamp. Some of these stories use an actual lamp, some of them use a different object. But in each story, the object has some unusual magical aspect that stays with it from one person to the next. Be careful what you wish for...

Genres: Short Stories

156 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2015

Reviews

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're all familiar with the tale of the magical lamp from which a genie pops out and grants wishes. In this anthology we have seven fresh lamp tales, with each author adding their own modern spin to the story. The stories are all suspenseful, and they have an added layer of horror, history, or sci-fi. The characters are well developed with their back-story interspersed throughout, as well as matters of the heart. Some stories involved pets and children—those really tugged at my emotions. All together, the pieces ranged from good to excellent. I would give this a 4.5, rounded to a 5. I received this in exchange for an honest review. I’m so glad I had a chance to read the anthology.

[Ellie (Elisha)]

I enjoyed reading The Ancient. I chose to read a story a day for seven days to break up the theme. The stories highlight the concept of being careful for what you wish for in creative ways - I almost wished that the ending to, Reaction, hadn't left me in suspense and that there were more pages to others, including' Multiplier and Smokeless Flame.
If you are looking for short stories that mix magic and the every day you'll enjoy the anthology by the seven.

[R.S. Leergaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of the stories in this anthology involve actual lamps (Aladdin's or otherwise) but all do involve wish-granting artifacts of one sort or another, and all of them have their points to make. The themes (and realms) range from sci-fi/fantasy to Lovecraft-esque type horror to everyday normagicity (<<
Each in its own way is also a thought provoking tale of danger-spiced adventure with dire consequences for those who make a wrong decision. And some of those decisions require desperate soul-searching before finally making them (Lily and the Lamp, for one) but who among us might not make the same decisions under the same circumstances?

Horror is not my cup of tea, so to speak, as far as favorite reading genres go, but The Golden Pen was surprisingly compelling given that I had no idea of the type of story that was coming.

All of the tales in this anthology have their recommendations going for them—and I now add mine to the list. You should too.

RSL

[Laurie Gienapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I realized that The Ancient was an anthology of short stories, all revolving around the notion of Aladdin's Lamp, I was somewhat dubious. After all, hadn't this idea already been fully exhausted?
The answer is a resounding "No!"
The seven stories in The Ancient are each distinct and unique. Some of them might remind you of other stories, but don't think that any of them are cheap knockoffs. They each bring something new and different to the idea of the magic lamp.
All seven stories were enjoyable and well done -- but of course we always have favorites. My favorites, by far, were numbers 5 and 7... The Multiplier by Lambert, and Lily and the Lamp by Valenti.
I'm delighted to hear that these seven authors are already working on their next works, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

This was an ARC.