Oceans of Magic

by Brian M. Thomsen, Martin H. Greenberg, Various

From the myth of The Odyssey and the legend of Atlantis, to Horatio Hornblower and Treasure Island, the sea has captured our imaginations with the lure of adventure, mystery, and danger. Featuring writers like Mike Resnick and Tanya Huff, this new anthology of original tales plots a direct course for enchantment -- and explores the uncharted waters of our wildest dreams....

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

Brian Thomsen was a founding editor of the Questar Science Fiction line of books, and served as managing fiction editor at TSR, Inc.; he also wrote over 30 short stories, and collaborated with Julius Schwartz on Schwartz's autobiography. He also worked as the publisher for TSR's Periodicals Department at one point. He was a consulting editor at Tor Books; as an author he was a Hugo Award nominee.

He died on September 21, 2008, at his home in Brooklyn at the age of 49. He was survived by his wife, Donna.

Reviews

[Michael Fierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't hesitate for a sec in purchasing this once I saw the cool cover by one of my fave Fantasy artists, John Howe - best known for his amazing paintings & artwork for the LOTR movies, inc. book covers, posters, calendars, etc., all tied into Lord of the Rings franchise!

I was thrilled to see that one of the stories was written by Mel Odom, a writer I've been into for many years now.

Plus, I'd been curious for a while to check out other authors in this book, like, Mike Resnick, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Tanya Huff.

This is a Fantasy book of short stories ~ mostly sea voyages ~ all connected to the sea.

It's broken up into 3 categories: Voyages in History (stories set in historical times and/or involving historical characters), Magical Maritime (stories involving wizards and/or magic), and Deities and the Deep Blue Sea (tales centering around Gods and myths).

A really cool idea!

Though many of the stories didn't quite grab me, most were in settings I enjoyed, with characters that were likeable, written by credible authors.

However, I really enjoyed a good handful of them;

The Colossus of Mahrass - Mel Odom 5/5 - a lot of fun - the characters and world of which were very magnetic, leaving the reader wanting more stories about these guys (and gal!).

The Catch of the Day - Jeff Grubb 5/5 - who I'd never read anything by (as far as I know) and not only would I like to check out more by him, I'd like to see the story here developed into a series of books, this one involving airships, and ancient dragons thought to be extinct. A Steampunk Fantasy Cryptid Adventure! :)

Tribute - Kristine Kathryn Rusch 4/5 - about a modern naval ship needing to make tribute to a persistant ghost ship of historical nature. Cool!

&

The Sacred Waters of Kane - Fiona Patton 4/5 - another writer I don't believe I've read anything by before - drawing from, decidedly, the myths, legends, and tales of the South Seas, particularly Hawaiian and related. Enjoyable!

Other stories had some good parts but I don't think they'll spark a re-read for me.

The 4 above I think I will read again, someday.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find myself struggling with these DAW anthologies edited by Greenberg (and a rotating cast of additional editors). The themes always promise to be interesting, and then I'm underwhelmed by the quality of the stories. Here, I enjoyed Tribute by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, a solid ghost story, and Ocean's Eleven by Mike Resnick and Tom Gerencer, a very short absurdist comedy. Everything else was pretty forgettable.

I mistakenly recalled this collection containing Venice Drowned by Kim Stanley Robinson (which I read shortly after this collection a while back). If you're looking for high-quality speculative fiction set on the ocean, give that one a look.

[Catherine Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd been hoping this would be a collection of fun, whimsical stories, but this was rather dull and uninspiring.🫤

[Joshua Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent collection of short stories.