What Ho, Magic!

by Tanya Huff, Michelle Sagara West (introduction)

Tanya Huff, the acclaimed writer of the Blood and Kigh series, is also a fantastic short story writer. What Ho, Magic! is a collection of fifteen of Tanya's short "I'll Be Home for Christmas" "Word of Honor" "Shing Li-ung", "First Love, Last Love" "The Harder They Fall" "February Thaw" "The Chase is On" "A Debt Unpaid" "Symbols are a Percussion Instrument" "Underground" "A Midsummer Night's Dream Team" Four stories featuring Vicki, Henry, and Mike from her Blood "This Town Ain't Big Enough" "What Manner of Man" "The Cards Also Say" "The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea". This is also the first printing of her new "The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeaka". With an introduction to the book by Michelle Sagara West.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy, Canada, Science Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1999

About the author

Tanya Sue Huff is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties.

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another fine collection from Tanya Huff. In these fourteen stories, some of which are long(ish), we have urban fantasy, dabbling with myths, cautionary tales, and three stories involving the beloved 'Blood' books characters.
Except one story, which over-indulged on symbolism while giving a rather unpleasant character excessive space, I liked all of them.
Highly recommended to all lovers of urban fantasy.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

first read as soon as it was released... finished 7/26/2001
re-read November 2012

What, Ho! Dragon!... no... What Ho! Giant!

"Daddy, there's a dragon at the hummingbird feeder!"

♦ "The Chase Is On" read 7/21/2001 re-read 3/26/2015

♦ "Underground" read 7/19/2001 re-read 3/26/2015

♦ "I'll Be Home for Christmas" 7/25/2001 recollected in He Said, Sidhe Said red 3/18/2015

♦ "Shing Li-ung" 7/26/2001 3/5/2015

♦ "First Love, Last Love" 7/24/2001 re-read 3/26/2015

♦ "Word of Honor" from Knights Templar and recollected in He Said, Sidhe Said 4/18/2001 reread 3/19/2015

♦ "The Harder They Fall" read 7/20/2001 re-read 3/28/2015

♦ "A Debt Unpaid" read 7/23/2001 re-read 3/28/2015

♦ "February Thaw" read 7/12/2001 reread 3/7/2015

♦ "Symbols Are a Percussion Instrument" read 7/13/2001 reread 3/5/2015

♦ "A Midsummer Night's Dream Team" read 7/1/2001 3/5/2015

♦ "This Town Ain't Big Enough" read 7/8/2001 reread 2/27/2015

♦ "What Manner of Man" read 7/10/2001 reread 2/27/2015

♦ "The Cards Also Say" read 7/11/2001 reread 2/27/2015

♦ "The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea" read 4/17/2001 reread 2/28/2015

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 3.25, maybe 3.33, Goodreads stars for an average (mean) rating. Though Ms. Huff's writing is always excellent, there's a mix of tones in this assortment. Many are quite short, with one-off casts of characters, and my most-common reaction was about 3.0. A few are horror-ish ("Underground") and/or emotionally dark ("A Debt Unpaid").

I found that the stories I liked best were the more humorous ones: "The Chase Is On", the opening space opera romp (38 pages, the longest entry); "February Thaw", an enjoyable twist on dysfunctional Olympian (as in Mt. Olympus) family issues; and "A Midsummer Night's Dream Team", where Olympic (as in torches and medals) basketball meets high elves.

Next best for me were the four Blood-series stories that close out the book. Trying to figure out exactly why I'd rank the others above them, I think it's because of the unexpected pleasure: I already knew I'd quite enjoy any adventure with the Blood characters. There are three featuring Vicki Nelson & Mike Celluci post-Blood Pact, including "The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea" (2nd-longest at 34 pages, written new for this collection), and one getting a look at Henry Fitzroy back in Regency England (a favorite period of mine, too).

I also have to mention "The Harder They Fall" because I love the mini-dragon-on-hummingbird-feeder cover art, and the premise explaining it is quite clever, even though the no-great-victory way things worked out in the story make it one of my "just a 3"s.

Note that there's a general introduction by Michelle Sagara, who knows Ms. Huff personally, and an introduction to each story from the author herself.

Meisha Merlin Publishing (who also used to publish Sharon Lee & Steve Miller)'s editing here is good, though not 100% perfect, but a few minor errors (like "wadding" for "wading") are all I noticed in the whole book, well within expected tolerances even for the major houses.

By the way, I should explain that it took me so long to read this (I usually finish a book within three days) because I was keeping it as my "grab when I've just got time for a short story" book, read sporadically rather than sitting down for a binge. Also, I read the Vicki or Henry stories twice: skipping to them before any of the rest, then again when I reached them in order.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories.

[Nighteye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short story collection of mainly urban fantasy.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tanya always deserves a second reading

[Genevieve Trainor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every story in Tanya Huff's anthology "What Ho, Magic!" is worth five-stars, individually. However, as a whole, the collection is rates a five. This book is proof positive that there is, of course, more to a great collection of short stories than a collection of great short stories.

This is everything an anthology should be: There is original work in addition to stories previously printed elsewhere. There are deeper glimpses into the already-familiar worlds of some of her novels. There is author commentary before each story! It is impeccably edited, and each story choice, even when not perfect in a stand-alone sense, fits.

Best of all, though, there is Ms. Huff's trademark casual and clever style, capturing the reader with believable characters and irreverently illogical situations. More than anything, her dialogue stands out. Her characters' verbal interactions are engaging and realistic, and tie the reader inextricably to their fate.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He is my immortality."

The Chase is On: space opera
Underground: people trapped in a subway tunnel
I'll Be Home for Christmas: pixies, basilisk
Shing Li-ung: dragon broach
First Love, Last Love: haunted car
Word of Honor: templars
The Harder They Fall: Alice in Wonderland dad
A Debt Unpaid: another mine disaster haunting
February Thaw: Persephone comes home early
Symbols are a Percussion Instrument: tarot
A Midsummer Night's Dream Team: high elves

From the "Blood" series universe (about Henry Fitzroy, vampire)
This Town Ain't Big Enough:
What Manner of Man:
The Cards Also Say:
The Vengeful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea:

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories but at least 60% of the book has previously been printed in other books, specifically the two I just read so this should only count as a half a book towards my quota for this year. However, the last part of the book were stories in the Vicki Nelson universe and so my next series to read starting today is Blood Ties...instead of the other vampire series I planned on reading. The new stories were as excellent and spooky as the ones I just read, in fact, I reread a couple just for the flavour.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first volume of Huff's collected short stories is a good volume representative of her better-known novels. It has four Vicki Nelson stories, several humorous contemporary fantasies, and a few well-crafted "dark" stories that are a bit edgier than her more recent work. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was probably my favorite.

[Denicemarcell]

found on my bookcase, thought i'd have a nice re-read only to find i don't recall any of the stories so i think i bought it and forgot it. Enjoying it now.

The Henry and Vicki stories are also in the Blood short story collection.

Now to find the other two collections and make sure I read both of them.

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great anthology. The only stories I didn't like were the Victoria Nelson stories. And since there were four of them - over 100 pages - that meant I was bored for the last third of the book.

2 stars then for the last third of the book, and 4 stars for the first 2/3. Next time I'm going to read any Nelson stories first so that I have the rest of the book to recover.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read much from this author, but this really makes me want to pick up some of her longer work. Good, tight short stories. Some very amusing, some kind of disturbing, but I didn't have the urge to skip any of them along the way--always a good sign.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tanya Huff. I love her short stories at least as much as, maybe more than, her novels. And this collection was actually copyedited, unlike the last one I read, so I have absolutely no quibbles. Fantastic.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like thief characters that describe the costuming around them ;-)

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very consistently good quality short stories, and a few are excellent. Plus, contains some short stories which follow on from the "Blood ... " series by the same author.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this short story collection, and the title always makes me smile. What Ho, Magic!

[Korynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful, fun, and truly intriguing stories by Tanya Huff.