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Ilauris
Swords, Sorcery, and Self-Rescuing Damsels
THESE LADIES AREN'T WAITING.
Twenty bestselling and award-winning authors offer enchanting tales of women and girls forging paths through darkness and peril. Cleverness, curiosity, and determinations make worthy heroines in fantastical new worlds.
Contents
Falcon's Apprentice / Jody Lynn Nye
She Remembered / Lee French
Alive / Raven Oak
Thorn Girl / Connie J. Jasperson
The Princess and the Dragon / Robyn Bennis
Ashna's Heart / Robert J. McCarter
Aptitude / Matt Youngmark
Warmaster / Ian Berger and Lou J. Berger
Princess Last Picked / Dawn Vogel
Yendy Loves Rattlescale / Elmdea Adams
Water and Light / Katie Cross
Low is the Land / Fulvio Gatti
Calamity / Edward J. Knight
Not a Whisper / Sarah Bartsch
Hope Beyond Death / Jeremy Zimmerman
Balancing the Scales / Esther Jones and Frog Jones
Remember to Thank Your Healer / Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
Twenty bestselling and award-winning authors offer enchanting tales of women and girls forging paths through darkness and peril. Cleverness, curiosity, and determinations make worthy heroines in fantastical new worlds.
Contents
Falcon's Apprentice / Jody Lynn Nye
She Remembered / Lee French
Alive / Raven Oak
Thorn Girl / Connie J. Jasperson
The Princess and the Dragon / Robyn Bennis
Ashna's Heart / Robert J. McCarter
Aptitude / Matt Youngmark
Warmaster / Ian Berger and Lou J. Berger
Princess Last Picked / Dawn Vogel
Yendy Loves Rattlescale / Elmdea Adams
Water and Light / Katie Cross
Low is the Land / Fulvio Gatti
Calamity / Edward J. Knight
Not a Whisper / Sarah Bartsch
Hope Beyond Death / Jeremy Zimmerman
Balancing the Scales / Esther Jones and Frog Jones
Remember to Thank Your Healer / Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
- GenresFantasyShort Stories
10 pages, MP3 CD
First published April 16, 2019
39 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
partly-read
April 6, 2019In theory, I should have loved this book. The title promises pretty much everything that makes a book a favourite with me, plus swords (swords I can take or leave alone). But the execution was just OK, and in the end I didn't finish it.
I don't know if this is accurate, but it felt like these were short stories by people who usually write novels, and don't quite have a handle on how the short story form differs. Some managed to be short by being quite linear: problem occurs, solve problem, story finished. At least one tried to cram in too many characters and events, and ended up being short by summarizing the events and not developing the characters. One I skipped after a couple of pages, because torture plus slavery plus rape plus mutilation equals a hard, hard pass from me.
There's nothing terribly wrong with most of these stories; they're written competently enough. But there's nothing really amazing about them either, and the general tone was darker than I prefer. I sometimes felt that I was reading what I call "gunboat fiction," where the author stands offshore and bombards the hapless characters with suffering.
I had a pre-release version from Netgalley, so I won't comment on the copy editing except to say that I hope there was more of it after the version I read, by someone who knows what a coordinate comma is and when not to use one, and who's also good with homonyms and apostrophe placement.
tl;dr: DNF because meh.
I don't know if this is accurate, but it felt like these were short stories by people who usually write novels, and don't quite have a handle on how the short story form differs. Some managed to be short by being quite linear: problem occurs, solve problem, story finished. At least one tried to cram in too many characters and events, and ended up being short by summarizing the events and not developing the characters. One I skipped after a couple of pages, because torture plus slavery plus rape plus mutilation equals a hard, hard pass from me.
There's nothing terribly wrong with most of these stories; they're written competently enough. But there's nothing really amazing about them either, and the general tone was darker than I prefer. I sometimes felt that I was reading what I call "gunboat fiction," where the author stands offshore and bombards the hapless characters with suffering.
I had a pre-release version from Netgalley, so I won't comment on the copy editing except to say that I hope there was more of it after the version I read, by someone who knows what a coordinate comma is and when not to use one, and who's also good with homonyms and apostrophe placement.
tl;dr: DNF because meh.
Want to read
May 7, 2021Contributor's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2021/05...
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2021/05...
April 17, 2019
This anthology was a little out of my wheelhouse, but I was really intrigued by all of the stories having strong female leads.
After finishing the book, I'm split in my opinion of it. Some of the stories fell really flat, while others like Alive, I really wished were novels. The characters came to life and I really wanted to know more backstory and where things went from the end of the story.
If you're looking for strong females and love fantasy, definitely check this out.
After finishing the book, I'm split in my opinion of it. Some of the stories fell really flat, while others like Alive, I really wished were novels. The characters came to life and I really wanted to know more backstory and where things went from the end of the story.
If you're looking for strong females and love fantasy, definitely check this out.
April 18, 2019
In short, this is good stuff.
This is an epic gathering of authors for a collection of sword & sorcery short stories about women, and it is an absolute thrill.
Editor Lee French's editor's note says everything, noting that the term "damsels in distress" reduces women to poorly-dimensioned plot points "useful as nothing more than a prize for defeating the enemy."
"This depiction sucks," Lee adds.
The authors here include some of my personal favorites such as Jody Lynn Nye and Dawn Vogel. Like a properly good anthology, the book will introduce you to a plethora of writers that you can consume later. In my case, Elmdea Adams, who contributed "Yendy Loves Rattlescale," my favorite story in the collection as of this writing.
It stars a dragon. Case closed. Buy the book. There are almost two dozen other stories, but this one stars a dragon.
The only drawback: Not enough room for maps of the fantasy realms at the beginning of each story. I'll let this one slide because the book would be about a zillion pages longer. You have to make sacrifices sometimes.
All the stories are old-fashioned fantasy tales, and I mean that as a compliment. They're cathartic, empowering, and frequently just plain hilarious.
This is an epic gathering of authors for a collection of sword & sorcery short stories about women, and it is an absolute thrill.
Editor Lee French's editor's note says everything, noting that the term "damsels in distress" reduces women to poorly-dimensioned plot points "useful as nothing more than a prize for defeating the enemy."
"This depiction sucks," Lee adds.
The authors here include some of my personal favorites such as Jody Lynn Nye and Dawn Vogel. Like a properly good anthology, the book will introduce you to a plethora of writers that you can consume later. In my case, Elmdea Adams, who contributed "Yendy Loves Rattlescale," my favorite story in the collection as of this writing.
It stars a dragon. Case closed. Buy the book. There are almost two dozen other stories, but this one stars a dragon.
The only drawback: Not enough room for maps of the fantasy realms at the beginning of each story. I'll let this one slide because the book would be about a zillion pages longer. You have to make sacrifices sometimes.
All the stories are old-fashioned fantasy tales, and I mean that as a compliment. They're cathartic, empowering, and frequently just plain hilarious.
March 24, 2019
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available to buy on April 16th.
This collection of short stories by several fantasy authors all feature strong female lead characters. It was so cool to see how varied the stories and settings were. While I liked some stories more than others, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book.
I really loved Falcon’s Apprentice, about Marie-Jeanne, a falconer’s daughter whose life changes when she goes on a hunt with the lord of the manor. I thought it was incredibly creative and Marie-Jeanne was a great character to read about because she wasn’t born with special abilities, or with the desire to save the world. She just wanted to make her dad proud. It is the mark of a good author that I was riveted by such a simple tale.
The other short story that really stood out to me was Ashna’s Heart. It was an incredibly interesting tale that touched on subjects of destiny, and how far someone will go to set things right. I really liked that one. It had a fairy tale feel.
This is a solid collection, and now I have new writers to be on the lookout for. This was an entertaining, easy read.
This collection of short stories by several fantasy authors all feature strong female lead characters. It was so cool to see how varied the stories and settings were. While I liked some stories more than others, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book.
I really loved Falcon’s Apprentice, about Marie-Jeanne, a falconer’s daughter whose life changes when she goes on a hunt with the lord of the manor. I thought it was incredibly creative and Marie-Jeanne was a great character to read about because she wasn’t born with special abilities, or with the desire to save the world. She just wanted to make her dad proud. It is the mark of a good author that I was riveted by such a simple tale.
The other short story that really stood out to me was Ashna’s Heart. It was an incredibly interesting tale that touched on subjects of destiny, and how far someone will go to set things right. I really liked that one. It had a fairy tale feel.
This is a solid collection, and now I have new writers to be on the lookout for. This was an entertaining, easy read.
April 26, 2019
How could I resist looking at a volume with a title like this one? The collection stays pretty true to its theme, showing a range of different styles and talents.
The first story, “The Falconer’s Apprentice” by Jodi Lyn Nye, is a perfect little microcosm of what a good story should be. Marie-Jeanne is the daughter of a falconer to the local French nobility. Her father is unable to accompany his liege lord on a hunt, and his well-trained sons are not available, so his daughter goes in his stead. She learns the secret magic of falconry during difficult and dangerous situations while acting in her father’s stead.
Lee French’s offering, “She Remembered,” is a pithy tale of sorcery and betrayal, and how a former swordswoman and mother—more than one mother, actually—take down a secret tyrant.
The next story is a murder mystery, “Alive,” full of intrigue. Raven Oak gives us a story from her Amaskan tales, the story of a woman with a new identity who confronts the evils of her professional past. This story would make a marvelous, edge-of-your-seat movie.
“Thorn Girl” by Connie J. Jasperson is all about a young woman who is jarred out of her slavery by conscience and honor.
Robyn Bennis gives us a scam worthy of Terry Prachett in “The Princess and the Dragon.” It ends in the most memorable “rescue” of a princess from a dragon that I’ve ever seen.
“Ashna’s Heart” by Robert J. McCarter is all about the reincarnation of Kyla: a young fire mage who needs to rescue an artifact that will calm an ancient extinct volcano which has now awoken. Kyla has the gift of life-memory, which means she can remember up to ten past lives. It takes on an epic feel when her quest passes through several incarnations and she recognizes and is recognized each time by the man she loves.
Next, I was treated to a short story with wry, entertaining footnotes—a first, in my experience. But Matt Youngmark’s short story—“Aptitude”—felt more like the opening to a novel, which was both disappointing… and enticing. It was also the story least inclined to follow the theme of the anthology, as you could easily have replaced the female protagonist with a male.
Lou Berger and Ian R. Berger offered a delightful story of a young woman, who had been schooled in swordplay plus healing, and is regaled with tales of elves and ogres by her grandfather. When grandpa is gone, she takes his sword, “War Master,” and goes off on an adventure. While the adventure is marvellous, the real payoff is when she returns home. I would not give that ending away for worlds.
“Princess Last Picked” by Dawn Vogel will be enjoyed by anyone who was looked down on for a physical disability or not being physically strong. Brains, not brawn, win the day here.
In “Yendy Loves Rattlescale” by Elmdea Adams, we get a charming children’s tale, of a misfit dragon and a misfit girl, who find themselves in an unusual friendship that makes them more than the sum of their parts.
From the childlike to the sublime, we next find Katie Cross’s “Water and Light.” It’s a phenomenal story and, in my opinion, this writer is going places. Heck, I looked her up online: she’s one of the new breed of writers. She’s got awards that are mostly via Wattpad and Kobo. If the rest of her YA fiction is this good, it’s no wonder.
As good as it was, and it was very good, “Low Is The Land” by Fulvio Gatti struck me as another opening for a novel… with an ending that was really a beginning. It was fine as an introduction to his fantasy world but a bit disappointing because I wanted more closure.
“Calamity” by Edward J. Knight, is a Western, but with a speculative twist. The protagonist has a gift: she can see ghosts. Her world is turned upside down when Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane show up in her town.
“Not A Whisper” by Sarah Bartsch is a mystery. Over the years Ally learned that while sometimes the “ghosts” she could hear didn’t have all the answers or weren’t sure… They never lied. But constantly hearing them left her mute. How could a mute girl save her sister?
Jeremy Zimmerman gives us a disembodied princess who’d been abducted and her ghost was stuck in a wizard’s besieged tower. So she learned to defend herself and better—really better—her situation in “Hope Beyond Death.”
“Balancing the Scales” was written by Frog and Esther Jones (a husband-and-wife team), and is set during the sack of Rome. An ancestress’ avatar helps an 11-year-old-girl save her family using guerrilla tactics, trickery, and stealth.
In “Remember to Thank Your Healer” by Jeffrey Cook & Katherine Perkins, male heroes are trailed by a woman healer who is a religious devotee of the Maidens of Gold and Brass and a female paladin fighter. They’re all fighting an incursion of demons, but the women, left by the men, circle around and cut it off at the source. You’ll have to read it to see how it was done.
I enjoyed the collection and think you will, too.
The first story, “The Falconer’s Apprentice” by Jodi Lyn Nye, is a perfect little microcosm of what a good story should be. Marie-Jeanne is the daughter of a falconer to the local French nobility. Her father is unable to accompany his liege lord on a hunt, and his well-trained sons are not available, so his daughter goes in his stead. She learns the secret magic of falconry during difficult and dangerous situations while acting in her father’s stead.
Lee French’s offering, “She Remembered,” is a pithy tale of sorcery and betrayal, and how a former swordswoman and mother—more than one mother, actually—take down a secret tyrant.
The next story is a murder mystery, “Alive,” full of intrigue. Raven Oak gives us a story from her Amaskan tales, the story of a woman with a new identity who confronts the evils of her professional past. This story would make a marvelous, edge-of-your-seat movie.
“Thorn Girl” by Connie J. Jasperson is all about a young woman who is jarred out of her slavery by conscience and honor.
Robyn Bennis gives us a scam worthy of Terry Prachett in “The Princess and the Dragon.” It ends in the most memorable “rescue” of a princess from a dragon that I’ve ever seen.
“Ashna’s Heart” by Robert J. McCarter is all about the reincarnation of Kyla: a young fire mage who needs to rescue an artifact that will calm an ancient extinct volcano which has now awoken. Kyla has the gift of life-memory, which means she can remember up to ten past lives. It takes on an epic feel when her quest passes through several incarnations and she recognizes and is recognized each time by the man she loves.
Next, I was treated to a short story with wry, entertaining footnotes—a first, in my experience. But Matt Youngmark’s short story—“Aptitude”—felt more like the opening to a novel, which was both disappointing… and enticing. It was also the story least inclined to follow the theme of the anthology, as you could easily have replaced the female protagonist with a male.
Lou Berger and Ian R. Berger offered a delightful story of a young woman, who had been schooled in swordplay plus healing, and is regaled with tales of elves and ogres by her grandfather. When grandpa is gone, she takes his sword, “War Master,” and goes off on an adventure. While the adventure is marvellous, the real payoff is when she returns home. I would not give that ending away for worlds.
“Princess Last Picked” by Dawn Vogel will be enjoyed by anyone who was looked down on for a physical disability or not being physically strong. Brains, not brawn, win the day here.
In “Yendy Loves Rattlescale” by Elmdea Adams, we get a charming children’s tale, of a misfit dragon and a misfit girl, who find themselves in an unusual friendship that makes them more than the sum of their parts.
From the childlike to the sublime, we next find Katie Cross’s “Water and Light.” It’s a phenomenal story and, in my opinion, this writer is going places. Heck, I looked her up online: she’s one of the new breed of writers. She’s got awards that are mostly via Wattpad and Kobo. If the rest of her YA fiction is this good, it’s no wonder.
As good as it was, and it was very good, “Low Is The Land” by Fulvio Gatti struck me as another opening for a novel… with an ending that was really a beginning. It was fine as an introduction to his fantasy world but a bit disappointing because I wanted more closure.
“Calamity” by Edward J. Knight, is a Western, but with a speculative twist. The protagonist has a gift: she can see ghosts. Her world is turned upside down when Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane show up in her town.
“Not A Whisper” by Sarah Bartsch is a mystery. Over the years Ally learned that while sometimes the “ghosts” she could hear didn’t have all the answers or weren’t sure… They never lied. But constantly hearing them left her mute. How could a mute girl save her sister?
Jeremy Zimmerman gives us a disembodied princess who’d been abducted and her ghost was stuck in a wizard’s besieged tower. So she learned to defend herself and better—really better—her situation in “Hope Beyond Death.”
“Balancing the Scales” was written by Frog and Esther Jones (a husband-and-wife team), and is set during the sack of Rome. An ancestress’ avatar helps an 11-year-old-girl save her family using guerrilla tactics, trickery, and stealth.
In “Remember to Thank Your Healer” by Jeffrey Cook & Katherine Perkins, male heroes are trailed by a woman healer who is a religious devotee of the Maidens of Gold and Brass and a female paladin fighter. They’re all fighting an incursion of demons, but the women, left by the men, circle around and cut it off at the source. You’ll have to read it to see how it was done.
I enjoyed the collection and think you will, too.
April 8, 2019
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This collection of short stories appealed to me because it has everything in it that I like in a story. Swords, magic (sorcery) and bad ass women who get shit done. As someone who normally doesn't read a lot of short stories (I'm more of a series kind of reader) I wasn't sure what to expect for the story lines, but most of the time I wasn't disappointed.
I really liked reading a lot of the stories, they featured smart, kick ass lasses with a good head on their shoulders saving themselves and others around them. But I wasn't convinced by all of the stories. There were a few that had me confused as to who was who and what they were doing again. Mainly because the names where so alike/so difficult to remember. Maybe that's just me but I prefer tales that have characters with ordinary names I can remember (even though they live in a magical world) and I can tell apart from the other characters in the book without having to think too much about it.
All in all I liked about 90% of the stories enough to give this book a 4/5 and I even hope some of these short stories are a start of new worlds and new adventures with new characters.
This collection of short stories appealed to me because it has everything in it that I like in a story. Swords, magic (sorcery) and bad ass women who get shit done. As someone who normally doesn't read a lot of short stories (I'm more of a series kind of reader) I wasn't sure what to expect for the story lines, but most of the time I wasn't disappointed.
I really liked reading a lot of the stories, they featured smart, kick ass lasses with a good head on their shoulders saving themselves and others around them. But I wasn't convinced by all of the stories. There were a few that had me confused as to who was who and what they were doing again. Mainly because the names where so alike/so difficult to remember. Maybe that's just me but I prefer tales that have characters with ordinary names I can remember (even though they live in a magical world) and I can tell apart from the other characters in the book without having to think too much about it.
All in all I liked about 90% of the stories enough to give this book a 4/5 and I even hope some of these short stories are a start of new worlds and new adventures with new characters.
May 26, 2019
This book is a collection of short fantasy stories that feature strong heroines. Sometimes an element of magic is involved. Sometimes the heroines are older, and sometimes they are younger. Some stories are more realistic than others. Most have an element of violence to them, sometimes perpetrated against a victim off-scene and other times within the context of the story and even by the heroine herself. The women all have a strength of character (if not of body) that's a delight to read. If you enjoy fantasy with strong female leads, you will most likely enjoy this collection of short reads by a variety of authors.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Read my other reviews at https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Read my other reviews at https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com.
April 2, 2019
“Heroism is more then brute force, luck, or a dashing smile. Strength comes from many places other than muscles. I’d like to hope that my son recognizes this simple fact, an stories are an amazing way to help make that dream come true.”
This book is perfect for little girls to make them understand they can be brave, claver and strong even without a man. It’s a great message and I appreciated all the heroines described because each one can be a role model. The problem with this book is that the novels were so short that I couldn’t really get attached with the characters and most of the plots were quite simple and banal. I would have enjoyed more a less number of stories but with a better developed plot.
This book is perfect for little girls to make them understand they can be brave, claver and strong even without a man. It’s a great message and I appreciated all the heroines described because each one can be a role model. The problem with this book is that the novels were so short that I couldn’t really get attached with the characters and most of the plots were quite simple and banal. I would have enjoyed more a less number of stories but with a better developed plot.
April 19, 2019
Hey everyone. Guess what?. Katie Cross gave me this awesome book to read and I'm telling you all, it's amazing. This is a book anyone can enjoy. You have women finding ways to make it through difficult task, mission, and adventures to try and fix their lives and overcome obsticales unfortunately laid upon them at birth. Highly recommend you buy a copy of this book of well put together short stories, written by wonderful everyday aurthors.
April 19, 2019
Hey everyone. Guess what?. Katie Cross gave me this awesome book to read and I'm telling you all, it's amazing. This is a book anyone can enjoy. You have women finding ways to make it through difficult task, mission, and adventures to try and fix their lives and overcome obsticales unfortunately laid upon them at birth. Highly recommend you buy a copy of this book of well put together short stories, written by wonderful everyday aurthors.
May 4, 2019
This was a lovely collection of short stories with a female protagonist that takes her own power and runs with it. Some are smaller displays of power and others are more epic in scope. Several stories stood out and left me wanting more.
December 2, 2021
Pretty good. Some great stories, some not as great, as usual for an anthology. My favorite was “Hope Beyond Death”. Such an interesting concept for a story about a princess - she didn’t get rescued and died (and that’s not a spoiler!).
April 22, 2019
DAMsels In distress that rescue themselves. Ten magic stories about friendship, cleverness and strength. You will love all the stories and their heroines.
January 31, 2022
Best thing about the book is the title. No idea how they got Nye to contribute, but most of the stories are indifferent YA, and some are WTF MG.
July 31, 2024
This was good! More hits than misses
March 16, 2019
This was a very enjoyable book, with many different styles of story with the similar theme - women saving themselves. Very refreshing!
Whilst knowing in advance that they would save themselves took away some of the tension from the anthology, the tales themselves were pretty entertaining.
I would definitely like to read more along these themes from these authors in future!
Thanks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review from netgalley
#swordssorceryselfrescuingdamsels #netgalley
Whilst knowing in advance that they would save themselves took away some of the tension from the anthology, the tales themselves were pretty entertaining.
I would definitely like to read more along these themes from these authors in future!
Thanks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review from netgalley
#swordssorceryselfrescuingdamsels #netgalley
August 19, 2021
Loved the stories, and discovered some great new-to-me authors!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews