Street Magic

by Lyn Worthen (Editor), Meyari McFarland, Mike Jack Stoumbos

Magic. It hides under our unsuspecting noses, and swirls all around us.

In STREET MAGIC, fifteen urban fantasy authors invite you to walk with one foot in the mundane world, and one in... another world.

And if what you see there seems a little out of the ordinary, it's probably magic.

Contains stories by Meyari McFarland, Mike Jack Stoumbos, Douglas Smith, J.L. Madore, Travis Heermann, Jessica Guernsey, Jena Rey, Taylen Carver, Tina Back, C.E. Barnes, Leigh Saunders, Sam Robb, Danielle Harward, Tami Veldura, and Joseph Borrelli. Edited by Lyn Worthen

342 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t generally tend towards the lower price selection of ebooks. I have friends who do. It’s fine. This is a budget priced anthology. The writers in this book all appear to be very early in their career. The biggest name in term of web presence might be JL Madore.

That said, editor Lyn Worthen has pulled together from this list of aspiring writers a collection that works with a theme of the supernatural. This may not have big names, but there are some engaging stories here.

Supernatural stories are hard because you may have to introduce an entire universe to your reader and you might only have 20 pages.

How do you review an anthology like this. Well, there’s definitely value for the money. Well, I will try my best. Below, I review by each authors name, their story in the anthology. Stories that hit all marks for me get 5 stars. Near misses are enjoyable reads that slightly missed the 5 stars. Duds are ones that didn’t work for me personally.

Meyari McFarland- (dud). This Japanese centric story is a bit of a dud to open the book. Too dense to be enjoyable

Mike Jack Stoumbos (5 stars) This was great. A memorable story of a computer repair guy. I have to be spoiler free

Douglas Smith (dud) this animal-based story never connected with me despite some good ideas

JL Madore (5 stars) So it appears Madore mostly writes Bodice Rippers, but she puts that energy into a bit of rock n roll and urban fantasy tale that hooks you in

Travis Heerman - (near miss) I would probably give this 3.5 stars. It’s another Japan-centered story. As a reader not familiar with the author, it took me a bit to get into this one, but there’s some good ideas here

Jessica Guernsey- (near miss) This is probably a 3 or 4 star story. Gaimanesque fantasy

Jena Rey (5 star) There’s something about New Orleans that brings out the best in Urban Fantasy writers

Taylen Carver (near miss) An ambitious story set in a reimagined Turkey. There is a lot of set up to explain the World, but in that ambition, some interesting ideas

Tina Back (5 stars) a cinematic action and romance tale

CE Barnes (5 stars) a lighthearted vampire tale like few others

Leigh Sanders (5 stars) this one is a bit more on the cop/detective side and it’s pretty great

Sam Robb (5 stars) combining a story that has one foot firmly in reality and one in action movies. Fantastic

Danielle Harward (near miss) This one is sort of a mix of humor, high fantasy and urban fantasy

Tami Veldura (near miss) Another one that probably ranks around 3.5 or 4 stars. A necromancy tale

Joseph Borrelli (5 stars) This one is for Goth rock fans. I knew it was going to be either Genius or Ludicrous. It ended up being pretty great.