Reviews
Neon Druid: An Anthology of Urban Celtic Fantasy by Madison McSweeney, Tom Howard, Patrick Winters
alexanderp's review against another edition
4.0
NEON DRUID is such a fun, pulpy anthology of stories that embody Celtic fantasy and myth. Each story presents a strong grasp of voice, tone, and feel that I appreciate in a themed urban fantasy anthology.
I have made a list of the stories below that I really enjoyed and I made a list along with mini reviews down below:
Dreams of Gold by Madison McSweeny - This an excellent story to begin with, since the world building is perfect and the reader gets a taste of what this anthology is going to be about. There's flashes of humor, violence, and death. And yes, it involves a leprechaun based on the name.
Banshee by Serena Jayne - The shortest story, a drabble with only 100 words, and is such a robust piece. Jayne does a lot of work within those few words and they left me chilled.
Cave Canem by Ed Ahern - This story was possibly my favorite story out of the bunch. An ex-felon goes up into the forest to work for, essentially a hermit and little does he realize who the "hermit" truly is. The dialogue in this one and characterization was perfect and really pulled me along.
The Ache of Water by E. K. Reisinger - While almost reading more like a character study rather than a full fledged story, this one stuck with me. There's a lot that happens, even though only one character is essentially present and doing anything, but by the end I was moved.
Druids of Montreal by I. E. Kneverday - And last but not least(and certainly the longest in the anthology of over 7k words!), is the editors and this one gives the full spectrum of urban fantasy and Celtic mythology. We have our pub scene, our mysterious meeting under gnarled trees, and finally a mystical dreamlike world that our hero, Finn, stumbles into. Kneverday had a fun time writing this and it shows, it was a pleasure to read.
If you feel the urge to pick it up, look no further than here.
I have made a list of the stories below that I really enjoyed and I made a list along with mini reviews down below:
Dreams of Gold by Madison McSweeny - This an excellent story to begin with, since the world building is perfect and the reader gets a taste of what this anthology is going to be about. There's flashes of humor, violence, and death. And yes, it involves a leprechaun based on the name.
Banshee by Serena Jayne - The shortest story, a drabble with only 100 words, and is such a robust piece. Jayne does a lot of work within those few words and they left me chilled.
Cave Canem by Ed Ahern - This story was possibly my favorite story out of the bunch. An ex-felon goes up into the forest to work for, essentially a hermit and little does he realize who the "hermit" truly is. The dialogue in this one and characterization was perfect and really pulled me along.
The Ache of Water by E. K. Reisinger - While almost reading more like a character study rather than a full fledged story, this one stuck with me. There's a lot that happens, even though only one character is essentially present and doing anything, but by the end I was moved.
Druids of Montreal by I. E. Kneverday - And last but not least(and certainly the longest in the anthology of over 7k words!), is the editors and this one gives the full spectrum of urban fantasy and Celtic mythology. We have our pub scene, our mysterious meeting under gnarled trees, and finally a mystical dreamlike world that our hero, Finn, stumbles into. Kneverday had a fun time writing this and it shows, it was a pleasure to read.
If you feel the urge to pick it up, look no further than here.
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