Reviews

Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy by Terri Windling, Ellen Datlow

pippercorn's review against another edition

4.0

Hard to know what to rate this...there were some really good stories ('Phosphorous', 'Estella Saves the Village', 'The Memory Book' and 'La Reine d'Enfer') and the rest were kind of meh or didn't appeal to me at all. In the end I've rated it based on the highs, not on the lows!

magpiesv's review against another edition

3.0

Going with three stars as the highest I'd rate the few stories in this that I liked. It just felt very stilted and so many of the protagonists were so awful it was a miserable slog to read.

technopond_dweller's review against another edition

4.0

Another fantastic Datlow & Windling anthology. The 900 pages went by fast and I feel thoroughly enchanted.

electrolite's review against another edition

3.0

Solid collection, if uneven. I really enjoyed the introduction, "Fantasy, Magic, and Fairyland in Nineteenth-Century England" - it's well-written and fairly well-researched for an into to a modern anthology.

rhalinuviel's review against another edition

4.0

I can't give this anthology more than four stars because there are a couple of stories in here that are just annoying and which I could not read. But 95% of these stories were very entertaining. I have never been a fan of sticking historical figures into narratives willy nilly as a way of explaining the person's later achievements. But in the few instances where that happened here, it was done in such a way that it served as an homage rather than a justification. If you're looking for steampunk, this might not be your thing. But if you're into Victoriana and practical magic, check out this book!

simplywesner's review against another edition

4.0

I usually am not a fan of short stories. I always expect way more. I did like most of the ones in here though. I've been in a steaming phase with reading. It was nice to have a lot of different ones to choose from.

cait_s's review against another edition

3.0

Not Steampunk, people! This is “Gaslamp Fantasy,” which means a Victorian setting and characters, with the addition of magic. Not pretty sparkly fairies, but the darker fairy tales, where children are stolen, or people lured to their deaths.

The stories explore the lives of the people, from the Queen to factory workers, and range from hopeful to dark, many providing fascinating, detailed glimpses into Victorian society.

Any avid reader will likely recognize at least one name from the pretty impressive list of contributors. Fans of Steampunk might enjoy this book, if they keep in mind that it's something slightly different.

juushika's review against another edition

3.0

18 Gaslamp stories, about the supernatural, otherworldly, and fantastic in or concerning Victorian England. Collections like these are worth reading for Windling's introductions alone--they're lovingly crafted, insightful overviews from someone who's spent a lifetime studying fantasy fiction. Unfortunately, Queen Victoria's Book of Spells doesn't quite live up to that introduction: the intent is there, but the stories frequently fail to reflect contemporary fantasy elements (there's a remarkable lack of fairies!) and, while many touch on the industrial revolution, few use the fantastic both to express anxiety and seek escapism on account. Still, the overall quality is high and the collection is flawlessly edited. There's a good balance of grim historical accuracy (Schanoes's "Phosphorus," with its memorable descriptions of phossy jaw, was my collection favorite) lightened by fantasy of manners-touched frivolity (Kushner and Stevermer's epistolary "The Vital Importance of the Superficial" has a lovely voice); there's a few failures, but they're largely redeemed by their placement--like the irony of Blaylock's curmudgeonly "Smithfield" counterpointed by Hieber's much more complex "Charged." Datlow and Windling are practiced editors, and this is another successful collection--thematically strong, varied, above average in quality. Still, it only met and failed to exceed my expectations.

matosapa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

ntembeast's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's hardly any surprise to find that I loved this book, because I haven't found a single one of Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's anthologies to be not my cup of tea. In fact, they've all been the exact opposite. I adore the depths and strangeness that always gets brought up by the collections of stories that these two incredible women find. There's always fascinating concepts, fantastic writers, and thought-provoking knowledge and experiences, adventures and mishaps to embrace whenever you pick up one of their anthologies, and this one is hardly an exception.

I don't read much from this particular genre, so I also had the added pleasure of encountering a lot of concepts that were new to me, which is one of my favorite parts about picking up one of these themed anthologies from Ellen and Terri every time. Each instance is an opportunity to experience these topics in a light that I might not have considered before, because even though I know of the Steampunk genre, I didn't know about the wider realm of Gaslamp Fantasy, and I didn't know how much a lot of this era delved into Horror by virtue of the struggles contained within that time period. It was a much darker and more twisted collection than I anticipated, and I ate it up and loooooved it for that. Beauty, contrasted with the mortifying-- a combination that I really think gave this anthology exactly the depth that I wanted as a first foray into all these concepts. If you're a fan of Dark Academia, Victorian-era tales with a touch of morbidity and Gothic vibes, definitely give this anthology a shot. It's well worth the read!