A review by curiouslibrarian
Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy by Kara Dalkey, Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia A. McKillip, Charles de Lint, Francesca Lia Block, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Sharon Shinn, Pamela Dean, Tanith Lee, Kelly Link, Alan Dean Foster, Sharyn November, Carol Emshwiller, Alison Goodman, Ellen Klages, Emma Bull
4.0
I originally went in search of this book because a friend thought I would enjoy the story "In the House of the Seven Librarians," and told me that some of the other stories were "pretty good too." I picked it up and discovered that it was populated with some extremely well-known sf/fantasy authors! So I sat down to read the whole thing.
As in every anthology, there are some stories that are better than others, and some authors that I historically don't like. But I found one stand-out author whose work is new to me: Alison Goodman. And her story is apparently a side story from a previously published book. So, I will certainly be following up on that!
I really appreciated some of the choices that the editor, Sharyn November, made in putting this book together. She put the author bio and discussion of the story in the pages immediately following each story instead of the end of the book. Plus, she deliberately chose the order of the stories in such a way that you could read them in order if you so choose (which is my preferred method, and I know it puts me in the minority).
This is a YA book, and some of the stories are directly aimed at teens. But there is much here for an adult reader to savor as well if the YA stories are not your thing.
Highly recommended, and I will be checking out the other anthologies in this series.
As in every anthology, there are some stories that are better than others, and some authors that I historically don't like. But I found one stand-out author whose work is new to me: Alison Goodman. And her story is apparently a side story from a previously published book. So, I will certainly be following up on that!
I really appreciated some of the choices that the editor, Sharyn November, made in putting this book together. She put the author bio and discussion of the story in the pages immediately following each story instead of the end of the book. Plus, she deliberately chose the order of the stories in such a way that you could read them in order if you so choose (which is my preferred method, and I know it puts me in the minority).
This is a YA book, and some of the stories are directly aimed at teens. But there is much here for an adult reader to savor as well if the YA stories are not your thing.
Highly recommended, and I will be checking out the other anthologies in this series.