A review by otl1987
Dark Alchemy: Magical Tales From Masters Of Modern Fantasy by Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann
4.0
Some of the stories I really loved, some I liked and some I found pointless. Some of them had a deeper meaning that touched me deeply and some of them were adventurous and just fun to read. Overall, I consider this book a very nice collection of short stories. It reminded me of how exciting fantasy books are, which I hadn't read for years.
"The witch's headstone", "The Ruby Incomparable", "Winter's wife" and "Zinder" :Favorites
"The stranger's hands", "The Manticore Spell", "Billy and the wizard" : I could do without reading...
I am going to write something about each one of them, so if you don't feel like reading, just go on to the next review!
"The witch's headstone" I liked a lot. It was the first piece I read of Neil Gaiman and the reason I'm starting the Graveyard Book soon. Really well written and it made me feel I was there. He manages to create a really nice atmosphere. I really don't think that if you read it you can resist The Graveyard Book.
"Holly and Iron" was an interesting story as well. I liked it a lot, but it was not my kind of story. Meaning that I am not the person who will read a whole book on this particular theme. I liked the characters a lot, and the way they were described. A story worth reading.
"Color vision" I also liked a lot. Nice, moving ending. But it was enough as it was.
"The Ruby Incomparable" is definitely one of my favorites. As soon as I finished it I felt the urge of reading more about it, about that world and about Svnae's life. I really liked the deeper meaning of this one. A story that got me thinking. Also, the story that got me searching more of Kage Baker (remember, I am a fantasy rookie).
"A Fowl Tale" was very fun to read. Easy read and very imaginable.
"Slipping sideways through eternity" was nice, interesting how it got connected to real historical facts. But not something I would read again.
"The stranger's hands" I didn't really get. It didn't catch my attention. I finished it just because I can't leave a book with a part unfinished.
"Naming Day" was really fun to read. Really caught my attention, light writing and light reading. A perfect short story.
"Winter's wife" , also one of my favorites. Really liked the characters, the setting, it was all easy to imagine. And I also liked what it really meant. And I loved Winter's wife, the person!
"A Diorama of the Infernal Regions" didn't excite me. It reminded me of strangely dark movies with puppets and strings and fake smiles and lots of red backround. A story I won't miss.
"Barrens Dance" I expected better. Maybe because of some reviews that listed it as one of the best and my sister that kept asking me if I read it yet, with excitement and sparks all over her eyes. Don't get me wrong, it was a really nice story, moving and all, but not my favorite of this selection.
"Stone Man" is one of my favorites. Something between "About a boy" and "Harry Potter". I would love to read more about the battle of the good ones and the "Other Side". I love the fact that it's connected to the real world. I would definitely read more.
"The Manticore Spell". I didn't like that one. Couldn't imagine the characters, nor the settings. It wasn't interesting for me at all.
"Zinder" on the other side, was a very sweet story. Full of wisdom and kindness. It reminds us of the goodness and generosity hidden in all of us. I really enjoyed reading it, I would read it again and I surely recommend it.
"Billy and the wizard" was a stupid, meaningless story. It just left me with the impression that the author was asked to write a story for this collection and he remembered it an hour before the deadline and came up with this. It really discouraged me on finding out more about Terry Bisson.
"The Maggikers" was alright. Didn't find a serious meaning to it. It was a nice read though. But just for once.
"The Magic Animal". Hmmmm... I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. But it was one of the stories that just couldn't get me hooked and I left it every two pages and got back to it again later. I loved the fact that Merlin is involved and all the time traveling was interesting, but that's all.
"The Stonefather" was very long for a short story and the first half was a bit dull and flat for my taste. It reminded me of "The perfume" by Patrick Suskind. After that, it got really interesting, but it was kinda like reading two different stories. I liked how it envolved nature's elements. It was nice overall.
"The witch's headstone", "The Ruby Incomparable", "Winter's wife" and "Zinder" :Favorites
"The stranger's hands", "The Manticore Spell", "Billy and the wizard" : I could do without reading...
I am going to write something about each one of them, so if you don't feel like reading, just go on to the next review!
"The witch's headstone" I liked a lot. It was the first piece I read of Neil Gaiman and the reason I'm starting the Graveyard Book soon. Really well written and it made me feel I was there. He manages to create a really nice atmosphere. I really don't think that if you read it you can resist The Graveyard Book.
"Holly and Iron" was an interesting story as well. I liked it a lot, but it was not my kind of story. Meaning that I am not the person who will read a whole book on this particular theme. I liked the characters a lot, and the way they were described. A story worth reading.
"Color vision" I also liked a lot. Nice, moving ending. But it was enough as it was.
"The Ruby Incomparable" is definitely one of my favorites. As soon as I finished it I felt the urge of reading more about it, about that world and about Svnae's life. I really liked the deeper meaning of this one. A story that got me thinking. Also, the story that got me searching more of Kage Baker (remember, I am a fantasy rookie).
"A Fowl Tale" was very fun to read. Easy read and very imaginable.
"Slipping sideways through eternity" was nice, interesting how it got connected to real historical facts. But not something I would read again.
"The stranger's hands" I didn't really get. It didn't catch my attention. I finished it just because I can't leave a book with a part unfinished.
"Naming Day" was really fun to read. Really caught my attention, light writing and light reading. A perfect short story.
"Winter's wife" , also one of my favorites. Really liked the characters, the setting, it was all easy to imagine. And I also liked what it really meant. And I loved Winter's wife, the person!
"A Diorama of the Infernal Regions" didn't excite me. It reminded me of strangely dark movies with puppets and strings and fake smiles and lots of red backround. A story I won't miss.
"Barrens Dance" I expected better. Maybe because of some reviews that listed it as one of the best and my sister that kept asking me if I read it yet, with excitement and sparks all over her eyes. Don't get me wrong, it was a really nice story, moving and all, but not my favorite of this selection.
"Stone Man" is one of my favorites. Something between "About a boy" and "Harry Potter". I would love to read more about the battle of the good ones and the "Other Side". I love the fact that it's connected to the real world. I would definitely read more.
"The Manticore Spell". I didn't like that one. Couldn't imagine the characters, nor the settings. It wasn't interesting for me at all.
"Zinder" on the other side, was a very sweet story. Full of wisdom and kindness. It reminds us of the goodness and generosity hidden in all of us. I really enjoyed reading it, I would read it again and I surely recommend it.
"Billy and the wizard" was a stupid, meaningless story. It just left me with the impression that the author was asked to write a story for this collection and he remembered it an hour before the deadline and came up with this. It really discouraged me on finding out more about Terry Bisson.
"The Maggikers" was alright. Didn't find a serious meaning to it. It was a nice read though. But just for once.
"The Magic Animal". Hmmmm... I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. But it was one of the stories that just couldn't get me hooked and I left it every two pages and got back to it again later. I loved the fact that Merlin is involved and all the time traveling was interesting, but that's all.
"The Stonefather" was very long for a short story and the first half was a bit dull and flat for my taste. It reminded me of "The perfume" by Patrick Suskind. After that, it got really interesting, but it was kinda like reading two different stories. I liked how it envolved nature's elements. It was nice overall.