A review by bookwyrm_lark
Elemental Magic: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters by Mercedes Lackey
3.0
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Elemental Magic is an anthology of short stories set in Lackey's popular Elemental Masters universe. Unlike the novels in the series, which are all set in Britain between 1870 and 1919, the contributing authors were not limited to any historical period or locale. Thus, there are stories set in the ancient world, pre- and post-colonial Hawaii, post-Civil War U.S., and the fledgling Canada, to name a few.
Only one story directly references any of the novels: Gail Sanders and Michael Z. Williamson's "A Flower Grows in Whitechapel". The tale takes place shortly after the events described in The Wizard of London and involves several of the same characters, yet it lacked the compelling action and characterizations of Lackey's own work.
Ms. Lackey's own story is set in post-Civil War New England, and involves an Air magician called in to solve a spate of mysterious events possibly involving a Water mage; it was one of my favorites in the anthology, and not just because Lackey wrote it. I also enjoyed Diana Paxson's "Song of the Sea", in which Archelaus' daughter and her fiance Meto are shipwrecked by the Sirens. Paxson's blend of mythology, fantasy, and historical fact is pitch-perfect -- no surprise, since she was the author chosen to take over Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series after Bradley's death. "Makana" by Fiona Patton offers a fascinating glimpse of pre-colonial Hawaiian culture, while Cedric Johnson's "For the Sake of Clarity", set in Colorado's mining country, blends the Wild West with classic fairytale enchantment - and offered several plot twists I didn't see coming. And Tanya Huff's "Tha Thu Ann" (there you are in Scots Gaelic) skillfully combines Elemental magic and the main character's ability to converse with the dead to create what's easily one of the best stories in the collection.
Only a few of the entries include obvious references to well-known fairytales. In "The Phoenix of Mulberry Street", Michele Lang makes a brief reference to Andersen's "Little Match Girl", but doesn't dwell on it. On the other hand, Dayle R. Dermatis clearly plays a variation on Rapunzel in her tale set in southern Wales. (I've visited Castell Coch, and was delighted to recognize it as the main character's tower.)
Several of the individual stories are quite appealing in their own right, particularly those by Paxson and Huff, but as a whole, the book probably works best for readers already familiar with Lackey's Elemental Masters series.
Rating: 3.5 stars (average for the collection; several stories rated 4)
Elemental Magic is an anthology of short stories set in Lackey's popular Elemental Masters universe. Unlike the novels in the series, which are all set in Britain between 1870 and 1919, the contributing authors were not limited to any historical period or locale. Thus, there are stories set in the ancient world, pre- and post-colonial Hawaii, post-Civil War U.S., and the fledgling Canada, to name a few.
Only one story directly references any of the novels: Gail Sanders and Michael Z. Williamson's "A Flower Grows in Whitechapel". The tale takes place shortly after the events described in The Wizard of London and involves several of the same characters, yet it lacked the compelling action and characterizations of Lackey's own work.
Ms. Lackey's own story is set in post-Civil War New England, and involves an Air magician called in to solve a spate of mysterious events possibly involving a Water mage; it was one of my favorites in the anthology, and not just because Lackey wrote it. I also enjoyed Diana Paxson's "Song of the Sea", in which Archelaus' daughter and her fiance Meto are shipwrecked by the Sirens. Paxson's blend of mythology, fantasy, and historical fact is pitch-perfect -- no surprise, since she was the author chosen to take over Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series after Bradley's death. "Makana" by Fiona Patton offers a fascinating glimpse of pre-colonial Hawaiian culture, while Cedric Johnson's "For the Sake of Clarity", set in Colorado's mining country, blends the Wild West with classic fairytale enchantment - and offered several plot twists I didn't see coming. And Tanya Huff's "Tha Thu Ann" (there you are in Scots Gaelic) skillfully combines Elemental magic and the main character's ability to converse with the dead to create what's easily one of the best stories in the collection.
Only a few of the entries include obvious references to well-known fairytales. In "The Phoenix of Mulberry Street", Michele Lang makes a brief reference to Andersen's "Little Match Girl", but doesn't dwell on it. On the other hand, Dayle R. Dermatis clearly plays a variation on Rapunzel in her tale set in southern Wales. (I've visited Castell Coch, and was delighted to recognize it as the main character's tower.)
Several of the individual stories are quite appealing in their own right, particularly those by Paxson and Huff, but as a whole, the book probably works best for readers already familiar with Lackey's Elemental Masters series.
Rating: 3.5 stars (average for the collection; several stories rated 4)