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