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A review by rouver
Under My Hat: Tales from the Couldron by Jonathan Strahan
3.0
Lately, I've decided that if I pick up one of these books full of short stories by multiple authors, I'm just going to read the story of the lone author I'm actually interested in (and the reason I got the book in the first place)...so often, the other authors are NOT to my tastes. However, I decided to break my rule with this & give it a chance. I started in on the first story, it was solid, so I decided to keep going.
"Stray Magic" by Diana Peterfreund
Solid story about a familiar who was brought in to an animal shelter and due to it's extreme, magically-enhanced age, only has 3 days to live unless they can find its owner. Good enough that I'd give this author a try
"Payment Due" by Frances Hardinge
Another good story about a young girl who gets revenge on an unsympathetic debt collector who ransacks her Grandmother's house and takes away cherished items without giving them time to pay. I'd be interested to see other stories by this author
"A Handful of Ashes" by Garth Nix
Eh, it was ok. Two magic students are put under a geas by an evil classmate and her aunt, the head of the school. It was ok, but I've found I no longer care for Nix's writing that much. Plus, anyone who writes shit like this about teenage girl protagonists: "Both, though they did not know it, were almost beautiful, and would be in time, if they were not worn down in servitude." is definitely going to be on my shit list. I don't have time for that sort of bullshit. I'm not likely to read any more from Nix.
"Little Gods" by Holly Black
A fun little story about a teenage girl who joins her Wiccan friends at a spring celebration/ceremony (Beltane). A little mystery, a little of the supernatural.... It wasn't gripping, but it was decently written & I wouldn't be opposed to seeing what else Black has to offer.
"Barrio Girls" by Charles de Lint
This was a deliciously dark piece, but I do wonder how it would be reviewed by those who are Latino/Hispanic. It's about two young girls whose uncle runs a gang, and whose protector is killed by a witch. Not wanting other gang members to be killed, they must deal with the witch themselves. I'd give other pieces by this author a look.
"Felidis" by Tanith Lee
I hated the main character in this story. He was a selfish stereotypical male in a fantasy story who sees a beautiful/powerful woman and instantly decides he must have her...and if he can't, then he hates her. I couldn't tell if we were *supposed* to despise him & he was written to be cruel, or if we were supposed to be sympathetic to his sad penis. Since he got to settle down happily ever after in the end, I'm guessing the second. (He had dated one girl in his life, she dumped him for someone else...the only info we were given was that he was the 'local landowners son', implying it was just for monetary reasons....but with all the winging he does, I can see why she'd leave him. "He had been a scholar before the faithless girl ruined his life." They weren't engaged. She didn't cheat on him. She just CHOSE SOMEONE ELSE and this apparently 'ruined his life'. He was SO bitchy. Fuck off.) This story just pissed me off. Lee has written some books I was interested in reading, but now I'm uncertain if I should get them.
"Witch Work" by Neil Gaiman
a short poem by him, love Neil's work, don't need to say more
"The Education of a Witch" by Ellen Klages
It's about a little girl Lizzy, enamored with Maleficent, who has to deal with the difficulties of becoming a big sister, and starting school. A delightful short story that I wish was longer. I'll have to check out Klages books.
"The Threefold World"by Ellen Kushner
A story about Hans Christian Anderson, where he is granted three wishes by an Ice Witch, and at the end of his life discovers the cost he has paid. Not bad, but didn't absolutely grip me. While I wouldn't mind looking at other work by Kushner, I think she'll be a little lower on my list.
"The Witch in the Wood" by Delia Sherman
A young woman living alone in the woods after the recent death of her mother comes across an injured shape shifter, and learns why her mother warned her never to cross the stream boundary into the kingdom on the other side. Not bad, wouldn't mind checking out another story by Sherman to see if she does better with a full length novel.
"Which Witch" by Patricia McKillip
Ok, this one was terrible. A rock band of witches are stalked by some supernatural being, and the magical battle is perceived to be a kick-ass concert. Before they start playing, they are speaking to one another on stage in the kind of "code" that middle schoolers would envision as being 'cool' and 'actually feasible'.
"Which witch are you, I wonder?" It was our code for Man, have we got Trouble. Anybody know what that is?
and
"Do we have a set list?" That was code for Does anyone have the slightest idea what to do?
...they had an entire conversation over the course of several pages like this and I just couldn't even anymore. NOT gonna read anything of hers.
"The Carved Forest" by Tim Pratt
A neat short story about a witch who had suffered the terrible loss of husband & child, enchanting an entire town to keep them safe....but "trapped". Will look into his books
"Burning Castles" by M. Rickert
This was what I expect from short stories...mysterious and makes you want more. A young girl has become disillusioned with her 'witchy' mother, and has vivid dreams about her soon-to-be step-father. This felt like the teaser or the backstory to a series. Will definitely check into Rickert.
"The Stone Witch" by Isobelle Carmody
This was one of the most unsympathetic main characters I've read in a while...and yet might have been completely accurate when it comes to how actual people think & feel. I do appreciate that the main character is a middle aged woman, but she was grating. She was secure in being single w/ no kids, and that's totally cool...but her defining characteristic was that she hated children. It's literally how the story starts. "Here's the thing. I hate kids. Always have." And that's just....weird. I mean, kids can be utterly irritating. But we were all kids once! It just came across as shitty and weird. pass
"Anderson's Witch" by Jane Yolen
An interesting mythical take on Hans Christian Anderson's life. Yolen can be hit or miss w/ her stories, and this one was just ok.
"B is for Bigfoot" by Jim Butcher
This is the reason I picked up the book...and somehow, I'd already read this short story. As I've said before, I enjoy Butcher's work and it's always fun. This is his first short story that involves Bigfoot. He revisits this little storyline in another short story.
"Great-Grandmother In the Cellar" by Peter S. Beagle
Nicely creepy & makes me interested in looking into his other works
"Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow" by Margo Lanagan
This is what short stories should be. Will look at her work, too.
"Stray Magic" by Diana Peterfreund
Solid story about a familiar who was brought in to an animal shelter and due to it's extreme, magically-enhanced age, only has 3 days to live unless they can find its owner. Good enough that I'd give this author a try
"Payment Due" by Frances Hardinge
Another good story about a young girl who gets revenge on an unsympathetic debt collector who ransacks her Grandmother's house and takes away cherished items without giving them time to pay. I'd be interested to see other stories by this author
"A Handful of Ashes" by Garth Nix
Eh, it was ok. Two magic students are put under a geas by an evil classmate and her aunt, the head of the school. It was ok, but I've found I no longer care for Nix's writing that much. Plus, anyone who writes shit like this about teenage girl protagonists: "Both, though they did not know it, were almost beautiful, and would be in time, if they were not worn down in servitude." is definitely going to be on my shit list. I don't have time for that sort of bullshit. I'm not likely to read any more from Nix.
"Little Gods" by Holly Black
A fun little story about a teenage girl who joins her Wiccan friends at a spring celebration/ceremony (Beltane). A little mystery, a little of the supernatural.... It wasn't gripping, but it was decently written & I wouldn't be opposed to seeing what else Black has to offer.
"Barrio Girls" by Charles de Lint
This was a deliciously dark piece, but I do wonder how it would be reviewed by those who are Latino/Hispanic. It's about two young girls whose uncle runs a gang, and whose protector is killed by a witch. Not wanting other gang members to be killed, they must deal with the witch themselves. I'd give other pieces by this author a look.
"Felidis" by Tanith Lee
I hated the main character in this story. He was a selfish stereotypical male in a fantasy story who sees a beautiful/powerful woman and instantly decides he must have her...and if he can't, then he hates her. I couldn't tell if we were *supposed* to despise him & he was written to be cruel, or if we were supposed to be sympathetic to his sad penis. Since he got to settle down happily ever after in the end, I'm guessing the second. (He had dated one girl in his life, she dumped him for someone else...the only info we were given was that he was the 'local landowners son', implying it was just for monetary reasons....but with all the winging he does, I can see why she'd leave him. "He had been a scholar before the faithless girl ruined his life." They weren't engaged. She didn't cheat on him. She just CHOSE SOMEONE ELSE and this apparently 'ruined his life'. He was SO bitchy. Fuck off.) This story just pissed me off. Lee has written some books I was interested in reading, but now I'm uncertain if I should get them.
"Witch Work" by Neil Gaiman
a short poem by him, love Neil's work, don't need to say more
"The Education of a Witch" by Ellen Klages
It's about a little girl Lizzy, enamored with Maleficent, who has to deal with the difficulties of becoming a big sister, and starting school. A delightful short story that I wish was longer. I'll have to check out Klages books.
"The Threefold World"by Ellen Kushner
A story about Hans Christian Anderson, where he is granted three wishes by an Ice Witch, and at the end of his life discovers the cost he has paid. Not bad, but didn't absolutely grip me. While I wouldn't mind looking at other work by Kushner, I think she'll be a little lower on my list.
"The Witch in the Wood" by Delia Sherman
A young woman living alone in the woods after the recent death of her mother comes across an injured shape shifter, and learns why her mother warned her never to cross the stream boundary into the kingdom on the other side. Not bad, wouldn't mind checking out another story by Sherman to see if she does better with a full length novel.
"Which Witch" by Patricia McKillip
Ok, this one was terrible. A rock band of witches are stalked by some supernatural being, and the magical battle is perceived to be a kick-ass concert. Before they start playing, they are speaking to one another on stage in the kind of "code" that middle schoolers would envision as being 'cool' and 'actually feasible'.
"Which witch are you, I wonder?" It was our code for Man, have we got Trouble. Anybody know what that is?
and
"Do we have a set list?" That was code for Does anyone have the slightest idea what to do?
...they had an entire conversation over the course of several pages like this and I just couldn't even anymore. NOT gonna read anything of hers.
"The Carved Forest" by Tim Pratt
A neat short story about a witch who had suffered the terrible loss of husband & child, enchanting an entire town to keep them safe....but "trapped". Will look into his books
"Burning Castles" by M. Rickert
This was what I expect from short stories...mysterious and makes you want more. A young girl has become disillusioned with her 'witchy' mother, and has vivid dreams about her soon-to-be step-father. This felt like the teaser or the backstory to a series. Will definitely check into Rickert.
"The Stone Witch" by Isobelle Carmody
This was one of the most unsympathetic main characters I've read in a while...and yet might have been completely accurate when it comes to how actual people think & feel. I do appreciate that the main character is a middle aged woman, but she was grating. She was secure in being single w/ no kids, and that's totally cool...but her defining characteristic was that she hated children. It's literally how the story starts. "Here's the thing. I hate kids. Always have." And that's just....weird. I mean, kids can be utterly irritating. But we were all kids once! It just came across as shitty and weird. pass
"Anderson's Witch" by Jane Yolen
An interesting mythical take on Hans Christian Anderson's life. Yolen can be hit or miss w/ her stories, and this one was just ok.
"B is for Bigfoot" by Jim Butcher
This is the reason I picked up the book...and somehow, I'd already read this short story. As I've said before, I enjoy Butcher's work and it's always fun. This is his first short story that involves Bigfoot. He revisits this little storyline in another short story.
"Great-Grandmother In the Cellar" by Peter S. Beagle
Nicely creepy & makes me interested in looking into his other works
"Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow" by Margo Lanagan
This is what short stories should be. Will look at her work, too.