The Magic Shop

Rating:
Summary: Excellent anthology
Review: "The Magic Shop" is one of the few anthologies I've read lately that has been entirely fulfilling. Denise Little, who edited this, did a superb job in finding seventeen writers to write about characters and their various experiences in various magic shops.

All seventeen stories were good, but the best three in my mind were these. First, Michelle West's "Dime Store Rings" was absolutely mind-blowing, partly because I don't like most of her writing and did like this, and partly because she managed to write a very sad story without undue pathos. Second, Rosemary Edghill's "A Winter's Tale" was another excellent Bast story; it's a story within a story, and the last few lines absolutely cause chills. Rosemary Edghill's short stories are always thought provoking, and almost always absolutely astonishing, and this one met or exceeded expectations. More Bast stories, please! And finally, India Edghill (yes, India and Rosemary are related) wrote a powerful story about Anastasia, the "lost princess" of Russia, and one which envisioned a happier and more positive future for her than she probably got (as no one knows for sure). India Edghill mostly writes historicals, and does a fabulous job with them; this story definitely reflects her skill and ability as a writer.

I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone over the age of about 14 (as some of the images in various stories are perhaps a bit graphic) or anyone over about 10 with parental or guardian supervision.

Five stars, highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

Rating:
Summary: What a waste!
Review: Ok, I love anthologies. I have been reading them for the past 14 years. I like getting to know new authors alongside old ones. This anthology was a waste of my time. The stories were trite and cliche. One or two stories rises above the mediocre and is a pleasent enough read. I liked Von jocks " The Fairest". The story centers around a woman who becomes obsessed with her looks and lose herself in the process, but finds her again self after looking in to a magic mirror. The story was funny, intresting and well written. Sad to say this one was the only story to stand out in my mind. As an editor Denise Little can an usally do better, I guess thats what makes this collection so disapointing.

Rating:
Summary: Gret anthology
Review: The premise of this fifteen story collection is relatively simplistic: what would happen to a customer if the magic shop found in many cities sold real magic? The contributors, whom are a virtual who's who (though there is one new author for me), provided a wide range of tales with some classified as horror, others are fantasy and science fiction, and finally a few that cross the speculative plain. Even the tone vastly differs with some authors writing amusing fictions of getting what you ask for while others take a more somber pitch. Each tale is well written as if Denise Little used a magical editing device to raise the bar. Most interesting is that the simple concept is turned into complex effects as the purchaser should have paid close attention to the maxim "buyer beware" since no hazardous to your health warning label accompanied the goods. Readers will enjoy these fine new stories that cast a spell requiring a one sitting read. Aside to Ms. Little: is the magic store that ensorcelled you the one near NYU or the one in Times Square that hooked many of us boomers back in the 1960s-1970s (don't know if they are still there)?

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Gret anthology
Review: The premise of this fifteen story collection is relatively simplistic: what would happen to a customer if the magic shop found in many cities sold real magic? The contributors, whom are a virtual who's who (though there is one new author for me), provided a wide range of tales with some classified as horror, others are fantasy and science fiction, and finally a few that cross the speculative plain. Even the tone vastly differs with some authors writing amusing fictions of getting what you ask for while others take a more somber pitch. Each tale is well written as if Denise Little used a magical editing device to raise the bar. Most interesting is that the simple concept is turned into complex effects as the purchaser should have paid close attention to the maxim "buyer beware" since no hazardous to your health warning label accompanied the goods. Readers will enjoy these fine new stories that cast a spell requiring a one sitting read. Aside to Ms. Little: is the magic store that ensorcelled you the one near NYU or the one in Times Square that hooked many of us boomers back in the 1960s-1970s (don't know if they are still there)?

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Are these writers afraid?
Review: Without any doubt, Michelle West's "Dime Store Rings" dominates this collection. A story about a woman coming to terms with her parents' successes and failures, it manages to be touching but not sappy, memorable but not manipulative. West obviously chose her words and sentences with care, and poured great effort into organizing the tale for maximum effect. Though I've never read any of her books before, I'll certainly look into them after seeing this story.

Three others stories should be mentioned as at least being worth the time. "Winter Pheonix" retells the tale of Princess Anastasia in a new light, and also manages to deliver without getting overtly emotional. Laura Resnick hits some humorous notes in "The Magic Keyboard", a story about a young author struggling against writer's block. And Gary Braunbeck delivers "The Hand that Graces", a description-defying story of redemption amidst urban blight.

Every collection must have a low point. Here it's Mel Odom's lengthy, tedious, and ridiculously PC tale of an Indian warrior, "Serpent of the Lakes". There are others as well, but they mostly share a similar problem. The authors don't seem to have any reason driving their creations. They don't write in a distinctive style, or they fall flat when they try to. But other than West, no one here seems to really carry the spark that drives great literature, so I have to give this one a thumbs down.