| Title | : | Magic in the Mirrorstone |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0786947322 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780786947324 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published February 12, 2008 |
Magic in the Mirrorstone Reviews
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This was a very fun collection, that gave me a taste of several new authors:
Princess Bufo marinus, Also Known As Amy by Eugie Foster * * * *
A simple, but quite enjoyable, modern day The Princess and the Toad.
Lights, Camera, Action by Cecil Castellucci * * *
Movie magic & second chances rule the day in this brief, but fun, story!
Ten Thousand Waves by Ann Zeddies * *
This story started out with far more misery & hopelessness than I prefer. A Korean boy struggles to balance the world he lives in with his heritage.
Mauves Quilt by Craig Laurance Gidney * *
One quilt connects two different souls from two different times.
Have You Ever Seen a Shoggoth? by Cassandra Clare * *
Weird. Two boys trying to get through high school. One of them comes up with an odd solution.
The Amulet of Winter by Lawrence M. Schoen * * * *
I really enjoyed this story!! A thief is determined to steal an amulet from an enchanted library. According to the author, this is just a chapter from a book that is on hold (or was 2 years ago). I really need him to hurry up & publish the book!!
Veronica Brown by Sean Manseau * * * *
A young girl is the mortal enemy of the Lake Champlain monster. This story was a lot of fun, even though the ending was somewhat predictable.
The Jewel of Abandon by Nina Kiriki Hoffman * * * *
A family stone, passed from mother to daughter, shows the bearer what she asks to see. But the visions come with a price...
School Spirit by Jim C. Hines * * * *
A goblin & her roommate team up against a presence that is haunting their school.
Blackwater Baby by Tiffany Trent * * *
This seems like part of a larger story that doesn't seem to be out quite yet... A baby found in a swamp is in the care of a cursed priest.
Old Crimes by J. D. Everyhope * * *
A strange story about sibling rivalry, & familial angst, in the (Aztec) past, and in the present.
The Fortunate Dream by Gregory Frost * * *
A boys father claims to be one of Sindebad's sailors. The boy's own adventures lead him to the truth.
Out of Her Element by E. Sedia * * * *
A sick & lonely little girl meets a fire salamander.
Virgin by Holly Black * *
Very weird unicorn story.
Pig, Crane, Fox: Three Hearts Unfolding by Beth Bernobich * * * *
Quite a fun modern day Asian fairytale story - with street rats!! -
The "Mirrorstone" of the title is a new imprint of Wizards of the Coast; most of the stories do not have mirrors or stones in them. As always with an anthology, I liked some stories more than others, but felt that overall they were quite good and original. Some seemed more like beginnings of novels than short stories, particularly Everyhope's "Old Crimes" and Sedia's "Out of her Element," which I would love to see as a full-length books.
My library copy is billed as YA, but I think adults would enjoy these stories just as much. Some of the stories feature sexual abuse, which may be uncomfortable for younger readers.
Princess Bufo marinus, also known as Amy / Eugie Foster -- Lights, camera, action / Cecil Castellucci -- Ten thousand waves / Ann Zeddies -- Mauve's quilt / Craig Laurance Gidney -- Have you ever seen a shoggoth? / Cassandra Clare -- The Amulet of Winter / Lawrence M. Schoen -- Veronica Brown / Sean Manseau -- The jewel of abandon / Nina Kiriki Hoffman -- School spirit / Jim C. Hines -- Blackwater baby / Tiffany Trent -- Old crimes / J.D. Everyhope -- The fortunate dream / Gregory Frost -- Out of her element / E. Sedia -- Virgin / Holly Black -- Pig, crane, fox : three hearts unfolding / Beth Bernobich -
As always, trying to quote from a short story anthology is difficult. I don’t always find one story that is clearly more quotable than all the others. That is true of this collection. I found most of the stories interesting, and the writing was good. However, there wasn’t any story that grabbed me and said you must remember this idea. Possibly this is because this collection is aimed at teens. I haven’t been a teen in decades.
I had fun reading these stories. In most cases I was transported to another place or time. The magic was fun and sometimes funny. This book took me out of myself. That was more than I hoped for. -
hmmm. Why do authors seem to save up all their creepiest, most depressing stories and turn them into short stories? I don't know, but I'm finding that just because I enjoy an author's novels does NOT mean I will enjoy their short stories, and vice versa. Oh well. I enjoyed this more than the vampire story collection, despite an odd running theme of sibling sacrifice. a few of the stories were even pretty good. Also, the author bio blurbs at the end were funny, especially the editor's additional comments on each.
what I thought of individual stories:
Eugie Foster: one of the more enjoyable stories, for me. it was cute, although overly simplistic, especially in how it rushed over the explanation at the end. Anyone who's read Princess or prince enchanted as a ____ fairy tales will see the end coming a mile away, but it was cute anyway.
Cecil Castellucci: interesting. the young Hollywood starlet angle was interesting. the story was bizarre, without being creepy. I enjoyed it.
Ann Zeddies: a really creative story that interwove Korean magic with modern American life in the Great Plains. it was a weird story, but it kept my attention and was enjoyable. I still don't know what Jun Ho's deal was with junk food, though...
Craig Laurance Gidney: a strange, sad, dreamy story. It was difficult to tell what was real or meant to be real, but the two main characters were compelling, in spite of or even because of their mutually sad stories. I liked that the story wasn't lily white. and the quilt sounded beautiful!
Cassandra Clare: I liked this unhappy high school story better than several of her other short stories I've read, but it was still weird and strange, with a creepy ending.
Lawrence M Schoen: If this high fantasy sort of story had been part of a larger story, I think I would have liked it more. As it was, the setting and interactions were fascinating, but the ending was really dissatisfying to me.
Sean Manseau: creepy. just creepy. reminded me of an Americans on vacation version of "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie", and coming from me that is not a compliment. I didn't like anyone in this story. Also, how the monster was so breezily and elaborately, yet incompletely described, especially his origin, was really annoying to me.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman: also creepy, in a way, but more enjoyable for me. The people seemed to deserve their various fates, and I appreciated the pro-activeness of the main character. I am curious what happened in the aftermath of this story, though. what a ring!
Jim C Hines: a bizarre story. creative and not terrible. not my favorite, either, though. I guess I'm just not a big fan of goblins meet Hex Hall.
Tiffany Trent: absolutely very creative. kudos for fantasy that isn't lily-white, and for setting it in an interesting time and place. but kind of hauntingly creepy nonetheless. and considering the scope of the creative setting, the story could have stood a little more explanation of its world setting. as it was, I think I understood everything the author was trying to say, but not all.
J.D. Everyhope: nice pen name. unappealingly creepy story, although I appreciated that it worked in Central American mythology.
Gregory Frost: this sort of retread of the Sinbad stories did not feel very creative to me. It wasn't bad. it just felt like a story that had already been told.
E. Sedia: a sad, slow, lingering story, much like the illness of the main character. The salamander and alchemy aspects were creative, and the London (Victorian?) time period/ setting was enjoyable. and I respected the main character a lot more for her final choices.
Holly Black: I don't think I've liked a Holly Black short story yet, and I am starting to wonder if I ever will. This story was gross and creepy and disturbing, and I did not enjoy it, even in spite of its nods to the foster care system and unicorns.
Beth Bernobitch: I don't enjoy stories about merry little bands of trouble makers and thieves (aside from those who do it for a cause, like Robin Hood or Zorro). So there was one big strike against this story. But I think it was the only one. The story had a fascinating Asian fantastical setting that was well-developed and engaging, and characters that were easy to invest in. I found myself loving Ma Mi and Yue almost more than Kai. Even the princess grew on me. This story made me think of Cinder, Firefly, and the Golden Compass all at once, and yet told its own charming story, complete with magic, spirit dragons, and steam punk technology. I want more of this world! -
This book was awesome. I would have rated it five stars, but the overall group didn't make that high. This book is really a bunch of short stories all mixed together in one. The editor said he had a reason behind arranging them in the manner that he did, though I don't believe he specified why.
Anyway, I LOVED a lot of these stories, but a few of them really turned me off. I'm not quite sure what seperated the ones I liked from the one's I didn't, but something did.
I can't go into details with characters since their are so many it would be impossible to list them all. Well, not impossible. Just improbable.
Well, my main favorite character was probably the boy from the first story. Him and his frog. ☺ It was a spin on the classic story about the Princess who drops her golden ball in the pond in her yard. The one story where she has to feed the frog, let the frog inside her house, and let him sleep in her bed. The author did an AMAZING job, leaving me wishing there was more. Just the tone of her writing really made a difference.
Overall I loved this book, just not necessarily all of the stories inside. Not that they're not all worth reading, just some of them didn't leave as much of an impact on me as others did. -
I absolutely LOVE Magic in the Mirrorstone. I've always enjoyed fiction, fantasy, mthology, science fiction, etc. (and nearly everything in-between), and short story collections/anothologies often seem to combine the best of them all. The stories told here are odd, each with their own very distinct moods that in some cases speak strongest to specific experiences, so they may not appeal to everyone. If you like strange and unusual things however, particularly those a bit off the beaten-track, I can't recommend this book strongly enough. I've read hundreds of stories, and there are moments from this anthology that are as clear in my mind as if I'd read them yesterday. From minor-league loch ness monsters that hold grudges, to a dying Victorian-era girl with the spirit of a fire elemental, to Korean folklore, Magic in the Mirrostone is a subtle, yet not-to-be-missed collection of dark fiction and fantasy.
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Books of short stories are a great way to find new authors or have your curiosity piqued. These 15 stories manage to do that successfully. Authors like Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, Nina Kiriki Hoffman and Cecil Castelluci as well as less familiar writers all contributed some sort of magic-laced story. The stories are not necessarily happy (and while I prefer happy-ending stories, this YA collection gets kudos for not doing it) though some are. Almost every story was memorable but none are truly standouts for me. This doesn't mean there weren't standout stories, but I read the book over a two month span and I kept wanting to read it but most anthologies aren't compelling enough for me to read constantly, hence the 3 stars. Really, 3.5.
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This is a collection of short stories that is supposed to be geared toward younger (teenage) readers, but they should appeal to almost any age. The only thing that makes some of them be geared towards teenagers is that the characters are that age or are set in an environment rich with teenagers.Like most collections of short stories, it is hard to rate the overall book since the stories ranged from merely ok to really liked.There was not any stories that I did not like though and a majority of the stories were in the like to really like range.One of the best reasons to read a collection is to find new authors that you like. This collection gave me several new authors to pursue.
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It was okay. Some stories I enjoyed and others confused me. Some were sad, others left me wanting more. Maybe they'll continue those stories through another book.
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I only read one story in here. Virgin by holly black.
Notes for future use: 12 pages 2.5/5 stars -
this was such a great blend of different styles and voices. Some tales I enjoyed more than others, but this anthology hit more than it missed
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I'd been meaning to read this for a few days and finally settled in with it this morning. I think "School Spirit" is my favorite; it kept me guessing without being confusing or inconsistent. Many of them have the whole "be-careful" theme. "Virgin" was annoyingly depressing, but then I've gotten used to that from Holly Black. "Princess Bufo" was pretty much a straight retelling of the kiss-the-frog story; a few details were changed, but overall I was surprised at how close it stayed to the original.
Overall, an enjoyable, quick read. -
I got halfway through and then couldn't finish. Some of the stories were really bad. Others were kinda clever & cute, or just okay. I sometimes felt like I was reading C-grade homework assignments from a creative writing class. The one that finally made me quite was a really bad Harry Potter rip-off filled with cliches and stereotypes.
Cecil Castellucci's "Lights, Camera, Action" and "The Jewel of Abandon" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman are the only ones I recommend. -
A book of short stories I picked up just for Holly Black's entry, "Virgin." If I read it correctly, I may have an idea for NaNoWriMo, but if I read it incorrectly, I'd be copying shamelessly. Also decent were Cassandra Clare (surprisingly not as bad and fanfic-y as her books are, I've heard), and Nina Kiriki Hoffman.
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Best story: "Blackwater Baby" by Tiffany Trent
It really is a shame that Trent's Hallowmere series was cut short. I think this story was the history behind what would have been the sixth or seventh book, The Marsh King's Daughter
Good story: "The Jewel of Abandon" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
I didn't really like any of the others. -
As a collection including several of my favorite fantasy writers (Cassandra Clare and Holly Black), and several fantastic new authors, this title was quite enjoyable. There were a few stories that I certainly liked more than others and would have rated higher, but also one or two that I would skip if reading it again.
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This collection is really a nice mix, especially for fans of the current slate of Teen fantasy authors. It's a strong collection, and despite the fact that teens don't love short stories, this is one I think I might be able to convince teens to give a try.
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The reason I only gave it two stars was because there where only a couple of stories that I liked. Some of them could have had more detail, and I know that the stories had to be edited, and others where weird and kind of cheesy.
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A pretty good mix of fantasy stories. The better ones suffered from the format - just when things got good it cut off. Hopefully, these authors will rework these short stories into novels to give them the scope they need to flesh out some of the intersting ideas tossed out here.
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This is a collection of tales that contain some element of magic. Some are retellings of fairy tales, others simply contain magic - all have a young person of 15 as the main character. They are quite good, even those I liked less well.
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I barely got to the halfway mark. Some stories were cute, but the others were long and dull. I was skimming way more than I should have.
I did end up skipping over to Holly Black's story, which is the only one that I would really recommend. -
Skimmed through most of the stories in here and really only read Cassandra Clare's and Holly Black's contributions. Middling tales really, and they really didn't jump out at me as being wow, this was amazing and I wish this was an entire novel, not a short story type.
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My story "Mauve's Quilt" is in this YA collection...
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Some really good stories in this one--lots of variety. Only a few I couldn't get into.
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Mostly it was good fantasy, but some of it was weaker than others. I could tell that it was meant for an adolescent crowd with a short attention span.
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Some of the stories were really good, and others were not very good at all. I didn't recognize very many of the authors, but overall it was a good read.
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I want to read this book!
It doesn't sell anymore in Australia!
