Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron by Jonathan Strahan

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron Reviews

• 
  Susan

  So, one of these stories begins "Liesl, that grinch, stole my G string."
  
  o_O
  
  It turned out to be about musicians. It would have been much more original, if less appropriate for the audience, if it had been about magical strippers.
• 
  Julianna

  Reviewed for
  THC Reviews
  "3.5 stars" Overall
  Stray Magic by Diana Peterfreund - Stray Magic is a really cute story about a stray dog that is brought into an animal shelter. Mary Louise aka Malou, the girl who works there, was told by her friend that it is a Golden Retriever, but what she sees is a ragged, ancient-looking dog, who can mysteriously communicate with her psychically. The dog tells Malou that she's lost her master, and must find him within three days or she will die, because he has been keeping her alive far beyond her typical life-expectancy through the use of magic. This kind of reminded me of Ned's dog, Digby, on the TV show, Pushing Daisies, where Ned couldn't bear to part with Digby so every time he died, Ned resurrected him with his magic.
  
  I really enjoyed this short story for a number of reasons. First of all, I thought it was a really fun, creative premise. I love animals, so the animal theme only added to my enjoyment. The author manages to highlight the plight of homeless and abandoned animals as well. Malou works for a no-kill shelter, while her friend Jeremy works for the county shelter which euthanizes animals within three days of their arrival. The brevity of this time frame is metaphorically played out through the use of our doggie protagonist, Goneril, only having three days left to renew the spells that are keeping her alive. This places her and Malou in a race against time to find a witch who can help her. I also really liked Goneril's loyalty to her master. Even though Malou fully believes the man abandoned his dog like so many other pet owners do, especially when they get old, Goneril is completely devoted to him. This served to show what a beautiful thing the love of a dog can be. Overall, I had a really good time reading Stray Magic. I think any kids (or adults too) who love animals will really enjoy it. Since I had never read anything by Diana Peterfreund before, it has also put her on my authors to watch list. Rating: ****1/2
  
  Payment Due by Frances Hardinge - Payment Due is an imaginative story about a teenage girl named Caroline who lives with her gentle and slightly naïve grandmother. One day, the older woman lets a bailiff into the house. The man proceeds to make a list of their household items and gives them five days to pay their debt. When they are unable to come up with the money, he returns and takes all the items away. Caroline then proceeds to get them back in a very creative way.
  
  Payment Due is short story of only about fifteen pages. We learn just a little of Caroline's background. Her mother, who obviously meant a lot to both her and her grandmother, died and that's why Caroline lives with her grandmother. There is no hint though, as to how Caroline came by her powers. She isn't directly called a witch, although since this entire anthology is about witches and wizards, she must be one. At the very least, she wields certain magical powers that make it possible for her to talk with animals and make body exchanges with other creatures. I found both of these qualities to be very unique to the fantasy and paranormal genres of literature, or at least, I've never seen them in my reading of these genres. This made the story intriguing. Also the way in which Caroline goes about getting their possessions back was quite clever. Overall, despite its brevity, I did enjoy Payment Due. I had never read anything by Frances Hardinge before, but this taste of her work shows a lot of promise and makes me interested in possibly reading more stories by her. Star Rating: ****
  
  A Handful of Ashes by Garth Nix - A Handful of Ashes felt a little more mature than the other stories I've read so far in this anthology. I would categorize it as more of a New Adult fantasy, because unlike the other stories which have teenage protagonists, the two main characters in A Handful of Ashes are about to graduate from college. The university Mari and Francesca attend is a special school for training witches, and they are known as sizars, lower class students who are there on a kind of scholarship in which they earn their education by acting as servants to the upper class students. A small group of these lady undergraduates are bullies who treat the sizars like they don't belong at the college and are up to no good. They are trying to subversively reinstate the Old Bylaws, which will discriminate against the sizars, so when Mari realizes what their plan is, she and Francesca must try to stop them before it's too late.
  
  I had a harder time getting into this story than the others I've read so far. I know that Garth Nix is a fairly popular and well-respected author in the genre, but I couldn't help feeling like the story was a little overburdened with details. Normally, I would consider the use of lots of detail to be a good thing, but here it just felt like it bogged things down a bit. I found the use of some magical words with which I'm not familiar and a fairly complex backstory on the college's bylaws a little hard to wrap my head around. Meanwhile the story was moving forward while my brain was trying to play catch-up. I also felt like the villains didn't have much motivation for their evil deeds other than them simply being the snobbish, “mean girls.” Additionally, up to this point, the other stories in the anthology seem to be aimed at a middle grade or young adult audience. While there is no objectionable content other than a couple of bad words, I felt like the more advanced vocabulary and extensive use of details make this story less accessible to the middle grade audience at whom the book, in general, seems to be aimed. It's more appropriate for the slightly older YA readers. Overall, A Handful of Ashes was a decent story that did have some entertainment value. I enjoyed the underdog vibe of the main characters, but it just didn't spark my imagination in quite the same way as the other stories have. Star Rating: ***1/2
  
  Little Gods by Holly Black - In Little Gods, sixteen-year-old Ellery is part of a Wiccan coven that travels to a distant farm to celebrate Beltane. She joined the coven in hopes of experiencing a little real magic in her life, and she just might get her wish during the holiday. I enjoyed the magical encounter Ellery had with the mysterious “boy,” Aspen, but ultimately it felt like a mere moment out of time rather than a complete and satisfying story. Little Gods is a very short story of only about twenty-five pages, yet Aspen's appearance lasts a mere 2 ½ pages. I wanted to know more about him, where he came from and who he actually was. Unfortunately, my curiosity was not to be appeased. The remaining 22 ½ pages are devoted to Ellery's reasons for joining a Wiccan coven and their spiritual practices, particularly surrounding Beltane. To my way of thinking, this made the story seem more like a fictional exploration of a Wiccan girl's beliefs and experiences within her religious group more so than a fantasy story.
  
  While I may have thought Garth Nix's story was a little mature for this collection based on the age of the protagonists and some advanced vocabulary, it was still quite tame when compared to Little Gods. For anyone who doesn't know, the Wiccan celebration of Beltane is a lushly sensual experience, where virtually anything goes. As such, the story contained some fairly mature content for the middle grade/YA audience at which the anthology seems to be aimed. Ellery drinks from a water bottle, only to discover it's actually alcohol, but that doesn't stop her or her companion from having some more. There is mention of background characters smoking marijuana. A secondary character uses a very strong bad word that I've never seen in a YA story before. Some of the female supporting characters dance topless around the fire in the company of young men. And last but certainly not least, there is a bit of sexual innuendo, as well as a fair amount of discussion about opposite sex, same sex, and multiple partner make-out sessions, with implications of a lot more possibly occurring behind the scenes. With all this in mind, even though Ellery doesn't indulge in any of these activities other than drinking alcohol, I would say this story is definitely not appropriate for middle grade readers, and I would strongly caution teenage readers. Even though I would like to think of teens as relatively innocent, I realize that most of them are probably aware of all these things if they haven't personally encountered them already, but I still can't really recommend it for anyone under the age of sixteen and even then with certain reservations.
  
  Overall, I can say that Little Gods was well-written with regards to the mechanics, and the general writing style was engaging. However, I would have preferred a little more fantasy and a little less exploration of spiritual beliefs. Star Rating: ***
  
  Barrio Girls by Charles De Lint - Barrio Girls is one of the shortest stories in this anthology, and as such I didn't find it to be quite as satisfying as some of the others. It's basically about two teenage girls from the barrio who are best friends. They've gone through different phases together. As kids, they were enamored of fairies and now they're really into vampires. They frequently search the arroyo at night, looking for a magical stone from one of their favorite books, and on one of these evenings, they encounter a vampire witch, who seemingly just for sport, kills a friend of their uncle, who was simply looking out for their well-being. They then set out to seek revenge on the witch for her cruelty.
  
  When I first started reading Barrio Girls, it took me a little while to get into it. In describing the girls and their current obsession, the author casually throws out book titles and celebrity names as though the reader is supposed to know who or what they are. I finally realized that they were merely fictionalized versions of perhaps a Twilight style story, but for a few pages, I was a bit confused. Mr. De Lint also writes in third-person present tense perspective, a style I've never read before, and engages in a fair bit of omniscient narration too, which made it very difficult for me to connect with the characters. I was somewhat off-put by the violence in the story, not because it was graphic or anything, but because it seemed cruel. The witch killed the girls' friend, who seemed like a nice guy who'd only been sent to protect them, for no other reason than sport. Then the girl's retaliate by killing the witch, and they too seemed to enjoy it on some level. I just felt like this sends the wrong kind of message to the impressionable middle grade and YA readers for whom this book seems to be intended. Overall, Barrio Girls wasn't a bad story, but it simply didn't leave me with a very satisfied feeling. Star Rating: ***
  
  Felidis by Tanith Lee - Felidis is the story of a young man named Radlo, who is on an unspecified journey. A passerby on the road warns him not to enter the woods, because a frightening young woman who is covered in fur like a cat lives there. Not to be deterred, Radlo continues on, and when he comes to the other side of the woods, he finds a village where everyone seems to revere this cat-girl. They take him to her, and fascinated, he stays with her for several seasons.
  
  This short story is written more in the style of old-fashioned fairy tales told mostly from the POV of the narrator. This made it harder for me to become engrossed in the story, because I felt like it was being told to me rather than shown. The opening pages were a little confusing, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on. For parents or educators who might be concerned about content, Felidis does contain a few mild bad words. Radlo also euphemistically implies that Felidis is healing her clients in a more intimate way than just giving them herbs or potions, but it will most likely go over the heads of younger, less sophisticated readers. I don't think I've ever read any stories with Familiars in them, so that part was interesting, and I also enjoyed the twist at the end. Overall, I would rate Felidis as an OK read, but not one that really stood out to me. Star Rating: ***
  
  Witch Work by Neil Gaiman - Unlike the other pieces in this anthology, Witch Work is a short two-page poem about a witch. Unfortunately, poetry is a literary area in which I'm not very well-read. In fact, I've read very little poetry, probably because it isn't nearly as straightforward as narrative fiction, and usually contains hidden meanings which I have a difficult time parsing. For that reason, I don't know that I'm the best person to evaluate this poem, but since it's part of this anthology and I want to be as complete as possible in my review of it, I'll muddle through as best I can.
  
  As with most poems, there were parts that I didn't fully grasp, which makes me wonder if the younger audience at which this book is aimed will either. However, within the parts that did resonate with me, I found some well-crafted metaphorical imagery. My favorite lines were these:
  
  “The clocks whispered time, which they caught in their gears.
  They crept and they chattered, they chimed and they chewed.
  She fed them on minutes. The old ones ate years.”
  
  I thought this was a very clever way to describe the passage of time. Even though I didn't necessarily get everything in the poem, it was an interesting piece nonetheless. It was the first thing I'd ever read by Neil Gaiman, and while it wasn't really long enough to make any kind of judgment on his writing ability, it certainly didn't turn me off to him as a writer either. So I guess that I would say it was a pretty decent read overall. Star Rating: ***1/2
  
  The Education of a Witch by Ellen Klages - The Education of a Witch is a short story about a little girl named Lizzy, who after seeing Sleeping Beauty, becomes rather obsessed with Maleficent and eventually discovers she has the ability to cause mischief and mayhem herself. Although Lizzy's exact age isn't given, she attends nursery school, so I assume she's between about three and five years old. She's obviously an intelligent and curious child. When her baby sister is born, she struggles with all the changes that occur and the fact that she's no longer receiving as much attention as the baby. This makes Lizzy angry, so that she starts acting out.
  
  The Education of a Witch is the second story in this anthology that is written in third person, present-tense, a style I don't ever recall having read until picking up this book. Unlike the other story written in this style, I found this one to be exceptionally engaging. I could really feel Lizzy's frustrations and building resentment, as well as her adoration of the character of Maleficent. Like with Lizzy's age, the exact time frame of the story isn't given, but based on the facts that Sleeping Beauty was playing at the drive-in movies and Eisenhower was president, I could extrapolate that it is probably set around 1959-1960. Even though this was more than a decade before I was born, there are many things in the story that felt familiar to me, and I think that's part of what drew me in as well. It kind of made me feel like I was reliving my own childhood, which was a lot of fun. The only reason I didn't give it a higher rating is that the story ends rather abruptly, and while it's easy to see where it's probably going and draw your own conclusions, I prefer things to be wrapped up a bit neater. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this little story. It was my first read by Ellen Klages, but it has certainly left me open to trying more of her work in the future. Star Rating: ****
  
  I ran out of characters in the review field.:-) Click on the remaining story titles to see my reviews for each one:
  
  
  The Threefold World by Ellen Kushner - Star Rating: ***
  
  
  The Witch in the Wood by Delia Sherman - Star Rating: ****
  
  
  Which Witch by Patricia A. McKillip - Star Rating: ****
  
  
  The Carved Forest by Tim Pratt - Star Rating: ****
  
  
  Burning Castles by M. Rickert - Star Rating: **1/2
  
  
  The Stone Witch by Isobelle Carmody - Star Rating: ****1/2
  
  
  Andersen's Witch by Jane Yolen - Star Rating: ****
  
  B Is for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher - B Is for Bigfoot is a cute short story in the Dresden Files series. Harry is hired by a bigfoot to find out what's happening with his son at school and why he's coming home with injuries. The son, Irwin, is a bigfoot/human hybrid (aka scion) who lives with his human mother and doesn't know about his father. Of course, the dastardly bullies are otherworldly as well, making things a little more challenging for our intrepid investigator.
  
  I really enjoyed this novella and think the bullying theme is one to which kids and teens will be able to strongly relate. Even though Irwin is much larger than his tormentors, he's a shy, sweet kid who doesn't want to hurt anybody. I liked how Harry assisted him in finding a solution that helped him to stand up for himself but didn't involve violence. Much like in Restoration of Faith, one of the early shorts in the series, Harry shows his big heart toward kids. Not to mention, he can relate to the boy on a deeper level, because he used to be just like Irwin when he was a kid. I loved all the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy references. Even though I haven't read the books yet, my husband is a big fan, so I understood all the jokes. Unlike the other Dresden Files books, this one was pretty clean in deference to its younger audience. There were only one or two mild profanities and no other objectionable content unless the idea of a human and a bigfoot producing a child is bothersome. However, the bigfoot in this story, while still quite hairy, is portrayed as a highly intelligent, humanoid being. Overall, I found B Is for Bigfoot to be a fun read that was an enjoyable way to spend about an hour of my reading time. Star Rating: ****
  
  
  Great-Grandmother in the Cellar by Peter S. Beagle - Star Rating: ***1/2
  
  
  Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow by Margo Lanagan - Star Rating: ***1/2
• 
  Shirin T.

  *Will Update*
  
  Witch Work by Neil Gaiman
  
  A Harry Dresden story (2.5): "B is for Bigfoot" by Jim Butcher
  
  Little Gods by Holly Black
• 
  Althea Ann

  *** “Stray Magic”, Diana Peterfreund
  A sentimental and cute story with a message - about a kindly animal shelter worker, and the magical dog that comes into her care.
  
  *** “Payment Due”, Frances Hardinge
  After an uncaring agent repossesses her grandmother's belongings, a young witch decides to take revenge into her own hands. A sense of street justice and a vein of real creepiness runs through this.
  
  *** “A Handful of Ashes”, Garth Nix
  A tale of a plot to overthrow the administration of a witches' college comes with a message about bullying and sticking up for oneself. Definitely one for Harry Potter fans.
  
  **** “Little Gods”, Holly Black
  I'm sure that many people who were drawn to pick up this book will be able to relate to this story of a young woman who's just joined a Wiccan coven. The message here, as I see it, is that although religion may disappoint, there's true magic to be found in friendship.
  
  *** “Barrio Girls”, Charles de Lint
  A couple of bad-ass young women get their revenge on the witch who did them a bad turn. Brings new meaning to the term, 'killing them with kindness.'
  
  **** “Felidis”, Tanith Lee
  Lovely, classic-feeling fairy tale of a young man, out to seek his fortune, who meets an unusual cat lady (in multiple senses) in the woods.
  
  *** “Witch Work”, Neil Gaiman
  a poem
  
  *** “The Education of a Witch”, Ellen Klages
  You can read this for free, here:
  https://archive.org/details/489684-th...
  Previously read in: "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 7" - In this exploration of sibling jealousy, a young girl takes Disney's Maleficent as a role model - with unexpectedly dramatic results. I can't say I can't relate..."
  
  *** “The Threefold World”, Ellen Kushner
  Not so much a story, as an introduction to Elias Lönnrot, the 19th-century Finn who created the definitive collection of his country's folklore, the Kalevala. It's also an argument in favor of folklorists, and the importance of myth - even non-canonical, overlooked stories and legends.
  
  **** “The Witch in the Wood”, Delia Sherman
  A fairy tale in the classic style, telling the story of a lonely woman who uses her inherited magic to cure an enchanted prince. The traditional elements are presented in a fresh and unique way, creating a thoroughly enjoyable tale.
  
  **** “Which Witch”, Patricia A. McKillip
  I challenge anyone to read this story and not wish they were a part of the rock band described. This tale would fit in really well with Terri Windling's 'Bordertown' series. However, the plot elements are very slight, and cry out for further development...
  
  ** “The Carved Forest”, Tim Pratt
  In search of his rebellious teen sister, a young man discovers a witch who holds a truly creepy secret about his town. Some nice imagery here, but deducting a star for the truly annoying message that young people should have to wait until they're 18 to make any responsible decisions about their lives.
  
  *** “Burning Castles”, M. Rickert
  A teenager sabotages her free-spirited mother's new relationship. Does she have reason, or is it just jealousy? Disturbing and ambiguous - and sad, either way.
  
  ** “The Stone Witch”, Isobelle Carmody
  Well-crafted tale, but points deducted for the assumption that anyone who chooses to remain independent and child-free must be a 'damaged' person in some way, who needs to be 'fixed' by the insertion of a needy child into their life.
  
  *** “Andersen’s Witch”, Jane Yolen
  Beautifully written, like everything Yolen does. She's one of the few who could legitimately tackle a fairytale about the life of Hans Christian Andersen himself. However, points deducted for the totally unnecessary insertion of Jesus.
  
  ** “B Is for Bigfoot”, Jim Butcher
  This is a story about standing up to bullies in school and sticking up for yourself. The supernatural elements are wholly gratuitous.
  
  **** “Great-Grandmother in the Cellar”, Peter S. Beagle
  Previously read in: "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 7" "Excellent, traditional-feeling fantasy story. A young woman is cast into a magical sleep by her no-good suitor, and her brother must call on his deceased but magical great-grandmother to help remedy the situation."
  
  **** “Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow”, Margo Lanagan
  A fairy godmother (or, more accurately, witchy grandmother) comes to bestow magical gifts upon a newborn child - but finds more than she bargained for. Very nicely done; great imagery here. Classic fairytale elements are seamlessly woven in to a contemporary story.
  
  
  3.16 average equals 3 stars.
• 
  Kendra

  I discovered this book via the Forever Young Adult blog, and it sounded too good to pass up. Of course, in order to get it in time to read before Halloween, I had to bite the bullet and actually buy the digital version (which is rare for me).
  
  I'm really glad I took the gamble. These short stories are woven together nicely. They are all very different kinds of tales coming from a variety of authors, but each had the central theme of witches in them, so I was able to go from one story to the next without suffering too much whiplash.
  
  The stories are geared towards the young adult crowd. I credit the authors for keeping the focus on very clever plot lines over gore and guts. Several of the stories scared the jeebers out of me, but in a cool creepy way and not in a Friday the Thirteenth kind of way. So... all is well.
  
  There are still a few days left before Halloween. If you are willing to give yourself a treat this week, download a copy of this short story collection. They will make you laugh and kind of wish you had a witch friend of your very own.
  
• 
  Andrea

  I received a free copy of this when I went to the DWJ convention, and liked it enough that I'm hoping I'll be able to cart it home with me, despite limited luggage allowances. Just the sort of short stories I enjoy, and very readable indeed. Well recommended.
  
  Hilarious are reviews that only mention the stories by male writers in this book.
• 
  Beth

  Reread this because I didn’t remember the McKillip, and I found it to be a really weak collection overall. I liked the Garth Nix a lot, but everything else felt inessential.
• 
  Richard

  In general these stories were interesting, but the quality definitely varies. The editor said that he put this anthology together for his daughters, but I honestly don't think that all the contributions were suitable for young readers, whether female or male. The first tale by Diana Peterfreund, in which a lost and increasingly frantic familiar tracks down her owner was very engaging, and reflects the author's real-life concern for animals. And Jim Butcher's offering from the Dresden Files series, "B is for Bigfoot" definitely had something positive to say about handling conflicts correctly. But other stories were extremely sexual in nature. One in particular was a rather nasty horror piece; had I read Ellen Klages' "The Education of a Witch" when I was young I would have been profoundly disturbed by it. These stories should be read with discretion.
• 
  Leah

  Standout stories: Tanith Lee's Felidis, Charles de Lint's Barrio Girls, Ellen Kushner's Threefold World, and most surprisingly for me, Jim Butcher's B is for Bigfoot.
  
  Honourable mention: Garth Nix's A Handful of Ashes, for turning me around even when I saw it was set in a made-up world and groaned.
  
  Worst story: Holly Black's Little Gods. I got about three pages into her book White Cat and had the exact same reaction there as I did here - this is a story for American teenagers and no-one else.
  
  Not included in the voting: Neil Gaimain's Witch Work, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A STORY, NEIL GAIMAN. Twonk.
• 
  Laura

  Really excellent collection of stories with witches at their center. Once again, the Jim Butcher contribution was worth the price of the book. The rest of the stories were pretty awesome too. There were several with characters that I'd read whole books about. This is marketed for YAs, but it's very adult friendly.
• 
  Nile

  Bigfoot hiring a professional wizard!! Well that in interesting and the book is quite good and funny too. If you like Harry but dont want to get into the mess he is getting in considering regular Dresden Files books, this is a light read. You would enjoy.
• 
  Kathy Davie

  An anthology of eighteen short stories revolving around a theme of witches and magic.
  
  Series:
  "B is for Bigfoot", (Bigfoot Trilogy, 3 published); (Bigfoot, 1 chronological), & Dresden Files: Short Stories, 15
  "Great-Grandmother in the Cellar" (Innkeeper's World, 1.5)
  
  The Stories
  Diana Peterfreund's "Stray Magic" is so sweet! Peterfreund created a lovely story that really pulled my heartstrings with a seemingly abandoned dog who desperately wants his master back.
  
  Frances Hardinge's "Payment Due" is wicked good! Even short stories can suffer in this economy and Caroline does her best to ensure the bailiff understands how his attitude affects those upon whom he preys.
  
  Garth Nix's "A Handful of Ashes" was excellent! A nice turnaround in which evil is repaid while saving a world. Nix creates an entire world with amazing characters in such a short span of pages.
  
  Holly Black's "Little Gods" is about a teenager's search for belonging and the Beltane celebration she and her new friends attend. It's an eye-opening weekend for Ellery. This was okay. I know Black wanted to make a point, but it was too laid back for me.
  
  Charles de Lint's "Barrio Girls" is both typical and atypical de Lint. I haven't read all of de Lint yet so I may well be wrong. The typical is the kindness Abuelo requires of them to offset the bruja and gain revenge for Pepé. A sweet read by a master.
  
  Tanith Lee's "Felidis" is in the fairytale style, but with a twist. It's sweet.
  
  Neil Gaiman's Witch Work is actually a two-page poem about time, revenge, and hurt.
  
  Ellen Klages's "Education of a Witch" is scary! It was Lizzy's obsession for Maleficient in Sleeping Beauty that prompts Lizzy along the path of magic. And it's her baby sister Rosemary's arrival and need for attention that encourages its use. Klages understands children very well and provides a chilling scenario of vengeance. New parents should read this and pay special attention to their children. Lizzy's feelings are reasonable; it's her child's viewpoint and all that she knows.
  
  Ellen Kushner's "Threefold World" is another excellent story! Set back in time in Finland when it was ruled by Sweden, Kushner uses the conflict of oppressor versus oppressed to create an ambitious character, Elias, who believes that his own Finnish background is nothing to be proud of. He sets off at the end of the school year to earn the money needed for the next year's tuition and it's a Finnish folktale come to life that changes his mind and his life.
  
  Delia Sherman's "Witch in the Wood" is another fairytale combining several different elements from the genre. The prince forced into stag form by day, the evil wizard, and the orphaned young witch who rescues the stag. It's cute.
  
  Patricia A. McKillip's "Which Witch" is not a typical McKillip, lacking her lyrical turns of phrase. I'd have thought more de Lint or Lackey with the witches who form a band, dress artistically, and the urban setting. It is an excellent read and I'd love to see it develop into a series.
  
  Tim Pratt's "Carved Forest" is safety in a cage. Carlos definitely takes a chance in this one when he takes action to rescue his sister and keep her memory alive. Scary with a sweet ending.
  
  M. Rickert's "Burning Castles" was very confusing with a very obscure ending. It's more like the author had an outline that was dashed off and somehow a lot of the details were forgotten. It doesn't encourage me to seek out other works by Rickert.
  
  Isobelle Carmody's "Stone Witch" was excellent! A quest of a test with thrown-in confusions in true fairytale style, albeit with a contemporary twist and a chance for a mutual rescue.
  
  Jane Yolen's "Andersen's Witch" provides a theory as to why Hans Christian Andersen wrote his fairytales and incorporates its own fairytale elements.
  
  Jim Butcher's "B is for Bigfoot" is supposedly the third in the Bigfoot Trilogy, but reads more like it should have been the first. So, I'm confused. It's Harry Dresden's first meeting with River Shoulders, Irwin's dad, and his first meeting with Irwin where he helps him defuse an escalating situation at school.
  
  Peter S. Beagle's "Great-Grandmother in the Cellar" is another good tale incorporating fairytale elements with a short peek into a catastrophe that hits a small family and requires intercession from the dead.
  
  Margo Lanagan's "Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow" is another sweet tale incorporating fairytale elements with a grandmother wanting to grant a grandchild wishes. Lanagan includes the age-old "mother-in-law versus wife" conflict. It reads more like the start of a tale than one complete in itself.
  
  The Cover
  The cover has a glowy brown background with a black cauldron at the base pouring forth purple steam with authors' names and, just to ensure that we remember the theme of this collection of short stories, a witch's hat is parked right next to it.
  
  The title reflects the theme as well---it's all Under My Hat.
• 
  Freya

  Review to come :)
• 
  Sanja_Sanjalica

  Inventive, captivating, interesting..every story has it's own magic (pun intended :) ). Really glad I stumbled upon this book. Some stories I still think about.
• 
  Liz* Fashionably Late

  “B Is for Bigfoot” - Jim Butcher
• 
  Andreia Fernandes

  DNF 20%.
• 
  Harry Lawrence

  A nice short story in the Dresden Files universe, though much more child-friendly than usual.
• 
  K

  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.
• 
  cindy

  I've been loving this kind of anthology since first I found
  Wizards, I mean when diversity of good fantasy books are scarce here, anthologies were a good source petite four to taste of a new writers (well, not neccesary new, but new to me). I found Garth Nix this way before, now such a big fans. In this book, I found Tim Pratt and Isobelle Carmody. Both wrote my fav stories in this.
  
  The Carved Forrest by Pratt tell a story about keeping the love ones save, even if that mean to confined them in cage. Carmody's The Stone Witch was a heartwarming story of lonely souls finding each other in a blink of plane crashed. A quirky, unusuall and very touching one, eventhough I still don't know why the title per se.
  
  The other familiar names also write nice stories. Gaiman gave two pages heartwrenching tragedy of a witch. Black left Spiderwicks and had a very drunky night at a forrest. While Nix, well Nix wrote a very complete full layers characters within 20 pages. Lovvveee him.
  
  I also love Stray Magic (Peterfreund), The Threefold World (Kushner), Great-grandmother in the Cellar (Beagle), and last but not least, Andersen's Witch, a story about HC Andersen by Jane Yolen, which I say so true, coz I love HCA's fairy tales with all my heart when I grew up.
  
  By and by, it was a very good anthology gathered by Jonathan Strahan. I had such a ride trough witches' worlds and enjoyed every cast and spell in it.
• 
  Dr Rashmit Mishra

  only read the B , Is For Big Foot Storyline , which is also a part of the Dresden Files series .
  
  Honestly I am not a fan of short stories , in that I generally don't like reading short stories , because the pay off doesn't feel very satisfying in the end .
  
  This one was no different either , featuring Harry taking a case for a Bigfoot and dealt with something I personally have had also dealt with - Bullying . It was a very nice story , however the cause for dissapointment came in the form of the fact that Harry's magical use was almost non-existent in this , we didn't really delve much into the Lore of the Big foot or the later introduced Svartalfar. And it's the later one which really sucked too bad , coz I am not very familiar to the Norse Mythology and I was really looking forward to knowing how they would be dealt with .
  
  In the end the Bullying part was handled really well , but the story , as almost every short story I have ever read , left me unsatisfied in terms of it's usage of the magical creatures and magic itself
• 
  Maša

  Witches are probably my favorite fantasy trope. I adored Harry Potter, devoured most of Diana W. Jones's opus, and gave chance to books with magic in it (some were great, others... not so much).
  
  This was an enjoyable ride. Some of the stories were more engaging ( Education of a Witch by Ellen Klages, for example) than the others (I can't seem to find anything by Butcher interesting).
  
  All in all, I eant something properly witchy to read now. Suggestions?
• 
  Aldi

  A mixed bag, as is usual for a short story collection. I enjoyed the first half a good deal, with almost every story offering some interesting take on the witchy theme, but I thought the quality rather dropped in the second half. My favourite of the lot was probably Garth Nix's "A Handful of Ashes," which offered strong world-building and engaging characters and made a lot of its short format. Frances Hardinge's "Payment Due" was also great.
• 
  Bailey

  Average: 2.94
  
  Stray Magic: 5/5
  Payment Due: 2/5
  A Handful of Ashes: DNF
  Little Gods: 4/5
  Barrio Girls: 4/5
  Felidis: 4.5/5
  Witch Work: 3/5
  The Education of a Witch: 4/5
  The Threefold World: DNF
  The Witch in the Wood: DNF
  Which Witch: 3/5
  The Carved Forest: 4/5
  Burning Castles: 4/5
  The Stone Witch: 3/5
  Andersen's Witch: 5/5
  B is for Bigfoot: 4.5/5
  Great-Grandmother in the Cellar: 3/5
  Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow: DNF
• 
  Emma

  Okay, I havent avtually read this recently but I just discovered that Frances Hardinge has an additional short story at the back of the paperback for Deeplight, so I wanted to add to my books read without losing my original Deeplight review and as I read this book years ago, I figured I could just add this instead.
  So the short story was called Scream and it was great - very atmospheric and contemporary even though it was set in an alternate, old-world with Gods. I love how Hardinge always manages to blend those worlds.
• 
  Amy

  Magical read.
  Loved it.
• 
  Joshua Freeman

  Great collection of short stories. Some a little difficult to grasp, possibly due to being short works based on larger series, but overall some very fun, memorable tales.
• 
  Kelly Commaille (Velvet Library)

  Some of my favourite authors writing about witches seemed like a recipe for perfection, but too many of the stories in the collection left me feeling decidedly meh.
• 
  Arsnoctis

  Al momento ho letto solo B is for Bigfoot, riportato in un libro dei Dresden files, mi piacerebbe tornare al resto del libro quando avrò finito la serie.
• 
  Stacey (prettybooks)

  I used to be one of those people who avoided short stories. And 'proper fantasy', for that matter. So why, you may ask, did I pick up this collection? Well, Halloween is one of my favourite holidays and I feel like we just don't celebrate it properly here. Sure, you'll find a lot of Halloween-related goodies in shops, but I'm not quite sure what people actually do with them once they buy them. I've never been trick-or-treating (it's probably a bit late now, eh?), not that we're accustomed to that either. (We're more likely to turn the lights off and pretend we're not in). So, instead, I celebrate Halloween on my own by picking up a suitable book to read. Last year, I decided to re-read
  Dark Inside, and the year before that I read
  The Name of the Star, and the year before that I read
  The Little Stranger. And this year I thought I'd go with something a little different.
  
  I quickly discovered, much to my delight, that short story collections are perfect commuter books! I loved being able to finish a story or two on my way to work – sheer luxury! I decided not to look up each story before I actually started reading – I only knew that Neil Gaiman's contribution was a poem – so I didn't really know what to expect every time I started a new one. Under My Hat is such a varied collection, with mythical folk stories that feel centuries old to more contemporary stories that take place today. I did not love all of the stories equally, but with such a diverse selection, this is neither surprisingly nor unexpected. If I do read paranormal or fantasy, I tend to enjoy stories that blend the fantastical with the real (is this magical realism?), like Harry Potter or Vampire Academy, so I was drawn more to those, but there's plenty of them here!
  
  Stray Magic by Diana Peterfreund, the first in the collection, is a whimsical yet touching story about Goneril, a magical talking dog who has been abandoned and is desperate to find her way back to her master. She has to with very little time to spare because if she doesn't, she'll perish. I couldn't help but picture Goneril as Dug from Up. It's both witty and endearing, with a sassy little creature at its heart. Little Gods by Holly Black was one of the more modern stories. It reminded me of one of my all-time favourite series,
  Wicca (or Sweep) by Cate Tiernan. Sixteen-year-old Ellery experiences something exciting and new when she attends a party – her first Wiccan Sabbat. Ellery's tired of being treated like a child and longs to be part of a group of people who see her as just another person in the gang, even if they are a little odd, according to her parents. Little Gods leaves you wondering whether it's a story about real magic or simply a coming-of-age tale. The Education of a Witch by Ellen Klages, one of the most quirky and thrilling stories, is from the perspective of a little girl. Lizzy develops a somewhat obsessive fascination with Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and almost makes me feel happy that I'm an only child... And although I'm not a particular fan of poetry (I know, I know!), I really did enjoy Neil Gaiman's offering, Witch Work, which I re-read a couple of times.
  
  If you're like me and prefer the magical mixed with the real world, perhaps give Under My Hat a shot as there's a story for everyone, whether you're reading it at Halloween or not.
  
  Thank you Hot Key Books for providing this book for review!
  
  I also reviewed this book over on
  Pretty Books.