Deborah J. Ross

I should preface this review by stating short stories have to be pretty spectacular for me to really like them. So maybe I was just the wrong audience for a short story anthology - but on the other hand, I am the perfect audience because I love fairy tale retellings.

I had two main problems with this anthology: 1) the caliber of the stories, and 2) the disjointed nature of the book. There were a few stories I did enjoy while reading them, but overall none were very memorable. I honestly can't remember some of the stories from the beginning of the book.

All the stories in this book are billed as retellings of familiar tales. Which is true, yes, but which tales? The titles make me think fairy tales. So why then is there a full section that contained elements of Greek myths? And the random story about Nimue? Or the Bluebeard story that made me go WTF? Or the entire last section of the anthology which seemed like it was cobbled together to hold the three stories which really had no commonalities?

In addition to the common theme of the anthology not holding true, the feel of the different stories also varied to the point where they honestly shouldn't have been included in the same collection. There were tongue-in-cheek stories side-by-side with depressing and serious stories.

An okay collection, but there are much better anthologies of fairy tale retellings out there.… (more)

Eine Rückkehr auf Darkover ist immer wieder schön - wenn ich dabei noch auf Lew und Magurida Alton treffe, macht mich das wirklich glücklich. Ich würde diesen Roman nur echten Darkover-Fans empfehlen, die bereits den Magurida-Alton-Zyklus gelesen und gemocht haben. Für andere Leser könnten doch zu viele Fragen offen bleiben.

In der Corona-Zeit möglicherweise nötige Triggerwarnung - ein Handlungsstrang dreht sich um das Wiederaufflammen des Waldläuferfiebers, das fast pandemieartige Zustände annimmt.

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This conclusion to the Clingfire trilogy is indeed epic. Varzil the Good and King Carolan are working to spread the Compact throughout the kingdoms of Darkover, hoping to once and for all cease the manufacture of clingfire and other weapons of destruction. Dyannis is struggling in her path to become a woman Keeper while Eduin is still under the compulsion to kill Varzil and Carolan.
While parts of the story were a little slow, I found that overall A Flame in Hali is excellent, especially the ending. The characters struggle with choice vs compulsion, war vs peace, and love vs duty, all weighty concerns that are given due consideration here.
I'm greatly enjoying my journey through the Darkover series, whether I'm rereading or finding some books I've missed. This trilogy was not one I read before but it is an essential read in the history of the planet.… (more)

I read volume one of this fantasy short story anthology last year and really enjoyed it. It introduced me to Daniel Fox and I subsequently read, and loved, one of his full length novels (and need to read more). Volume two of Lace and Blade has a bit less swashbuckling, to my recollection, and a bit more gender fluidity than is my preference. That said, all of the stories were clever and captivating enough to hold my attention so that I never skimmed to get through anything. I definitely look forward to volume three.… (more)