Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction

interesting because you can sample different authors stories and see what you like and then order some of their books

I've bought several anthologies as a great way to get to know new authors. Often the include chapters of a newcomers book or that sort of thing. However, these were all short stories that were meant to be short stories (so no reading and coming to the end of a sample chapter and needing to buy a book or series that got less interesting the more you read). These stories were also excellently well written, interesting, with thoughtful topics, novel story lines (in many cases) and great characters. I was really impressed both with the authors and also with the publisher, who sought many of the authors who have published with them before to write something for this.

Great book full of very interesting stories. Perfect for me since I love fiction and fantasy.

This is one of the better anthologies I've read. All anthologies are something of a mixed bag. The reader's taste very seldom meshes exactly with the editor's, or the editor has had to make some compromises along the way. Firebirds is substantially above average.The book is helped, of course, by having some very big names in SFF - Lloyd Alexander, Patricia A. McKillip, Garth Nix, to name a few. Aside from her first couple of books, I've never read anything by McKillip that wasn't terrific, and that's true here.The value of anthologies is in introducing readers to new authors. Here, I read a story ("Beauty") by Sherwood Smith, an author I'd never heard of. I was struck by how well developed the world was for a short story. It turns out that's because it is a well developed world. But I nonetheless immediately went out and bought the related novel,  Crown Duel . I'll be looking up Nancy Farmer as well. But this anthology also has some other surprises. "Max Mondrosch" was a startling departure from the Lloyd Alexander of the  Chronicles of Prydain , but no less good because of it.The editor says she built the book around a graphic novel by Emma Bull and Charles Vess, and I looked forward to it. I'm sorry to say that that story is by far the weakest in the book. Happily, almost all the other stories range from good to excellent.In short, well worth picking up.

"Firebirds" came into my hands with high praise from sources I respected, and I was not disappointed. I was not overly impressed either. The collection of stories is fairly broad, but the focus is clearly on fantasy (broadly defined, not just swords and sorcery, although there is that too). I have no idea why it includes science fiction in the title, I can't remember a single title I would classify as SF.There are several stories that revisit old tales to give them a new spin: "Cotillion" (D Sherman) places Tam Lin in 1960's New York, "The Fall of Ys" (MA Pierce) questions the character motivations of the original, "Medusa" (Cadnum)retells the story from the title character's point of view, "Lady of the Ice Garden" (K Dalkey) sets an Andersen tale in Japan. With the ties to classic tales and the strong female leads all around, these stories are particularly well suited for classroom use.Changelings also play a prominent role: "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" (M Whalen Turner) in which a magical child is raised by a bank; the surprisingly effective "Hope Chest" (G Nix) which combines elements of horror, political dystopia and, of all things, the Western; "Remember Me" (N Farmer)in which a changeling's differences ostracize her family and "Flotsam" (N Kiriki Hoffman) an overly ambitious about a little boy lost among worlds that ultimately fails to move the reader.Most of the stories feature female leads, but the two stories with male leads were standouts for me: "Max Mondrosch" (Lloyd Alexander)an understated and oddly comical story about the horror of modern life and "Byndley" (P McKillip) a more traditional tale of a wizard, a fairy queen, and the things that can be stolen in the forest.Of the remaining stories, I would recommend "Beauty" (S Smith), an "odd princess out" o fthe sort that have become popular since "The Ordinary Princess". "Black Fox" (E Bull) also bears mention as the only graphic entry in the anthology, illustrated by Charles Vess."Mariposa" (N Springer), "Chasing the Wind" (E Wein), "Little Dot" (D Wynne Jones, for the magical cat lovers) and "The Flying Woman" (L Winter)were all fine stroies, but none of them proved memorable for me.The title is definitely recommended if you are a fan of fantasy short stories or the Firebird authors. If this is not something you read every day, I would recommend a Datlow/Windling anthology, such as "The Faery Reel" or one of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (Datlow/Windling and Datlow/Link).

I was given the hardcover as a gift years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just got the paperback as a gift for a friend. The haunted house story and the retelling of "The Snow Queen" as an allegory for toxic masculinity in militarized Japan were worth the price of admission alone.

surprisingly good...almost every story held my interest...in only two did i skip to reach the end, and in one, or two, did i feel they were snippets from larger stories, and needed their context...but most of them were really good, finished pieces of wordsmithing...good craft...well worth reading...delightful!

A thoroughly delightful anthology with never a duff note.