Journal Entry 1 by Zmrzlina from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, May 05, 2003

Bought just because the publisher is still a "small" independently owned company. 

Journal Entry 2 by karendawn from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, October 25, 2003

Book arrived today. Thank you! There appear to be some good stories in here, so I'm looking forward to reading it. 

Journal Entry 3 by karendawn from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Tuesday, December 07, 2004

I've read a few of the stories and want to make some comments on them before I forget as I read the remaining stories.

Sow's Ear--Silk Purse by Andre Norton: The ending was actually predictable but it was still a pretty good story.

The Rebuke by Michael Shea: This was I found to be only so-so. I never really liked the main character and so had a hard time getting into the story.

Persian Eyes by Tanith Lee: This was a very strange story. Good. But I'm not sure I liked the way it ended exactly.

Coronach of the Bell by Christopher Stasheff: Another so-so story.

Ending and Beginning by Jennifer Roberson: I have several of Jennifer Roberson's books on my shelf but have not read one yet. This story was fantastic and is the debut for a new series (Karavans). It definitely left me wanting more. I will have to check out Karavans and see what has been published. I also plan to definitely read the other Roberson books that I have!

After Midnight by Mercedes Lackey: Oh my gosh! I just absolutely loved this story! I read it while on the bus and I couldn't hold back my laughter. It won't be quite as good to people who are not familiar with her books and characters (and there are some that I wasn't familiar with - yet) but to fans of Misty's books, they'll get a real kick out of this story. I scanned it in and sent it off to a friend of mine who loves Misty's books.

Nightfall's Promise by Mickey Zucker Reichert: Another author that I have not read but now plan to. This story was part of a larger story and I did feel that I was missing out on quite a bit, but it was very well told and makes me want to read more.

I'll add another journal entry when I've read a few more stories. I can already see that the first few haven't stuck in my mind as much as the last few, so I don't want to wait to the end before writing up the others. 

Journal Entry 4 by karendawn from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Another few stories to comment upon.

We Two May Meet by Tanya Huff: There was definitely a lot of humor in this story and I thought it was pretty creative; however, the ending seemed too easy - the solution solved too quickly.

The Sacrifice by Melanie Rawn: This bit of revisionist history (about Joan of Arc) was quite good. Very well written and an interesting view of this historical story.

Heart-Healer by Deborah J. Ross: I would say that I really liked this story and that it was fantastic and I will say that for most of the story, but the ending was problematic to me. It felt too sugary and didn't really seem to go very well with the character, at least in my opinion.

A Perfect Day in Valdemar: Written by Mercedes Lackey's husband and co-author of several Valdemar books (especially the gryphon books), this story made me want to go back to read the remaining Valdemar books that I have not yet read (which includes the gryphon books).

Draconis ex Machina by Irene Radford: I've seen books by this author and have wondered whether or not to pick one up. This story makes me want to do so, especially to see what happens with this character. The intro to the story says that the character is in The Glass Dragon, so I'll have to check that one out. I'm very curious about what happens to this prince turned wolf.

The Hamlet by Marjorie B. Kellogg: Not really the typical story, which is good here. I honestly would have liked to see a little more of the characters and their world, but this was a nice taste of them. I'm not sure if this is part of a larger work or not.

Five more stories to read (one a novella), so the next journal entry should take care of those remaining. 

Journal Entry 5 by karendawn from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, December 11, 2004

Finished the book last night. This one is going to Kyrissaean who picked it up from BookRelay. And now for comments on the last few stories:

Moonlover and the Fountain of Blood by Jane S. Fancher: I've never heard of this author before, but I think that I should have. I really enjoyed this story and thought that the ending was just perfect.

The Memory of Stone by Michelle West: This one is the novella, and it took me a little while to get into it. The beginning was a bit confusing with trying to figure out who people were and what was going on. But it was worth it because this rather bittersweet story excellent.

The Huntsman by Fiona Patton: I really liked how this story began and the ending was mostly okay, but I felt that it may have ended a little too soon. I would have liked a little more reaction from (not wanting to spoil anything) one of the characters to see what happened with him.

Linked, on the Lake of Souls by Kristen Britain: I've often seen this author's books in the bookstore and have come close to purchasing one several times. This story doesn't really help me make that decision. I thought that the plot and characters were good but the style, the actual wording, just felt a bit off and immature to me.

It's About Squirrels... by Lynn Abbey: The editors chose the order of the stories based on the order the authors had been published by DAW, so that's why this story became the last in the volume. I wish they hadn't done it that way. It was a bit of a yawner (of course part of that could be because it was late last night when I finished this one) and really rather borderline fantasy.

All in all, I read some really fantastic stories in this book and now have some new authors to try out! Thank you, Zmrzlina, for sending this book to me so very long ago. I can't believe I had this gem sitting on my shelf for so long without reading it! 

Journal Entry 6 by Zmrzlina from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Saturday, December 11, 2004

I never read this book because I am not all that fond of short story format, but after reading karendawn's fabulous entries, I am going to grab a copy from the shelf at work and read it on my lunch hours :-) Thanks for the great journal! 

Journal Entry 7 by karendawn from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Gave up on making it to the post office, so I just put some stamps on this one and dropped it in the mailbox today. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 8 by Kyrissaean from Littleton, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, December 21, 2004

It's here! I've read and enjoyed things by at least half of the contributing authors, so I couldn't resist taking a peek at this book! I'll probably nibble a story here and a story there--short stories are more like cookies, where novels are are a great big cake! (Well, except for the boring ones that are supposed to be read more as self-improvement because they're somehow "important"--those are like extra servings of brussels sprouts.)