Ink and Incantation - Edited by E.V. Everest

-

Editor: E.V. Everest

Authors: Various
Genre: Anthology, Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: 3.15 stars.

A YA SFF anthology with 16 stories set around books.

With such an appealing theme, who wouldn’t want to try out this collection? Add in the SFF factor, and I was ready for a treat. However, the book catered to only some of my expectations.

On the positive side, I loved seeing the variety in the book. It covers quite a few SFF subgenres, including dystopian, epic, witchcraft, fae, high fantasy and futuristic. The authors clearly have a vivid imagination, and many stories create a great fantasy world within their limited page-space.

As it is, all stories are never at the same level when it comes to anthologies. But with 16 different contributing authors, it goes without saying that the quality is quite varied in this one. Some are highly imaginative, other drone on. Some end perfectly, others abruptly. A few stories seemed to be incomplete in some way, until I discovered that they were set in the world of some series created by the author. (Quite unfair to include these, if you ask me. How will we get an authentic experience when the story presumes some familiarity with its origin series? I couldn’t even understand why I was unable to connect more with the characters, until I saw this point mentioned by other reviewers.)

Moreover, the stories don’t feel like SHORT stories. When you have 16 stories spread across 540 pages, you can see that the average length per story is about 34 pages, thus touching novellette length. Because of the world building and writing style, I couldn’t go fast through most of the tales, though this was classified as YA! Hence a mixed feeling about the pacing of the book.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the sixteen stories in the book, four stories reached or crossed the 4 star mark. The rest were clustered around the 3 star level. My favourites were:
  • Ruthless hearts - E.V. Everest - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 – A cute story set around the unlikely friendship between two characters.
  • A Tomb of Roses - R.L. Perez - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 – About twin witches who want different things and end up with different fates. This would have been a straightforward 5 star had the prologue not contained such a huge spoiler.
  • War of Tides and Tombs - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 – A secretive library on an island and the family must do anything to protect it.
  • The Secrets of Ossadiyah - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 – Two characters compete to find a mysterious grimoire. Was 4.25 stars until that brilliant ending!
3.15 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story. I am sure I might have enjoyed this collection more were I more aware of the series in which these characters appear.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through ‘StoryOrigin’ and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales - Catherine Cawthorne - ★★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Catherine Cawthorne ILLUSTRATOR: Sara Ogilvie GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: April 25, 2024 RATING: 5 sparkly, scientifically accurate stars. In a Nutshell: This book and I were a match made in book heaven! Loved the approach that combines humour and logic to debunk the sillier elements of some fairy tales. Strongly recommended! I enjoy fairy tales. I love scientific thinking. I adore logic. I relish humour. Seeing all four of these together in a single work was almost a “bookgasmic” moment for me! 😆 Had the book not delivered on any of these factors, I might still have been happy reading it. But the content not only reaches but also surpasses the promise made by the title and cover. All of us know that there are several logically impossible elements in fairy tales. In childhood, we might have oohed and awwwed at the stories without overthinking the practicalities. In adulthood, we might have cringed at the gender bias, wealth bias, and the lack of conse
Read More»

Takeout Sushi - Christopher Green - ★★★★

-
Image
  AUTHOR: Christopher Green GENRE: Contemporary Short Story Collection, Japanese Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE:  May 2, 2024 RATING: 3.9  stars. In a Nutshell: An interesting collection of stories, with most of them set in Japan. Loved the writing style and enjoyed the diverse emotions. Much recommended! This story collection has, as the title suggests, a strong Japanese flavour. So let me begin by confessing that I am not a fan of Japanese literature. Most Japanese fiction that I tried hasn’t suited my reading tastes, so I generally keep away from this genre. The reason I picked this collection up is... No, no, the sushi had no role to play in my decision; I can’t stand even the thought of sushi! The reason I wanted to read this is that the author is NOT a Japanese! 😁 I know this sounds quite silly to declare, but had the author been Japanese, I would have resisted opting for this. But by virtue of his being an “outsider”, I thought it was a great opportunity to get a look at Japan witho
Read More»

Red Runs the Witch's Thread - Victoria Williamson - ★★★★

-
Image
  AUTHOR: Victoria Williamson GENRE: Historical Fiction, Horror. RATING:  4 stars. In a Nutshell: A psychological horror inspired by the last witch burning in Scotland in 1697. A disturbing yet compelling read. I wanted more closure at the end for my own peace of mind, but other than that, this was a satisfying book. Recommended! Plot Preview: 1722. Paisley, Scotland. Thirty-seven-year-old widow Christian Shaw is obsessed with perfecting her thread bleaching process. She wants to make the thread the purest white, so it can sell better and restore their family fortunes. In the absence of any male family members, it is up to her as the eldest daughter to ensure the security of their house, her mother and two younger sisters, and her late father’s social position as the laird (landowner.)  However, Christian’s mind is troubled. With the 25th anniversary of the witch burnings of 1697 approaching, Christian’s thoughts go frequently to the past, and to the role she played in the burning of s
Read More»

Making Up the Gods - Marion Agnew - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Marion Agnew GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 15, 2023 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: An indie drama with some quirky characters and a great setting in Lake Superior, Canada. Mellow in tone, genuine in content, thought-provoking in themes. I enjoyed this unusual novel. Plot Preview: Simone, almost 70, is a retired widow who lives an isolated life in her cottage on the banks of Lake Superior and still misses her husband, though he’s been dead for five years. While she is now active in her local church and finds solace in baking for those grieving, she is fiercely protective of her privacy. But when the local reverend asks her to take care of nine-year-old Chen while his widowed mother goes on a much-needed trip, Simone finds it tough to refuse a fellow-mourning widow. Just before Chen arrives, a stranger named Martin knocks at Simone’s door, claiming to be her cousin. Simone is suddenly handling two strangers at once, and she worries that they will dis
Read More»

The Great Divide - Cristina Henríquez - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Cristina Henríquez GENRE: Historical Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: March 5, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction focussed on Panama during the time of the construction of the Panama Canal. Note that this isn’t a book directly about the canal or its construction, but about the people connected to the canal in some way or the other during that period. A great book if you go in with the right expectations and enjoy character-oriented fiction. Plot Preview: 1907, Panama. Francisco, a Panamanian fisherman, hates the commercialisation of his country under the foreigners, and hence resents his son Omar’s joining the canal construction crew. Omar, however, wants to learn and earn more than his little village can offer him. Sixteen-year-old Ada has heard about Panama having many jobs. She has stowed away to Panama, hoping to get some work and earn enough for her ailing sister’s surgery back in Barbados. Her mother Lucille, a tailor, doesn’t yet know of her ru
Read More»