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:

Violent Advents: A Christmas Horror Anthology - Edited by L. Stephenson - ★★★.¼

-
Image
  EDITOR: L. Stephenson GENRE: Christmas Horror Anthology PUBLICATION DATE:  December 12, 2024 RATING: 3.3 stars. In a Nutshell: A short-fiction anthology filled with Christmassy horror. Some really good stories here, though I wish there had been more variety in the “source of the evil.” A good option for those who are fed up of saccharine seasonal stories. This is the time of the year when readers are torn between spooky season and Christmas season. Here's a book that combines both. 😉 This indie anthology contains twenty-six stories by twenty-six writers. There’s no editor’s note, but the title and the tagline make the theme clear – it is a “Christmas horror” anthology. The stories are mostly fast-paced, which works well in this genre. After the first few stories, I wondered why a majority of them were using the Christmas tree as the horror device-of-choice. It occurred frequently enough for me to start eyeing every Christmas tree in the stories suspiciously. Only after...
Read More»

The Little Christmas Library - David M. Barnett - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: David M. Barnett GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 10, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-oriented contemporary fiction with a strong Christmas spirit and a dash of Christmas magic. Excellent characters and a well-connected narrative linking them all. True to contemporary times in every way. Might get a bit too sugary, but works well for the genre. A fabulous and heartwarming option for the festive season. Plot Preview: When Molly McGinley moves from London to her Northern hometown of Merry-le-Moors, she feels like an utter failure. Ten years in the big city, and all she has to show is a broken relationship and no job. Her widower dad Jack is more than happy to have his daughter home, especially as he is still missing his wife who passed away a decade back. Jack now whiles away his time driving the town’s mobile library and he insists that Molly accompany him on his rounds instead of moping alone at home. As the two take the library bus t...
Read More»

Somebody I Used to Know - Wendy Mitchell - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Wendy Mitchell GENRE: Memoir PUBLICATION DATE: June 5, 2018 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: The memoir of a woman who unexpectedly became the face of young-onset Alzheimer’s in the UK. Ghost-written with the help of a journalist, this book covers her diagnosis, reaction, coping strategies, everyday experiences, and her plans for the future.. The writing is filled with pain and frustration as well as hope. Much recommended. Do note that it might be triggering for Alzheimer’s patients and also caregivers. A reading challenge I am participating in needed a book penned by a ghost-writer. I was very clear that I didn’t want to opt for any celebrity memoir, most of which are sanitised fake versions of their lives. Nor did I want to try fictional novels that straddled the line between pseudonymous and ghost-written. ( The Nancy Drew series, for instance. ) Google led me to Wendy Mitchell’s memoir. One look at this book’s blurb, and I knew I finally found the right option for the...
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 Night Counsellor - L.K. Pang - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: L.K. Pang GENRE: Historical Mystery PUBLICATION DATE: October 17, 2024 RATING: 4 stars In a Nutshell: A historical mystery with a mental asylum as the dominant setting. Intriguing characters, creepy vibes, good handling of the two timelines. A great option for readers who enjoy gritty historical narratives. Plot Preview: 1953. Jane Galloway, in a new role as a counsellor, has just been assigned a new patient at The Beaumont, a mental asylum trying to shed its dark tag but not doing a great job of it. This patient, dubbed Patient A, was found wandering naked and covered in blood on the outskirts of Yorkshire. She doesn’t talk or respond in any way to anyone. The mystery gets even darker when Jane learns that this patient is a murder suspect. The hospital staff is firmly opposed to this new method of using conversations as therapy, but Jane is determined to make a difference. Can she help Patient A before it is too late? Is Patient A really guilty of such a heinous crime? The...
Read More»