The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 12 [Paperback]

(Sorry there may be some spoilers below!)

I did read a majority of the stories (I didn't read about 4 of them, they didn't really interest me). The others I read where simply amazing!!

Here are the ones I did read and what I thought about them:

1."Unferno" by George Alec Effinger
I did like this one but it was very slow and was a Heroes in Hell somewhat twisted wannabe. I probably would had made a different decision than the ones who decided to stay in hell. It made me think that eventually Rosenthal and maybe some others would eventually get bored and give up like Satan before them. I gave this one a 3 out of 5 stars

2."Fortunes of a Fool" by Nicholas Yermakov
This one reminded me of several Brothers Grimm stories where a little girl helps a frog, then the frog wants to marry the girl, girl says no, and then the frog turns into a prince and they eventually get married anyway. It was a nice change from a Frog Prince, the story though was kinda weak, but enjoyable where you didn't have to think that much (it was really predictable). 3.5 stars out of 5.

3."Preliminary Notes on the Jang" by Lisa Goldstein
I thought the main character (the anthropology student) was kind of stupid, but I loved the story all in all. I loved the Jang, and different things they did when the student came to visit (eating hedgehogs,etc). I liked the background on the Jang and found it fascinating, although sounded similar to other "tribal" groups. I'm not sure the ending fit with the rest of the story, though. 5 out of 5 stars.

4."The Persistance of Memory" by Gael Baudino
In the beginning of the story I felt sorry for Barbara, the mother. Once she started the memory training I felt worse for her, because the way her husband, Frank, treated her after she started remembering where she left things, etc. I loved how the daughter's, Stacie, imaginary friend (Dylbok the Griffon) started to appear to Barbara as a real thing, and how the Dylbok and Barbara had started a great relationship. I liked how Dylbok also showed Barbara around to different other "imaginary" things like pixies, dragons and unicorns. I'd love to hear more of the story and would read more by the author. (according to Wikipedia this short story has been turned into a Graphic novel-would love to read it!) 5 out of 5 stars.

5."The Face in the Cloth" by Jane Yolen
This reminded me of a classic fairy tale, and I really liked the story. It kinda reminded me of a mixture of several Brothers Grimm stories (like Snow White, for instance). I wish more stories were written as well as this one was. I can't explain it, but I think everyone should read this story! 5 out of 5 stars.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  5.0 out of 5 stars