Firebirds Soaring: An Anthology of Original Speculative Fiction

Crown & Court

by Sharyn November (Editor), Louise Marley (Contributor), Nick O'Donohoe (Contributor)

First Firebirds . Then Firebirds Rising . Now there is Firebirds Soaring , the third anthology of original stories by some of today?s finest writers of fantasy and science fiction. These authors, including Nancy Farmer ( The Sea of Trolls ), Ellen Klages ( The Green Glass Sea ), Margo Lanagan ( Black Juice ), and Jane Yolen ( The Devil?s Arithmetic ), have brought new worlds and Old Magic to life in nineteen remarkable pieces of short fiction. Mike Dringenberg, co-creator of Sandman with Neil Gaiman, contributes decorative vignettes. Firebirds Soaring ?like Firebirds and Firebirds Rising ?sets the standard for short fiction for teenagers and adult fans of the genre.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction

574 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2009

About the author

Sharyn November (www.sharyn.org) is senior editor for Viking Children's Books and editorial director of Firebird Books. She is a two-time World Fantasy Award Finalist (Professional category), and Firebirds Rising was a World Fantasy Award Finalist for Best Anthology.

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

***"Kingmaker" - by Nancy Springer. The king's only child is a girl, who helps her father decide disputes and is well-loved by the populace, but will never rule the kingdom. When she stumbles across a powerful magic bracelet, her disappointment at being passed over bubbles up. I liked this until the end, when the story abruptly shifts.
**"A ticket to ride" - by Nancy Farmer. A destitute boy tries to help a dying homeless man, and accidentally gets to relive all of the man's best memories. Fantastic until--the boy stays on, reliving memories forever, and it's supposedly a happy ending.
*"A thousand tails" - by Christopher Barzak. Story about a modern-day kitsune who turns into a ghost. A little fetish-y for my tastes, the relationship with the father felt completely unreal, and I have no idea what happened when Midori turns into a spirit.
***"All under heaven" - by Chris Roberson. A man and his grandmother go out fishing in a really interesting sf world.
***"Singing on a star" - by Ellen Klages. Creepy and well-written. One little girl shows her friend how to get into a hidden world.
****"Egg magic" - by Louise Marley. A farm girl loves her chickens and dislikes her step-mother and new siblings. She yearns to meet her mother, the mysterious Magda. This is a mature, nuanced story. I really believed in the characters, and the touches of magic were wonderful.
***"Flatland" - by Kara Dalkey. Corporate life in the future.
***"Dolly the dog-soldier" - by Candas Jane Dorsey. Not sure I understand what a dog-soldier is (were the children dogs when they were taken, and turned into humans?), but I really liked this story. A girl is brought up to be a weapon, but she is too smart for the lies she's told.
***"Ferryman" - by Margo Lanagan. A girl brings her father some lunch. It's a cozy little family moment until you realize that he's the ferryman of the dead.
***"The ghosts of strangers" - by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. In a world where dragons torment humans, a small village has found a way to keep themselves safe. Every adult bonds to a single female dragon, then feeds her and her children for seven years. In return, the dragons protect them from marauders.
***"Three twilight tales" - by Jo Walton. "It's a fairy story that questions the demands that stories make of their protagonists. Like most fairy tales it's liminal, it's all about edges and thresholds and twilight and possibilities."
**"The dignity he's due" - by Carol Emshwiller. Two young siblings deal with their mother, who is convinced the boy is the heir to France's throne. It's not speculative in the least, and the story, although interesting, has no end.
*"Power and magic" - by Marly Youmans. Too boring to finish.
**"Court ship" - by Sherwood Smith. Cute little story set in the Crown Duel world.
**"Little Red" - by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. Crazy girl in an institution is repeatedly assaulted.
***"The myth of Fenix" - by Laurel Winter. A little boy reinvents himself so thoroughly that he fits better with aliens than with humans.
***"Fear and loathing in Lalanna" - by Nick O'Donohoe. Hilarious!
*"Bonechewer's legacy" - by Clare Bell. A story about intelligent cats. It's pretty useless if you don't know the world or the characters already.
***"Something worth doing" - by Elizabeth E. Wein. A young, aimless girl decides that her brother, who just died, will not have died without having honored his name. She takes his place at the RAF. Fantastic training sequences and I love the main character; really satisfying story all around.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing anthology. I really liked the previous ones in the series, but I think this is the best of them. I usually skip (or am tempted to skip) freely in anthologies; Firebirds Soaring I read with rapt attention from beginning to end. It's tough to narrow down what I liked most from such a great selection, but I'll give it a shot:

- Louise Marley, "Egg Magic": unusual, subtle magic; excellent family relationships and farm setting
- Jo Walton, "Three Twilight Tales": beautifully interwoven fairy tales
- Sherwood Smith, "Court Ship": yay, generation after Crown Duel!
- Elizabeth E. Wein, "Something Worth Doing": wonderful historical fiction about a woman who masquerades as her brother in order to fly in World War II Britain; loved the flying details
- Nina Kiriki Hoffman, "The Ghosts of Strangers": the centerpiece of the book, really a novella in length; a very different setting from her usual modern-day, with ghosts and excellent dragons, realistically ferocious yet able to have relationships with humans

Truly, though, every single story was worth reading and rereading.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year or so ago, I picked up the first Firebirds anthology. I was substantially impressed, so when I saw this one, I bought it without a second thought.

This third book, unfortunately, is not as strong as the first. It's a collection of pretty good stories, but few of them are really outstanding. In part, that may be because it's so very narrowly focused on an audience of teen girls. Nothing wrong with that, but it's certainly not me, and, more important, not what I had been expecting. An entire anthology of that became a little wearing.

The one really strong story in the book is The Ghosts of Strangers, a short novel by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - an unexpected find, though from an author I already knew I enjoyed. Many of the other stories are good, though not really memorable. Unfortunately, there's also one story that is simply bad - astoundingly bad. I ended up skimming it, and simply can't understand why it was included in what was otherwise a decent collection. That story by itself (and it's fairly long), brought the anthology down from a 3.5 to a solid 3.

All in all, worth looking into as reading material for daughters, nieces, etc., though some of the stories are on the dark side.

[Sally]

Didn't enjoy as many of the stories as much as I did the previous 2 anthologies. If anything, I think I'll look into Roberson's, Dalkey's, Walton's, and Smith's other books. (----- means didn't read/wasn't interested after first page)

***OO "Kingmaker" - by Nancy Springer
**OOO "A ticket to ride" - by Nancy Farmer
----- "A thousand tails" - by Christopher Barzak
***OO "All under heaven" - by Chris Roberson
----- "Singing on a star" - by Ellen Klages
***OO "Egg magic" - by Louise Marley
****O "Flatland" - by Kara Dalkey
----- "Dolly the dog-soldier" - by Candas Jane Dorsey
----- "Ferryman" - by Margo Lanagan
----- "The ghosts of strangers" - by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
***** "Three twilight tales" - by Jo Walton
**OOO "The dignity he's due" - by Carol Emshwiller
----- "Power and magic" - by Marly Youmans
****O "Court ship" - by Sherwood Smith
*OOOO "Little Red" - by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple
*OOOO "The myth of Fenix" - by Laurel Winter
*OOOO "Fear and loathing in Lalanna" - by Nick O'Donohoe
----- "Bonechewer's legacy" - by Clare Bell
----- "Something worth doing" - by Elizabeth E. Wein

[Sbuchler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy Anthology

This is yet another brilliant anthology from Firebird press. I'm not sure why the stories are classified as young adult as some of the stories are quite dark. There were only two that I was disappointed in, the rest I either liked or really loved, especially:

"Fear and Loathing in Lalanna" by Nick O'Donohoe- which is a fantasy re-envisioning of _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_ which utterly charmed me with its unique perspective.

"Flatland" by Kara Dalkey- a futuristic take on cubical life, which resonated very much with my own life and questions of work-life balance.

"Something Worth Doing" by Elizabeth E. Wein - set in World War 2 England, a girl pretends to be her brother to become a fighter pilot.

"Egg Magic" by Louise Marley - which both made me really curious to try cooking with freshly laid eggs, and was an uplifting twist on the trope "I'm secretly a princess and some day my real parents will come rescue me".

"Courtship" by Sherwood Smith - a lighthearted romp where a prince meets a sailor girl and sparks fly.

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Read and rated exclusively for Sherwood Smith's Courtship, a short story that is a sequel to her ever lovely Crown Duel. It references some events of Vidanric's father's youth during the Pirate Wars and features Mel and Danric's son Alaeric. Good times and always a treat to spend time in this world!

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't such a brilliant collection as the previous two, I felt. The only thing which really leapt out at me was Nina Kiriki Hoffman's story about the dragon/human village -- I flipped back through that one after I finished it and was surprised that it was as short as it was, since it felt both complete in itself and like a hefty chunk of a novel. I do wish there were more of it!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent anthology, but not as good as the others in the series. I skipped about half the tales after the first page or so, read the other half. But I still recommend it, as whatever your preference may be, you'll probably find a tale to suit you.

[Sherwood Smith]

I have a story in this anthology. I wasn't given a chance to rewrite it, so I apologize for the horrible typo at the very end. The word is supposed to be "cove"

This story is a sequel to Crown Duel.

[Nancy O'Toole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collections are tricky. All too often, even when the stories are all written by the same author, I find myself only liking half of the offerings. The Firebird anthologies, edited by Sharyn November, stand out from because the stories are more consistently good, and the authors are always great picks. I’ve had such good experiences with the first two anthologies (Firebirds, and Firebirds Rising) that I went out and grabbed the third volume and soon as I heard it was on the shelf at Borders, despite the fact that I was not familiar with a lot of the authors. Although I didn’t like it as much as Firebirds Rising, I would say that it’s even better than Firebirds. The first thing I noticed was that the covered advertised it as an anthology of “speculative fiction” instead of fantasy and science fiction (or science fiction and fantasy, as Firebirds Rising advertised). This opens up new areas of stories that may be magical, but don’t fall into the traditional categories of science fiction, or fantasy. Another difference from past anthologies is there are fantastic illustrations by Mike Dringenberg at the beginning of each tale. That, and one of the short stories isn’t a short at all, it’s a full size novella.

For a full listing of all of the stories, and a review of each, please continue:


Kingmaker by Nancy Springer- The first story is about a princess has the skills of a leader, but will not inherit due to her gender. At fifteen, she spends a lot of her time solving petty disputes among her subjects, but is frustrated at the thought of her selfish brother inheriting. Kingmaker is a well written short story that stars a likeable and relatable protagonist. By the end of the story, it feels like her tale is not quite done. I’d be interested to see if Nancy Springer takes the characters anywhere else.

A Ticket to Ride by Nancy Farmer- A short story about a young troubled boy named Jason who witnesses the death of a homeless man and finds himself transported to a magical train which takes him into the past of the recently deceased man. I found this story to have a great flow to it’s writing, and it was very interesting to watch Jason travel into the past. The ending was also quite satisfying.

A Thousand Tailsby Christopher Bazark- The third story in this collection takes us to Japan, where we meet a girl who believes she is actually a kitsune, a fox girl. This is a story that feels more “speculative fiction” than traditional fantasy, as anything “magical” takes a back seat to the story of Midori and her family. The Japanese setting is really well developed. When you read in the author’s note that Christopher Bazark was inspired by his experiences in Japan, it makes sense.

All Under Heavenby Chris Roberson. A Chinese inspired sci-fi story about a young boy going fishing with his grandmother. This story portrays the conflict that exists between generations very well, and the setting, which we only get a glimpse of, seems very interesting. I know that the author has written multiple stories about this universe and I would like to read more.

Singing on a Starby Ellen Klages. At five years old, the protagonist of Singing on a Star is the youngest out of any the narrators in the collection. In the story, she visits a friend, who takes her to a magical world that she can access through her closet while a certain song off of a record is playing. Only there’s something wrong about the world they encounter. Ellen Klages does a great job of writing convincingly from such a young age, and also in dealing with a very disturbing subject, child molestation, in the most delicate way possible. I was very impressed with this story.

Egg Magicby Louise Marley. Teenager Tory spends most of her time taking care of her chickens, and dreaming of the day that her mother, who abandoned her at a young age, will come back for her. Only there’s a bit of magic to be found here. One of the chickens lay special eggs. When hatched, there are beautiful pictures painted on the inside. And her mother… well you find out in the end. As someone who is so not a farm girl, I was impressed at how well Louise Marley made something as ordinary as chickens seem magical. I also liked the human aspect of this story, which comes out when the main character has to deal with her stepmother and step family.

Flatland by Kara Dalkey. Kara Dalkey’s story Hives was my favorite story out of Firebirds Rising, so I was really looking forward to her contribution to this collection, which ended up being another favorite of mind. It tells a story of a not so far off future where people are so invested in their career that it becomes their lives. The professional atmosphere of work makes it impossible to have a real relationship with another human being, and people who put family over possessions are looked down upon. This was a really well written story with great characters and setting. I feel as if I could learn a lot about writing sci-fi from reading Dalkey’s short stories.

Dolly the Dog-Soldier by Candas Jane Dorsey. Okay, it’s not that I felt that this sci-fi short story about a dog turned assassin was poorly written, it’s just that it didn’t suit me. I didn’t like the structure of it, and I had problems connecting with the characters. Sorry, just not for me.

Ferryman by Margo Lanagan. A great little story about a girl who’s father’s job is to ferry the dead into the afterlife. I liked the working class atmosphere depicted in this story, and really felt for the characters.

The Ghosts of Strangers by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. This is the novella of the book. The Ghost of Strangers tells about a girl named Elexa who discovers that she can capture the ghosts of humans and feed them to dragons. Yep, the concept is a little strange but it’s executed quite well. I was impressed at the originality of this little piece. The story and the setting were quite different than anything I’m used to seeing in fantasy. I felt the novella length felt a little awkward at times (probably would have been better as a full length novel) but the story was, on the whole, a satisfying read.

Three Twilight Tales by Jo Walton. Written in the style of traditional fairy tales, Three Twilight Tales can be read as three separate tales, or three parts of one story. The stories were a lot of fun to read and I really liked how they ended.

The Dignity He’s Due by Carol Ernshwiller. To be honest, I couldn’t find the fantasy in this story. It tells about a girl and a boy who live the lives of homeless vagabonds, pulled from town to town by their mother, who believes the boy to secretly be a king. The story tells what happens when they finally convince the mother to stop for a little while. Although the storyline seems unlikely, there’s nothing all that fantastical about it. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a really well written story that was a complete joy to read. I found myself feeling so bad for our protagonist and her bother, and I like how the author wove in sections of poetry about a king into the narrative.

Power and Magic by Marly Youmans. In this story, the fantasy elements are very subtle, as they mainly take place during a magic show, hosting by a young man that our sassy main character may or may not care about. A nice little story with some good humor and romance.

Court Ship by Sherwood Smith. Taking place in the same world as Crown Duel, Court Ship tells about Raec, and his quest to find true love before he has to deal with the pressures of marriage. Our protagonist is a sailor named Risa, who I found very easy to relate to. This is a great story for someone looking for a great mixture of action, humor, and romance. It made me want to go back and re-read Crown Duel.

Little Red by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. A short story that takes the myth or Little Red Riding Hood and uses is to explore the psyche of an abused young woman. It’s a little tricky to read at times, but emotionally, quite powerful.

The Myth of the Fenix by Laurel Winter. Apparently stories that come in lists just don’t work for me (Dolly the Dog-Soldier had a very similar style) as I had a hard time getting into this and did not find it to be very memorable. It was not a bad story, but just not to my tastes.

Fear and Loathing in Lalanna by Nick O’Donohoe. What would happen if you take the off the wall style of Fear and Loathing and Las Vegas and put it in a traditional fantasy setting? The result is laugh out loud funny, filled with magical drug use and two very unlikely heroes. This story has a very different tone then the rest of the book, making it really stand out.

Bonechewer’s Legacy by Chare Bell. This story tells about Ratha, a leader of a feline clan, who is disturbed when she finds that she keeps on seeing a ghost from her past. This story takes place in an already established series and, as can happen in this situation, I found that I had problems getting into it. I suspect that if I was familiar with the other books, I would connect better with the story. It picked up at the end, but the beginning seemed to drag a lot.

Something Worth Doing by Elizabeth Wein. The book ends with a story about a fighter pilot in World War II. Our heroine, Theo, disguises herself as her deceased older brother so she can get a chance to fly. This story didn’t seem to have much fantasy to it at all. It was more historical fiction. Still, I found that I enjoyed Theo’s tale a lot. The aerial fighting scenes were particularly exciting.

In conclusion, Firebirds Soaring is a great collection of great stories, with really only a handful I could not connect with. Although it’s marked “young adult” the stories here have the potential to connect with an adult audience as well. I do hope that Sharyn November does to decide to compile another collection like this. My one request is that she doesn’t make us wait three years before we get to see another collection again!

[Millenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up soley for the Lanagan story. But one thing leads to another, so I ended up reading quite a few...

Here is what I thought about the ones I read:

- Kingmaker by Nancy Springer: This one's a familiar story about a princess's coming-of-age, but it's a very good one too: it manages to develop an interesting storyline AND present a vivid world in a mere (15, was it?) pages. The ending was a little too convenient/mystical for my tastes through.

- A Ticket to Ride by Nancy Farmer - This one delighted the heck out of me. It's an inventive story about a boy finding a place to belong.

- A Thousand Tails by Chrisopher Bazark - I liked the Japanese mythology in this one. We need more non-Western fantasy in YA!

- Flatland by Kara Dalkey: FLATLAND is a good intro to the ideas of The World is Flat, but I didn't finish it because the concept was already familiar to me.

- Ferryman by Margo Lanagan: One of the main things I love about Margo Lanagan's stories are their unique premises that, in one precise blow, unearth an abundance of truths about the human experience. At first glance, FERRYMAN, which is about a father and daughter who ferry souls across the river Styx, seems a simple story that puts a "twist" on the original myth. However, when reread, it proves to be a goldmine of emotions and themes: it's an exploration of love, greif, acceptance, responsibility, and even coming-of-age. Brilliant.

- Three Twilight Tales by Jo Walton: A good fairytale warms the listener up like apple cider. That's exactly what these three did to me.

- The Dignity He's Due by Carol Emshwiller: Cool idea, but I found it overlong with a weak ending, and the vague setting frustrated me.

- Little Red by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple: LITTLE RED tries to be Dark and Tragic but comes across as Confusing and Forgettable.

- The Myth of Fenix - Very short and very weird story about reinventing the self.

- Something Worth Doing by Elizabeth Wein: This is yet another "girl dresses as a boy to join the army" story, but the reason it's so memorable is because of the main character's motivation. Theo's brother died in an arbitrary, anticlimatic way just before joining the army in WWII England, so Theo takes his identity and enlists to make sure he didn't die without accomplishing something. In the end, it's simply a great, satisfying story with exciting action and spot-on details.

UPDATE: If you want to see more of Theo, read Code Name Verity. I mean, you should read it for other reasons as well, it's an amazingly written book, but come on! It's Theo! READ IT!

--------------

All in all, I'm impressed! This anthology is a great opportunity for readers to explore the works of many authors and see which ones are for them. I'm impressed by the shorts here of auhors I already love, and will need check out other stuff of others such as Elizabeth Wein, Jo Walton, and Nancy Springer in the future...

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shall be a brief review in which I simply give a star amount to each story in the anthology and a comment about what I liked or didn't like.
Nancy Springer, "Kingmaker"- 3 stars
Didn't love it, didn't hate it, but it felt kind of rushed.
Nancy Farmer, "A Ticket to Ride"- 2 stars
I just really didn't like this one, and the main character irked me.
Christopher Barzak "A Thousand Tails"- 4 stars
The protagonist's voice was great and the setting well realized.
Chris Robertson "All Under Heaven"- 4 stars
I loved the world. Very unique.
Ellen Klages "Singing on a Star"- 5 stars
Haunting story with a dreamlike, creepy feel.
Louise Marley "Egg Magic"- 4 stars
Great twist on the whole magical chickens thing.
Kara Dalkey "Flatland"- 5 stars
Fabulous protagonist and a great message about career, technology, and living life to the fullest.
Candas Jane Dorsey "Dolly the Dog-Soldier"- 1 star
I dislike dog stories, especially weird sci-fi ones.
Margo Lanagan "Ferryman" - 5 stars
I'd read this one before in Yellowcake, but it felt just as fresh and creepy. I love the take on the myth of Charon.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman "The Ghosts of Strangers"-4 stars
Enjoyable dragon story, but it needed to be longer to fully develop the dragonlore.
Jo Walton "Three Twilight Tales"- 5 stars
Loved the fairy tale atmosphere and the certain character who bound three seemingly disconnected flash fictions together.
Carol Emshwiller "The Dignity He's Due"- 3 stars
I enjoyed it but it didn't feel like it belonged in this anthology.
Marly Youmans "Power and Magic"- 4 stars
The setting and the protagonist elevated a mediocre plot.
Sherwood Smith "Court Ship"-2 stars
I was completely lost. I think you have to read the Court Duel books to enjoy it, and while I want to read them I haven't gotten around to it yet
Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple "Little Red"- 2 stars
Far too dark for my taste.
Laurel Winter "The Myth of Fenix"- 1 star
Didn't like the format or the plot.
Nick O'Donohoe "Fear and Loathing in Lalanna"-4 star
Humorous tone different than that of the other stories. The satire and the fantasy world worked well together.
Clare Bell "Bonechewer's Legacy"- 0 stars.
I was very, very, very bored and didn't like the world or the characters. The worst of the collection.
Elizabeth E. Wein "Something Worth Doing"- 5 stars
I tracked down the book for this story and it did not disappoint. Theo was a great narrator, and I loved the flight sequences. One of my favorite stories in the anthology.
Candy rating: chocolate samplers

[Maureen E · Rating 3 out of 5]

ed. by Sharyn November

Yes, I skipped the second one. It was semi-accidental. I ordered it through ILL and they accidentally sent me the first one. Which was fine. I re-read it. I enjoyed it. Then I ordered the third one because I had some sort of weird prejudice against the second one at that point. I know this is ridiculous, and I will read it. Eventually.

Anyway. My weird tics aside, I enjoy this anthology series. It feels much more solid to me than the Windling/Datlow anthologies tend to be, which I appreciate. And reading the list of authors who've contributed something is delicious.

Notes:

* "Kingmaker" by Nancy Springer. Wow, great story. An interesting premise, wonderful characters, and a bittersweet tone, all in twenty pages. That's impressive.

* "Singing on a Star" by Ellen Klages was very haunting. It's hard to describe exactly, but it's definitely one of the stories that stuck with me.

* "Ferryman" by Margo Lanagan. Told from the point of view of Charon's daughter. If that doesn't get you, nothing will. Plus, Margo Lanagan!

* "Three Twilight Tales" by Jo Walton is (are?) just beautiful. They read like a prose poem to me, with that same sense of not being able to understand everything that poetry gives me.

* "Power and Magic" by Marly Youmans was unusual and lovely. The tone was just right for the story and India has such a great voice.

* "Court Ship" by Sherwood Smith continues the story of Mel's family, this time focusing on her son. I liked it basically for that reason. The heroine was nice too, but...yeah, basically for Raec. It did give a great insight into some of the backstory I didn't know about.

* "Fear and Loathing in Lalanna" by Nick O'Donohoe has my vote as the funniest story in the whole thing.

* And, rounding up the collection, Elizabeth Wein's "Something Worth Doing" managed to tell a story of a WWII woman pilot without making me say, "Like THAT would ever happen," which, given the territory she's working with, is impressive. But then, it's Elizabeth Wein! (*tries not to fangirl and fails*)

Book source: Inter-library loan

[Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Kingmaker” by Nancy Springer ★★★☆☆

“A Ticket to Ride” by Nancy Farmer ★★★☆☆

“A Thousand Tails” by Christopher Barzak ★★★☆☆
I’ve said before I love things that surprise me, and this did.

“All Under Heaven” by Chris Roberson ★★★☆☆

“Singing on a Star” by Ellen Klages ★★☆☆☆

“Egg Magic” Louise Marley ★☆☆☆☆

“Flatland” by Kara Dalkey ★★★★☆
I recommend this story to anyone and everyone. Well, except young children.

“Dolly the Dog-Soldier” by Candas Jane Dorsey ★★☆☆☆
This one confused me endlessly and left me that way.

“Ferryman” by Margo Lanagan ★★☆☆☆

“The Ghosts of Strangers” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman ★★★★☆

“Three Twilight Tales” by Jo Walton ★★☆☆☆

“The Dignity He’s Due” by Carol Emshwiller ★★★☆☆

“Power and Magic” by Marly Youmans ★★★☆☆

“Court Ship” by Sherwood Smith ★★★★☆
From the Crown & Court world which I now must read more of.

“Little Red" by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple ★☆☆☆☆
Confusing and rather (very) disturbing…

“The Myth of Fenix" by Laurel Winter ★★★☆☆

"Fear and Loathing in Lalanna" by Nick O'Donohoe ★★★☆☆

“Bonechewer's Legacy" by Clare Bell ★★★☆☆
From The Named world, but I don’t feel intrigued enough to read it.

"Something Worth Doing" by Elizabeth E. Wein ★★★★★
Possibly my most favorite short-story ever.

(March 2014, I am eternally grateful to this anthology for introducing me to the works of Elizabeth Wein, and probably Sherwood Smith.)

[Rugg Ruggedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collections may be some of my favorite ways to discover new authors, and the Firebird series may be in a league of their own, when it comes to gathering amazing authors and solid stories.
In this,the third Firebird collection, I had chance to learn lessons as a fox spirit and on a very interesting train ride. I spent a lazy southern summer afternoon waiting for magic that I could see, and experiencing magic that only the heart can understand. I talked to dragons and guided the dead home, crossed oceans in a smugglers ship and spent time learning the politics of foreign courts. I flew in a Spitfire over the British Isles, and lived life as prehistoric big cat. My tour guide(eidtor) for all this was the amazing Sharyn November. She has also edited the two volumes before this and is the senior editor for Viking childrens books and is editorial director of Firebird books. The last volume in this series was up for the World Fantasy award in the anthology catagory.
The quality of the stories here varies from great to very good. The authors are all award winning and prolific.(if you find one you like there is plenty out there to keep your interest for probably years to come) There are illustration, small ones that give you quick starts to each storuy, done by Mike Dringenberg. Mike was in on the creation of Sandman the comic series with Neil Gaiman.
It's a very satisfying thing,in this world of continuity and multi-volume tomes to be able to sit down and read a quick tale that might tease your appetite but leaves you with a story told.

[Meran · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, the back cover became unglued. I have PVA though and am not afraid to repair a book :D

Overall, I gave the book 4.4 stars. See below for the stories and the stars I gave them.

Kingmaker by Nancy Springer - 4.5 stars

Ticket to Ride by Nancy Farmer - simply written, good story - 4 stars

A Thousand Tails by Christopher Barzack - excellent plot, excellent storytelling - 5 stars

All Under Heaven by Chris Roberson - 3.5 stars

Singing on a Star by Ellen Klages - subtly scary, yet mystical and nostalgic-sweet - 5 stars

Egg Magic by Louise Marley - 4 stars

Flatland by Kara Dalkey - 4 stars

Dolly the Dog Soldier by Candas Jane Dorsey - 4.5 stars

Ferryman by Margo Lanagan - 4.5 stars

The Ghosts of Strangers by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - 4 stars

Three Twilight Tales by Jo Walton - 5 stars

The Dignity He's Due by Carol Emshwiller - 4.5 stars

Power of Magic by Marly Youmans - 5 stars

Court Ship by Sherwood Smith - 4.5 stars

Little Red by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple - dark! - 5 stars

The Myth of Fenix by Laurel Winter - 4 stars

Fear and Loathing in Lahanna by Nick O'Donohoe - funny!! - 4 stars

Bonechewer's Legacy by Clare Bell - 3.5 stars

Something Worth Doing by Elizabeth Wein - I don't usually like war stories, but this one was a bit unusual - 5 stars

This book is definitely recommended. I'll be looking for the others in the series.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a review for Something Worth Doing by Elizabeth Wein.

I read the first two pages of the story and then raged to my sisters about inaccuracy.

"See," I said, "look right here. It says that Kim Lyons was killed by a bus, but we all know that in CNV it says that he crashed his plane and was incinerated in the petrol." My sisters didn't remember that bit of the story. They aren't CNV fanatics like me.

I was so angry that she got it wrong that it sort of clouded my opinion. I was pretty sure that if she messed up that badly the story couldn't be any good.

It was good, but not as good as CNV. That was all right. I wasn't expecting it to compare anyway.

And then, all of a sudden it hit me. I was reading the first meeting between Maddie and Theo in CNV again, and I realized that Theo recognized Maddie. It wasn't because she knew that Maddie was bringing in the Lizzie; it was because she knew her from their time at Maidsend.

No wonder the vicar's 'son' never danced.

No wonder, indeed.


My prettiest apologies to Elizabeth Wein for mistrusting her. It won't happen again.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

November's anthologies are always a nice mix of speculative fiction -- and I love that you get such a range of stories. These are intended to be for a YA audience, if I'm not mistaken, but a couple of them seemed out of place: Yolen's "Little Red" was VERY dark (so much so that I was surprised it was by Yolen), and "Fear and Loathing..." (obviously a tribute to Hunter S. Thompson) while funny would probably pass right over the heads of most YA readers. Many of the stories featured female protagonists (YAY!); most of the stories were fairly typical in structure, but a few were more experimental in nature ("Fenix"). A couple of them were based on the worlds from other novels written by the authors, so if you hadn't read the novels, you were kind of lost ("Bonechewer's Legacy"). Here are the ones that really stood out for me: "Swinging on a Star" (and the author's note is great too!); "Ferryman"; "Three Twilight Tales" ((gorgeous traditional fantasy); "Power and Magic."

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally put my school readings aside for a moment to finish this anthology. The semester is almost over! And thank goodness, because my to-read pile has become a massive to-read shelf. Homework killed me this semester. But anyway...

I loved the previous two Firebird anthologies, so I knew going in that I would probably love this one as well. Like all short story collections you've got a a mix of awesome stories and some blah stories. All of the stories I disliked were stories that didn't fit the Firebird theme - that theme is sci-fi and fantasy. It says right on the front flap - "sci-fi and fantasy" - so when a bland contemporary story popped up I was like "wtf, man." I'm not sure why those stories were picked, but the others, the ones that stayed true to the Firebird theme, made up for the crap stories.

If you like anthologies and like fantasy, I suggest checking out all three Firebird collections.

P.S. Dear Puffin, please make more Firebirds books.

[Renee Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection, mostly geared toward a young adult audience but by no means restricted to it. I loved some of these stories, liked most of them, and was confused by a handful or so (mostly because there are a couple where I have no idea what the author's getting at or even what happens in the story, and a couple others that I wouldn't consider "speculative fiction" by any reasonable definition).

Favorites, in no particular order, were "Flatland" by Kara Dalkey, "Ferryman" by Margo Lanagan, "The Ghosts of Strangers" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, "Bonechewer's Legacy" by Clare Bell, and (even though I would call it historical fiction at best) "Something Worth Doing" by Elizabeth E. Wein.

[OvercommuniKate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first story, Kingmaker by Nancy Springer, and Court Ship by Sherwood Smith. I've loved every short story from Smith but have yet to like one of her novels.

The Ghosts of Strangers by Nina Kiriki Hoffman was interesting but went nowhere. The author's note for Signing on a Star by Ellen Klages was more interesting than the actual story. I don't understand how Something Worth Doing by Elizabeth Wein counts as speculative fiction. Add that up and I don't think the editor did a great job. Especially because the author's note for Three Twilight Tales by Jo Walton says it was the editor's idea to split the stories to make them longer. Instead, the author should have spent longer on the concept of making a man from moonlight.

So 2 out of 19.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found it in the teens section. Apparently it's the third Firebirds anthology. I feel the need to check out the first two. If you like entertaining, fun short stories, this is totally the way to go. They have some really cool authors in this anthology including Nancy Farmer, who is so neat! (She wrote the Sea of Trolls trilogy that I read last summer and loved.) Lots of really fanciful, whispy stories. But it was really well balanced with some darker ones, and some that even had some social themes. I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I read it, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the others.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. I found this anthology so much more enjoyable than the previous two incarnations. Which I am surprised by as the previous two anthologies contained stories by authors I LOVE (Tamora Pierce, Charles de Lint, Jane Yolen etc.)and this one was mainly authors I had no experience with.

Found the overall writing more mature (but not too mature!) and for the most part very enjoyable. The only story I did not find interesting and enjoyable was Bonechewer's Legacy. Ugh, definitely going to have to "not interested" the recommendation from Goodreads to read that series. Beyond that one blip in the "dislike" radar I very much enjoyed this compilation.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all collections of this type, this book is a bit of a mixed bag. There's an Elizabeth Wein story about a female fighter pilot in WWII, so it's definitely worth picking up, but there are also slower stories with morals much less to my taste. Still, there may or may not be a kitsune in one of these stories. There's definitely a girl who feeds ghosts to dragons and a boy who accidentally gets a jump start on the afterlife by switching places with a dying homeless man. Some incredibly creative people contributed stories to this book. I recommend it to readers who enjoy science fiction and fantasy.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great set of stories, I really enjoyed them. The ones at the beginning were ok, as they were more traditional fantasy, but as the book progressed, the stories got more moving and more interesting. I highly recommend this book, but I think that if you don't like a story to start off with, then skip and move to the next one. That is the nice part of an anthology. My favorites were: The Dignity He's Due, Court Ship, Little Red, and Something Worth Doing. Just for these stories alone you should read this. Fabulous.

[Gwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get the chance to finish all the stories before I had to send this book back to the library, but I can't say I was very upset. At halfway through, I'd only found one story I actually liked: "Flatland", and two others I thought were pretty good, "Court Ship" and the novella "The Ghosts of Strangers". The others were either so-so or downright bad. This was deeply disappointing, since the first Firebirds anthology was fantastic. "Flatland" is by itself good enough to merit checking Firebirds Soaring out from the library, but don't waste your money actually buying the entire book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

05/2012 I am not usually a fan of anthologies, finding that liking even one or two stories is rare. The Firebird anthologies are that rare and elusive book; the exceptional anthology. I liked nearly every story in Firebirds Rising, and found some to be exceptional. If you enjoy fantasy, I recommend the Firebird anthologies as both an excellent group of short stories, and a means of discovering new authors.

11/2013 The first Firebird anthology remains my favorite, but I very much enjoy this anthology as well.

[Beth]

I loved reading this. I came across a few authors I'd never read before but enjoyed their story in the anthology -- yay for new authors to look in to! Of course I didn't love every story but that's to be expected. I enjoyed more than I disliked and some were downright fetching [I especially enjoyed "Something worth doing", "Court Ship" and "Egg Magic":] Overall, a very nice collection. The dedication to Lloyd and Janine Alexander was touching.

[Sheila Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firebirds Soaring is a beautiful anthology of speculative fiction. As with all such anthologies, there were some stories I loved, some I liked and others I didn't like as much, but that's a matter of taste, not quality. Firebirds Soaring is quality through and through: from the selection of stories to the design to the decorations by Mike Dringenberg.

Read the entire review

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This particular one did not appeal to me quite as strongly as the first 2, but I think that's a reflection of personal taste, rather than a lowering of quality. This collection always has an all-star line-up, but some of my very favorite authors didn't make it into this installment. I was totally excited about the Nina Kiriki Hoffman Novella and really blown away by several of the stories. Great range!