Children of Magic

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Kerrie L. Hughes (Editor), Brenda Cooper (Contributor)

Seventeen brand-new stories by some of fantasy's most imaginative authors about children born with the gift of magic--whether in our world or in fantastical universes.

These young spell casters use their powers--for good or ill--to transform their worlds to their liking. From a fledgling wizard with political ambitions, to a boy whose touch can end suffering, to the "true" tale of how Da Vinci came by his talents, these are wondrous excursions into both the light and dark sides of magic.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Magic

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Shipofools999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a mix of good and not so good stories. It averages a little lower than other collections I have read lately. I mostly came for the Tanya Huff.

- "Mr. Death Goes to Washington", Alan Dean Foster
- "Nethan’s Magic", Jody Lynn Nye
- "Touching Faith", Alexander B. Potter
- "The Horses of the High Hills", Brenda Cooper
- "An End to All Things", Karina Sumner-Smith
- "After School Specials", Tanya Huff
- "Titan", Sarah A. Hoyt
- "Shades of Truth", Jana Paniccia
- "The Winter of Our Discontent", Nancy Holder
- "The Rustle of Wings", Ruth Stuart
- "Basic Magic", Jean Rabe
- "Fever Waking", Jane Lindskold
- "Starchild Wondersmith", Louise Marley
- "Far from the Tree", Melissa Lee Shaw
- "The Weight of Wishes", Nina Kiriki Hoffman
- "The Trade", Fiona Patton
- "Shahira", Michelle West

[Amélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shahira by Michelle West is about a young woman whose date of birth has design her as one of the children who have to be part of a ritual that will put an end to the Eternal Summer the country is under. She knew all the children except one will have to die during the ritual, but she has to hide the knowledge from the younger ones and comfort them during their travels. This ends with the ritual taking place.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

- "Mr. Death Goes to Washington", Alan Dean Foster
- "Nethan’s Magic", Jody Lynn Nye
- "Touching Faith", Alexander B. Potter
- "The Horses of the High Hills", Brenda Cooper
- "An End to All Things", Karina Sumner-Smith
- "After School Specials", Tanya Huff
- "Titan", Sarah A. Hoyt
- "Shades of Truth", Jana Paniccia
- "The Winter of Our Discontent", Nancy Holder
- "The Rustle of Wings", Ruth Stuart
- "Basic Magic", Jean Rabe
- "Fever Waking", Jane Lindskold
- "Starchild Wondersmith", Louise Marley
- "Far from the Tree", Melissa Lee Shaw
- "The Weight of Wishes", Nina Kiriki Hoffman
- "The Trade", Fiona Patton
- "Shahira", Michelle West

Odd, I remember reading it...though I may have missed the last story or two because I got busy. I remember thinking they were decent stories. Yet, I remember nothing of the stories(which is really odd for me). I might have to reread this sometime.

WooOOOOooOoOOOo...creeeeepy baby on the cover!

No 1/2 star for you because I can't remember you!

[Susan]

Mr. Death Goes to Washington • shortstory by Alan Dean Foster
Nethan's Magic • shortstory by Jody Lynn Nye
Touching Faith • shortstory by Alexander Potter [as by Alexander B. Potter ]
The Horses of the High Hills • shortstory by Brenda Cooper
An End to All Things • shortstory by Karina Sumner-Smith
♦ "After School Specials" by Tanya Huff collected in Finding Magic reread 4/1/2015
Titan • shortstory by Sarah A. Hoyt
Shades of Truth • shortstory by Jana Paniccia
The Winter of Our Discontent • shortstory by Nancy Holder
The Rustle of Wings • shortstory by Ruth Stuart
Basic Magic • shortstory by Jean Rabe
Fever Waking • [The Firekeeper Saga] • shortstory by Jane Lindskold
Starchild Wondersmith • shortstory by Louise Marley
Far From the Tree • novelette by Melissa Lee Shaw
♥ The Weight of Wishes (collected in Permeable Borders) by Nina Kiriki Hoffman RE-read 7/6/2015
The Trade • shortstory by Fiona Patton
Shahira • novelette by Michelle West

[Jessie Radford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an over all good book. You get many different short stories from different authors. The part I like best is that each story is different in it's own way depending on the author so the book remains interesting. While I would never claim that each story is a gem, they each hold their own bit of magic, so I wouldn't recommend skipping any stories. One particular short story left me on the edge of my seat, so now I find myself hunting more works by this author and can only hope they haven't written more with this particular character.

[Bronwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories, effects of having magical talents (or not), on the indevidual and or the family. I enjoyed: the Weight of wishes by Nini Kiriki Hoffman; Nethan's Magic by Jody Lynn Nye; and Starchild Wondersmith by Louise Marley.

[Alesia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely collection of short stories. Some better than others, but worth taking a look.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

[Carlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book to read in between all the series I have going, good break

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars The weight of wishes