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Queen Victoria’s Book Of Spells: An Anthology Of Gaslamp Fantasy (2013)

by Ellen Datlow(Favorite Author)

3.46 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0765332264 (ISBN13: 9780765332264)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Tor

review 1: I really like the first story in this collection (which shares a title of the collection as a whole) and would happily read more related to it. Though I like the narrator more than the subject of narration, but I do like the rational, almost scientific approach to magic that is posited by the story and the adaptation of encryption to a fantasy setting. The second story, "The Fairy Enterprise", was rather a bore, with the main character being so absurdly over-the-top in his villainy and casual disregard for human life that it made the entire story unbelievable. The third selection isn't even a real story and I couldn't find my way into it. I think there are probably other stories in here worth reading, but my current interests are just too far from Victoriana for me to put ... morein the effort to read more at this time. Plus I've had this book out from the library for far too many months. Time to focus on other books and maybe comeback to this when I have the interest in it.
review 2: I think this deserves a 3.5 for overall enjoyment and a 4 for skill. Gaslamp fantasy is such a great genre and I just want to read everything related to the Victorian time period now. I also found this introduction to be just as interesting as some of my favorites in the collection. Some favorites were "the memory book", "the governess", "charged", "we without us were shadows" and my very favorite was "the vital importance of the superficial". So, ultimately it was very well done, I learned quite a lot and have found more than a few new authors to enjoy! less

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