oh, the angst! | Firebirds Rising: An Original Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy ...

A Few Gems That Sparkle Among the Coal | Firebirds Rising: An Original Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy

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	• Firebirds Rising: An Original Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy Firebird, 2006 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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Appealing collection of YA SF and Fantasy

Firebirds Rising is an engaging mix of SF and Fantasy stories aimed at a young adult audience, though quite enjoyable for adults as well.

Two of my favorites are Science Fiction: Carol Emshwiller's "Quill", an oddly old-fashioned, charming yet sad, story of an isolated family and their curious secret; and Kara Dalkey's "Hives", an uncompromising story of teen-aged girls and cliques, exacerbated by near-telepathic phone connections.

Naturally one of the stories I most looked forward to was Kelly Link's "The Wizards of Perfil", and this is indeed a very enjoyable piece, though not as good as her best work. A boy named Onion and his disagreeable cousin Halsa, as well as Halsa's mother and brothers, are fleeing a war that has already their other parents' lives. Money is short, so when a reprensative of the reclusive Wizards of Perfil offers to buy a child, one of them must go. Onion, who may be telepathic, seems a natural candidate to sell to the representative of the reclusive wizards, but somehow Halsa is sold instead. As we expect with Link, the story goes in unexpected directions, telling of both Onion and Halsa and the very reclusive wizards - though I must say the resolution was exactly what I expected. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing.)

I was also delighted to see a story by Emma Bull, with the intriguing title "What Used to Be Good Still Is" (a title actually credited to Elise Matthesen). This is a moving story of a young man in a mining town in Arizona in the 1930s, and his love for a Mexican-American girl, who loves him but loves something else even more.

Patricia A. McKillip contributes another of her stories about a group of painters resembling the Pre-Raphaelites. "Jack O'Lantern" is about a girl struggling with her parents' conventional views of the role of women, particularly upper class women, as her older sister prepares to be married. During the painting of a wedding party portrait she meets a curious local lad, and hears a story about the Jack O'Lantern. Diana Wynne Jones's "I'll Give You My Word" is as clever as we expect from her, about a boy whose younger brother speaks in phrases like "sententious purple coriander". The story concerns the younger boy's trouble at school, and the problems the whole family encounters when the mother takes a book promotion trip. Ellen Klages's "In the House of the Seven Librarians" is purely charming, about a child growing up in a shuttered old-fashioned library.

And there are plenty further fine stories here, from names I expected to see like Charles de Lint and Tamora Pierce, and from perhaps surprising names like Alan Dean Foster. I enjoyed the anthology throughout. If I had a complaint, it would be that perhaps a few too many stories seem to play things just a bit safe. (With exceptions, such as Dalkey's "Hives" and Francesca Lia Block's "Blood Roses".) I would attribute that to the YA nature of the book - I suspect I should, indeed - but we certainly have plenty of examples of YA fiction that doesn't play safe. That said, this is a fine book, and it does a fine job of presenting interesting new stories, both SF and Fantasy, that will appeal to all readers.

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oh, the angst!

The jacket blurbs and the reviews fail to indicate an important fact: every story in this book is about a disaffected teenager. Every single one of them. Disaffected six-inch-tall teenagers. Disaffected genetically modified teenagers. Disaffected Victorian teenagers. Disaffected teenagers raised by feral librarians. Magical or mundane, ten or eighteen, they're all disaffected, and they all learn pithy lessons about finding acceptance while staying true to themselves.

The individual stories aren't bad at all; Kelly Link and Ellen Klages make particularly solid contributions. If I were still a disaffected teenager, however, I'd throw this heavy-handed, preachy anthology right out the window.

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A Few Gems That Sparkle Among the Coal

This anthology follows in the footsteps of the original 'Firebirds' collection: A few brilliant stories among the padding of watered down sub-fare from famous names. In all honesty many of these stories would never have seen print without the famous name of the author being used on the cover to promote the book. A shame, since the premise of the anthology delights me.

I *am* very glad I read this book, though, especially for the sake of two stories I very much enjoyed:

'In the House of the Seven Librarians' by Ellen Klages is my favorite story, and worth the price of the book alone! This story is about a young girl named Dinsy who is raised by seven 'feral librarians' in an old library building. This book is a paean to old libraries and classics of literature. Any lover of books and reading will thrill to this book. For those of us who remember the old-style libraries with card catalogs, it is a veritable love song. For all book lovers, it's a treasure to love and cherish.

'Hives' by Kara Dalkey is a science fiction story about a future where technology can telepathically link minds, and teen girls use this to keep themselves in constant contact with their groups of friends, or 'hives'. But what happens when the girls get 'cut' from the network of their hive? Why does the sudden silence in their minds cause them to kill themselves? This story takes a science fiction approach to the importance of female friendships, and how necessary and addictive they can become. As Peter S. Beagle said in his novel 'Tamsin', "When you're 14 years old you're not yourself, you are your friends. You forget that when you grow up."

There were two other stories that I did enjoy reading. 'The Real Thing' by Alison Goodman was another sci-fi story exploring a future where genetic enhancement is prevalent, and the prejudice between those who are 'comp' made and those whose parents let nature take its course. The story is taken from a novel by the author, so it does feel a bit like a chapter out of a larger novel. That said, I really enjoyed this story and plan to track down the source novel it came from. An interesting story that made me think, as all good sci-fi does (I loathe the modern sci-fi movie cliche that sci-fi is only good for loud explosions).

'The House on the Planet' by Tanith Lee explores three young women living in the same house over 100 years' time on a colonized alien planet in the future. The subtle beauty of this story, of the alien landscape and how its birds and creatures speak to and inspire these women over many generations was inspiring. The end is a surprise, but indeed says a lot about the nature of 'humanity'. A beautiful story I'm glad I read.

Of the other stories, many were sub-par efforts on behalf of famous writers. Many were out-takes from other books or story universes, which really didn't work for anyone unfamiliar with the source material. Regardless, many of the stories felt like watered-down pap, very 'expurgated for children.' I always hated reading this kind of stuff as a teen.

On the other side, there were several stories that had a chilling amount of violence that I wouldn't feel comfortable with in an adult novel not sold in a horror section. I suppose it is a sad indictment of our culture, that violence is seen as perfectly natural for children and teens to view. There's a vengeful goddess hunting down and killing a pack of teens for trying to kill one of her followers ('Huntress' by Tamora Pierce). For the life of me I'm not sure what the point of that one was other than to be shocked by the violence. In 'I'll Give You My Word' by Diana Wynne Jones a group of female domestics turn out to be witches out to kill the mother of a family and take it over. There's so many misogynistic stereotypes here I don't know where to start. I'm sick of all this 'Hand That Rocks The Cradle' excrement that female domestics are all psychopaths. And all witches are evil murderers - how very Brothers Grimm. Can we get away from these stereotypes in the 21st century, please? Is that too much to ask? But the worst by far was 'Quill' by Carol Emshwiller. I don't know about you, but stories where teen girls are abducted by their fathers so they can rape and impregnate them just sicken me. This is a young adult story? It's like Stephen King at his goriest. *shudder*

Under the 'violence' heading are 'Perception' by Alan Dean Foster and 'What Used To Be Good Still Is' by Emma Bull, both stories where saintly females sacrifice their lives for the sakes of the unknowing and unappreciative. The 'virgin saint' stereotype of Victorian times. Can girls have heroines in their books who are not victims or self-sacrificing martyrs? Is that too much to ask?

That said, I am glad I read this book for the four stories I enjoyed. They made the book worth it. I just wish the collection was a little more even in quality. Alas, that's usually the case with multi-author story collections.

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Original sci-fi stories

Written by a number of well known writers of science fiction and fantasy, these are sories that are well-written and very interesting. It's a good book to have handy when you have only a short time to read and want something you can finish quickly. I recommend it.

Charles de Lint. Alan Dean Foster. Diana Wynne Jones. Kelly Link. Patricia A. McKillip. Tamora Pierce. These are just a few of the acclaimed and bestselling authors who have contributed original stories to Firebirds Rising, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning anthology Firebirds.

This collection takes readers from deep space to Faerie to just around the corner. It is full of magic, humor, adventure, and?best of all?the unexpected. The one thing readers can count on is marvelous writing. Firebirds Rising proves once again that Firebird is more than an imprint?it is a gathering place for writers and readers of speculative fiction from teenage to adult, from the United States to Europe, Asia, and beyond.

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reviews: page 1, 2