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"Sirens" (edited by Rhonda Parrish)(2016)
Jul. 25th, 2016 09:59 pm Anthologies are always tricky to rate and review, simply because it is not one story, it is (in this case) 16. Overall, I liked the book. I'm not entirely sure I want to buy a dead-tree version (I bought it on Kindle when it first came out); I'm leaning toward yes, but it's not a strong yes. If I weren't trying to whittle down my ridiculously large library, I more certainly would.
Snapshort reviews of each story.
"Siren Seeking" (Kelly Sandoval): Very enjoyable, it seems like it would be a good story to flesh out. I would love to see more of Thelia.
"The Fisherman and the Golem" (Amanda Kespohl): Another story I greatly enjoyed. It took a few pages for it to click what the deal was with Lucette, but I didn't see who she really was until it was too late. Well done.
"We Are Sirens" (L.S. Johnson) was fantastic. It was an excellent take on "what if the ancient Sirens were still around."
"Moth to an Old Flame" (Pat Flewwelling): Very enjoyable, and a different interpretation on what would it be like if the ancient gods were still around and up to their old tricks. The last line was a bit of a groaner, though.
"The Bounty" (Gabriel F. Cuellar): The unnamed main character was excellent, as was the story itself, and I would love to see more of her. Again, an excellent "What if?" story, and the answer is one of those "Of course!" things.
"The Dolphin Riders" (Randall G. Arnold) was rather disappointing. It wasn't a *bad* story, it just felt kind of flat. I don't think it was the writing, I just think the whole premise and setting just sealed the story's fate for me.
"Is This Seat Taken" (Michael Leonberger) was an excellent suspense story in the Hitchcockian tradition. Even though by the time the story is almost done, you know where it's going, but you still can't look away.
"Nautilus" (V.V. LeSann): Not bad. This is one of the more different stories, in that it's a science fiction tale set in the heart of the galaxy, but it held true to the theme of "sirens-but-not-necessarily-sirens" that's the book's premise. Naut is a different character, but one that you look at and think, "Yeah, that's how humans would treat him," which made him a sympathetic character. Which makes what happens even more surprising.
"Siren's Odyssey" (Tamsin Showbrook) was a very enjoyable read, but this story was also a thematic stretch. The setting was very well developed, as were the characters. The tag-team PoV narration was very well done. I finished it wanting to know what happens next with Alice and Hanna.
"Safe Waters" (Simon Kevin): Again, a thematic stretch (unless you include mermaids in your definition of "sirens"), but other than that it was a very enjoyable story. And, to be honest, I don't think I would have made a different decision than Lina did.
"Notefisher" (Cat McDonald) is the only story out of the collection that I didn't like. I think a lot of it was its heavy reliance on acid, and that was too much for me to overcome with the story that was told.
"Experience" (Sandra Wickham) was, up until the very end, a very enjoyable story. The finale was a let-down, as it seemed very deus-ex-machina. But other than that, it was very good.
"Threshold" (K.T. Ivanrest) was, again, not a bad story. I couldn't see the connection to the book's theme, which distracted greatly and downgraded it a notch for me. All in all, it was okay.
"The Fisherman's Catch" (Adam L. Bealby) is an old-school horror story that was told very well, right down to the requisite twist ending.
"One More Song" (Eliza Chan) is far and away my favourite story in this book. Basically a variation of the hard-boiled detective story, not only are the characters fantastic (especially Mira, the main character), but the world is incredibly developed and left me wanting more. A lot more. As in "I would literally pay real money for a book of these stories."
"Homecoming" (Tabitha Lord) is a retelling of the return of Odysseus, from Penelope's point of view Not a bad story, but not particularly memorable, either.
Snapshort reviews of each story.
"Siren Seeking" (Kelly Sandoval): Very enjoyable, it seems like it would be a good story to flesh out. I would love to see more of Thelia.
"The Fisherman and the Golem" (Amanda Kespohl): Another story I greatly enjoyed. It took a few pages for it to click what the deal was with Lucette, but I didn't see who she really was until it was too late. Well done.
"We Are Sirens" (L.S. Johnson) was fantastic. It was an excellent take on "what if the ancient Sirens were still around."
"Moth to an Old Flame" (Pat Flewwelling): Very enjoyable, and a different interpretation on what would it be like if the ancient gods were still around and up to their old tricks. The last line was a bit of a groaner, though.
"The Bounty" (Gabriel F. Cuellar): The unnamed main character was excellent, as was the story itself, and I would love to see more of her. Again, an excellent "What if?" story, and the answer is one of those "Of course!" things.
"The Dolphin Riders" (Randall G. Arnold) was rather disappointing. It wasn't a *bad* story, it just felt kind of flat. I don't think it was the writing, I just think the whole premise and setting just sealed the story's fate for me.
"Is This Seat Taken" (Michael Leonberger) was an excellent suspense story in the Hitchcockian tradition. Even though by the time the story is almost done, you know where it's going, but you still can't look away.
"Nautilus" (V.V. LeSann): Not bad. This is one of the more different stories, in that it's a science fiction tale set in the heart of the galaxy, but it held true to the theme of "sirens-but-not-necessarily-sirens" that's the book's premise. Naut is a different character, but one that you look at and think, "Yeah, that's how humans would treat him," which made him a sympathetic character. Which makes what happens even more surprising.
"Siren's Odyssey" (Tamsin Showbrook) was a very enjoyable read, but this story was also a thematic stretch. The setting was very well developed, as were the characters. The tag-team PoV narration was very well done. I finished it wanting to know what happens next with Alice and Hanna.
"Safe Waters" (Simon Kevin): Again, a thematic stretch (unless you include mermaids in your definition of "sirens"), but other than that it was a very enjoyable story. And, to be honest, I don't think I would have made a different decision than Lina did.
"Notefisher" (Cat McDonald) is the only story out of the collection that I didn't like. I think a lot of it was its heavy reliance on acid, and that was too much for me to overcome with the story that was told.
"Experience" (Sandra Wickham) was, up until the very end, a very enjoyable story. The finale was a let-down, as it seemed very deus-ex-machina. But other than that, it was very good.
"Threshold" (K.T. Ivanrest) was, again, not a bad story. I couldn't see the connection to the book's theme, which distracted greatly and downgraded it a notch for me. All in all, it was okay.
"The Fisherman's Catch" (Adam L. Bealby) is an old-school horror story that was told very well, right down to the requisite twist ending.
"One More Song" (Eliza Chan) is far and away my favourite story in this book. Basically a variation of the hard-boiled detective story, not only are the characters fantastic (especially Mira, the main character), but the world is incredibly developed and left me wanting more. A lot more. As in "I would literally pay real money for a book of these stories."
"Homecoming" (Tabitha Lord) is a retelling of the return of Odysseus, from Penelope's point of view Not a bad story, but not particularly memorable, either.
