Tag Archives: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic

The Infestation by Tom Holt

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: The Infestation
Author: Tom Holt
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Wizards
Dates read: 11th April 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: Like I said, we understand one another, just as we’re both misunderstood by all the rest of them.

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Synopsis

He’s a mediocre wizard at best. But he’s about to be challenged more than he ever anticipated. Will he overcome the infestation? Or be overcome?

Thoughts

I wasn’t expecting to like this short story so much. At the beginning of the story I was a bit ‘eh about the character and the storyline. Although it did make me feel a little like I was reading a Terry Pratchett story… it wasn’t until about the halfway point that it started getting really, really good.

This isn’t one of those stories where the little man rises up, finds a power he didn’t know he has and change his life forever. Of which I am glad. Because that is a little overdone sometimes. This is a story in which the bumbling fool manages to scrape together enough gumption and power to do the right thing. And then at the end of the day, he turns around and returns to his menial, frustrating job and life goes on.

<- The Game of Magical DeathThe Witch’s Bicycle ->

Image source: Hachette Australia

The Game of Magical Death by Doug Hornig

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: The Game of Magical Death
Author: Doug Hornig
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Technology
Dates read: 27th March 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 1987
5th sentence, 74th page: That was one thing his parents were good about.

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Synopsis

A gamer is sent a brand new game – the Game of Magical Death, but does he really know what he’s in for? This short story lets gaming, computers and dark magic to collide in ways that you just won’t anticipate.

Thoughts

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with technology. I think it’s amazing, fantastic and great, but it also worries me more than a little. So it was kind of fun to read a short story that used this fear and ideas to create a more contemporary tale of dark fantasy and dark magic.

From the beginning of this tale, it is obvious that the computer game is more than expected. And you can kind of guess how some of it will go. But it isn’t until you get almost all of the way through this story that the twists and turns start to take hold. And then they kind of terrify you. After all, once he figures out just what is happening when he plays the game – he continues to do so. Which is so weird. And so many levels of just not okay…

<- Villaggio SognoThe Infestation ->

Image source: Hachette Australia

Villaggio Sogno by Richard A. Lupoff

Book Review, ,
Overview
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Title: Villagio Sogno
Author: Richard A. Lupoff
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Magic
Dates read: 24th March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: When she opened her eyes she knew she was in that other world, the grey world of huge columns, rectangular blocks, dust-covered stones and distant blackness.

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Synopsis

Two best friends finally get to travel into the city for their first “grown up” excursion. But, as they are about to find out, things aren’t always as they seem in the city, and it may just take a little quick thinking for them to find their way home again.

Thoughts

This story has such a bright, cheerful and kind of happy beginning. It’s two young girls, best friends, going out for the first time to the city and spending a day out together. Something that was so exciting at twelve years old for myself, so I could almost feel the joy and eagerness jumping out of the page. But, this is a short story in a collection of dark magic tales, so I knew that that wouldn’t be the case.

I was expecting something truly tragic and awful to happen to the two girls from the very get go. The beginning was just too nice and sweet. It was too full of promise. So I was incredibly pleasantly surprised to find that there really wasn’t a tragedy in this tale. Rather, the girls are able to find a way to triumph and finish their day in happiness.

This was a great little story that I struggled to put down. Actually, my need to finish this meant that I was almost late to work… it was just so good and fun.

<- Ten Things I Know about the WizardThe Game of Magical Death ->

Image source: Hachette Australia

Ten Things I Know About the Wizard by Steve Rasnic Tem

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: Ten Things I Know About the Wizard
Author: Steve Rasnic Tem
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Easy reading, Wizards
Dates read: 13th March 2019
Pace: Slow,
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: The wizard was indeed isolated; there seemed to be no other dweelings as far as the eye could see.

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Synopsis

There are a lot of wizards in the world, but here are ten things that we know about this wizard in particular…

Thoughts

I read a lot of lists online, but this is the first time that I’ve read a short story that is in list form. And it worked kind of brilliantly. I wasn’t really sure how this format would work, or if it would really be a story. But it did work, and a great story unfolded.

Dark magic always seems to be about power, especially over others. And what can be a more potent power than that of a parent exerted over their child? Especially when they are the creator of the child (not in the sense you are thinking, but you’ll have to read this short story to figure out what I mean there).

This short story plays on the idea of power in a parent-child relationship and the ways in which a suitor can upset this. There is constant plays of power and battles of the will throughout the storyline. And although there seems to be a clear winner at the end, you still have to wonder if he did win in the end…

<- The Mammoth Book of Dark MagicVillaggio Sogno ->

Image source: Hachette Australia