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A review by ladyelfriede
The Book of Witches by Jonathan Strahan
4.5
Not gonna harp on stories I didn't like and just comment on the ones that made me remember them:
"What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata" by P. Djeli Clark:
Fuck, with a name like that, how do I NOT remember a story like it?
"Catechism for Those Who Would Find Witches" by Kathleen Jennings:
Because it was taken in an interview format, was pretty interesting. Way better than "Sleeping Gods", less misogyny to boot
"Escape Artists" by Andrea Hairston:
Honestly, all the poems in this collection are bangers, highly rec
"Met Swallow" by Cassandra Khaw:
Khaw is the horror novella queen, has quality, and improves herself immensely from "The Salt Grows Heavy". If you didn't like her novella, highly rec you read this as it improves plenty.
"The Nine Jars of Nukulu" by Tobi Ogundiran:
Interesting concept this one had, couldn't predict the plot twist (for once in my life) so I applaud you, Ogundiran
"In a Cabin, In a Wood" by Kelly Robson:
I didn't actually LIKE this story, but the fact it sorta fucked me up by the end deserves a mention
"She Who Makes the Rain" by Millie Ho:
Once again, banger poetry, but that said, not a poetry snob so can't judge too hard except to say "oonga boonga, nice verse"
"As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand" by Indrapramit Das:
My book of the year author last year comes in swinging to remind you why he has a hold of your emotions and leaves you teary at the end while also giving you an LSD trip. Slay, King.
"So Spake the Mirrorwitch" by Premee Mohamed:
While I don't remember much of "Butcher", her debut novella (I was dying of heat during Beryl while reading her novella, forgive me), I still remember enjoying her dark fantasy and this one didn't disappoint. A little cliche, but I still enjoyed it
"Just a Nudge" by Maureen McHugh: This is actually a fucking NO, in a not good way. It made a paralell to a horrific author using her famous phrase (and yes, I know it's a common witch phrase but that bitch (not McHugh) ruined it) and the fact McHugh used it made me gag, which was a shame, cause her writing was REALLY good in this story. A benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't overlook this story, it's just my personal peeve.
"Her Ravenous Waters" by Andrea Stewart
Holy shit, I think this was one of my top stories of the collection. I only read Stewart's work a long time ago and DNFed it (but I will come back to it at a later date, just didn't get the right time) but she was very creative with this story.
"Botanica: A Song in Four Movements" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Oonga boonga, good
"Mask of the Nautilus" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Very creative story, but a little hard to follow
"Night Riding" by Usman T. Malik:
Liked the way he weaved his narrative
"Witchfires" by E. Lily Yu:
Holy shit, this gave me horrible PTSD of Trumpists and white people being ignorant, thanks lol, great job (not sarcastic)
"The Academy of Ocular Magic" by Miyuki Jane Pinckard:
I thought her last name was Picard and I got confused. Harui's name is now ruined by anime, great story tho
"The Cost of Doing Business" by Emily Y. Teng:
I want to say this was the most creative story in the entire bunch, good job Teng!
"John Hollowback and the Witch" by Amal El-Mohtar:
I think Stewart and Mohtar tie for best stories in this collection, it's hard to choose a top story.
However, just roughly looking at what I liked, I feel this collection is WAY worth the time and money just from the fact this is the first anthology collection I liked MORE than 50% of
Highly rec this collection
4.5/5
"What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata" by P. Djeli Clark:
Fuck, with a name like that, how do I NOT remember a story like it?
"Catechism for Those Who Would Find Witches" by Kathleen Jennings:
Because it was taken in an interview format, was pretty interesting. Way better than "Sleeping Gods", less misogyny to boot
"Escape Artists" by Andrea Hairston:
Honestly, all the poems in this collection are bangers, highly rec
"Met Swallow" by Cassandra Khaw:
Khaw is the horror novella queen, has quality, and improves herself immensely from "The Salt Grows Heavy". If you didn't like her novella, highly rec you read this as it improves plenty.
"The Nine Jars of Nukulu" by Tobi Ogundiran:
Interesting concept this one had, couldn't predict the plot twist (for once in my life) so I applaud you, Ogundiran
"In a Cabin, In a Wood" by Kelly Robson:
I didn't actually LIKE this story, but the fact it sorta fucked me up by the end deserves a mention
"She Who Makes the Rain" by Millie Ho:
Once again, banger poetry, but that said, not a poetry snob so can't judge too hard except to say "oonga boonga, nice verse"
"As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand" by Indrapramit Das:
My book of the year author last year comes in swinging to remind you why he has a hold of your emotions and leaves you teary at the end while also giving you an LSD trip. Slay, King.
"So Spake the Mirrorwitch" by Premee Mohamed:
While I don't remember much of "Butcher", her debut novella (I was dying of heat during Beryl while reading her novella, forgive me), I still remember enjoying her dark fantasy and this one didn't disappoint. A little cliche, but I still enjoyed it
"Just a Nudge" by Maureen McHugh: This is actually a fucking NO, in a not good way. It made a paralell to a horrific author using her famous phrase (and yes, I know it's a common witch phrase but that bitch (not McHugh) ruined it) and the fact McHugh used it made me gag, which was a shame, cause her writing was REALLY good in this story. A benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't overlook this story, it's just my personal peeve.
"Her Ravenous Waters" by Andrea Stewart
Holy shit, I think this was one of my top stories of the collection. I only read Stewart's work a long time ago and DNFed it (but I will come back to it at a later date, just didn't get the right time) but she was very creative with this story.
"Botanica: A Song in Four Movements" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Oonga boonga, good
"Mask of the Nautilus" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Very creative story, but a little hard to follow
"Night Riding" by Usman T. Malik:
Liked the way he weaved his narrative
"Witchfires" by E. Lily Yu:
Holy shit, this gave me horrible PTSD of Trumpists and white people being ignorant, thanks lol, great job (not sarcastic)
"The Academy of Ocular Magic" by Miyuki Jane Pinckard:
I thought her last name was Picard and I got confused. Harui's name is now ruined by anime, great story tho
"The Cost of Doing Business" by Emily Y. Teng:
I want to say this was the most creative story in the entire bunch, good job Teng!
"John Hollowback and the Witch" by Amal El-Mohtar:
I think Stewart and Mohtar tie for best stories in this collection, it's hard to choose a top story.
However, just roughly looking at what I liked, I feel this collection is WAY worth the time and money just from the fact this is the first anthology collection I liked MORE than 50% of
Highly rec this collection
4.5/5