Street Magicks

Strong Collection, No New Stories

I bought this one at full price for my permanent collection. If nothing else, Scott Lynch is a genius, and his "A Year and a Day in Old Theradane" was worth the price of admission all by itself.

This just isn't the first time that story was printed.

Neither was it the first printing for Jim Butcher's "Last Call," another great story that fans of Harry Dresden will love... and probably also loved when it was published in 2009 and then again in 2010.

In fact, when I got to the end and read the Acknowledgments, I discovered that *none* of the stories in this anthology are new. Not one. I was on the fence between four stars and five for the collection as a whole, and that almost bumped it down to three. Almost.

But then I thought about the authors. (As fans of the Deadpool movie will remember, the writers are the true heroes of every story.) And not one of these authors should lose a star just because these stories aren't brand new off the lot anymore. They might have lost their new-story smell, but they still have their charm--and the collection as a whole is a wonderfully eclectic (and diverse!) sampling of some of the greatest names in fantasy.

My bottom line: this is a great collection for any aficionado of fantasy fiction, and I'm personally glad to own it. But if you're interested in the anthology out of a special love for just one author, make sure you aren't buying the whole book for a story you already own.