Eleven Tales of Magical, Mysterious, Mythical Doorways!
Step through portals and into adventure as the authors of the Fellowship of Fantasy take you on another journey into fantastic worlds. Travel through time, space, and realities to encounter monsters, mechanical foxes, and the Fates themselves. You'll fly with dragons, save implausible beasts, and perhaps find your true home. Choose your path wisely, for dangers lurk in the lands beyond.
In the third anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy, eleven authors promise you journeys into fairy lands hidden within the modern world, futuristic universities, and lands of ancient myth. So what are you waiting for? Cross through our Doorways for the adventure of a lifetime!
Step through portals and into adventure as the authors of the Fellowship of Fantasy take you on another journey into fantastic worlds. Travel through time, space, and realities to encounter monsters, mechanical foxes, and the Fates themselves. You'll fly with dragons, save implausible beasts, and perhaps find your true home. Choose your path wisely, for dangers lurk in the lands beyond.
In the third anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy, eleven authors promise you journeys into fairy lands hidden within the modern world, futuristic universities, and lands of ancient myth. So what are you waiting for? Cross through our Doorways for the adventure of a lifetime!
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I love a good anthology! It's a fantastic way to sample writers you might not have heard of--and it feels like getting a grab-bag of goodies when each and every story in a collection makes you want to add the author's books to your shelf, whether physical or virtual!
Mythical Doorways certainly holds enough in each one of its eleven stories to warrant *****5 STARS***** across the board, and I would add an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLLY RECOMMENDED. The Fellowship of Fantasy definitely knows how to pick some truly great selections for their anthologies, and it makes me curious to see what else the group has produced, since this sampler was so delightful!
My Review:
I love a good anthology! It's a fantastic way to sample writers you might not have heard of--and it feels like getting a grab-bag of goodies when each and every story in a collection makes you want to add the author's books to your shelf, whether physical or virtual!
That's how I felt about so many of these stories. Out of the eleven, there were just a few that didn't altogether stand out (although they were still very good!)--and the rest were just outstanding!
From the creepy horror of "Idiot's Graveyard" by Arthur Daigle, and the creativity on display in "Door Number Four" from Bokerah Brumley, with the unique creature, the Marken-Bray, a "huge, stubborn, three-horned... equine creature" I found quite intriguing; to the fascination of "Cosmic Cravings" by AJ Bakke, a portal fantasy, but told from the perspective of the fairies entering the human world, and "Dragon's Oath" by Kathy Huth Jones, a striking tale that teaches a valuable lesson on stereotyping, traditions, and making assumptions. And... Can we talk about that extra twist in "Well of Fate" by Savannah Jezowski that just made it all the more special??
But there were four stories that I found absolutely enthralling, and I want to share about them in slightly more detail!
"Dragon Ward"--this mystical little piece by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt told the story of a girl who strays on a hunting trip and ends up not only encountering a dragon, but bonding with it as well, so that they can communicate telepathically. The rich descriptions of that pivotal moment when dragon and human connect, and then when they both realize what has happened, stirred up my emotions so much that I could almost feel those same sensations! It just makes me excited for the first of Jenelle's novels that I have coming up on my To-Be-Read list, if this is how she writes!
"Threshold"--It's all the best parts of Peter Pan with the wholesomeness of Chronicles of Narnia! This one is up there on my favorite stories to ponder over and over again--I really think I do have a type of story that just fulfills my fancies something fierce! It certainly makes me want to look up Laurie Lucking's books, to read more of them!
"The Hallway of Three Doors"--What a sweet and enchanting original fairy tale from D. G. Driver! At least, I think it's original... but it does have all the charm and poignancy of a classic fable! A girl whose life has definitely unraveled around her, seeks out magical assistance to find out which path forward in life will bring her the most success, and she's presented with three different realities closed behind three different doors. The real lesson of the story comes out when she interacts with the different spaces, and learns the truth about making one's own decisions and taking responsibility for the consequences, as opposed to wanting the choice to be made for her, and claiming she had nothing to do with it. I loved it!
"Jericho and The Magician's Daughter"--This story by H. L. Burke is part of the Spellsmith & Carver series, and after reading it, I absolutely cannot wait to read the first book in the series! I think this one was definitely my favorite in the whole anthology, though a few that came after it came very close to beating it! The magic system is absolutely brilliant, I love the steampunk vibe, and the characters are positively splendid!
Mythical Doorways certainly holds enough in each one of its eleven stories to warrant *****5 STARS***** across the board, and I would add an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLLY RECOMMENDED. The Fellowship of Fantasy definitely knows how to pick some truly great selections for their anthologies, and it makes me curious to see what else the group has produced, since this sampler was so delightful!
Further Reading: (Anthologies/Portal Fantasy Series)
Punk Anthologies--Writerpunk Press Group
-Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 1
-Once More Unto The Breach: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 2
-What We've Unlearned: Classic Literature Goes Punk
-Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 1
-Once More Unto The Breach: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 2
-What We've Unlearned: Classic Literature Goes Punk
Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
-Escape From Neverland
-Dance Into The Wyrd
-Escape From Neverland
-Dance Into The Wyrd
The Portal Prophecies--C. A. King
-A Keeper's Destiny
-A Halloween's Curse
-Frost Bitten
-A Keeper's Destiny
-A Halloween's Curse
-Frost Bitten
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