I liked this short story collection. I liked some of the stories more than others, but lots of them were pretty interesting.

Although the first couple failed to grab me, I'm so glad I kept reading! There was a great variety, from Jane Yolen's poem to golems and RPGs and goblins and dragons and forest creatures; there were humorous stories, others were thought-provoking, adventurous, wistful, even sad. And then there's the one that really stood out as something completely different: The Stone Alphabet, with the ultimate in short fiction, reminding me very much of Ray Bradbury's slightly dark, weird stories.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles has several interesting stories and a few odd ones. Some are well written with good characters.

I was given a copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (4.5/5)

I don't read that many short story collections, and after this one I think I might have to pick up more of Rhonda Parrish's works. She definitely has a talent for picking out great stories. So many good twists or surprise endings. Definitely pick it up if you like collections, fair warning the meh stories are the first few, so don't be dissuaded by my first few reviews!

Grin of Stone: I don't really vibe with this one so this was meh for me.

The Enforcer: I like the idea of this one, but the overuse of swearing was just too much. I'm not prudish, but it was an f-bomb or "shit" every other paragraph. It became a bit grating.

Wings of Stone: Eh. (I swear the best stories are literally all after this.)

Soil, Native and Otherwise: My favorite. The twist towards the end was incredible and I loved every second of this story.

Land Girl: Fun story that felt a little bit X-Men-y towards the end? Sign me up.

The Stone Alphabet: I was confused at first, but once I realized we were getting fast flash-fiction groupings I enjoyed it a lot more. I might have to re-read this one just to fully appreciate it.

Winner Takes All: Card game gone crazy. I really liked it, though I feel the ending could have had better pacing. As the last few pages just felt a bit too much of a slog for my taste. I loved the build-up though.

Kiln Fired: This felt so good to read. Once I realized where the story was going I loved it even more.

Goblin Harvest: I was honestly confused for most of this one on who was who. There are like two groups of people and goblins and I just struggled to tell whether the goblins were on our side or the enemy. Or a mix of both. I really enjoyed the ending though.

The Poacher and the Priestess: probably the happiest ending in this collection. A few really good twists in here.

Mike's Massive Penis: This one felt just right. It is a comedy short story and it doesn't overstay its welcome at all.

Where Green Things Grew: A badass story involving woman? Incredible. I liked the development of our main protagonist in this one, it felt unique to say the least.

Troll Seal: A really cool concept and potentially a nice starter for a series. I mean I'd totally read more of Janet's adventures.

The Giants: A horror story using Giants. It doesn't get explicit but there is a lot of tension in it and it is done very well.

A Golem's Progress: This one is sad/happy. I liked it but the 2nd person POV was hard to get into at first, but once you get into the swing of it, it feels very nice.

Maggie of the Moss: A great one. The ending felt so satisfying, if a bit bittersweet.

Children of the Colossus: Again, a great twist. This collection has so many twists and all of them were a lot of fun to read.

Earthbound: This one was cute, I didn't get a lot of "earth" vibes from this one. The ending had me worried, but the interactions between our two characters pulled it through for me. So I did enjoy it.