I really enjoyed this book. It contains a wide variety of stories, I won’t lie not all of them were my cup of tea but enjoyed reading them all anyway.
A great book if you want a book that you can pick up and put down anytime. The short stories give you a feel of accomplishment.

Kate Elliott is best known for her long form epic fantasy, novels stretching upwards towards a thousand pages (each) of worldbuilding and top notch storytelling. Without being familiar with the full breadth of her career, the idea of Kate Elliott writing short fiction is surprising. Though she has written far more novels than stories, Elliott's short fiction stretches almost as far back to her first novels.

As with any collection, which stories hit with a given reader can vary. For me, two of my favorites are "On the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New" and "The Gates of Jorian", both stories where I wanted to know far more about the rest of the world and where the stories went after the last page. Granted, the former is part of the Crossroads world (Spirit Gate, Black Wolves, etc) - but the larger point is that with the best of her stories Elliott's worldbuilding is suggestive of the work she normally does over hundreds of pages.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Strong heroines and riveting storytelling are the hallmark of groundbreaking fantasy author Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars, Crossroads). Elliott is a highly-compelling voice in genre fiction, an innovative author of historically-based narratives set in imaginary worlds. This first, retrospective collection of her short fiction is the essential guide to Elliott’s shorter works. Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends.
In The Memory of Peace,” a girl’s powerful emotions rouse the magic of a city devastated by war. Meeting in The Queen’s Garden,” two princesses unite to protect their kingdom from the blind ambition of their corrupted father. While Riding the Shore of the River of Death” a chieftain’s daughter finds an unlikely ally on her path to self-determination.
Elliott’s many readers, as well as fantasy fans in search of powerful stories featuring well-drawn female characters, will revel in this unique gathering of truly memorable tales.

*3.5 stars*

Kate Elliott, author of some of the finest fantasy series in modern times - the Spiritwalker Trilogy, the Crossroads Trilogy, the Crown of Stars series, and the Jaran novels. Some of the stories contained in this collection are set in these worlds. Which is awesome. There are also 4 pieces of non-fiction essays to go along with the 12 short stories.

Ultimately, with any collection of short stories, there is always going to be the highs and lows. Every author has it. It is just the danger of short story collections. Some of them are excellent - others I wonder why they were included. As a whole, I think the essays work best as a collective more so than the fiction. And that is okay, too.

Would I recommend this book? For sure - like I said, the author is one of the better fantasy writers of recent times. If you haven't read any of her work, then this could be a good jumping off point. Definitely worth a look.


Paul
ARH