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jpskewedthroneThe Magic Toybox
Edited by Denise Little
I decided to read this anthology (originally published in 2006, so it may be hard to find) because I thought it would be a great lead-in to Christmas, with stories about toys and childhood memories and the magic inherent in all of that. I wasn’t disappointed. Though the stories aren’t centered around the holiday season, their focus on the magic of toys still captured that same mood for me. And some of these stories were spectacular. Of particular note was Diane Duane’s The Fix, although I also really enjoyed Peter Morwood’s The Longest Ladder and David Bischoff’s Quoth the Screaming Chicken. Some of the stories are rather serious and dark, while others were lighter fare. A few were too light for my tastes, actually, but overall it was a good anthology. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who had a favored toy as a child and who firmly believes that the toy had magical powers. *grin*
Roadshow by Jean Rabe: A fun start to the anthology, with a bunch of antique toy cars having their own little roadshow at one of those antique Roadshow appraisals that travel around. There’s a touching little personal story woven into the race as well. Perhaps a little too much time spent on listening in on the actual appraisals, but overall a cute story.
The Fix by Diane Duane: I loved, loved, loved this story, about a nine-year-old slave in the times of the great fights at the Coliseum in Rome. Through the manipulations of the gods, he ends up with a murmillo gladiator . . . and one day to live out his greatest desire. A great story, one of the best short stories I’ve read in a long time.
Cubby Grumbles Makes a Change by Esther Friesner: Another good story, although not really suited for children. Cubby Grumbles, a bear, and a ragtag group of toys are fighting to save their Owners’ lives . . . or so they think. What’s REALLY happening is more sinister. A strange twist to this story, with Esther Friesner’s usual great moments of humor.
The Call of the Track Ahead by Dean Wesley Smith: A serious story here (after the previous one’s humor), with a man “trapped” inside his own model railroad cars, going around in circles . . . sort of like his life. Will he be able to make that leap and escape? Well-written, with obvious “meaningful” meanings interwoven into the basic plot, but not in an obtrusive way at all. Nice.
The What-Not Doll by Karen Everson: A little hint of voo-doo hoo-doo in this one, although the story takes its own twist on the idea by the end, which was nice. I didn’t see the end coming at all. A good story about ghosts, dolls, and obsessive desires.
Little Pig, Berry Brown, and the Hard Moon by Jay Lake: We go way back to retreating glacier times for this story, with a young girl and her toy stick at the heart of the story. And why not? Children of that time must have had toys as well. Being Jay Lake, the story has a much more serious undercurrent by the end. It took me a page or two to get into the story, but once there it was smooth and drew me in.
The Longest Ladder by Peter Morwood: A NYFD fire truck is the center of attention in this story, a gift to a young boy who loves model kits and World War II aircraft from a father who was a volunteer firefighter during the war. The magic of this toy has far-reaching consequences though as the story unfolds. A good story, although perhaps a little haunting as well.
The Revenge of Chatty Cathy by Jody Lynn Nye: A little less serious than the previous story. Here, the doll is given as a birthday present . . . a moment before the mother and daughter are caught up in a rather serious situation. The doll has only one weapon to fight for her new owner: chatting. And so she chats. *grin* A cute story with a few serious undertones as well.
Jack Tar by Gail Selinger: Another doll come to life in this story, this time a sailor. But he was given life with one purpose—to watch over a family while the father was away at sea. That goal has been passed down through generations, but one disbelieving set of parents may have taken the blessing and turned it into a curse unless one father can figure out how to right the wrong in time. The story was solid, but I thought it needed a little more fleshing out. A few sections happened a little too fast.
Danny’s Very Long Trip by Mike Moscoe: The premise here is that the main character, a four-year-old boy, is bored with the long trip that his family is taking to San Francisco. Thankfully, he has his new best friend, a magic robot, who can step Danny into the pictures his older sister draws. Adventure ensues.
Quoth the Screaming Chicken by David Bischoff: A little tongue-in-cheek story here about a stick-up-the-butt professor who takes exception to a bum names Frog who sells handmade joke books on a street corner with his rubber chicken sidekick. A great little slapstick kind of story with some really awful jokes, cool characters, and a lot of heart as well.
Losing Dolly by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Total swing to the opposite side of the spectrum with this rather serious story about a young girl who has just lost her father along with her favorite doll. Her father has died and when she seeks comfort from her doll, she finds Dollie missing. Her search for the doll is more about her search for an understanding of her father’s death though.
The Affair of the Wooden Boy by Mel Odom: This one is set in an alternate earth and features Mina Stark as the main character. She and her husband are approached by a wooden toy boy with a rather strange story to tell and the two set off to set things to rights. Well written, capturing the feel of the time period its ostensibly set in well. The ending, for those familiar with Mina, is not a surprise, but certainly satisfactory.
Lady Roxanne la Belle by Laura Resnick: The final story is lighter fare than the previous two stories, with a young mother forced to return to her parent’s house with her kid in tow because she’s been screwed over by her cheating husband. She doesn’t see any way out of her situation . . . but the little castle her mother has found at a renaissance faire and added to her childhood room (for future granddaughters) turns out to be more than expected.
Edited by Denise Little
I decided to read this anthology (originally published in 2006, so it may be hard to find) because I thought it would be a great lead-in to Christmas, with stories about toys and childhood memories and the magic inherent in all of that. I wasn’t disappointed. Though the stories aren’t centered around the holiday season, their focus on the magic of toys still captured that same mood for me. And some of these stories were spectacular. Of particular note was Diane Duane’s The Fix, although I also really enjoyed Peter Morwood’s The Longest Ladder and David Bischoff’s Quoth the Screaming Chicken. Some of the stories are rather serious and dark, while others were lighter fare. A few were too light for my tastes, actually, but overall it was a good anthology. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who had a favored toy as a child and who firmly believes that the toy had magical powers. *grin*
Roadshow by Jean Rabe: A fun start to the anthology, with a bunch of antique toy cars having their own little roadshow at one of those antique Roadshow appraisals that travel around. There’s a touching little personal story woven into the race as well. Perhaps a little too much time spent on listening in on the actual appraisals, but overall a cute story.
The Fix by Diane Duane: I loved, loved, loved this story, about a nine-year-old slave in the times of the great fights at the Coliseum in Rome. Through the manipulations of the gods, he ends up with a murmillo gladiator . . . and one day to live out his greatest desire. A great story, one of the best short stories I’ve read in a long time.
Cubby Grumbles Makes a Change by Esther Friesner: Another good story, although not really suited for children. Cubby Grumbles, a bear, and a ragtag group of toys are fighting to save their Owners’ lives . . . or so they think. What’s REALLY happening is more sinister. A strange twist to this story, with Esther Friesner’s usual great moments of humor.
The Call of the Track Ahead by Dean Wesley Smith: A serious story here (after the previous one’s humor), with a man “trapped” inside his own model railroad cars, going around in circles . . . sort of like his life. Will he be able to make that leap and escape? Well-written, with obvious “meaningful” meanings interwoven into the basic plot, but not in an obtrusive way at all. Nice.
The What-Not Doll by Karen Everson: A little hint of voo-doo hoo-doo in this one, although the story takes its own twist on the idea by the end, which was nice. I didn’t see the end coming at all. A good story about ghosts, dolls, and obsessive desires.
Little Pig, Berry Brown, and the Hard Moon by Jay Lake: We go way back to retreating glacier times for this story, with a young girl and her toy stick at the heart of the story. And why not? Children of that time must have had toys as well. Being Jay Lake, the story has a much more serious undercurrent by the end. It took me a page or two to get into the story, but once there it was smooth and drew me in.
The Longest Ladder by Peter Morwood: A NYFD fire truck is the center of attention in this story, a gift to a young boy who loves model kits and World War II aircraft from a father who was a volunteer firefighter during the war. The magic of this toy has far-reaching consequences though as the story unfolds. A good story, although perhaps a little haunting as well.
The Revenge of Chatty Cathy by Jody Lynn Nye: A little less serious than the previous story. Here, the doll is given as a birthday present . . . a moment before the mother and daughter are caught up in a rather serious situation. The doll has only one weapon to fight for her new owner: chatting. And so she chats. *grin* A cute story with a few serious undertones as well.
Jack Tar by Gail Selinger: Another doll come to life in this story, this time a sailor. But he was given life with one purpose—to watch over a family while the father was away at sea. That goal has been passed down through generations, but one disbelieving set of parents may have taken the blessing and turned it into a curse unless one father can figure out how to right the wrong in time. The story was solid, but I thought it needed a little more fleshing out. A few sections happened a little too fast.
Danny’s Very Long Trip by Mike Moscoe: The premise here is that the main character, a four-year-old boy, is bored with the long trip that his family is taking to San Francisco. Thankfully, he has his new best friend, a magic robot, who can step Danny into the pictures his older sister draws. Adventure ensues.
Quoth the Screaming Chicken by David Bischoff: A little tongue-in-cheek story here about a stick-up-the-butt professor who takes exception to a bum names Frog who sells handmade joke books on a street corner with his rubber chicken sidekick. A great little slapstick kind of story with some really awful jokes, cool characters, and a lot of heart as well.
Losing Dolly by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Total swing to the opposite side of the spectrum with this rather serious story about a young girl who has just lost her father along with her favorite doll. Her father has died and when she seeks comfort from her doll, she finds Dollie missing. Her search for the doll is more about her search for an understanding of her father’s death though.
The Affair of the Wooden Boy by Mel Odom: This one is set in an alternate earth and features Mina Stark as the main character. She and her husband are approached by a wooden toy boy with a rather strange story to tell and the two set off to set things to rights. Well written, capturing the feel of the time period its ostensibly set in well. The ending, for those familiar with Mina, is not a surprise, but certainly satisfactory.
Lady Roxanne la Belle by Laura Resnick: The final story is lighter fare than the previous two stories, with a young mother forced to return to her parent’s house with her kid in tow because she’s been screwed over by her cheating husband. She doesn’t see any way out of her situation . . . but the little castle her mother has found at a renaissance faire and added to her childhood room (for future granddaughters) turns out to be more than expected.
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Date: 2011-12-28 06:23 am (UTC)