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haikujaguar's One Card Draw has begun! Visit her journal to ask your question and receive a reading of one Balance Card for free. (Though donations are much appreciated, if you'd like to support her).

To find out more about these Balance Cards, read my explication of last night or simply visit the Balance Cards website.

Note: You have ONE HOUR to get your free card! The Draw closes at 2 PM EST.

RAVENS IN THE LIBRARY: Magic in the Bard's Name (A Review, Part II)

You guys remember Ravens in the Library, right? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, allow me to sum up: S.J. Tucker, traveling musician and fire-spinner extraordinaire, became terribly ill this past winter and had to undergo several very expensive medical procedures. Unfortunately, she did not have health insurance (which is the lamentable lot of many, many people in this country); what she did have, however, were amazing friends (writers, editors, and artists among them) and fans who created and bought a benefit anthology to assist her in paying off her medical debt.

Ravens in the Library is that anthology. It is a limited edition collection edited by SatyrPhil Brucato and Sandra Buskirk, available only until Tucker's medical expenses have been covered. This is my review: specifically, the second part. If you missed the first part of the review (which covers the first half of the TOC), click here.

Before we get started with the rest of the TOC and the lyrics included in Ravens in the Library, I should tell you that this review has ended up even longer than I expected it to become! Therefore, you don't get my thoughts on the art, the book's design, or the Introduction today. I'll post those later this weekend, in Part III.

On to the stories! 

"Fortune," by Shira Lipkin.

This story hits on several of my favorite storytelling devices: Tarot cards and a mythological retelling (here, the Descent of Inanna). However, for some reason, the magical realism aspects didn't entirely mesh well with the terrifying, yes, but sadly all too typical narrative of the degradation and dissolution of a woman alone. However, in spite of that one complaint, this is a powerful recasting of the Inanna myth and Lipkin couldn't have picked a better back-drop than Vegas. Knowing that pieces of this story were autobiographical makes it linger all the more. This is the sixth tale original to this anthology.

( Read the rest of the reviews behind the cut... )

Return later this weekend for the remainder of the review! You'll find talk of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Theodore Black, Amy Brown, James A. Owen and more! 



Other reviews of Ravens in the Library:
talkstowolves: Part I of my review.
k_crow's review blurbs.
thewronghands' thoughts.
maverick_weirdo 's write-up.
jennifer_brozek's preliminary thoughts.
(Anyone know of any other reviews? Let me know and I'll add them here!)