Review: Fell Beasts and Fair: A Noblebright Fantasy Anthology

Fell Beasts and Fair: A Noblebright Fantasy Anthology by C.J. Brightley
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

This is an anthology of stories centering on creatures of magic and folklore who are animals, or shifters. Although I found the selection to be rather uneven some are rich with humor, like W. R. Gingell's "Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears." "Blanche, Bear-Wife" by Alena Sullivan reminded me of the rich Estonian lore of talking bears wooing young women. Beth Powers' "Inheritance of Nightmares" was dipped into some light horror. There are several stories with dragons to enjoy. Tam, her friend Marge and a fateful encounter with a herd of rowdy unicorns was a surprising story. April Steenburgh's "Like Sand in Your Teeth," gives us a poignant selkie tale of a young woman named Coira. (Selkie tales are always poignant, it seems!). My favorite of the collection is Francesca Forrest's "The Gallows Maiden" a story evocative of the complexities of raven-maid folklore.

All in all this is a pleasant collection of stories, at a great price on the Kindle edition.


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews