Braunbeck, Gary A.: "Have a Drink on Me" The narrator alone in this collection quotes "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord". A recovering alcoholic, he's faked drunkenness to get uninterrupted access to his genuinely drunk target at a party - but why does he seek vengeance on this stranger?

Elrod, P. N.: "The Astral Outrage" Catherine Prendergast, the narrator, became a Victorian psychic investigator (with matching narrative style) trying to find and stop whatever is draining the lives out of various students at a girls' boarding school. That thread comes to a very quick resolution; I prefer the background - how she met her teacher, Mr. Jones, after a fake medium made the mistake of pretending to speak for Catherine's late husband. :)

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: Among the narrator's people, magic is "Knotwork"; relationships are perceived as knots, to be controlled by the skill of the better knotmaker. Nuala came to our world to learn new things, and upon marrying Hugh 7 years ago, bound her power to allow him to retain free will. But in his ignorance, Hugh has undone those knots with his infidelity...

Jocks, Von: "Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like the Kiss of Cold Steel" :) Platitudes about living well cut no ice with the narrator, Tuppence Tuloni, born Mari Telemachus. She's calling on her family only for retribution: ensuring her infant son's inheritance, thus depriving others of theirs. Tuppence and her husband/partner Cal *completely* outclass the slimy Telemachus brood, and their stormy relationship keeps us guessing about just how many - and whose - corpses will grace the story. ('Marsais, healing potion!' is the chamberlain's most frequent order.) (PG-13 warning: Tuppence and Cal, not pretending to be nice people, get rather...stimulated...by violence.)

McCay, Bill: "Matchbook Magic" is subtitled "or, How I Saved the World from Mortie DeMerz" - the narrator's no-account roommate, who never takes responsibility for his own problems. Unfortunately, the "Learn power...others in my secret cult", etc. advertisement (send $5) Mortie finds on the back of a matchbox turns out to be *true*.

Nye, Jody Lynn: "Even Tempo" Derren composed a magnificent song for a middle-aged witch the night before the Tournament of Troubadours, and Vanisa granted leave for Derren to use it in competition. But when the arrogant favourite steals Vanisa's song, she agrees to help Derren get even, although her magic must affect *both* musicians.

Odom, Mel: Terry Farrell's father raised him to be both decent and tough; Terry's narration begins with a barfight in Singapore, knowing what his father would have done. Then old Father Liam sends word that Terry's father has been killed in a "Smoker" - an illegal boxing match - Terry (the narrator) comes home to settle his old man's affairs. For the flavor, think of Robert Parker's Spenser if he'd grown up in a much rougher neighbourhood, with *only* his father.

Pack, Janet: "Listen to the Cat" If Elaine had, she'd have been spared a bad marriage and subsequent divorce; Mithril hated her ex on sight. Just before Rob's final departure for another city, he strikes one last blow: an accusation which may not only cost Elaine $10,000, but Mithril's life. Rushed ending, leaving one major question unresolved.

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: "Devil Drums" The narrator's dearest brother learned Norse to deal peace with raiders; they killed him out of hand. Now Sister Enid herself is the only translator left alive to question a prisoner, even as she questions her faith.

Resnick, Laura: Heaven vs. Hell as organized crime - the demonic narrator has been "The Capo of Darkness" ever since Lucifer left the Big Boss to form his own Organization.

Rodgers, Alan: "MarySue at Forty" The term "MarySue" is taken from a wish-fulfillment female stereotype (very young brilliant Lieutenant who gets Captain Kirk's attention), although this isn't Trek. The story's setup is deliberately *way* out on the wish-fulfillment catastrophe curve.

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "The Wedding Present" - an odd dish - was a gift from Floyd, a lonely old customer at the diner Chloe considered a stepping-stone to greater things. How well do you *really* know those you see every day?

Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann: "Boon Companion" concerns cats, as usual in Scarborough short stories, though not Mu Mao this time.

Sizemore, Susan: "Sometimes It's Sweet" Alcinia, determined to be the first sorceress in a family of hedge-witches, *will not* be expelled from Bantieth, despite being unjustly sentenced to a year-and-a-day as a scullery maid for an arrogant minor prince's screwup, and despite her imp familiar's wish to avenge her. Readers shouldn't jump to conclusions about what supporting characters might do. :)

Stover, Deb: "Punkinella" 40-year-old Sharon's husband has just left her for a blonde secretary named Bambi. At Sharon's lowest point, her fairy godmother appears - but she's Sharon's dear departed *mother*. :)

Waggoner, Tim: "Exits and Entrances" Morgan's controlling mother raised him to demand "excellence in all things"; he became a poison-pen theater critic who's terrible at personal relationships. He never expected to see Claire again after his cruel college review of her Ophelia - especially since she killed herself just before appearing at his dinner table. (Think what might have happened if Marley were Scrooge's *enemy*, blaming Scrooge for all his troubles.)

West, Michelle: "A Quiet Justice" The nameless narrator can be identified from context. A good move; otherwise readers would have preconceived ideas of the character of this 'good girl' forced into marriage by rape when the world was young.

As someone who reads a lot of anthologies, I have to say this is one of Denise Little's better ones. At first, I was concerned about how this topic was going to be handled. Was it just going to be good guys always win justice, or would it be strictly characters turned bad in their quest for revenge? Happily this book offers those, but many other different views. The majority of the stories are well written, and the authors' takes on vengenece are interesting. This book is well worth the time.

. . .in matters of the heart. The old girl knows what she's doing. At least, Grandma Lucille does in this engaging Barbour novella collection by a set of both tried and new authors. After moving to a retirement home and left with little to think about except what hillarious slogan to wear next on her t-shirt, she turns her hand to matchmaking for her granddaughters and hits four solid home runs. Not bad for a senior citizen! And lots of fun for readers!

An e-mail sent in haste almost foils grandma's best laid plans in Denise Hunter's The Perfect Match. Forgiveness and honesty turn out to be the best policy.

Watch out, folks. Colleen Coble's A Match Made in Heaven, could result in some unheavenly fireworks if this architect and interior designer can't learn to work together.

Whoops! The mistake's on Melissa in Bev Huston's Mix and Match. Melissa thinks she's a step ahead of grandma in sabotaging her blind date. After she gets through with the poor guy, she's sure he'll never want to see her again, and grandma will be cured of matchmaking once and for all. How can one girl be so wrong and still end up with Mr. Right?

Mattie Meets Her Match in grandma, and in the guy she has picked out for her. An old flame is back in town, but he's got his sister's son to raise and a host of responsibilities. He's not looking for romance. How can grandma get his attention on her granddaughter? Don't worry, grandma knows best.

Get yourself a copy of this one for a relaxing, heart-tugging, grin-pulling read. Even the cover art is a treat.

I loved this story. It was very sweet. The characters were more real than most romantic heroines and heroes. Hudson's "Someday" is also great. I recommend leaving "Meant to be" alone, though.

A fine book if you're looking for cute, rather mindless entertainment, but nothing particularly noteworthy.

This was an anthology which I found quite entertaining. It centers around the theme of alien companions. I found the vast majority of the stories to focus around the theme of "Lonely Earth child finds strange animal, bonds with him like regular children never did, leaves him with him as a better person. While this may sound like a repettitive formula, the creative subject matter manages to keep it entertaining. While it's not up to the par of other anthologies (Gallery of Horror, Mammoth book of Fantasy) it's still an enjoyable time killer.

Lots of good stories, many with a twist. Very enjoyable for anyone who loves animals and fantasy. The "skewlis" story is one of the best ("Objects of Desire.") "Not Exactly a Dog" is another fetching tale.

_Twice Upon a Time_ is a glib, sarcastic take on fairy tales. Yes, a few of the retellings are serious, but most of them are attempts at poking fun at the conventions of fairy tales. I like these sorts of stories when they are well done, but most of these stories seem to be groaners rather than side-splitters; farces whose main purpose seems to be dragging every single fairy tale cliche into every single story. I mean, seriously, does a detective story about Rumpelstiltskin, which was just getting interesting, really need Hansel and Gretel barging into the plot? Many of the stories are like this. Just throw the ten or so most famous fairy tales into a blender and see what comes out, and top it off with a forced wittiness. If you're looking for cheesy fairy tale humor, check this out. Otherwise, look up Datlow and Windling.

Twice upon a Time is an anthology of eighteen fractured fairytales. Taking off on such stories as sleeping beauty, the emperor's new clothes, and Jack and the beanstalk, these stories recast the stories in a new and often humorous form. My favor was True Love (or The Many Brides of Prince Charming), which is hilariously funny, showing that happily ever after isn't always in the cards for Prince Charming either.

Some of these stories are somewhat off-color, and inappropriate for small children. However, as these stories are not intended to teach uplifting stories, as the original fairytales are, I would recommend against using these stories for small children. That said, though, this book does contain a number of quite entertaining stories, and is a very good read.

This is definatly a great fairy tales book...with a bit of a twist. Okay, more than a bit, but who's counting? My favorite stories: True Love and The Constant Tin Soldier. Although I must say, despite what they say, this book is not for nine year olds. Let's rule out 10 and 11 year olds too. 12 year olds, I think they can handel it. Some of this book is quite, shall we say...vulgar, but I think they should be able to handle it. Over all it's a great book especially if you're looking for a good laugh.

Like someone else said, the back cover is a lie - there are no maps. Basically I borrowed this book from the library because of the first 50 pages which contain interviews with Weis & Hickman. This is really interesting stuff, covering :
- their backgrounds
- how they got to TSR
- how the whole DragonLance project started
- how they got chosen to write the books and the incredibly short time frames they had - they wrote the first DragonLance book in under 2 months!

My advice, read this section, forget the rest. It ain't worth buying but definitely worth borrowing.

If you want to know more about the worlds created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, this book will give you a good amount of information on the various settings. The bulk of the book is a comprehensive and considerably detailed encyclopedia separated into five different sections -- each one dedicated to a particular series (i.e. the Death Gate Cycle, the Dragonlance Novels, etc.). The book is also wonderfully supplied with beautiful full-color paintings from the novels, black and white photographs of the authors in the Interviews chapter, and a helpful book-by-book analysis of the authors' various works. The first problem, however, with this potentially great work is that the description at the back of the book misleads the reader. It promises "numerous black-and-white DRAWINGS and MAPS to each world." This is false. There are absolutely NO MAPS within the book, and the only black and white pictures are mostly photographs. It's disappointing because detailed maps would have greatly aided the encyclopedia entries. And a well-structured timeline would have likewise been invaluable and much appreciated. The encyclopedia entries also need more information. Some descriptions are only a sentence long. In addition, the book-by-book analysis in the first chapter completely left out the Dragonlance Novels (which I find particularly sinful, because it was the Dragonlance Series that catapulted Weis and Hickman to fame.) So much more could have been added visually. The writing content could have been packed with meatier annotations and previously unknown trivia. I guess I'll have to wait for another,worthier attempt at these magnificent fantasy realms.

If your looking for an autobiography, novel or a new story, you've come to the wrong place. This is a very detailed reference book FULL of information, with only a little new meterial (like about the author's lives). If you are a longtime fan of the author's, however, this can be a great book to have. After having already read the books of Weis and Hickman, reading this book can remind you what happened, clarify confusing points, or simply bring back memories of a great story.

Five from the viewpoint of a cat (one in first person).

Haber, Karen: "Under the Sign of the Fish" Timandra has one misguided hope: she'd like her cat to *get along* with her goldfish, not just fantasize about eating him. Her next-door neighbour, the wizard, indulges her wish for the two pets to swap bodies for a day.

Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: "Star Song" follows July's viewpoint during her first week in her new house - she left her commune with her younger children since her soon-to-be-ex was staying. Martin was the serious spellcaster, so the family familiar stayed with him; July and her children need to summon a replacement. But both kids are unhappy, and 10-year-old Orion wanted a dog...

Jocks, Von: "Ecliptic" follows the viewpoint of Magdaleine, a medieval village healer who, having saved a man on the point of death, asked only that the people cease killing cats - bringing a mob down on her, shrieking 'witchcraft!' (She *is* a witch - both Wiccan and magic-user - but not evil.) This is told in a nonlinear, braided fashion - one thread following Magdaleine's flight into the forest, the other her earlier arrest and imprisonment.

Luzier, Pamela: "A Light In the Darkness" Gail, hunting for the cabin where her husband has taken their daughter (and his girlfriend) has a very unrealistically constructed encounter with a Wiccan in a nearby cabin, going along with all his suggestions in an unquestioning manner. The Wiccan persuades her (under the comes-back-on-you-threefold rule) to petition Bastet for what's best for her daughter, rather than for custody outright.

McCay, Bill: "Death Song" Tom has always protected his humans from Banes - those disembodied evil things that seek ever to possess a physical body. But in killing possessed vermin in a new apartment, he has been poisoned by insecticide - weakened before a greater Bane is due to appear.

Norton, Andre: "Three-Inch Trouble" follows the viewpoint of Raven, crew member of the Free Trader _Horus_: the ship's cat. During his combing of a fair for new trade items, the Cargo Master bargains for a sealed collection of Survey artefacts. Unfortunately, they contain live pests...

Nye, Jody Lynn: "Purr Power" Almost SF. Horus-Semnet, the general assigned by Pharaoh to defend the chief temple of Bast from the invading Persians, is frustrated. His forces will be outnumbered 6 to 1. The great festival of Bast is underway, and the priests refuse to evacuate. (Finally, Horus-Semnet doesn't care for cats, although he respects them as a proper son of Egypt.) Why is the high priest so confident that the temple will be safe?

Pack, Janet: "Praxis" is Lucien's cat - and despite the ban on astrologers, they've reentered Athens despite the government's fear of this Egyptian art. The ending's too pat.

Putney, Mary Jo: "The Stargazer's Familiar" actually begins with 'It was a dark and stormy night'. :) Leo, the title character, narrates; he learned the family business from his father, just as the royal astrologer was trained by his. Lord Klothe, threatening death, wants to know the most effective moment at which he can assassinate the king, fulfilling a prophecy that he can reach the highest place in the kingdom - taking the Stargazer's wife hostage to ensure truth in reporting.

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: "Every Life Should Have Nine Cats" After one too many groups of sorcerers attempted to take over part of the country, M-squads are busily seeking out anyone with suspicious signs of magic; this story follows the junior member of one such pair investigating a very nice old lady. On the plus side, the presentation illuminates how easily a profile can be used to trap the innocent; on the minus side, the resolution of the story is too pat.

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "Star" was the name of Anna Jarrett's cat in New York City; an attack on Star by Anna's abusive boyfriend was followed by a vicious assault that left Anna hospitalized for months, to learn that Star was dead. Now Neil is in Attica, and appears to have found a target close to Anna for his slimy letters: her next-door neighbour says he's been seeing a cat hanging around her place matching Star's description.

Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann: "Mu Mao and the Court Oracle" See the various volumes of _Catfantastic_ for other Mu Mao stories; this time he's been reborn in an animal shelter. He wants to know why he never seems to be reborn into a nice, cushy life as a pampered pet. :) Great events are afoot - the King of the Cats is dead, and since he never appointed a Court Oracle (and didn't keep track of the kittens he sired), the succession is muddled.

Stuckart, Diane A.S.: "Once, We Were Worshiped" Thomas Moonraker doesn't believe the old cats' tales of witches familiars - *he's* not superstitious. But he's uneasy tonight - his kittenhood companion Selena is attempting to reanimate a long-forgotten mummy from the old professor's collection, to find out how humans got to be in charge. (Thomas isn't keen if it means *he'll* be responsible for his caretaker's wellbeing instead of the other way 'round.) Of course, it's a *cat* mummy... (If you'd like a different treatment of Selena's problem, see 'Dream of a Thousand Cats' in Neil Gaiman's _Dream Country_ collection.)

I think this book is great for Spanish families who have seen the movie; or have read the myth, but hadn't seen the movie, or who just want to see the movie.

This is a faithful recapitulation of the Disney animated movie of the same name, featuring colorful scenes from the film. As a rehash of the movie, it is okay, but the picture book format highlights the dated qualities of the film. Characters are often shown in Victorian dramatic poses, mouth agape, which diminishes, rather than enlivens the text. Also, I miss the comical scene of Snow White, who, due to her relative height, must stretch out across several of the dwarfs` beds lined up next to each other, in order to take a nap. There are other, better versions of this fairy tale for small children, so don`t go out of your way for this one.

Pretty unbelievable -- some totally impossible scenes. Nothing special. Unless you are extremely bored, I wouldn't waste my time.