ARC Review: Air: Sylphs, Spirits and Swan Maiden or a themed anthology

Hello people! How are you? And how are your reading going? Today I am back with a review, yay!

I received a copy of this book from the Editor in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: Air: Sylphs, Spirit & Swan Maiden
Edited by: Rhonda Parrish
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020

Whimsical, Inquisitive, Quick-Witted
Air is essential for life. The need for air is so important that breathing is instinctual. Yet Air is unstable and capricious, blowing gently as a summer breeze in one moment and blasting with the fury of a tornado in the next. No wonder that tricksters, fairies, and spirits belong to Air just as much as winged creatures. Elusive and ethereal, Air’s denizens are difficult to find and harder to capture.

Brave the ever-changing world of Air with these twenty-one stories and poems, featuring: Rose Strickman; Davian Aw; Mark Bruce; Alexandra Seidel; Damascus Mincemeyer; Cherry Potts; Ellen Huang; Giselle Leeb; Bronwynn Erskine; Kevin Cockle; Elizabeth R. McClellan; Chadwick Ginther; Christa Hogan; Rowena McGowan; Laura VanArendonk Baugh; Alyson Faye; Mara Malins; Sara C. Walker; Elise Forier Edie; Oliver Smith; and Sarah Van Goethem.

Before going on with the review, let’s take a moment to look at the cover. It is a piece of art, isn’t it???

As you can imagine, the theme of this anthology was air, and between these pages, we met a lot of marvelous and magical creatures, from different folklores around the world. It was an interesting experience, and the reading was quite surprising, even if, to be completely honest, I was expecting something a tad more light, happier in some ways.
I know that this was just a personal thing, and I am not saying that I haven’t enjoyed these stories, because it was interesting and some of the stories were really good, it is just that when I think about “air” the first things that come to my mind are lightness and cheerfulness. I don’t know why, and someone else could associate other things to this element so, as I was saying, it is just a small note here.

Anyway, we have a lot of short stories there, and we have some poetry too, and this mix helps in making this anthology even more original. I preferred the prose, but the poetry was an interesting addition to it all. And we really get to meet a lot of interesting air creatures, from all around the world.
In the first story, The Snow Wife, for example, we get to meet a creature from Japan, and this was the thing that I appreciated the most about this short story. (The story wasn’t bad, and even if it is set in America, it has something that reminded me quite a lot about The Beauty and the Beast).
But this collection is not only original for the theme or because we get to know more about different folklore, is different because authors tried their end with new setting and style, and this was a thing I really appreciated.

In Faery Dust we see a faerie dealing with our modern justice system, and it was quite hilarious, and in Time Fold we have a sci-fi twist, and the idea behind this story is brilliant!
Research Log – – 33 is all written as diary entries and it was so perfect (and fun!), and We All Fall Down is written in the second person.

And we get to read about Loki, too (I loved Golden Goose), about necromancers, swan maiden, the Wild Hunt (and this is one of my favorite things ever!) and faeries.
I think that everyone can find something interesting there, and I loved the theme thing going on.

To be completely honest, I am not the biggest fan of anthologies, because I don’t really love short stories, but sometimes I like to read them all the same, and even if I didn’t love all the stories in this one, I had a great time and I loved some of them.

and half!

And what about you? Have you read this anthology? Or have you read others with a theme going on? Let me know!

Happy reading!
S.