Fire by Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley – review

Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits is an anthology of five stories about fire elementals.  Each story very different from the others, but all are extremely well crafted and engaging.

The first story, “Phoenix,” was a charming tale of a special wood, discovered on a family picnic, that held a  secret that Ellie comes to know because of her affinity for the wood.  Making herself available to those who cared for the wood, Ellie learns a secret that will change her life.  It is a quiet, contemplative story.  A story of something so wonderful that its secret is cherished by those few in the know.

“Hellhound,” the second of five, turns up the tension a notch.  When a family cares so much about each other and the myriad animals that share their space, wonderful things are bound to happen–even if they are very scary as they are happening.  When Miri adopts Flame from the animal shelter, she has no idea that it was meant to be and that Flame is much more than the dog he appears to be.

I am conflicted about the third story, “Fireworm,” and I believe that is as it should be.  Everything we know or see or do doesn’t fall clearly on the side of evil or good.  Shades of grey are much more abundant than just black and white.  While saving your friends and family is a good thing, how you do it is as important as the deed.  Do we need to destroy to progress?  Can we adapt and live side by side with something that may be the death of us?  A complex story told very well.

A straightforward tale of a destiny to right a wrong, “Salamander Man” was a little gem of misdirection and plain good storytelling.  Tib the slave is about to witness his master make the sale of her life which will, in turn, change his forever.

My favorite story, however, has to be “First Flight.”  When reading shorts like these, I tend to begin reading before seeing the title or the author–in fact, it wasn’t until I finished this last story that I looked through the titles and authors.  I tell you that because after the first several paragraphs, I knew, without a doubt, that it had been written by Robin McKinley.  I’ve been reading her blog for the past several months, and the voice of Ern, who desperately wants to be a Healer, was so much like hers that I smiled as I realized it.   Ern is a character that many of us can relate to:  we strive and try and don’t realize that we are actually succeeding because we are so involved in day to day doing that we can’t see it from where we stand.  This was a delight of a story–and that is even before dragons come into play.

A terrific little collection of small stories full of big people and every day miracles.  This is the type of anthology that you will want to share with others and perhaps try not to hang over their shoulders to see if they come away with the same reactions you had.  Highly recommended for fantasy fans who enjoy nodding along with the characters, hoping their hopes and sharing their smiles.