I picked up this book because I've loved several of Diane Duane's Star Trek novels and was curious about her fantasy. She does not disappoint in this beautifully varied collection of short stories. "Bears" and "Herself" were my two favorites, but I enjoyed almost all of them.

I've never read the Young Wizards series, and I thought the title story was the weakest and least interesting. Fortunately, it's the last entry in the collection, otherwise I might not have gotten past it to the true jewels. ( )

They cover a wide range of her work, and there's bound to be several here you haven't read before. Leprechauns coping with the challenges, and facing new dangers, of modern Ireland, in the 1990s "Celtic tiger" period. A man who seeks a clockmaker's help in getting back the truly valuable thing he lost when he was ten, in a house fire and burglary. (It's not what he thinks.) A queen is confronted by the twin challenges of a dragon angry that her prized treasure has been stolen, and the heroes that are, for sure, real soon now, going to go deal with the dragon. Some modern criminals/terrorists hire a Swiss computer hacker who has been around a little longer than they think, to help them steal Nazi gold from the major Swiss banks.

There are also two Young Wizards stories, here, one of them involving Nita and Kit when they were brand-new wizards, and, like many young teenagers, too easily bored. Tom gives them an unusual and seemingly pointless assignment to get them out of his hair--and perhaps accomplish something else.

There's a lot of fun to be had, here. Enjoy!

I bought this ebook. ( )

A pretty good collection of short stories, although the ones near the end were the best of the bunch. Surprisingly, "Uptown Local" was not my favorite, although it was fun. I actually preferred "Herself," about a reporter investigating a murdered Leprechaun, and "Theobroma," about a wizard helping a chocolatier get her mojo back, to the title story. ( )

The two stories set in the Young Wizards universe are real gems--one with Nita and Kit (and parallel worlds!), and one with some new wizards we'd not met.

The other stories are fun, especially the bank robbery in Zurich, but I would buy this for the YW two. ( )

A collection of short stories by Diane Duane, including two stories set in the Young Wizards universe.

I love the two set in the Young Wizards universe, Theobroma and Uptown Local. Unfortunately, I don't particularly care for the others. ( )