reviewed by
Jennifer Kahng
Most people, at some time or another, wish they had some magical power so they could be special or run away from the mundane world they live in. Many times, this wish manifests itself when we are children for what child wouldn't love to have some magical skill?
Children of Magic is a collection of seventeen short stories that tell of children who have magical skills. Most of the stories are about children and magic in the world we know of today. One, "Nethan's Magic," is not about a magical child at all, but how a woman whose life is filled with magic could be captured so completely by a child who is not magical at all. At least, not in the traditional sense.
Yet, though the stories all have a central theme, something just doesn't seem right and the collection doesn't really mesh together. It's as if the wide world of magic was just too wide. Some of the stories fall flat. Others just seem downright creepy. There were, however, a few gems.
"The Horses of the High Hills," by Brenda Cooper is one noteworthy story. The tale is of a young girl whose life is quite dreary, but she finds a portal to another world where she can make wood carved animals come to life. The place she goes to has a sense of whimsy and the reader can see exactly what the girl sees as a little horse statue comes to life in her hands. What little girl doesn't want a pony, after all?
By contrast, there's "After School Specials," by Tanya Huff, which tells the tale of two young girls, spoiled brats, the youngest of which has magical powers. The elder sister is brash and the tone of the whole story is harsh, yet there's something about the fact that the younger sister can hear spirits and, in the end, catches a poltergeist that draws the reader in.
And who could resist a story and a child named "Starchild Wondersmith"? This story, by Louise Marley, is just splendid. Starchild comes from a magical family, yet by the time he's come of age, he still hasn't shown an ounce of magical ability. So his parents send him to a school for the Normals and there, his ability finally shows. I admit his magical skill, when it was revealed, wasn't exactly as I had thought it would be, but what I liked the most about the story was that Starchild opted to stay with the Normals rather than move back to the school for the magical.
These three stories, plus a couple others, make up the best of the compilation, in my opinion. It's as shame there's so few, though, as the world of magic is so completely, well, magical. I suppose it's difficult to capture that in a story.
