It is no secret that I love a good anthology. After all, there is no better way to get introduced to a new (or new to you) book series or author. Most often there is good variety in these gems of literature and most of those times the good out ways the bad significantly. In the book Hex Appeal by P. N. Elrod, it is pretty much an even split between the good and the so-so stories.
This collection of stories centers around the use of hexes and spells. For the most part, the stories are of witches, wizards and other practitioners of magic. P. N. Elrod does an excellent job of taking all these disparate works and blending them into an overall cohesive collection. The reader is always aware that each is a new story but, the style of each allows them to flow together. The net effect is almost a narrative of it's own.
This is not to say that I enjoyed all the stories. A few of the stories were the type of pulp stories I can't really get into. It is really nothing I can put my finger on except to say maybe I've seen these tropes done elsewhere in a way more appealing to me. It really is a personal preference but, quite often that is what art and literature is all about.
One of my favorite stories was a Dresden Files short story I had no idea existed. This one gives a new twist to very old legends of the native Americans. I don't want to spoil but, you might get a fresh perspective on parenting and acceptance of those that are different.
Hex Appeal by P. N. Elrod is an interesting collection of stories that is sure to have something to grab the attention of most readers of speculative fiction. There is a variety of violent scenes and scenes of a more mature nature. This book gets an R rating from me.
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