Graven Images: Fifteen Tales of Magic and Myth

I saw this book on the bargain rack and the summary about the old gods so I picked it up. Like any collection, some are good, some didn't hold my interest. Here are some of the good ones.Diana of the Hundred Breasts- I liked this one. The narrator is on an archeological site with his genius brother, Charlie. Charlie and the narrator unleash the Goddess Diana. The Face of Sekt- My favorite. It is the story of the goddess Sekt who has to wear a mask to conceal her face. She gets a request to go to the King to heal his son. His son was made ill by a magican, who was really a djinn. It's interesting to hear the story from an actaal goddess.The Goddess Danced- I LOVe this one. Meena is from a Hindu family and her mother, who died during the birth of her younger sister Abha, never neglected the Brahmin rites. Some boys torutre Meena by throwing acid on her face so she has to marry this blind man. The family is mean to her and forces her to beg. I won't give away the ending but the moral is that every woman has a goddess inside of her and should not be mistreated.Heart of Stone- A magician's house is sacked and he is killed. There is a "woman" in a stone that is left behind- she is some kind of spirt. She is trapped in there and is forced to lip read fortunes for another untruthful man, who wants money. The Eleventh City- A story in the form of a letter. The narrator s in the little town of San Marcos del Lago and he talked to a man who had an interesting story. There was a pig who couldn't die so it brought bad luck where ever it went. Cora- About a man named Edward Brown who had a manticore named Cora. His Great Aunt Irene took his inheritance and gave it to a man he never knew named Herbert. They become friends, more than freinds and then Herbert decides to leave him. Lets just say a manitcore can't stand the betrayal of the one it loves most.Shaped Stones- About a boy Teru and his younger siblings, Baisil and Lexa. He gives up his heart and becomes a tool of a man to ensure his safety.Wanderlust- You know the Hawaiian hula girl in the car? Well what happens if she doesn't want to part with you? giottas Window- A man, Thomas Ashen, realizes he has a beak and other people have trunks or beaks but no one believes him. He is taken to an asylum by Jane but and she realizes that she sees them too.

Graven Images presents short stories of dark fantasy by such classic writers as Robert Silverberg, Gene Wolfe, Tanith Lee and others, gathering stories based on magic and myth and providing satisfyingly diverse plots and settings. Any who want to receive a collection strong in characterization and diverse in dark fantasy setting will find this an excellent leisure choice.