Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits

I am not a short-story reader, but I am a long-time fan of Robin McKinley. I enjoyed how each story in this book was very interesting and complete in themselves. I felt the two authors blended their stories together well and added more perspective and interest. If I'd've known there were mermaids, I might have picked up this book sooner... and if I'd realized McKinley had thrown in a new one from Damar, well... now you know! I'm definitely getting Fire.

I just finished reading this compilation of stories and I LOVED IT. They were all great short stories that stood alone well, tales of magick and adventure. The very best part was the last story which is set in Robin McKinley's world of Damar, familiar from her books The Hero and The Crown and The Blue Sword. On the bookjacket, it was said that there would be more books written in this series. I can't wait!

As a disclaimer, I only read all of the stories in it by McKinley and just a few by her husband.I felt that this collection was quite good; much better than her aweful "Spindle's End" and the somewhat trying "Door in the Hedge." To me these stories were more true to the nature of her books "Beauty," "Rose Daughter," "The Blue Sword," and "The Hero in the Crown." The book does contain a short story related to the later two. Overall I think that I enjoyed the "Water Horse" story the most. It was about a young girl named Tamia who is apprenticed to a guardian who protects the land from the ocean. She is surrounded by different kinds of horses during her life that impact her in different ways. Her childhood pony was her first friend, the Water Horse is a destructive monster that is flooding the land and killing people, and the mare and foal at the end save her and her people.I liked the strong female heroines in her stories and am thankful that she is back to her rolicking and not trudging way of telling a story. Overall a good book for a Robin McKInley fan; I can't wait to see the other books in the series when they come out!

I read a lot and most of the books are good, but this one is Awesome! It is cool because it has fantasy and reality combined together to make the most loved tales. It makes you have this feeling inside that you are actually IN the book, not on the couch reading it! I hope you will enjoy it too.

This book was very wonderful. I enjoyed it very much and think everyone should read it. Also read some of the other books written by Robin McKinley.