Review: _Something Magic This Way Comes_ edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Sarah A. Hoyt

Science explains the way the world works most of the time making it sound very mechanical in many aspects. Human civilization has grown to its present day modernness thanks to scientific advances. Still, people have imaginations. Many wish for a touch of magic in the world. Something Magic This Way Comes edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Sarah A. Hoyt is an anthology of stories where magic touches the world. The short stories range from creepy to humorous and readers will find many of them entertaining.

A woman finds her life turned into chaos in “Raining the Wild Hunt” by Katie Paulk. Megan is jogging on a forest trail when an injured elf appears out ot the air in front of her. The elf, Delorias, tells her the Wild Hunt pursues him. She was the previous victim of an abusive husband, but is now tough and resolves to help Delorias. This story of survival continues as Megan strives to escape from Athaniel the Hunt leader. Ms. Paulk provides a thrilling story with a strong woman character.

“The Case of the Allergic Leprechaun” by Alan L. Lickiss is a humorous story combined with a private detective story. The detective, Frank, has a short man walk into his office asking him to find out who he is. When the man sneezes, Frank’s secretary disappears. Frank must solve the mystery and deal with magic to rescue his secretary. Mr. Lickiss writes a funny story that leaves readers smiling.

In “Firebird and Shadow” by Darwin A. Garrison, Missy Watkins hides in an alley beside a dead body of a friend. She is a young girl with magic powers, alone and fearing the attack of shadow people who will drain her power. A man tries to kidnap Missy, buy is stopped by the powerful mage Ms. Gerard. The story contains a nice magic duel to save Missy from danger. Mr. Garrison creates an entertaining story through vivid descriptions and intriguing characters.

Walt Boyes’s “A Midsummer Nightmare” is the story of a group of people trying to stop a dangerous ritual from being carried out on the summer solstice. Harry Wilson is an insurance investigator. His Native American friend George calls him for a meeting. George tells Harry that someone is setting up a ritual that is disturbing the supernatural world. Events lead up to the appearances of a god and the Wild Hunt before things are settled. Mr. Boyes gives readers a nice story with some touches of humor.

The last story in the anthology, “Regency Sprite” by Dave Freer, is set in England during the Regency period. Told in the first person point of view of the main character, the story begins when a drunk Arthur stumbles home and finds a trapped fairy in the alley. He helps the fairy, but ends up in a struggle to stop an evil mage. Though the ending leaves readers wanting more, Mr. Freer contributes a clever story to entertain readers.

Something Magic This Way Comes edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Sarah A. Hoyt is an anthology of stories where magic touches our world in various ways. The stories range from serious to creepy to humorous with many of them entertaining reads and some thought provoking. Readers will find some enjoyable and memorable Urban Fantasy stories in this anthology.