Fantastic Creatures: A Fellowship of Fantasy Anthology: Volume 1 Paperback – 15 Nov. 2016

A reasonable collection of fantasy stories by less well known writers. They vary in quality but overall a pleasant read.

I've finished the book, but, like many of the other readers here, I found that there were some stories to love and some to hate. Some gifted writers and some who should stop now."Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates" was an endearing story, putting a new twist on the Lockness Monster (did the Americans invent the Lockness Monster as well?!). I also enjoy "Snapdragon" which had an almost adult fairytale feel about it."Seekers" was a beautiful story, which made me buy (the not quite so good) "Bone Knife" short.It's worth a read, certainly to pick up some ideas or just to pass the time. Just don't pay too much for it if you ever have to.

A great selection of Fantasy Tales that not only entertained, but gave me insight into the writing skills of each author.Fortunately, at the end of most (but not all) stories, there was a snippet of information about the relevant author, and embedded links to their sites, so I was able to see what other works they had to offer.I now have even more books to read in my TBR pile.

Great book to get lost in!

I did like a few of these stories but I'm glad it was a kindle freebie. Most of the stories felt unfinished, some of them were obviously the start of a longer work. Useful as an intro to writers you might not have tried. I liked "snapdragon" and "the last dragon" so this gets the third star but I just didn't care for the rest.

some stories better than others...too many are self-indulgent narcissistic ramblings, with little plot and no purpose...a few are good, but most are not...khanani's is outstanding, a shining gem in a bucket of coal...it is interesting to see how users of the same tools, the language, can reach such different effects...rather sad too, actually...this anthology reads as a collection of creative writing class assignments (which is not a compliment)...i am glad it was free...just my time wasted....oh well...

Dreadful. Even free it is not worth having, stories are childish and badly written. I have deleted it

This anthology has a really varied mixture of stories each involving different fantastical creatures. I was impressed by the inventiveness of the tales produced, and enjoyed the different takes on common mythologies and mysterious creatures.Overall, it wasn't clear exactly what age range this anthology is going for. Many of the stories were adult, but I could also have imagined reading some of them to my (hypothetical) children. Personally, I'd have preferred a narrower scope in this respect, because my favourite stories all came from the more adult end of the scale.My favourites were as follows:Skin Deep (dark fairytale)The Last Chronicle of Pete Mersill (dystopian)The Netherlands (demon hunters)Mother's Night Out (urban)Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates (adult but not dark)Snapdragon (dark fairytale)As you can see, most of my favourites were in the young adult or adult genres with urban, dark, or teen themes. But that's what I tend to enjoy anyway.So to sum up, something for everyone, but conversely, you are unlikely to enjoy the entire book.

Fellowship of Fantasy: Fantastic Creatures is an anthology put together by the members of a Facebook group that I'm part of too. This is not a review request. From what I had seen, it looked like fun, and it was. I'll look over a couple of the stories here in a paragraph or so each.These are the ones that came to mind first. I suppose that means I found them the most memorable. However, it does not mean that these are the only ones I liked. While looking back over the table of contents, I decided that I liked basically all of them. Out of 21 stories, there was only three or four that I didn't like, or did like but felt were too incomplete to count as a full story. "Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates"This is a fully formed short story; the setting in the desert region has a tactile quality and two central characters are impressively developed in little time. The plot has a solid set up and an intriguing build up to the reveal of the creature. The nature of the conflict is funny, cute and realistic. It has a fully conclusive ending which I like.I'd say more about it but there's a minor mystery element involved that is part of the story's charm. Suffice to say that Burt is telling the truth when he says "Fluffy" is not a cat. "The Golden City Captives"This one has interesting world building in its fantasy aspects. The nature and underpinning of fairy society is one such aspect and how it can be exploited by outsiders is a fine twist. Then there's the mechanic of how shapeshifters are "born". It leads me to think about the why and the history while enjoying watching it happen.The story also provides a glimpse of the human society which influences these factors, and, in turn, is influenced by them. I want to use the phrase "overflowing climax consequences" because it develops to a grander scale than I expected. The initial conflict is completed but it flows so well and so quickly into another that I was disappointed when it ended. Kinda of like screeching the brakes; I want to see more. "Adventurer's Heart"I found a classic fantasy-adventure role playing game in this one. There's this hunter on a vengeance-drive monster hunt. She happens upon a quest, truly like a game, and has to complete a chain of deals and kill a monster or two for someone else before she has the proper equipment to start her own hunt. It's a lot of fun to read.Once again, this short story feels more like one part of a bigger story than anything self-contained. It's like the first episode of a season. If the author felt inclined to make the rest of the "season" then I would be interested in reading it. The protagonist and her world is that well established and interesting. "Destiny's Flight"I get a "fantasy version of the Crusades" feel from this one. A knight and "miracle man"(kind of like a lay cleric) escort a messenger to her destination. The knight has his armor and sword fighting, the miracle man effectively has spells for healing/buffing etc. and the messenger has a quarter staff and her griffin. They fight an evil knight and his own mount who want to kill the messenger.There's also a budding romance and it has a foil in a happily married couple. It's a nice narrative counterbalance to the action. An even measure of both makes the characters "pop" as human (or griffin, as the case may be).It feels conclusive, more so than the previous two, but it also feels like this setting and its results could be used to tell more stories.__________________________________________________________________________Trickster Eric Novels gives "Fellowship of Fantasy: Fantastic Creatures" an A+

Bit of a mix of stories, some good some not so much. Good for finding new authors. Stories range from children through to horror.

Loved it. Love reading anthologies for 2 reasons. A) One doesn't feel like they have to read the book all at once; 2) Great way to find new authors.

A bit of every kind, so to say. I found it good entertainment. Was pleasantly surprised. Due to fact that the individual stories are not very long, these can be read in between, whenever you have time.

A fascinating and varied collection of stories- enjoyable, well-written, and unique. I liked most of the stories, some were just not my "preference". Each enthralled and entertained, and the creatures were easy to imagine, the places so real I could have visited "once upon a time". Some even caused me to desire my own "creature" and my own "beast experience". Others made me pull back in alarm, glad I don't have one...yet. Maybe someday.In the meantime, this anthology of stories allows the reader to jump in and experience having a beast without the responsibility, the terror, the regret, while still allowing pleasure and wonder to preside.This collection is fantasy fiction. It a combination of stories with beasts and creatures, some lending goosebumps, others making the reader smile- all fantastic.I took a while to get through the anthology, not because my interest wasn't piqued, but because life got in the way. In my opinion, this book is ideal for mid-upper teens and up. Though I know some families that would have no problem giving it to a younger person, it isn't something I would give my younger kids to read.