Enchanting Review: Omnibus

OMNIBUS (A COLLECTION OF FANTASY STORIES)

SHERI L. MCGATHY

YA Fantasy Anthology

Double Dragon Publishing

ISBN# 1-55404-507-X

219 Pages

$16.99

Trade--Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

OMNIBUS is a delightful collection of four short fantasy stories by Ms. McGathy.

THE BIRTH OF SPRING

Wonderfully detailed, Ms. McGathy paints a delightful visual in this short story. When the wheel of seasons stop changing and war is imminent between the Winter and Summer, daughter of Summer, Astara must go to the Winter King to demand his freeing of the seasons Along the way she helps a pair of robins, saves two children and the flower they were freezing to protect and frees the wisp, all of which play a surprising role in the ending of the story.

THIEF OF DREAMS

Nerys Devi has been promised to Gerard Regan since birth, but while Gerard may have her hand, he’s far from having won her heart. When a chance encounter at the faire leads her to meet Cody, she finds herself attracted to him much more so than the controlling Gerard. When fate intervenes in the form of her father, he decides to give both men a year to win the lovely Nerys’ heart. But Nerys already knows who she chooses, will she finally have her chance at happiness or will Gerard conspire against her?

THE ANCIENT ONE

Talwyn, daughter of the Golden, was reborn from the mist into a beautiful world of colors. But when a vision in the pool foretells a dark future for her friends, the trees and spirits that dwell within, Talwyn must make a choice, to sacrifice her own future and her return along with the other Goldens back to the mist, or to stay behind and do what she can to keep the vision from coming true.

WHERE LIES BEAUTY

Hired to take the mysterious scarred Faylon to the mystical city of Sha-da-nay, Seeker Tanner couldn’t imagine what awaits for her deep within the cursed Hagath Forest. But the journey isn’t easy. Ghosts of her past haunt her and Tanner easily declares ‘she cries for no one’, something that might not be so true once she reaches her ultimate destination.

Its hard to pick a favorite from the four stories in this anthology, though I admit I’m partial to THE BIRTH OF SPRING for its great description, not to mention its sweet story and THIEF OF DREAMS for its story and characters. Gerard was a true despicable villain and Cody the perfect choice for the sweet Nerys. I loved how the faery ring actually played a big part of the story and how things alluded to early on later came back.

Fans of Fantasy and short stories will no doubt enjoy Ms. McGathy’s tales found within the covers of OMNIBUS.

During the weekdays, Ms. McGathy’s a Graphic Arts Coordinator/Copy Editor in prepress. In the evenings and weekends, she’s a writer. You can visit Sheri online at her website to check out excerpts from all the stories in OMNIBUS http://www.sherilmcgathy.com/

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

August 2008