Sirens in outer space. Sirens in WWII-era London. Sirens at high school football games, and Sirens who are dating online, and Sirens in ways you’ve probably never seen before.Parrish’s anthology is filled to the brim with tales to make you second-guess your mythology, pulling a legendary species of creatures into the “real world”—or not. The collection is had been smartly curated, with every tale offering a unique voice and perspective to the subject, providing a variety of stories to eclectic t...

I was given an advance copy of this book to read, and asked to provide a cover quote if I wanted to. I DID want to, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this magical book. Each story has its own unique, ferocious take on the mythological Siren. Fantasy and short fiction fans should definitely check it out.

Editor Rhonda Parrish always puts together strong anthologies, and this is probably my favorite from her to date. The stories here stretch from fresh takes on the Greek tales that first mentioned these tempting water spirits, through modern urban fantasy, to far-future space adventures with singing creatures of a different sort. Altogether, it makes for a haunting experience. Some of my favorite stories included Kelly Sandoval's humorous "Siren Seeking," with witty dialogue that made me laugh ou...

"Sirens" as a theme offers a broad spectrum of literal possibility, from the avian monsters of Greek mythology to the sleek temptresses of the sea. But the writers of this anthology offer an even broader range of interpretations. One of my personal favorites is "Nautilus," by VF LeSann, a delicious tale of AI and a tantalizing call in deep space. Though far removed from the original concept of sirens, it feels right in this varied collection.I also need to shout out to "Moth to an Old Flame," on...

The siren uses voice to lure people to distraction and so to an unfortunate end. This anthology could be a siren in and of itself, as it can lure a middle-aged man away from attending to life's necessary chores such as earning a living. The topic offers fertile grounds for original storytelling because both modern and ancient literature have done so little with it. We have sirens in the sea, in outer space, and in the underground/subway system. The book is always better, but each story in this b...

Anthologies are always tricky to rate and review, simply because it is not one story, it is (in this case) 16. Overall, I liked the book. I'm not entirely sure I want to buy a dead-tree version (I bought it on Kindle when it first came out); I'm leaning toward yes, but it's not a strong yes. If I weren't trying to whittle down my ridiculously large library, I more certainly would.Snapshort reviews of each story."Siren Seeking" (Kelly Sandoval): Very enjoyable, it seems like it would be a good st...

Sirens are beautiful, dangerous, and musical, whether they come from the sea or the sky. Greek sirens were described as part-bird, part-woman, and Roman sirens more like mermaids, but both had a voice that could captivate and destroy the strongest man. The pages of this book contain the stories of the Sirens of old, but also allow for modern re-imaginings, plucking the sirens out of their natural elements and placing them at a high school football game, or in wartime London, or even into outer s...

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was fascinating! It lures you inside and won't let you go! I promise.

I enjoyed this multi-faceted look at Sirens. Each author put a different spin on these mythical creatures and each brought them vibrantly to life. Great read.

Initially, I was concerned about how to adequately review an anthology. Rhonda Parrish’s Sirens made it really easy: This book is exceptional. Parrish collected a wide variety of stories about sirens, the mythical creatures that use their voices to sing men toward an inevitable demise. Our world is clearly changing, shifting over time as national and world-wide events shape the dynamics in jobs, relationships, worship, and recreation; not only for humans, but the sea folk as well. These short st...

The Magical Menagerie series has something for everyone. This particular collection is not my favorite simply because I'm not drawn to the mythology of Sirens and all that it encompasses. But, like all the series, the writing is top-notch, and I look forward to the next in the collection as soon as it comes out.

MY REVIEW FOR BOOK CLUB BABBLE:Rorschach tests are designed to expose the predispositions of our unconscious minds. Submitting a story for an anthology might do the same thing. Rhonda Parrish asked writers to compose a tale, utilizing the concept of sirens, the enchanting songstresses who woo men to their death. The stories, which were selected for the anthology Sirens, include as many different embodiments of these magical creatures as there are descriptions of ink blobs. The variety and creati...

Anthologies are always fun because you get a variety of perspectives and styles. I enjoyed the overall flow of this collection. Some of the tales in here were beautifully written and leave a lasting impression. The last story especially, which is the way it should go. There were only one or two stories that just didn't grab me as much as the others, but they were good in their own right. I definitely recommend this to fantasy fans, especially women.

Although I liked the concept of an anthology on Sirens, I was overall disappointed. I did like all the different interpretations of a siren, but most of the stories were clumsy and unsatisfying.

The moment Rhonda Parrish announces another anthology--especially Magical Menageries installments--I get grabby hands. She always cultivates an amazing selection, and this group of maligned and misunderstood sirens is my favorite of all her books so far, displacing FAE (which I will continue to heartily recommend).Sirens of all sorts splash and flap between these pages. Good, bad, intelligent, empty-headed, they're all in here. L. S. Johnson smashes it out of the park again with her story, "We A...

Poignant, diverse, and enthralling: this new volume in the Magical Menagerie series evokes the majesty of sirens, from the traditional deep sea variety of Greek mythology to those that entice sailors of deep space to ones who scan modern dating sites with wistful hopes for a good match. I could not stop reading.

Sirens is yet another strong entry into the Rhonda Parrish's Magical Menagerie series from World Weaver Press. As I've said before, I'm not usually one to read anthologies, but I've gotten hooked on Parrish's carefully shaped anthologies. I'll try not to spoil any of the stories too much for you as I review this latest installment. As a caveat: I was given a free e-ARC of this book for the purpose of writing this review; all opinions are entirely honest and entirely my own."Siren Seeking" by Kel...

A harried professional longs to be beautiful, untouchable, unreachable. A gentle fisherman yearns for a companion. A boy is determined to best his stepbrother and win his sister’s affection. These are a few of the characters in Sirens, the latest offering in the Magical Menageries series edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press.Longing infuses these tales, which are populated by humans wanting something more and watery beings either wistfully recalling a past when they were f...

What fun! I quite enjoyed this anthology, reading it easily in a few hours. The opening one-two punch of "Siren Seeking" by Kelly Sandoval and "The Fisherman and the Golem" by Amanda Kespohl were both charming and captivated me from the start. The story selections should appeal to fans of urban and contemporary fantasy, fairytale re-tellings, and mythology (there are a couple of sci-fi stories, but these are accessible to non-sci-fi readers). As with most anthologies, some stories worked better

i really liked this collection of stories. There were a couple i wasn't too excited about, but the rest were pretty good.