Damar! Damar Damar Damar. Damar and a character named Ruth. Damar!

So, yes, this collection had a new Damar story which I loved, but I thought the collection as a whole was kind of erratic, but that is maybe partly due to the fact that I adore Robin McKinley and don't have the same reaction to Peter Dickinson. The three McKinley stories in the collection were my favorite, and I ended up skimming one of Dickinson's (The Sea Serpent) because I couldn't get into it. McKinley simply paints images in my head that refuse to go away, no matter how long it has been since I have read the story that sparked the painting.

Definitely worth reading if you love McKinley, and if you want to give the others a try, I think Mermaid Song is his strongest offering in the volume.

This was the first time I’ve ever really read a short story collection, so it was a new and interesting experience for me. Each story is unique and (from what I can tell) takes place in an entirely different universe from the last. Going through each story was a little bit of a roller coaster, because one would leave me feeling really satisfied, and the next I wasn’t so happy with, but then I loved the one after that! Whew! I need to lie down. And there’s a really cool but simple artistic thing done at the beginning of each tale that I thought was a neat detail.

There was a lovely, quick way of indicating to the reader which author—Robin McKinley or Peter Dickinson—had penned the story that followed in the form of the graphic at the start of each tale. Overall, the writing was beautiful. Both writing styles are very similar. I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it did add a nice flow to the book on the whole. And I am absolutely in love with Robin McKinley’s writing. She’s been my favorite author for a long time now. Specifically, I didn’t care for Sea Serpent. I didn’t like the main god-priest character very much, and I liked the fact that he won in the end even less. On the flip side of that, I really liked The Sea-King’s Son. If you’re looking for a straight-up fairytale love story, that’s your ticket. I appreciated that the protagonists’ relationship develops without physical contact for a long time and just focused on talking and sharing and getting to know one another first. They’re both very different, but they admire their differences and love one another for the people they are. Seriously, such a good love story. As much as I liked The Sea-King’s Son, I absolutely adored The Water Horse! If you liked Uprooted by Naomi Novik (which is another fantastic book you should definitely read), allow me to unabashedly pull you towards McKinley's The Water Horse and place it in your hands. It's beautiful and sweet, and there's a strong thread of self-empowerment and community running through it.

I really enjoyed the experience of reading through this entire book, though. Each story is really different, and they're all incredibly well done. Now go read The Water Horse and Uprooted. :-)

It's really hard to rate short story collections, because each individual story is different. So rather than my usual rating header, I'm going to break this down by story. There are six stories in this collection, all centered around water (sort of). Three are by Robin McKinley (woo!) and three by her husband, Peter Dickinson (meh). As you can see from the below, I much preferred McKinley's stories. In book order, they all are:

1. Mermaid Song by Peter Dickinson: (3/5) This wasn't a bad story. It was the typical girl in a repressed society/family, struggling to get free. Only her family had a secret about mermaids that had been passed along to her, and she ends up discovering and freeing a caught young female mermaid, which makes her father mad and finally gets her moved to a better home. It was a good story but I would have liked it more if she and the mermaid had gotten together, I dunno... they had these moments where they kissed and it was really sweet and I think it would have been a nice subversion.

2. The Sea King's Son by Robin McKinley: (4/5) This one was very fairytale-esque, which Robin McKinley always does amazingly well. Again the story was a bit predictable, you could see where it would end up but it was still a very good read. I liked the little romance and how they ended up able to be together.

3. Sea Serpent by Peter Dickinson: (2/5) Ugh. I mean the writing was fine, but I'm not the kind of person who is gonna want to read about some all-male religion coming in to basically ruin this all-female religion by stealing their magical standing stones and defeating their Goddess and getting away with it, no thanks. Even if the magic was interesting.

4. Water Horse by Robin McKinley: (5/5) This story SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FULL BOOK, wow, I would have loved to read an entire book about Tamia. This little story was about an island at the mercy of the sea, and the Guardians who help keep the water at bay. Tamia is under-appreciated (of course) and then becomes a Guardian and it was just really wonderful but I didn't want it to end. I wanted it to be a lot more.

5. The Kraken by Peter Dickinson: (4/5) My favorite of his three stories, this story is about a mermaid princess who sees two star-crossed lovers jump off a ship because they'd rather die together than be killed or separated by the pirates. The moment is so beautiful that she tries to save them, but that shining moment of love catches the attention of a Kraken, who shakes the mermaid city until she brings the two lovers (who the Kraken has in a sort of suspended animation) down to him so he can capture the moment. It was really beautiful and well done.

6. A Pool in the Desert by Robin McKinley: (5/5) A return to the world of Damar from The Blue Sword! I was so excited, even if it was only tangentially related. Hetta is another unhappy daughter (that's a theme but I like it) who travels to Damar's past in her dreams, to the time of Aerin and Tor where she meets Zasharan, a Watcher she falls in love with. Her sister finally convinces her that she needs to do what she needs to do, to do something for herself because she's given up everything for her family, and her spirit lives in that Damarian desert in the past. She ends up going through the little pond in her backyard and propelling herself into the past (it's a really well-written scene) to be with Zasharan. I especially love the ending, with her sister looking her up and finding legends about her sister and herself.

n  Overall average rating:n 3.8 out of 5, rounded to 4.

Some were better than others.

I've read Water several times over the past decade or so. Each time, I appreciate Dickinson's contributions to the anthology more than I did on the reading before, and each time, I rediscover one of my great literary regrets--that there will, almost certainly, be no more Damar books or stories to discover. All of McKinley's contributions to this anthology are lovely, but A Pool in the Desert hits me in the gut (in the best way) every time.

I really liked how all the stories felt like legends. My favorite stories were A Pool in the Desert, Mermaid Song, and Water Horse. All three were intriguing, but A Pool in the Desert and Water Horse were the most intriguing--especially A Pool in the Desert. I would love to read more about those worlds or, even better, a continuation of those short stories.

Here we have three short stories, three from each author. Overall, the collection is good but this 5 star rating is directly due to the last story - it's about DAMAR! Hetta, living a far less than stellar life in the Homeland, starts dreaming of sandstorms and watchers. after a few dreams she figures out that she's dreaming about Damar, and goes to the library to research the legends. More than anything Hetta wants Damar to be real -- surprisingly, it is. This is an excellent blending of the magical and the mundane.

I'd never read Peter Dickinsons stories before. I was happily surprised that I liked his as well. A great read. I love Robin McKinley's characters and her short stories did not dissapoint. As a bonus the last story was also about the land of Damar from her books The Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown (my 2 favorites of hers)

I've been a Robin McKinley fan for a number of years. Her re-telling of common fairty tales are some of the most creative and moving I've ever read. In Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson contribute short stories about Water creatures. They are delightfully short and wonderfully satisfying, just the right length for bedtime stories.
You will read of
*mermaids and mermen and their interactions with "air people."
*the Kraken, the monster from the fathomless deep and what he does with light and love
*the Sea Serpent who is sent by the ancient ones to destroy the creation of a new sanctuary of the new gods, and how unbelievers thwart the Sea Serpent
*of the young maid who impossibly saves her people by taming the Water Horses
*of shifting time and reality between the now and the legend

This is a very enjoyable collection of fantasy stories all based around water in some way.

Mermaid Song - 3 stars - A poorly-treated young girl discovers a mermaid. Just OK. I think this was just warming us up to the style of the book.
The Sea-King's Son - 4 stars - My favorite --a romance between a land-based girl and a sea-based man. First, she had gone through a love trauma, then she accidentally found herself in a position to meet the sea king himself. Eventually, as she and the son find each other, they discover many barriers between them, of course. But they are determined to figure out a way that they can be together. A sweet romance with true love determined to win.
Sea Serpent - 3 stars - An interesting look at a family of rafters whose job is to transport goods across a large body of water. Their latest controversial job is being blocked by a sea serpent who has been sent by a powerful goddess. This one got a little confusing from time to time because I just couldn't picture the waves and the raft and how they worked. But the basic story was interesting--the small and weak must outmaneuver evil.
Water Horse - 4 stars - A young girl is apprenticed to a Guardian, someone who protects the land against the water. But when she breaks the rules, she discovers what the consequences are--for both her and the world she is protecting. Loving someone or something to your own detriment will often bring the unexpected.
Kraken - 3 stars - A mermaid princess witnesses a moment of true love between humans and tries to save them from the beast at the bottom of the ocean, but she ends up facing the evil herself. This didn't engross me as much as I thought it would. Just OK.
A Pool in the Desert - 4 stars - A young woman--the drudge of her family who has had to give up her dreams of an education--begins dreaming about the desert and the people who live there. But are they real or just legends? This kept me interested right up until the end and rounded out this book nicely.
I will definitely look for more from these authors.

“Water” is another collection of stores, this time by Robin and her husband Peter Dickinson. Each contributed three stories, all based around the element of water. (They’ve also released “Fire”, which will be coming to paperback on 9.7.10; I haven’t read it, but I will.)

In “Mermaid Song” by Peter, Pitiable Nasmith lives with her grandparents on a farm. Before she dies, Pitiabe’s grandmother tells her the story of Charity Goodrich, who came over to the New World and was on the ship that sank before reaching the shore. Charity was saved by two children of the sea people, and the tale of her encounter has been passed down among her daughters and their daughters for many generations. Pitiable, down by the shore one day with her grandfather, sees splashing in a tide pool, and upon investigation, finds her own sea-child.

“The Sea-King’s Son” by Robin begins, as many fairy tales do, with a betrothal gone wrong. Jenny falls in love with Robert, who loves her only for the farm she will inherit, and she finds him in the stable with another girl. Devastated and betrayed, she sets foot on a bridge that no land people are allowed to set foot upon, due to an old grudge held by the sea people against the land people. The sea-king takes pity on her, and she returns many weeks later to thank him. She is met instead by his son, Dreiad, and her broken heart begins to mend.

I did not read the next two tales by Peter Dickinson, not being able to get into them. This could also be because my typical reading situation is in the quiet of my apartment, and I’m currently on vacation, surrounded by my family, one of whom is an extremely loud 15-month-old.

“Water Horse” by Robin introduces a land protected by Guardians and their magic. Tamia, under-appreciated and disliked by her stepfather, is lifted from her mundane life to become the apprentice of the Western Mouth (a Guardian). Her Guardian falls deathly sick only five years into her apprenticeship, and Tamia’s attempt at a magical call for help unleashes a creature of water who may destroy the world.

“A Pool in the Desert” by Robin does something that all Robin’s fans have been longing for: it returns us to Damar. Hetta has laid aside her own dreams to take care of her unappreciative family, and travels to Damar in her dreams. She meets Zasharan, a Watcher in the desert hundreds of years after the reign of Aerin and Tor. She lives in the Homeland during the day, and dreams of the Damarian desert by night. Having fallen in love with Zasharan, she must find a way to propel herself into the past and into legend.

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I'm a huge fan of the concepts these stories use, but not the biggest fan of the writing style. The undertone of magic is subtle, but pulling and helps to nudge the reader's curiosity along every step of the way.