An anthology with fire as the uniting element between the stories sounded like an interesting read. "Interesting" is an understatement. "Fabulous. Awesome. Outstanding." There are far better terms to describe this eclectic collection of short stories featuring everything from phoenixes to demons and more. Each author brought their own vision of fire to the collection and the result is a collection that is enjoyable as it is unique. Steampunk, fantasy, and everything between is represented in these pages. Whether you're familiar with the authors here or not, you're certain to find at least one story that will stick with you long after you return the book to the shelf.

How does one review an anthology? Each story on it's own merit? That would mean 21 separate reviews? Or a review as to how well Rhonda Parrish did finding and compiling these stories.

Of the 21 stories, each one struck me in a good way. I have a couple of favorites, that I can reveal if blackmailed but looking over the contents, it struck me that I liked all of them in near equal portions. The over-riding common thread of course was fire. Each story was quite unique and presentation and plot. More than one surprised me with the telling. I did not know any of the authors, but now I have a list, (thanks to the biography section) and will look out for other things written by them.

Get the book. I tend to buy a lot of anthologies, just for exposure to new artists. All I am saying is to get the book.

My review appears on Weekend Notes. Thanks to the publishers for sharing this title. It's a great, varied collection.

It would have been nice to have a Table of Contents so that I can look at one page on the Kindle instead of fumbling through pressing the left and right buttons several times.

The first story, "She Alone" by Blake Jessop, weaved past events with present, although it was relatively predictable within seconds regarding which characters were the reincarnations - the story itself was rather unique to me, so I still enjoyed it immensely. However, the author chooses to refer to the characters by their professions or what they are, so that may not be everybody's cup of tea, but for me, it wasn't too detracting.

"Magnesium Bright" by Lisbeth Ashton was the very definition of a SHORT story, but it gave me enough and evoked a since of frivolity despite the horror that occurs outside of the sprite's perspective. The fact that the entire story personifies a grenade explosion as a full-fledged being trapped inside a metal prison until its given food to grow and flourish was highly entertaining. Is it wrong I was rooting for the sprite?

I adore humourous short stories as I believe they make for a quick read. Whether it takes you fifteen minutes or two hours, the time flies by when you have a smile on your face. "Bait" by Krista D Ball reminds me of the Order of the Dragon in Dracula NBC series, a group of people chasing monsters and trying to extinguish or capture them. Not all monsters are so easily subdued, however.

Mara Malin's "Double or Nothing" I skimmed through to be honest, only because Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody still weighs heavily on me and has jaded me regarding magical card games, Other readers will most likely be intrigued by this, so please don't take this as a negative review, just a personal preference review. I'll most likely try and pick it up later when I can forget about Ace of Shades.

"Aladdin's Laugh" by Damascus Mincemeyer was one that was a little close to home, as Henry kept mentioning Mac as one of his war buddies (my grandfather's nickname was "Mac"). I was reminded heavily of my grandfather while reading the way Henry dealt with the djinn and dismissed people's "normal" wishes. And Henry's final wish seemed something my grandfather would do as well. Definitely one of the high point of the anthology.

"Cilantro" by Annie Neugebauer is one that I hypnotised into reading. The conversation started off like normal couple squabbling, but the further into the Kafka-esque story, Annie's way with words just pulled me in and I wondered how it would end.

The entire collection is really variegated in regards to genre, tone, and length - Parrish has done an excellent job finding stories for this collection.

I like the idea of theme anthologies and the concept of this one really appealed to me. All the stories involve some sort of creatures of fire.

I hadn't heard of any of the authors so it was a bit of a gamble, and like most anthologies with a collection of unfamiliar authors, some stories appealed to me more than others.

We had an Ifrit, a fire sprite, demons, including one who fought an Angel, dragons, gryphons, genies, an elemental magician, a tribute to Jim Morrison (though the author didn't seem aware that he didn't write Light My Fire), a host of mythological fire gods, Phoenixes and an Aitvara.

Unfortunately five and a half of the twenty-one stories were written in present tense, which I detest and find difficult to read (one kept switching between past and present tense).

Four of the stories stood out as particularly good. These were:

The Second Great Fire by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Breath of the Caldera by Wendy Nikel, The Midwife and the Phoenix by J.G. Formato and especially Double or Nothing by Mara Malins, which involved a game of cards that brought to mind Magic the Gathering, but with real creatures. This one made the book worthwhile on its own.

While I can only give the collection as a whole three stars, these authors I'll be looking to see what else they've written.

Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns is an anthology containing twenty tales of contemporary encounters with demons, djinn, a fire sprite, Phoenix birds, an angel, a fire fae, fire gods (including Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano goddess), a frightful ghost consumed by fire, and a strange story about a human who turns into a slug (I think it morphs to a moth). The stories are short, which will appeal to some readers, and they are well-written, so it's an exciting read from cover to cover. The stories are quite varied -- two of them brought tears to my eyes, and one story was, well... kind of a gross-out. But they were a fun read.

The one aspect of this anthology that I didn't care for is that it contains no Table of Contents. I think a contents pages helps to remember where you left of, if you are taking your time reading the book. But it does contain a mini-biography at the end with notes about each of the story authors. Here's my list of the stories included in "Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns:
(1) She Alone; (2) Strange Attractor; (3) Magnesium Bright; (4) Permanence; (5) The Hatchling; (6) The Hatchling; (7) The Djinni and the Accountant; (8) The Second Great Fire; (9) Bait; (10) Double or Nothing; (11) A Girl, Ablaze with Life; (12) Light My Fire; (13) Ring of Fire; (14) Aladdin's Laugh; (15) Phoenix Rising; (15) Phoenix Rising; (16) Cold Comfort; (17) Aitvaras; (18) Midnight Man vs. Frankie Flame; (19) Breath of the Caldera; (20) Cilantro, and (21) The Midwife and the Phoenix.

I’ve been fortunate enough to read one of editor Rhonda Parrish’s previous collections (Mrs. Claus: Not the Fairy Tale They Say), and thus looked forward to reading “Fire: Demons, Dragons, and Djinn.”

One might expect that the theme of fire might generate a similarity among the offered tales. However, the diversity of stories (as well as the different writing styles of the 21 authors) kept the book fresh from start to finish. Like anyone else, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but I am happy to report that all of the stories were of high quality.

The elegantly-written “She Alone” (Blake Jessop) was the introductory tale, a magical story fusing past and present events together. Though I enjoyed all of the stories, there are a few that became personal favorites. Krista D. Ball’s “Bait” was a humorous account featured in a memoir by the main character, documenting the meeting between the members of his party with a fire demon. “Double or Nothing” by Mara Malins features the high stakes of a magical futuristic card game (and yes, fire is involved). Special mention has to go to Susan MacGregor for her artful mix of pop culture history and fantasy in “Light My Fire.”

The book became so engrossing it was almost like reading a thriller. Once I completed one story I was on to the next, and the compilation ended way too soon for me. Fun reading, and worth all five stars.