Tales of the Lost Horizon

Tales of the Lost Horizon is a great collection of poetry and short stories for people who LOVE SFF. For me, someone who is still working their way into the genre, it was still pretty good. I also enjoyed the artwork interspersed throughout each chapter.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time that I have come across Michael Eging, author of 'Annwyn's Blood', and the idea of reading a selection of short stories and poetry by a fantasy writer appealed, even though it is a genre I do not usually read.
As with any collection of short stories, you will always find some that you prefer more than others and this was the case for me. Looking firstly at the poetry, the highlights for me were 'Antony, he goes not alone - ' a poem that takes the death of Mark Antony as its starting point and 'Splendor'. This poem might be one of the shorter ones but was beautifully vivid. For me, these two stood out amongst the poetry.
The book is also illustrated and sadly, I always find that images never translate well on a Kindle - not on mine anyway, which is one of the older models. I would love to see them in a hard copy so that I can appreciate the finer details.
Moving on to the short stories - what a variety. We are taken from god and serpents, to a new version of the Arthurian legend in 'The Lost Spell', to a mini epic fantasy in 'What's In A Name?'. This story has touches of 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' in it - a band of elves in a quest for a jewel that is in the hands, or claws, of a dragon. Super imagery and humour. A really enjoyable read. Then we move almost to the modern day in 'From Beyond the Grave' with its unexpected ending. But the author has not finished with us yet. We next move into space with 'Stardusted' and onto the story that I think was the most moving and heart-breaking - 'The Cyborg Heartache'. The final story has its starting point in life as we are experiencing it now - a pandemic. Hopefully, the outcome for us will not be as the author portrays it here.
So very different stories but for me 'The Cyborg Heartache' and 'What's In A Name?' were the two stories that were the highlights and even if you have never picked up Michael Eging before, I would recommend that you choose this for these two stories alone.

Tales of the Lost Horizon contains a variety of stories for readers who enjoy fantasy. Glad to read this work from an author who is new to me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

This is a fantastic book for class, for hlmework assignmet or just for home (own children, nephews and nieces ... small neighbours... you name it). I really enjoyed it and I believe I'll be using it soon in class

A brilliant collection of Fantasy/Sci-Fi stories, poems and art.

This book contains a vast collection of different short stories and poems. It starts out with high fantasy/mythology and ends with Sci-Fi/apocalyptic short stories. The theme of each story is different, some have good endings and some don't. Yet they all somehow fit toghether. Just when I thought "Hm, all these different high fantasy settings are staring to repeat themselves a little", the next stories took place in the present or future.
Each story was unique in writing style and theme but enyojed every single one.

However there was one small issue. I read this book on my Phone in the kindle app and the artwork was not displayed properly. The pictures were either warped or could not be displayed at all. (If this issue is resolved I will give this book 5 stars).

I am a huge fan of short stories. Plus Fantasy and Sci-Fi are some of my favourite book categories.
If you these points also apply to you, you should read this book.

4.5/5

I enjoyed reading the book even though I don't typically read within the genre. I was drawn to it because it included poetry and short stories, both of which I do read. What I enjoyed the most was the variety. Each poem and story was so different that it almost seemed as if they were written by different authors. The illustrations were also nice. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that I wish there was something deeper that connected the stories, or that the author explained why he chose this particular collection to put together. Also, all stories weren't equally good.

This was an adventure! I was swept up in the story and left speechless as I read through this tale. This is sure to be a classic! I think fantasy lovers will die hard love this story and will not be able to put it down.

Interesting collection of short fantasy stories. This kind of book is not really my thing but the stories were all nicely written.

Great easy read of a gamut of short stories & poems, am sure you will find a jewel or more in this to hold dear. My notes on this collection though odd will add.
Indras indulgence makes weak Visnu to set straight
pawns or players everyone has a role & few come out on top for long thus is the Romans
oh father I beg thee, may I always be fair in your eyes & stay in your grace to always ride by your side & ne'r find myself fleeing & be that of the hunted
old elven mage off to find his stolen grimoire find a youth of folly on the road to town by the Thames. Too eager to meet his death by far for a knighthood the mage stays a bit on the trail with him. the mists are heavy & stories changed in time
from the blood of Gods the strongest swords are formed
beauty is beauty inside out though mangled & dead it still lives & becomes the beast & the hero
mad kings need to taste earth before they destroy all in greed & lust
fireflies up in smoke when vainglory grasp instead of precautions
the simple & the strong can be dead from loss though alive & live after death through honor of actions & love

This book is the first time I read Michael Eging, and I have to say I enjoyed it. This is a compilation of short stories and poems. 

The poems are vivid and fantastical, and there was more than one that reached me deeply. Meanwhile, the sort stories are so different one from the other, and it made me feel more than once like I was reading old myths. 

It was easy to enjoy and keep up, since the stories keep changing. There is no continuity to them, so reading them is a breeze.

I really enjoyed reading this collection of stories and poetry, they were really well done and interesting. It had a lot going for it and it was a pleasure to read.