Here are a few highlights, in addition to the ones already named. “Fire’s Daughter,” by Elisabeth Waters, takes a serious look at how inequal rights can affect a talented person. “Sails of the Armada” by Kristin Schwengel carries on a long tradition of speculating that elemental magic was involved in the destruction of the Spanish fleet sent to conquer England in the summer of 1588. “Air of Deception” by Jody Lynn Nye, is about espionage, perfume, and subtlety. The crippled heroine of “Arms of the Sea,” by Tanya Huff, demonstrates that while her back may be broken, her spirit is not. “Bone Dance” is a steampunky Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale with a nifty allusion to one of Shakespeare’s oddest stage directions (from the play Pericles, if memory serves). “The Flying Contraption,” by Ron Collins, is part Sorcerer’s Apprentice and part Eureka, as a ten-year-old girl named Daisy accidentally helps two brothers named Orville and Wilbur solve a problem having to do with air flow. The last story is Lackey’s own “Into the Woods.” I don’t want to spill the beans, so I’ll just say that it packs a wallop and rescues a fairy tale from its own bad history. (Take that, Bruno Bettelheim!)

There are some fine writers here, and I’m delighted to see this expansion of one of my favorite series. ~~ Chris R. Paige