Magical Beginnings


Magical Beginnings is an anthology of fantasy short stories edited by Steven H. Silver and Martin H. Greenberg, first published in paperback by DAW Books in February 2003. It is a compilation of the first published stories of sixteen prominent authors in the genre, and features introductions to the stories provided by the authors of those stories. Magical Beginnings was the second of three similarly themed anthologies, its companions being Wondrous Beginnings and Horrible Beginnings, compiling the first published stories of authors writing in the science fiction and horror genres, respectively. The series follows the example of the earlier First Flight: [Maiden Voyages in Space and Time], edited by Damon Knight and First Voyages, edited by Damon Knight, Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander, which focused on science fiction authors only and did not include individual introductions.

Contents

  • "Introduction"
  • "Introduction to 'People of the Crater'"
  • "The People of the Crater"
  • "Introduction to 'My Daughter's Name Is Sarah'"
  • "My Daughter's Name Is Sarah"
  • "Introduction to 'April in Paris'"
  • "April in Paris"
  • "To Light a Fire"
  • "The Fires of Her Vengeance"
  • "Introduction to 'The Fane of the Grey Rose'"
  • "The Fane of the Grey Rose"
  • "Introduction to 'Bones for Dulath'"
  • "Bones for Dulath"
  • "Introduction to 'The Unicorn Masque'"
  • "The Unicorn Masque"
  • "Introduction to 'The Stuff of Heroes'"
  • "The Stuff of Heroes"
  • "Introduction to 'The Ulfjarl's Stone'"
  • "The Ulfjarl's Stone"
  • "Introduction to 'Rending Dark'"
  • "The Rending Dark"
  • "Introduction to 'A Different Kind of Courage'"
  • "A Different Kind of Courage"
  • "Introduction to 'Third Time Lucky'"
  • "Third Time Lucky"
  • "On "Sing'"
  • "Sing"
  • "Introduction to 'Birthnight'"
  • "Birthnight"
  • "Introduction to 'The Jewel and the Demon'"
  • "The Jewel and the Demon"
  • "Introduction to 'The Raven's Quest'"
  • "The Raven's Quest"
  • "About the Authors"