An anthology of 15 stories set in the Elemental Masters universe, one of which is written by Mercedes Lackey. Unlike the core books which are set in Edwardian Britain or continental Europe, the stories range from Ancient Greece to Hawaiʻi. Most stories are set in the Regency period or after. I found it slightly odd in that there were no stories set between Ancient Greece and the Peninsular War; it would have been interesting to explore how the Elemental Masters coped with 'the Burning Times'.

The stories were generally good - I particularly enjoyed Diana Paxson's A Song of the Sea, set in Ancient Greece, and Jody Lynn Nye's Air of Mystery, set in Art Nouveau Paris. The last one stayed in my mind from when I first read the book, and inspired me to re-read it (I've been buying scent).

Recommended.

I'm not really big on short stories. Some of these were great and I wished they were full novels, and some of them I wished were shorter. ( )

The short stories in Elemental Magic are set in Lackey's alternative universe where there are Elemental Masters who command the elements of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. While I very much enjoy Lackey's novels set in this world, these stories seem rather slight and forgettable. Even a few days later I would have to reread a story in order to describe it. So while I enjoyed it somewhat while actually reading I would only recommend it to those who can't get enough of this series.

Several very good stories, some not so interesting. Nothing terrible, but nothing wonderful either. And having this many stories in quick succession made me notice that all of them are about mages just starting out - usually older than training should start, but untrained for whatever reason. And then I was thinking about it and that's what Misty writes too - the only two I can think of that got properly trained are in Gates of Sleep where she then ran into villains who didn't use Elemental Magic and was therefore just as uncertain in dealing with it as the rest of the protagonists, and Reggie in Phoenix and Ashes who lost his powers and had to relearn them - be retrained. So here are 15 stories of people who didn't know they were mages (or otherwise magic - there's at least one medium as protagonist), or were being kept from the proper training by an enemy or by indifference, and suddenly get exposed to magic and have to figure out how to use it and what their own talents are (ok, upon checking back - 11 like that, one where the protagonist is trained but another isn't, and three where the protagonist is trained but dealing with a new situation). There are several that I'd like to see more of, and some I'm afraid we will (assuming this turns into a series like the Valdemar anthologies), but almost all of them are just starting out in this book, and most of them end these first stories with the equivalent of "Ok, now I'm a mage - what now?". Not bad, but a bit of an overload. And I really wish the Fire Rose protagonists could have shown up in the last story, set in Hawaii - but no, the rescuer had to be an unattached male because the protagonist was a young female. They didn't _all_ end up paired off, but the vast majority did. I did enjoy it, and I'll read again - but overall they've pretty much blurred into one another.
On a reread, 6 years later - I remembered/recognized the first 10 or so stories, and was completely unfamiliar with the last 5. Either I completely forgot them, or I didn't actually finish the book. Hawaii wasn't the last story, for one thing - there were two stories set in Hawaii, and the later one was the second-to-last in the book. Hmmm. Other than that, no change in my opinion. ( )

A solid collection. This is an interesting world with so many opportunities to grow in different directions. The authors certainly had fun with it! ( )