Short Story Saturday: Fairy Gifts

Title: Fairy Gifts (from the anthology Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson)

Author: Patricia Briggs

Date of Publication: September 2, 2014

Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Number of Pages: 30

Synopsis: "I grew up in Butte, Montana... there were all sorts of stories that were told about the "old days." Stories about the racetrack that had stood where East Junior High (now East Middle School) had been built. I heard tales of Shoestring Annie, Dirty-Mouth Jean, and the old madame who beat up Carrie Nation when she took her temperance crusade to the wrong bar. So I just had to set a story in Butte." - Patricia Briggs, "Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson"

My Review:

Fairy Gifts was probably my least favorite short story in the Mercy Thompson collection. Thomas and his back story were interesting enough, and I would have loved to learn more about his life in the past, but I had a few issues with the plot that really hindered my enjoyment of the story.

I like Thomas, we don't see many good vampires in the Mercy world so I was happy to be introduced to another one. He had a fascinating back story and I would have loved to learn more about his life before he became a vampire as well as the times right after he was changed. His part in his fathers opium den intrigued me and I was fascinated by the powers to the earth he possesses.  However, I felt that this story didn't give enough time for me to really get to know Thomas's character or go into any depth with the plot.

The main reason I didn't like this short story was because I finished it with more questions than answers. I went back and read, and re-read, and re-read again but I just couldn't figure out why the events were taking place. Why was Margaret trapped in the mine in the first place? Why did Thomas's father punish him by making him a vampire? Why did the other fae in the beginning of the novel betray Margaret's father? The story just wasn't long enough to answer important questions and I finished this story feeling unsatisfied. Plus the entire plot of the story was the exact same thing happening twice, once in the past and once in the present.

Though I wouldn't say this story was bad it definitely wasn't what I was expecting from Briggs. The lack of a fleshed out plot, and quite a few holes along the way, just didn't do it for me. Though I wouldn't mind seeing Thomas again in the future I just wasn't impressed with his story.

3/5