Oh… horses. A whole book of them. Well some are horse-like creatures, but… This is a set of really good stories, and some of them are brilliant. Early on I was wondering whether a whole book of short stories would be interesting enough, but the variety in this volume was astounding. The stories were outstanding. Just as I thought, ‘this one, this is the best of the lot’ along came another to vie for supremacy.
Clearly, every author has had a personal relationship with at least one horse. The detail of horse movement, the quiver of the wither, the softness of the muzzle, the tickle of the whiskers… the side-eye (something a lot of animals give you – it’s a very disapproving look). Some of the stories offered verbal (or telepathic) communication, others left it to the unspoken wishes and understanding between partners. The writing was at once descriptive, and vibrant. Nobody got bogged down in detail, and all grabbed your attention and kept you there. Most involved you right into the sights and smells of their world.
I think my most memorable was the dystopian rider, partnering not only her horse to get messages through. Even though the horse feared the augmented humans who they rode alongside, the development of the alien attack and the ride through the devastated London was astoundingly dynamic, frantic, and real. There could be a huge development of that scenario, and I hope I’ll be reviewing a full-length novel drawn from it at some stage.
If you like horses, Equus is a must. For other fantasy/dystopia/mythology admirers – enjoy it. I gave it five stars with no hesitation – and that’s a great compliment to the editor. ( )

I'm SO not a horse person, but the variety of ideas and broad spectrum of horse types worked well. Good collection. ( )

Admittedly I'm a little biased, since I've got a story included here, but this is a seriously enjoyable collection of horse-themed fantasy. Stories range from darker, horror-tinged offerings like 'Eli the Hideous Horse Boy' to the humorous historical romp 'Ladies Day' and 'The Boys from Witless Bay' (which reminded me a bit of one of my favorite YA fantasies, [b:The Shattering|10757830|The Shattering|Karen Healey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340197910s/10757830.jpg|15103740]). A few other stand-outs for me were 'Rue the Day' and Angela Rega's poignant story 'The Horse Witch.' Truly a story to suit every horse-hearted reader! ( )

Soppy stories for teens

This book is as bad as you think it might be. Much of the problem is the weak editing, but putting that aside, the concentration of stories about horses and horse-like creatures gets more and more saccharine. I probably would have liked this as a teen but as a grouchy old editor it raises my blood sugar too high.

I received a review copy of "Equus (Rhonda Parrish's Magical Menageries, Volume 5) edited by Rhonda Parrish, through LibraryThing.com. ( )

Wow, that a fantastic anthology. Not a bad story in the bunch. The settings and horse mythologies are incredibly diverse, too, ranging from unique takes on the results of Loki's, ahem, shapeshifting habits to a fae creature in Newfoundland to several fresh secondary worlds. If you love fantasy stories and horses, do yourself a favor and get this. ( )