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Legends (Legends I (all stories))

by Robert Silverberg (Editor/Contributor), Stephen King (Contributor), Robert Jordan (Contributor), Terry Goodkind (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Anne McCaffrey (Contributor), Raymond E. Feist (Contributor), George R.R. Martin (Contributor), Terry Pratchett (Contributor) , more…

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 3,483 ratings · 119 reviews

Here they are, the writers and the worlds that have satisfied millions of readers. Each has returned to their compelling special places to tell a new tale that enriches and illuminates their most famous creations, in a big, lavish volume enhanced with color and illustrative materials. Many of the short novels take place at an earlier moment in the history of their worlds,...more

Hardcover, 720 pages

Published August 15th 1998 by Tor Books (first published 1998)

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Oct 03, 2012 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Surprisingly, I have managed to read something this year that wasn't written entirely by George R. R. Martin. Admittedly, I only picked this one up when I finished A Game of Thrones and realized that I hadn't ordered the next three.

This is an anthology of fantasy works compiled by Robert Silverberg. It contains five stories written be masters of the genre set in their most famous fantasy worlds. It is intended, I think, to give the reader a taste of the world, so that they might find something n...more Surprisingly, I have managed to read something this year that wasn't written entirely by George R. R. Martin. Admittedly, I only picked this one up when I finished A Game of Thrones and realized that I hadn't ordered the next three.

This is an anthology of fantasy works compiled by Robert Silverberg. It contains five stories written be masters of the genre set in their most famous fantasy worlds. It is intended, I think, to give the reader a taste of the world, so that they might find something new that they like. With each of the stories, if you find something you like, you know that there is a large pile of additional stories in the same style, set in the same world, that you can then start exploring.

The first in the book was a Discworld story by Terry Pratchett, which once again confirmed my thoughts about the author and his stories. I've never been much of a Pratchett fan, but have known many. I can see the attraction - he's quite funny, and many of his jokes are quite clever. They are just all the same. I felt like I'd heard 90% of the jokes in this short story several times before. I personally feel that mocking Fantasy as a genre is just lazy. Fantasy naturally borders the silly, and what separates it and makes it worthwhile is when you take it seriously. Taking the mickey is really just too easy, and turning that into a series of about 38 novels is like spending 20 years picking on the same overweight kid with a limp and coke-bottle glasses.

The second in the book is a story set on Pern, by Anne McCaffrey. I was a big fan of her work 20 or so years ago, and read most of what she had written at that time. Years later, I felt there was something a little off about Pern. It lacks a lot of the richness of good Fantasy, and feels somewhat spartan. It probably comes from the fact that it is more accurately described as "medieval sci-fi with dragons" than Fantasy proper. The world just seems dramatically underpopulated and empty. Good sci-fi and fantasy authors leave you with a feeling that there is a lot more going on around the characters than is mentioned in the books; but in Pern you just have the feeling that when the protagonist walks out of the room, the people just shut up and stop doing anything, and that there is no-one in each town beyond those the characters directly talk to. It's certainly not a bad read; it's just lonely.

The third story was by George R. R. Martin, set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, but 100 years earlier. It starts out a bit simple, but by the end it picks up, and turns into a solid tale. There are apparently two more stories in this prequel series, which I'll have to try to dig up. And yes, I must confess this story was the reason I chose this book to read while waiting for my ASoIaF novels to arrive; I was jonesing for some good Westeros.

The fourth was by Tad Williams, set in the world of his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. This is the first I've ever heard of this series, and it seems an interesting world, if perhaps a little depressing. I don't think I'll be deliberately seeking this series, but if I happened to stumbled across it, I might pick it up.

The last is by Robert Jordan, set in the world of his Wheel of Time series. It seems quite good - interesting characters in a richly imagined world - though this series is one of the reasons I have my "don't start reading the series until it's done" rule (which I seem to frequently break). I'll wait to see how the reviews pan out for the last few books in the series, which were completed by a different author after Jordan passed away. It had better be bloody good if I've going to have to read 12,000 pages to get through it. Jordan's Conan novels were very good, so I have a high opinion of his work in general.(less)

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Mar 17, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, short-stories, series

This is a very well-written collection of short stories by sci-fi & fantasy authors, each related to one the authors' series. My favorite was probably the Earthsea story by Ursula K. LeGuin, but all of them were quite good. This is the first "Legends" collection by editor Robert Silverberg, and includes all the stories. It was also published in a 3-volume set as "Legends Vol. 1" etc.

For my own convenience I'm listing the stories, the authors and their series here:

"The Little Sisters of Elur...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, fantasy, favorites

My main reason for buying this book initially was the new Robert Jordan story "New Spring," which sheds light on certain events in the Wheel of Time series. That it also had stories by some of my other favorite authors, Tad Williams and Anne McCaffrey was a bonus. I didn't read all the stories included (I wasn't interested in the King or Silverberg ones at all), but I found most of them quite enjoyable. Marketing genius here: I started reading the Alvin Maker (Card), Discworld (Pratchett), Riftw...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Chance rated it 4 of 5 stars

Since this is an anthology of short stories from a number of fantasy series writers I'll give a quick run down of my feelings about them individually.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Little Sisters of Eluria. I love the Dark Tower series, and I remember searching this anthology out just to read Little Sisters when I was reading The Dark Tower books. It remaninds one of my favorite King short stories, but that may just be because I love Roland so much. :)

Terry Prachett: Discworld: The Sea and...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Rafal Jasinski rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Zbiór opowiadań o podobnie zróżnicowanym poziomie, jak czytany przeze mnie wcześniej drugi tom niniejszej antologii. Obok świetnych, dających apetyczny przedsmak (dla tych, którzy z poszczególnymi autorami nie mieli wcześniej się okazji zapoznać) i jednocześnie poszerzających wiedzę o uniwersach przez nich stworzonych (dla osób, które twórczość pisarzy publikujących w "Legendach" znają doskonale) nowel Terry'ego Pratchetta, Stephena Kinga, Orsona Scotta Carda czy Georga R. R. Martina, znajdują s...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Liss Capello rated it 4 of 5 stars

I requested this book in order to read the first of the Dunk and Egg tales by George R. R. Martin. Typically I'm not very enthusiastic about anthologies, because they tend to be huge (meaning they take forever to read) and uneven (meaning I have to slog through boring stories in order to get to the ones I enjoy). Although this clocks in at 715 pages and therefore fills the first downfall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the stories contained herein. Most of them are actually pretty...more

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May 08, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, scifi, ebook

I picked this collection up primarily because it is the only place I could find online that had the first of George R. R. Martin's Dunk and Egg stories set in the Song of Ice and Fire series and wasn't priced preposterously high. As a whole, the collection was well worth it for the rest of the stories it contained. Some were bound to be better than others, of course, but there were a few gems. Since this is an anthology, I've tried to keep up with my opinions of each of the stories it contained...more

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May 01, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, stephen-king, anthology

Picking a star rating for an anthology is difficult since I had a range of reactions to the stories in this book. The Terry Goodkind and Robert Silverberg stories were my least favorite. The writing in both was immature and overly moral, particularly the Goodkind. The Silverberg stretched too long and just was not interesting. Ursula K. LeGuin and Anne McCaffrey's stories were middling quality; I didn't dislike them like I did "Debt of Bones" and "The Seventh Shrine", but they didn't strike me t...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Shivering William rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't find the version of this I read . . . which is important because the stories are a little different. Ah well.

1. Sisters of Eluria - Par for the course for King. Overall, not outstanding, but with a few great moments.

2. Silverberg's story - Guy's got nerve to put his own, horribly told story into his edited collection of the best fantasy writers. I can't believe I actually finished it.

3. The Grinning Man- Awesome. Gonna go back and read Card's whole series.

4. The Wood Boy - Great tale. Ho...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's ridiculous how many of these novellas were eventually re-released as stand-alone books...sometimes expanded, sometimes not (and I think the Stephen King novella was actually integrated into future publications of the first book in the Dark Tower series). The quality is almost universally high, especially if you're already a fan of the original series. But even if you weren't, the new stories here might still be of interest since they are meant to be self-contained: Robert Silverberg's Majip...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, fantasy

Not read all of these stories, only The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin and New Spring by Robert Jordan. What a fortuitous collection of short stories this was. Both are add on stories to my favourite fantasy worlds. I look forward to exploring the rest of these when I'm done reading the other series I am invested in.

Fans of Martin may be tempted to pick this up to get more of the world in his gigantic The Song of Ice and Fire series. For best results and the most payoff in connecting the t...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Finished!

The concept of this book--assembling novellas by many of the top fantasy writers in a single volume--is ingenious, and the execution is solid. Legends features ten of the top 15 to 20 fantasy authors of the late twentieth century, plus a story from editor Robert Silverberg (who is better known for his science fiction).

It's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts: the stories themselves range in quality from so-so to excellent. I'd rank the stories in this order:

1. Ma...more

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Feb 18, 2012 cathepsut rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I read this book several years ago. I don't remember when or where or what it looked like. Back then I probably picked it up because of Anne McCaffrey. But the only reason I remember the book at all and why I found it again is The Hedge Knight. My memory of the story is sketchy at best, but it made me get the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I am now listening to the audiobook of A Dance with Dragons. If you are a fan of classic fantasy and are not scar...more

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Nov 06, 2009 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read all the stories yet, but have enjoyed most of them so far. Picked it up for George RR Martin's ASOIAF prequel "The Hedge Knight", which was awesome as expected, 5 stars easy. Also honorable to mention to "Debt of Bones" by Terry Goodkind from The Sword of Truth series which grabbed my attention. Some other entertaining stories mixed in there as well and I may have found a few new series to get in to like The Tales of Alvin Maker and The Wheel of Time. I'd recommend the whole colle...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Waven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, horror-sci-fi

Paperback Version, Volume I, published 1998. Contains only short novels by Stephen King, Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, and Raymond E. Feist. This is a long review but I wanted to give each story separate attention. Unfortunately, I found this a somewhat uninspired collection. While it is undoubtedly difficult to write a tale in the middle of a series for an audience who may or may not be familiar with its primary characters, these stories struck me as pleasant but not enthralling.

The firs...more Paperback Version, Volume I, published 1998. Contains only short novels by Stephen King, Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, and Raymond E. Feist. This is a long review but I wanted to give each story separate attention. Unfortunately, I found this a somewhat uninspired collection. While it is undoubtedly difficult to write a tale in the middle of a series for an audience who may or may not be familiar with its primary characters, these stories struck me as pleasant but not enthralling.

The first novella, and my favorite of the group, was The Little Sisters of Eluria, by Stephen King. Main character Roland, of the Dark Tower series, ventures into the small and seemingly deserted town of Eluria, finding some unpleasant - and deeply dangerous - inhabitants remaining. The foreword synopsis sets the scene well enough and the story itself is a nice read, with enough unusual quirks to keep things interesting if not wholly unexpected.

The second short novel, The Seventh Shrine, by Robert Siverberg, involves his extensive series on the alien world of Majipoor. Being unfamiliar with the backstory save what the synopsis provided, I found the story a bit drug-out but a fair read. Pontifex Valentine ventures into the ancient desert ruins of Velalisier to investigate the murder of a well-respected archaeologist and runs into a much older mystery as well. It had a particularly nice twist at one point and good detail but was otherwise none too remarkable.

The third novella, Grinning Man, from Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series, was also a fair read but nothing to write home about. Alvin and his companion Arthur Stuart meet a stubborn and less-than-loveable Davy Crockett in this alternate history. Their meeting leads to trouble when Alvin and Arthur come into a river town in Davy's wake and find themselves spurned by its citizens. Even worse, they suspect one of its most powerful residents is up to no good, but have no proof nor way to stop him. I rather enjoyed part of Alvin and Arthur's humorous exchanges and some of their mischief, but the story veered toward utter silliness near the end and did not recover.

The last short novel, The Wood Boy, from Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga, tells of Dirk's trials on a grand estate after the invading Tsaurani arrive. A young servant with many obligations, including keeping wood boxes full, Dirk dreams of a simple life with land of his own and perhaps the love of Lord Paul's beautiful daughter. But the Tsaurani interrupt his plans, and the betrayal of a friend leads Dirk down a far different path. It was a decent enough read with a couple decent enough twists but never grew interesting enough to grab my full attention.

As a whole, this collection is fairly forgettable. Being unfamiliar with most of the series these stories are based on undoubtedly biases me, but one might contend that good writing needs no explanation and an enticing tie-in novella would be a great way to introduce new fodder to a hungry audience. For the record, this collection inspired me to read none of these series, though Stephen King's The Little Sisters of Eluria came close.(less)

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Mar 02, 2010 Tamcamry rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has to do with the Gunslinger story only.

• This is a neat little story that gives you a little bit more insight into Roland. As with many short stories, it leaves you wanting to know more about all of the characters involved. One issue that I had with this story however was that it seemed to work really hard to make references to the novels. Now, I understand that in order to make it interesting and fun a reference or two is probably a good idea, but many of the references in this st...more

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May 03, 2012 Dore' Ripley rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great collection of stories by some of the greatest fantasy writers from Urusula K. LeGuin and Robert Jordan to Stephen King and George R. R. Martin. Each story takes place in a universe the author made famous. Readers are set on the trail of a new tale involving a few major characters and even some new characters that help make the imagined world appear more poignant and real even while populated by fairies and dragons.

While this whopping tome's 600-plus pages makes it a heck of a doo...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Lora Rivera rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Dark Tower: The Little Sisters of Eluria by Stephen King: 3 stars
Discworld: The Sea and the Little Fishes by Terry Pratchett: 4 stars
The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind: 2 stars
Tales of Alvin Maker: Grinning Man by Orson Scott Card: 3 stars
Majipoor: The Seventh Shrine by Robert Silverberg: 3 stars
Earthsea: Dragonfly by Ursula K Le Guin: 3 stars
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn: The Burning Man by Tad Williams: 1 star
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin: 4 st...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars

I bought this for Martin's The Hedge Knight (THK) and finally got around to reading the entire collection cover to cover.

This was the first time reading King's The Dark Tower and I have to say ... drum roll ... it was good. My only complaint is that it felt that the Roland, the main character, would have been more interesting if he was a darker character. Maybe he is in the full Tower novels.

I also liked Terry Goodkind's Debt of Bones, Robert Silverberg's Seventh Shrine, Tad Williams' The Burnin...more I bought this for Martin's The Hedge Knight (THK) and finally got around to reading the entire collection cover to cover.

This was the first time reading King's The Dark Tower and I have to say ... drum roll ... it was good. My only complaint is that it felt that the Roland, the main character, would have been more interesting if he was a darker character. Maybe he is in the full Tower novels.

I also liked Terry Goodkind's Debt of Bones, Robert Silverberg's Seventh Shrine, Tad Williams' The Burning Man, Raymond Feist's The Wood Boy, Robert Jordan's New Spring. All of these had something in common for me: they were connected to well known fantasy series that I have not read. All were entertaining. I got the impression that Debt of Bones and New Spring were possibly offering some important insights into their associated worlds - though I admit that I haven't read the series associated with these shorts.

I didn't not have enough interest to dive into the Discword and Alvin Maker short stories. So, I guess it really wasn't cover-to-cover.

Now for the two sort-of disappointments for me: Dragonfly by Ursula Le guin from Earthsea, and Runner of Pern by McCaffrey from Pern. Dragonfly was extremely well written and I was hooked all the way to the climax at the very end. The way the story was resolved was a little confusing to me. I felt that there was a lot of symbolism that I wasn't getting because I never read the novels. I felt that these shorts should stand on their own, while also rewarding reader of the associated novels with additional satisfying insights. I am okay with missing out on subtle points because of not reading the novels, but it seemed to me that the ending relied too heavily of novels. Or perhaps, I just didn't "get it". The Pern short was also well written, but seemed to lack any compelling crises or action to move the plot along. I admit that it was hard to not skip over entire paragraphs towards the end. I was left feeling, again, that I was missing the point.

I hope that other Martin fans who bought this book for THK take the time to explore. I am very glad that I did!(less)

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Jun 22, 2012 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I bought this book for the George RR Martin story, "The Hedge Knight," in order to see if I wanted to devote the time to read his Song of Fire and Ice series. I liked that story, although I'm not sure I liked it enough to read thousands of pages in a similar style, so that may not have worked out quite as well as I hoped.

The unexpected side effect of reading this collection is that I got an introduction to several different fantasy universes I'd heard of but not read. I haven't read a lot of fan...more I bought this book for the George RR Martin story, "The Hedge Knight," in order to see if I wanted to devote the time to read his Song of Fire and Ice series. I liked that story, although I'm not sure I liked it enough to read thousands of pages in a similar style, so that may not have worked out quite as well as I hoped.

The unexpected side effect of reading this collection is that I got an introduction to several different fantasy universes I'd heard of but not read. I haven't read a lot of fantasy, so getting a taste of fairly contemporary, mainstream fantasy was useful. I was struck by the homogeneity of it. There were a lot of stories about good vs. evil, a lot of loner/outsider heroes who survive by their wits, a lot of relatively chaste hook-ups, and a lot of dragons. Actually, very few of the stories featured dragons, but based on this sample it seems that the temptation to write dragons into your backstory is nearly irresistable. There were also a lot of good things: the characters in these stories, although not the most complex necessarily, were engaging. The stories themselves were all entertaining, and almost all of them had a strong sense of place that I found particularly impressive in relatively short stories.

The other thing I noticed, perhaps inevitably, was that while the pseudo-medieval setting was very popular, any kind of deep thinking about how medieval societies functioned or how people were different was less widespread. There were a number of communities, ranging from small settlements to large cities, that had no apparent food supply either because they were built in inhospitable places or because everyone living in them was a tradesman or nobleman and no one was a farmer. Not only did almost everyone use a uniform currency, but banks and credit instruments were ubiquitous in several of the stories. People spent a lot of time worrying about distinctly contemporary concerns like their first kiss, and while there were a number of religious organizations, few of the main characters seemed to be shaped by them in any way. All this surprised me a little, since I had the impression that one of fantasy's strengths was world building.(less)

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Mar 10, 2012 Nicholas added it · review of another edition

What's there is great, but where are the rest?: The Pratchett story features Granny Weatherwax, so the expected good yarn. Insight into another area of Pern Life is given by the indomitable Anne McCaffrey. A good short story from what is turning out to be a great series by George R R Martin. I have never read the wheel of time series, or anything by Tad Wiliams before, but I enjoyed the stories enough to want to read the more. But I would like to read the Feist, King and Scott Card stories too....more

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Apr 24, 2012 Kerry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, iownthis, short_fiction

I bought this book because it contains "The Hedge Knight," a story by George R. R. Martin that takes place in Westeros (i.e. the world of A Song of Ice and Fire.)

I'll try to remember to review each story as I read it.

"The Little Sisters of Eluria," by Stephen King, taking place within the Dark Tower universe (just before the events of The Gunslinger, I believe.)

Two stars. It was okay. An interesting little story (Roland only) that didn't feel forced or anything. Just Roland being Roland I guess....more

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Jan 17, 2013 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Contained within this just-the-right-size book of short stories is a list of juggernaut authors who tend to dominate the fantasy realm. Such popular names as Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey Terry Goodkind, Raymond E. Feist, and the most popular one recently, George R.R. Martin, spin some side tales for us to enjoy out of their epics and into the pages of Legends. These men (and women, might I add!) have borrowed heavily from each other, writers of the past, and from their own mind...more

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Jan 20, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Robert Silverberg (ed.), Legends, vol. 2 (Tor, 1998)

This is water in the desert for fans of fantasy series whose books have a tendency to have a long time between releases. Anne McCaffrey (Pern), George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), and Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth) all contribute short novels to this volume in the Legends series, and all are well worth your time.

Goodkind's story, "Debt of Bones," leads off the trilogy, and deals with a time when Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander was much younge...more Robert Silverberg (ed.), Legends, vol. 2 (Tor, 1998)

This is water in the desert for fans of fantasy series whose books have a tendency to have a long time between releases. Anne McCaffrey (Pern), George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), and Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth) all contribute short novels to this volume in the Legends series, and all are well worth your time.

Goodkind's story, "Debt of Bones," leads off the trilogy, and deals with a time when Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander was much younger than he is in the Sword of Truth novels. Here, he's pitted against Panis Rahl, and must decide whether to put himself, and the fate of the Midlands, in danger in order to fulfill a debt of bones to the daughter of a deceased sorceress. One has come to expect strong storytelling and easy turning of pages from Goodkind, and he does not disappoint here. Martin's story, "The Hedge Knight," follows. Again taking place some time before the events in the Song of Ice and Fire books, "he Hedge Knight" follows the squire of a newly deceased mercenary, who has a desire to make his name in a tournament against some of the biggest names in the business (including a number of Targaryens, who at the time of this story have not yet been banished; in fact, they play a major part in the story, which should be a pleasant surprise to many Ice and Fire fans). Martin's work on this series is always a pleasure, and once again, the is no disappointment to be found here, though one wonders about the loose end to be found.

The biggest surprise of the bunch, to me, was McCaffrey's "Runner of Pern." I've always shied away from the Pern books, for no real reason. This story is a welcome change of pace from the two that precede it; rather than battles, jousting, and the rest, this is a quiet romantic coming-of-age tale that hits just the right spot, like a lemon ice after a boeuf bourguignon. It's convinced me to go back and try the Pern novels, as McCaffrey's style is simple and engaging. Like the others, she keeps the pages turning.

Definitely a worthwhile piece of work. I shouldn't have to sell those who are already enmeshed in the various series covered here, but others will find it a perfect sampling to see if the three titans covered here are to their tastes. I can almost guarantee they will be. **** (less)

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Aug 05, 2009 Jesse rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of any of the series or people looking for a taste

Shelves: fantasy

I'm picking this anthology up again after many years, mainly because when I first read it I had little to no idea what the Song of Ice and Fire series was, and didn't want to read a story set in it. Man was I a fucking idiot!

I bought this book when it originally came out in HC. I think I may have even bought it at regular price in a time I like to call BBSE( Before Book Store Employment) mainly because I've always been a big fan of Raymond E. Feist and was still a big fan of Goodkind (before his...more I'm picking this anthology up again after many years, mainly because when I first read it I had little to no idea what the Song of Ice and Fire series was, and didn't want to read a story set in it. Man was I a fucking idiot!

I bought this book when it originally came out in HC. I think I may have even bought it at regular price in a time I like to call BBSE( Before Book Store Employment) mainly because I've always been a big fan of Raymond E. Feist and was still a big fan of Goodkind (before his fall into madness and sucking, I seriously think this guy was hit in the head with a brick and it nocked all the good writing out of there). So I read up to the Robert Silverberg story. I liked what I read until the Majipoor story. Of course this was at a time in my life when I wasn't very into short fiction or novellas. Don't ask me why, I don't know, I love them now. It must be for the same reason I love olives now but couldn't stand them when I was younger, because I'm a strange and constantly evolving being. Now back to the stories.

I liked the "The Little Sisters of Eluria" by Stephen King and set in his Dark Tower world. It was a cool little prequal story about Roland before you meet him in "Gunslinger". There are cool and very strange vamp nuns/nurses, and of course a fantasy version of a Clint Eastwood gunslinger, so it hits all the good stuff. And its written with King's usual tone and skill, so no worries there.

Discworld: "The Sea and Little Fishes" by Terry Pratchett. This is a story of Granny Weatherwax a witch from the "Wyrd Sisters" book and several others by Pratchet. Thankfully I read this story before love affair with Pratchets Ankh-Morpork city watch character Commander Sam Vimes began, or I'd have hated this story. As it is, this is a funny story about people asking someone to not be what they are, you know so that we can give other people a chance to win. And then getting what they want bites them in the arse! Pratchett is sharp and funny as usual in this story, and it will always remain my favorite in the whole collection.

The Sword of Truth: "Debt of Bones" by Terry Goodkind. This was always a very good story for me when I read it, and it still is really. Its more the whole series, particularly books 7&8 (Pillars of Creation and Naked Empire respectively) that I found so bad they tainted all the books before them and caused me to give up on the series before its completion. That being said, "Debt of Bones" is an excellent story about a magical war, and the Wizard that was leading it, which I haven't found a lot of in fantasy (some, but not as much as one would expect. It seems militaristic angles to speculative fiction tend to stay mainly in Sci-Fi). Goodkind can be a good writer, and he is in this story. His bad guy is horribly evil, and his good guy is forced to make some tough choices while sticking to his moral guns. This use to be stock and trade of the series in the begining, so I really enjoyed this story.

Tales of Alvin Maker: "The Grinning Man" by Orson Scott Card. Ok so bare with me, I'm doing these reviews from memory for the most part and my memory of this story is a bit foggy. It is essentially Card's own version of an American Tall Tale set in his alternative history America and peopled with his Character Alvin Maker as the legendary figure of the tall tale. Its a good story involving a kind of devil character that Alvin Maker has to best, but no fiddles are involved if I remember correctly. Enjoy the story for what it is, which is Card doing a bang on version of the afformentioned type of tale, and succeeds very well at it. I personally loved this series up to book 3 in the series, but then I started having personal problems with the main character and with what I discovered this series essentially is (Card's fantasy version of the story of John Smith founder of the Mormon Church, a faith I have many many many many problems with). So enjoy it, but know what you are getting into.

Ok, it is at this point that I stopped reading the book, and now I picked it up again to read the Song of Ice and Fire: "The Hedge Knight" story. Which I loved!!! This was an amazing example of Martin's abilities as a writer, especially his ability to give you trully trully real seeming heroes. I've known about Martin's love of knights and heraldry for a while, but nothing in the main series drove that love home quite like this story. It is a fantastic tale about a commoner knight who gets caught up in larger events with very important people, mainly because of sticking to his morals and being in the wrong(or right, depending on how you look at it) place at the wrong(or right) time. I can't wait to read the second installment of this story.

And I just started reading The Riftwar Saga: "The Wood Boy", and I will update this review when I finish it and read the Tad Williams and Robert Jordan novellas.

I finished reading Feist's "The Wood Boy" and Jordan's "A New Spring" and I must say, I had mixed feelings. "The Wood Boy" was not very interesting. I guess it provided us with a view of what it was like for folks in Midkemia who's town ended up occupied by the Tsurani. That being said, it was rushed and superfluous as hell.

On the other hand, Jordan's "A New Spring" was a nice little story about the start of the search for the Dragon Reborn and Moirain meeting Lan. Any story in which a man kills 6 men in a sword fight is ok with me. So I'm done re-reading the book now, and its really a mixed bag, but over all its a mixed bag of very good stuff.(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, short-stories

This was a really happy find - it is a collection of short stories/novellas by some of the most famous writers in Tor's stable. The writers revisit their most famous worlds and set new stories there - Stephen King's Gunslinger, Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne mcCaffrey, Terry Pratchett. These are not always the strongest stories, but they felt like a really nice visit with old friends and that was mostly enough for me. (The Stephen King story really is excellent, though.)

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Jun 28, 2012 Vicky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: vicky-poirier

I must say that Terry Goodkind is definately a MUST READ!! His new book being released on July 2nd; The First Confessor: Legend of Magda Searus will be one of his most epic novels yet! To learn about the history of his world is very exciting! I can't wait for July 2nd so I can order this book and drop it in my Kindle! Which reminds me! Terry is a pioneer of authors; he is self-publishing this book and will only release it as an e-book! Exciting for me!!

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Feb 07, 2012 Chere rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, anthology, novella

While I love fantasy, I wasn't really a big fan of high fantasy and sword & sorcery when I picked up this book. I found it on sale, and thought to get to go with Legends II, which I got for Gaiman's short novel. I'm so happy I did! I enjoyed the stories in the book, and happily discovered that these sub-genres of fantasy are fun to read and that the worlds these authors have created are fascinating after all!

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Aug 30, 2012 John W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Good collection of novellas including the first Dunk and Egg story by George R.R. Martin, a Dark Tower story by Stephen King and a Wheel of Time story by Robert Jordan.

Contents

Stephen King: "The Little Sisters of Eluria" (The Dark Tower)
Terry Goodkind: "Debt of Bones" (The Sword of Truth)
Orson Scott Card: "Grinning Man" (The Tales of Alvin Maker)
Robert Silverberg: "The Seventh Shrine" (Majipoor)
Ursula K. Le Guin: "Dragonfly" (Earthsea)
Raymond E. Feist: "The Wood Boy" (The Riftwar Saga)
Ter...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Rebecca Murray rated it 5 of 5 stars

Typical anthology. There's a noticeable feel to the stories that they were written ten years ago, back before glam TV started morphing literary fantasy into something more Hollywood-esque. If you like "old school" fantasy, you'll find something you'll like in this book. Get the hard copy, though, because they split it into three volumes for the paperback edition. And yes, this sucker is THAT big. You could maim a small dog if you dropped it one one.

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About Robert Silverberg

Robert Silverberg is one of science fiction’s most beloved writers, and the author of such contemporary classics as Dying Inside, Downward to the Earth and Lord Valentine’s Castle, as well as At Winter’s End, also available in a Bison Books edition. He is a past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the winner of five Nebula Awards and five Hugo Awards. In 2004 the Sc...more

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