Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love (Kushiel's Legacy #1.5; Phèdre's Trilogy, #1.5; The Dresden Files, #11.5)

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Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love (Kushiel's Legacy #1.5)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 1,745 ratings · 294 reviews

IN this star-studded cross-genre anthology, seventeen of the greatest modern authors of fantasy, science fiction, and romance explore the borderlands of their genres with brand-new tales of ill-fated love. From zombie-infested woods in a postapocalyptic America to faery-haunted rural fields in eighteenth- century England, from the kingdoms of high fantasy to the alien worl...more

Hardcover, 468 pages

Published November 16th 2010 by Gallery Books

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Jul 17, 2011 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories-novellas, lgbt, romance, vampires, post-apocalyptic, fantasy, speculative-fiction

I only read selected stories from Songs of Love and Death, because some of the authors or the first pages didn't appeal. (For example, me and Jim Butcher don't get on very well. Everyone else says the misogyny is just Harry Dresden and is part of his character and it doesn't come from Jim Butcher: it still makes me feel profoundly uncomfortable.)

So, of the ones I read, the first was Jo Beverley's 'The Marrying Maid'. I liked the idea, especially the link to the Robin Hood legend. It could've bee...more I only read selected stories from Songs of Love and Death, because some of the authors or the first pages didn't appeal. (For example, me and Jim Butcher don't get on very well. Everyone else says the misogyny is just Harry Dresden and is part of his character and it doesn't come from Jim Butcher: it still makes me feel profoundly uncomfortable.)

So, of the ones I read, the first was Jo Beverley's 'The Marrying Maid'. I liked the idea, especially the link to the Robin Hood legend. It could've been a whole novel, really. It felt like it wanted to be a sort of bodice ripper where the courtier seduces the reluctant churchman's daughter, but it didn't quite go there -- and was too rushed to be that in the first place, since she only refused him two or three times! Also, not terribly comfortable with the whole 'there is one woman out there for you, and she will want you, and if she refuses you, well, just rape her, she'll understand' bit.

I skipped over Carrie Vaughan to M. L. N. Hanover's 'Hurt Me'. I found it interesting, but not very creepy, and sort of expected it to work out differently. I don't know that either of these stories really fit my definition of 'star crossed lovers'. There's nothing romantic about a guy who beats his girlfriend, or about the girl who kills him and then moves back into that house with her new boyfriend to torment his ghost. I guess the introduction part is a bit misleading.

Cecelia Holland's offering, 'Demon Lover', is quite like 'The Marrying Maid' in the sense that it's based vaguely on folklore. Both reminded me a little of Tam Lin, though Holland has the man rescuing the woman through his true love.

Robin Hobb's 'Blue Boots' is a simple enough little story. It made me crave a reread of the Farseer trilogy, actually, since it's set in her Six Duchies. It was nice, but not amazing... I suspect I am overly hard to please, with short stories. They're a delicate art, though.

Neil Gaiman's story, 'The Thing About Cassandra', was very interesting. Sort of what I expected from Gaiman, but the twist ending was pretty good.

Marjorie M. Liu's story, 'After the Blood', was... confusing. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening. Henry, I mostly got, but the rest, less so. Hm.

The main reason I read this anthology at all was for Jacqueline Carey's story, 'You and You Alone'. This was what I'd hoped it would be -- except that I might've hoped it was a bit longer. It's the doomed love story of Anafiel Delaunay and Rolande de la Courcel, which lies unspoken behind the first Kushiel trilogy.

'Under/Above the Water' by Tanith Lee... I liked it. I think it was well structured, and not everything was explained away.

Peter S. Beagle's 'Kaskia', not a great fan.

Yasmine Galenorn's story, 'Man in the Mirror', was quite nice. I liked that it really was star-crossed, this time, that it didn't end perfectly.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Kat Hooper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois have collected a nice batch of all-new stories from an all-star cast in Songs of Love and Death. The theme is "star-crossed lovers," and as you might guess from the title, each tale is a love story, and many are death stories, too. Some are sad, some are sexy, and one or two are slightly sappy. Overall, I enjoyed the collection. Here's what you'll find in Songs of Love and Death:

-- "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher may be th...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, fantasy, library

As with any anthology, this is a mixed bag.

The high points were Carrie Vaughn's "Rooftops" (a nicely-paced story about a playwright whose life changes after she's saved by a superhero) and Neil Gaiman's "The Thing About Cassandra" (an imaginative story about a man coming across a lie from his past). I also enjoyed Robin Hobb's return to the Six Duchies in "Blue Boots" and the gritty-but-satisfying "Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover.

Some of the other stories were well-written or had interesting moments,...more

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Mar 30, 2011 Lisa Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories

I picked up "Songs of Love and Death" specifically to read the new story by Diana Gabaldon ("A Leaf on the Wind of All Saint's"), and it was certainly worth it! "Leaf" is a fantastic addition to Gabaldon's works in the Outlander series. Focusing on a character we've previously heard about but never met, this story explores a plot point introduced in the 7th book in the series, Echo in the Bone. Without going into detail, in order to avoid spoilers, all I can say is that Gabaldon's fans MUST read...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I really enjoyed this anthology and am going to post some of the specifics about a few of the stories, but not all of them, that would make for an incredibly long review. I enjoyed the theme of this anthology (being star-crossed lovers) and I enjoyed meeting new characters and learning things about some of my favorite characters I did not know. I hope you enjoy it as well....

Love Hurts by: Jim Butcher

This was a cute, short, pretty easy and flowing story. I found it a tad bit shocking because of...more

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May 27, 2012 Jennifer Redstreake-Geary rated it 5 of 5 stars

I would say about 2/3rds of the stories were fantastic! I wanted to read on and on and hated that they were ending and I had to start on to a new short story. Jim Butcher is, of course, fabulous. I love his stories that include Harry Dresden anyway. And Neil Gaiman is a genius, his short story "The Thing about Cassandra" was creepy and eery, but ooh soooo good in that awesome Gaiman way. My all time favorite Diana Gabaldon has a short in this as well, a cool little story about Roger's dad (if yo...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Assorted work by multiple writers and edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois. Being familiar with multiple anthologies edited by Martin, I was instantaneously interested. I picked this up after misplacing my current read "Latro in the Mist" and figured it would be the perfect opportunity to carve through some shorts while I wait for its return and/or rediscovery.

They are all quick reads and as the title suggests, all are around the disasters that love and death can bring. Some are un...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Alytha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Finished the short story collection Songs of Love and Death, edited by GRRM and Gardner Dozois.

All in all, a very good collection, although there's no new story by GRRM in it. But I guess A Song of Ice and Fire has enough love and death already...

Some highlights:

Love Hurts by Jim Butcher: a story set in the Harry Dresden universe, in which Harry and Murphy investigate a case of couples who go crazy and kill eachother after apparently having been subjected to a love-spell. A certain amount of t...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, sarah-s-absolute-favorites

*** I only read Diana Gabaldon's story in this, and that's what this review is for. ***

So, Songs of Love and Death is an anthology that came out almost a year ago and I finally received a copy of it from Paperbackswap. I’ve been wanting this book just to read one little 40-page novella in it – A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon because it’s Outlander-related. So I’m sorry, but if you haven’t read the Outlander series this really isn’t going to interest you. For the very few read...more *** I only read Diana Gabaldon's story in this, and that's what this review is for. ***

So, Songs of Love and Death is an anthology that came out almost a year ago and I finally received a copy of it from Paperbackswap. I’ve been wanting this book just to read one little 40-page novella in it – A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon because it’s Outlander-related. So I’m sorry, but if you haven’t read the Outlander series this really isn’t going to interest you. For the very few readers I have that like the series as much as I do – enjoy! (But keep in mind, there may be a couple spoilers here cause it’s only 40 pages long…)

So this is the star-crossed love story of Roger Wakefield’s (AKA Roger MacKenzie’s) parents, Jerry and Marjorie MacKenzie. Jerry as we already knew was an air pilot. In this short story, he’s training for a special mission when something goes terribly awry and he ends up near a circle of standing stones. Now he’s stuck in what he thinks must be the past and is trying desperately to find a way home, when he runs into two strangers…

So I’m not going to ruin the ending for you, but this was a really good, sad story about Roger’s parents. You can see certain characteristics in Jerry that we’re familiar with in Roger. We also get a glimpse of Frank Randall (Claire’s first husband) and learn a little about what he did in the war. There is also a BIG GIANT HINT of something that is likely to occur in the 8th book (which I believe will be called Written in My Own Heart’s Blood) and ohmygod I can’t wait until it comes out. Sadly though it’ll be at least another two years.

Reading this and enjoying it so much has made me realize that I really need to find and collect ALL of the anthologies that Diana includes short Outlander-related stories in. And there are a ton, but they’re usually worth reading.

Outlander fans, as long as you’re caught up on the series then I highly recommend find a copy of this anthology and reading the novella.

Other readers – I may browse through the rest of this anthology, and if I read any of the other novellas I’ll post reviews for those too.

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Nov 16, 2010 Lynne Perednia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This new cross-genre anthology purports to be an "all original" collection of tales of star-crossed lovers written by fantasy, romance, horror and crime authors. The all-original tag doesn't hold up with the first story, Jim Butcher's "Love Hurts", in which Dresden and a friend fall victim to a spell. It's the same setup seen in hundreds of TV shows in which characters flirt with, or are tricked into thinking, they are in love and go back to their old ways by story's end.

The introduction is odd...more

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Dec 31, 2012 laurenpie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I prefer straight fantasy

This is an anthology of Fantasy/Romance and SciFi/Romance. I guess it turns out I don't like the genre of Romance. Too many of these stories were singularly Romance without enough element of the Fantastic; to me they were mostly just non-memorable fluff, with five exceptions...

Best of the bunch:
5 stars: "KASKIA" by Peter S Beagle.
4+ stars: "LOVE HURTS" by Jim Butcher.
4 stars: "MAN in the MIRROR" by Yasmine Galenorn.
4- stars: "AFTER THE BLOOD" by Marjorie M Liu.

"THE THING...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Kris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: diana-gabaldon, fantasy, george-r-r-martin, jacqueline-carey, neil-gaiman, tanith-lee

I want to savor these stories little by little because they are so darn good but I find myself rushing through them needing to know what happened next!! I find this anthology so far to be quite fascinating and I am enjoying myself immensely reading through the creative and varied voices within these 'songs'.

JACQUELINE CAREY: this was the first story that I chose - and quite purposefully, at that. It was of Anafiel Delunay, who was once known as Anafiel de Montreve, a poet that was good enough to...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Mirely rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: series-outlander, 1700-s, highlander, scotland, time-travel, adult-romance, adult-fantasy, wwi-or-ii, england, 1940-s, 2011-reading-challenge, 2010-publication

I specifically read the Diana Gabaldon story "A Leaf on the Wind of all Hallows" because I had read everything in the series to date.

One: WOW DIANA GABALDON CAN ACTUALLY WRITE A SHORT STORY!! wow!!!

Two: What a nice way to learn about Roger's parents. This short story was the story of Jerry and Marjorie Mackenzie and it was told very nicely. Can't say too much without spoiling but basically we find out what really happened when Jerry went missing and we get to relive that terrifying day when Rog...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Lori McD rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark, drama, thriller, tear-jerker, romance, paranormal, 2011_read

Hard to categorize this book since it's an anthology of many popular authors. I confess I haven't read each story, only a few here and there, because my main object was to read the short story "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" by Diana Gabaldon about Roger's parents, Jerry and Dolly MacKenzie.

"A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" - took me by surprise, which is a good thing. And a HUGE part of that was how she wove in 2 well-known characters and much of Roger's history (that we know about) into...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Jules rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tour, sent-4-review, gift-worthy, reviewed

This book was a must-read for me as soon as I read that Diana Gabaldon had contributed a new story for this collection. Her "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" was well worth the wait. It ties up some unanswered questions about Roger Mackenzie's father Jeremy as well as opening up some more lines from "An Echo in the Bone".

Many other favorite authors added their all-original tales of star-crossed love for this happy, sad, tear-jerking, smile-making group of shorts. While there were a couple of s...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bodice-rippers, not-fade-away, personal-library, stack-challenge-2011

It's been a while since I've so thoroughly enjoyed an anthology, but this one was great. And I'm not just saying that because Jacqueline Carey has a story in it :) The contributors were from romance, fantasy and science fiction and ran the gauntlet from happy endings to grim endings.

Love Hurts by Jim Butcher Another great entry into the Dresden series. It featured just Harry and Murphy, but gave us a small glimpse of what they'd be like in love. One I hope we get more of in the future, regardles...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have learned my lesson the hard way when it comes to anthologies so I was lucky to borrow this book from booksfree. I didn't read all the stories but if I come across it again from the library or rent it from booksfree again, I will try to read the rest.

I mainly got this book to read the Diana Gabaldon story, A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows which I gave 4 stars. Most people who have not read her Outlander books will not enjoy this story as much I don't think.

The other ones I read, I gave t...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

These are a collection of stories by some very famous authors. Most of these stories are new. Some of these stories, like the one Jim Butcher gives us we read about familiar characters we have met before. All of them revolve around love and/or death. And although you would suspect a collection of lovely PNR stories, you actually get a bit of that and a lot of sci-fi with a bit of historical romance/death thrown in for good measure. Not all end on a happy note, nor on an expected one either, but...more

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Nov 13, 2010 Paranormal Haven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-read-by-athenna

Jim Butcher - Love Hurts .. Harry Dresden is on another case with Murphy, they are tracking down someone who is cursing people to fall in love with each other till it drives them mad and they the kill each other in a suicide pact. But can they find them before they too fall under the curse.

Jo Beverly- The Marrying Maid .. The moment Rob Loxsleigh seen her he knew she was the one. Oh he thought others could’ve be the one, up until the moment he kissed them and realized they were not his marrying...more Jim Butcher - Love Hurts .. Harry Dresden is on another case with Murphy, they are tracking down someone who is cursing people to fall in love with each other till it drives them mad and they the kill each other in a suicide pact. But can they find them before they too fall under the curse.

Jo Beverly- The Marrying Maid .. The moment Rob Loxsleigh seen her he knew she was the one. Oh he thought others could’ve be the one, up until the moment he kissed them and realized they were not his marrying maid. But with her he didn't even need to get near her to tell, she was the one.

Martha Darby could feel the heat of this man’s stare. But knowing that a man of his stature could only have one interest in a woman of her social status, she dismissed him right away. Even once he approached her and her mother and made his interest known she still tried to refuses him. Unnerved by her attraction to him and his persistence to pursue her made her resist harder.

Rob knew he couldn't push this beautiful woman or he would lose her completely but if he didn't hurry and convince her to marry him the curse set on his family would be activated and his entire family, any one within his blood line would die within a year.

Will she give in and except him or will the curse be activated and his family parish? Who set this curse and why must he marry Martha and Martha only before his 21st birthday?

Lisa Tuttle - His wolf ... Katherine Hills a small town collage English teacher always felt her life was incomplete until Cody Vela and his wolf Lobo walked into it.

Cody told her how he found Lobo tied to a tree and he saved him and ever since he has changes his life to accommodate Lobo. They take two runs a day he takes him absolutely every ware he goes. He saved him and gave his life to his wolf.

As crazy as she knew it’s sounded to her but this man brought out feelings in her she never felt. After their short meeting that first day she arranged to see him again, only to be informed by her boss that the man she so desperately wanted to be with was in fact the local drug dealer.

After confronting Cody he admitted that was his current profession, but he’d give it all up for her. He said it may not be easy but he’d do it.

After a few weeks of hearing nothing Katherine worried the worst has happened that is when the wolf shows up but no Cody to be seen. Where is he? How did the wolf get here? Will she ever see Cody again?

This was an interesting anthology. There were a quite a few stories of aliens and alien planets. There were a few stories that had a sad ending. Some stories were good but if I wrote a synopsis on the story id tell too much and ruin the story for you. His Wolf and The Marrying Maid were my favorite stories in the book. I loved the little fae story that was told in the marrying maid it was fascinating. Of course I liked Cody so I loved His wolf and the ending was defiantly interesting. I was glad I read these stories they were very good.
My over all Rating:
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Sep 10, 2011 Laurian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories, fantacy

I figured with all of these pretty intense novels I’ve been reading it lately that it was time I went for something a bit lighter. So I went with a book of short stories about love and death... ::snort:: I’m funny.

This book is crazy long. That is because it has about 17 stories in it, each one about 20-30 pages long! It also has a pretty impressive list of authors like Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, and Robin Hobb. But, what drew me to it was the list of authors who I’d never read befo...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Althea Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an sff/romance anthology, with a contributor list definitely a cut above the average. (Editor Martin has the connections!) My favorites were the entries from Tanith Lee, Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, Peter S. Beagle and Neil Gaiman (who contributes an actual story, rather than the short poem he usually gives anthologies!) - but many of the others were very good as well. Recommended.

Contents:
1. "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher [a Harry Dresden story]
2. "The Marrying Maid" by Jo Beverly
3. "Roof...more

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Nov 18, 2010 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-abigail

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

The moment I heard the words ‘Outlander spinoff’, I was sold. Diana Gabaldon’s epic Outlander series is probably my all time favorite series ever in any genre. The other authors who I love in this anthology like Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, and Yasmine Galenorn are just icing on the cake.

“Love Hurts” by Jim Butcher (a Harry Dresden story)

In addition to the main series, I have now read several short stories starring the Wizard P.I. Harry Dresden and I thi...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Zuleika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12december, 2010, anthology, fantasy, paranormal-fantasy-romance

Overall

An anthology filled with 17 stories about star-crossed lovers. I enjoyed almost all stories and was introduced to a lot of new writers (I only knew maybe half of these authors before reading). There is a good mixture of different genres which I consider a pro, but I can understand why someone might consider it a con, in case they only end up liking only one or two stories/genres. But if you like (a touch of) fantasy and love stories, then I think you are good with the majority of the sto...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Michelle Kelly, Margaret Ethridge

Shelves: favorites, paranormal-romance, anthologies, contemporary-romance

Well, this was the best compilation of short stories that I have ever read. I can really say that I truly adored every single one.

Love Hurts by Jim Butcher
This is a Dresden files story, and I really liked the way it was written. It was very clear and easy to follow, easy to get a mental image from descriptions. Maybe I'll read some Dresden FIles books now!

The Marrying Maid by Jo Beverly
Cute, cute, cute! I love how it was historical fantasy! I could totally read this to girlfriends at a girly sle...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Bookaholics rated it 5 of 5 stars

Songs of Love and Death : All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love Edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
ParanormalRomance – November 16th, 2010
5 Stars

The collection of Songs of Love and Death: All Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love is a great anthology of 17 various fantasy and science fiction stories with a dash of romance. The reader can travel to the old English Countryside, to the future, and then back to modern romance. Not all the stories end happily and Martin and Dozois m...more Songs of Love and Death : All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love Edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
ParanormalRomance – November 16th, 2010
5 Stars

The collection of Songs of Love and Death: All Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love is a great anthology of 17 various fantasy and science fiction stories with a dash of romance. The reader can travel to the old English Countryside, to the future, and then back to modern romance. Not all the stories end happily and Martin and Dozois make the paoint that love is something we don't choose but Love chooses us. Very common themes such as the unexpected flutter between lovers may be immediate or some stories have action that propel the love spell along.

Holidays and other worldly times capture the reader in a spell of Cupid's intent. It would be exhausting to review each story but 3 were highlights among these original works of romance. "The Marrying Maid" by Jo Beverly was well written as the reader rooted for the unsuspecting heroine, Martha Darby, who has been held back from marrying and feels as though she is a spinster of sort, but our hero Rob Loxsleigh, is not only dashing but absolutely drop dead gorgeous as one should be when their lives depend upon the generosity of other world beings. Beverly writes a beautifully detailed historical romance that takes our heroine down the road of love with Loxsleigh as her guide. The reader is actively engaged with the characters details and actions. "The Marrying Maid" is a great introduction piece about how romance is not always as simple or convenient as one would plan to be spinster or otherwise.

Next, "Blue Boots" by New York Times bestseller Robin Hobb is a great old English tale that has the reader introduced to Azen the minstrel and Timbal the Servant both providing for Lord Just and his Lady Lucent an English love story soaked with Cupid's original plan. Hobb has the reader rejoicing at the end as Azen and Timbal do provide ample star-crossing indeed.

"Courting Trouble" by Linnea Sinclair is the futuristic love that starts out as action packed with heroine Captain Serenity Beck of the Star of Pandea trying to avoid losing her ship to a rather unscrupulous trader named Nic Talligar. Nick is our heroine's hero so to speak as he broke her heart before. The battle at one space dock and the supporting characters make this story priceless.

This book has a wide variety of stories which gives a chance for every reader to find a story they will enjoy. If you are looking for a book that is different from your normal novel and still has wide-ranging stories I would recommend giving this book a try. You won’t be sorry.

Reviewed by Patricia from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

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Sep 09, 2011 Brianne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr, anthologies, fae, angels-demons

For an anthology about star-crossed lovers there was very little star-crossing going on. Don’t get me wrong, I like happy endings, but isn’t the whole point of ‘not being able to be together but trying really really hard and failing’ kind of the point? Romeo and Juliet wanted to be together and couldn’t no matter how hard they tried… and I think a lot of the stories missed that quality. I’ll try to give my brief feelings on the stories without giving away any spoilers… but it will be difficult s...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Elizabeth Caran rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher - Harry and Karrin investigate a mind controller who is forcing people to fall in love with each other... so badly they commit suicide together.

"The Marrying Maid" by Jo Beverley - a descendant of a man who once messed with faerie must find his destined bride and marry her before his birthday or all the man's descendants will die.

"Rooftops" by Carrie Vaughn - Woman is saved by a superhero she suspects is her aloof boyfriend.

"Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover - A woman must...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Dominique rated it 4 of 5 stars

The conflict I have with rating short story collections is the wide variety of possible styles, themes and approaches to each individual section.

That being said, I give this collection four stars because it lives up to - and in some cases completely exceeds -- your expectations. If you like romance stories (I do!) and you like fantasy/sci-fi (check!), you will like this collection. I can't promise you'd like it enough to rate it four stars like I did simply because of the wide variations betwee...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Zenrin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did not read all of the short stories in this book. Some are parts of series I've never read before so I didn't bother....I assume these kinds of anthologies are published to expose readers to new genres and authors?? It works for me.

Stands outs were:
"The Thing about Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman- Great! Classic Gaiman style

"Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher. I read this in "Side Jobs" not too long ago, but read it again 'cause I love Harry!!

"Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover- Great haunted house story with a...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Songs of Love and Death is the perfect anthology for every reader. It has a little bit of everything for everyone from paranormal, zombies, and favorite characters from series… as well as new stories from best selling authors. This anthology brings out the heavy hitters.

Mr. Jim Butcher brings his tough as nails Harry Dresden, a puzzling string of love pact murder cases in Love Hurts. Meet some magical sea creatures in Melinda M. Snodgrass’s The Wayfarer’s Advice. There are so many good stories...more

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About George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies,...more George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...(less)

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Books by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

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“Words can be powerful allies. Or enemies” — 5 people liked it

“Sometimes, the only way to exorcise old ghosts is to pack your bags and move in with them.” — 3 people liked it

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Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love (Kushiel's Legacy #1.5)

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