What do you think?
Rate this book
Sword and Sorceress #8
Sword and Sorceress VIII
SPELLS CAST AND SWORDS CROSSED!
As the forces of evil reach out to conquer new realms, claiming the lives and treasures of unprotected innocents, there are always a valiant few ready to oppose these masters of darkness and destruction. Bold women warriors, wise women, sorceresses wielding the powers of light - all are ready to aid those in need with no thought to the perils them themselves will face.
Let some of today's fines fantasy writers - Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, Diana Paxson, and their fellow visionaries - carry you off to the enchanted lands where stalwart heroines pit their skills against such terrors as:
an ancient dragon that has long held a kingdom hostage to its terrible hunger...
a stealer of magics who seeks to drain the power from all who cross her path...
a mortal so caught in evil's thrall that not even his own family is safe from harm...
and all the other enemies that only those long-trained to battle with sword and spell can hope to overcome...
As the forces of evil reach out to conquer new realms, claiming the lives and treasures of unprotected innocents, there are always a valiant few ready to oppose these masters of darkness and destruction. Bold women warriors, wise women, sorceresses wielding the powers of light - all are ready to aid those in need with no thought to the perils them themselves will face.
Let some of today's fines fantasy writers - Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, Diana Paxson, and their fellow visionaries - carry you off to the enchanted lands where stalwart heroines pit their skills against such terrors as:
an ancient dragon that has long held a kingdom hostage to its terrible hunger...
a stealer of magics who seeks to drain the power from all who cross her path...
a mortal so caught in evil's thrall that not even his own family is safe from harm...
and all the other enemies that only those long-trained to battle with sword and spell can hope to overcome...
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 3, 1991
About the author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
816 books4,939 followersMarion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.
Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.
Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.
Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.
For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.
Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.
Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.
Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 28, 2015
This anthology of 22 original stories is one installment of editor Bradley's long-running series of Sword and Sorceress collections, the first of which appeared in 1984. (My review of that one is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .) This is the second book of the series I've read (they stand alone, and can be enjoyed in any order). Virtually all of my general comments about the first book apply here as well, and two of the contributors to that volume, Diana L. Paxson and Jennifer Roberson, are represented here as well. Like John W. Campbell in the heyday of Astounding Stories, the late Bradley had her "stable" of writers who contributed frequently to her Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and to this and other long-running and one-time anthologies she edited, and whose careers she in many cases launched; several of them authored stories for this book. There's a good mix here of established writers like Mercedes Lackey and Josepha Sherman (and some who would go on --this was published in 1991-- to be much bigger names, such as Laurell K. Hamilton), and less known writers, some like Margaret Howes making their first sale of a story here. Three of the contributors are males.
Besides the fact that they're all swords-and-sorcery tales with female protagonists (warriors, sorceresses, a thief, etc.), the other common denominator of the collection is quality. Most of the stories are serious, often evoking very strong and complex emotional reactions and making you think; a few are rife with situational humor. But there isn't a one of them that's weak or poorly written; the craftsmanship here is uniformly high, though some selections are more substantial than others. All the stories have the trappings of fantasy; magic works in their worlds, for instance, and dragons may be included in the fauna. Edged weapon action, and/or lethal magical duels, may be a key part of the plot. But at bottom, most of these stories are really about people, and human concerns that are the same in any world: good and evil, right and wrong, personal growth and identity, coming of age, family and marital love, growing older, questions of what really matters in life. Several of the heroines could be called rough-edged; you might not approve of everything they do, or have done, and you aren't necessarily expected to. But none of them are bad human beings; they're all women I could understand and respect, and whose choices and safety I came to care about. (As in life, not all of these tales have unambiguously happy endings.)
A few of the protagonists are series characters, like Lackey's Kethry and Tarma from her Valdemar series, or Paxson's lesbian warrior-woman Shanna. Their stories here have a basic level of completeness in themselves; but you'd probably appreciate "Wings of Fire" better if (unlike me) you've read previously in the Valdemar books to have more understanding of the world and the magic system, and "Ytarra's Mirror" definitely feels like a bead on the necklace of Shanna's story arc. I'd also say that Paula Helm Murray's "Kayli Kidnapped" has enough complex back story, and leaves enough unresolved issues, that it could work very well as a chapter in a novel. (But I still liked all of these!) Some of the most wrenchingly evocative stories here include Rima Saret's "Marayd's Escape," Cynthia Ward's "The Opal Skull," Jere Dunham's "East of the Dawn," and Sherman's "The Price of the Wind." Hamilton's "Geese" is a fine story that doesn't descend into the porn that the author later became known for (it has some sensuality, but not in a bad way.) Picking favorites here is really hard to do, but (besides any already mentioned) some I could designate as such are Roberson's "Fair Play," Howes' "Retirement Plan," Dave Smed's "Trading Swords," Vera Nazarian's "Beauty and His Beast," and Linda Gordon's "Stained Glass."
Besides the fact that they're all swords-and-sorcery tales with female protagonists (warriors, sorceresses, a thief, etc.), the other common denominator of the collection is quality. Most of the stories are serious, often evoking very strong and complex emotional reactions and making you think; a few are rife with situational humor. But there isn't a one of them that's weak or poorly written; the craftsmanship here is uniformly high, though some selections are more substantial than others. All the stories have the trappings of fantasy; magic works in their worlds, for instance, and dragons may be included in the fauna. Edged weapon action, and/or lethal magical duels, may be a key part of the plot. But at bottom, most of these stories are really about people, and human concerns that are the same in any world: good and evil, right and wrong, personal growth and identity, coming of age, family and marital love, growing older, questions of what really matters in life. Several of the heroines could be called rough-edged; you might not approve of everything they do, or have done, and you aren't necessarily expected to. But none of them are bad human beings; they're all women I could understand and respect, and whose choices and safety I came to care about. (As in life, not all of these tales have unambiguously happy endings.)
A few of the protagonists are series characters, like Lackey's Kethry and Tarma from her Valdemar series, or Paxson's lesbian warrior-woman Shanna. Their stories here have a basic level of completeness in themselves; but you'd probably appreciate "Wings of Fire" better if (unlike me) you've read previously in the Valdemar books to have more understanding of the world and the magic system, and "Ytarra's Mirror" definitely feels like a bead on the necklace of Shanna's story arc. I'd also say that Paula Helm Murray's "Kayli Kidnapped" has enough complex back story, and leaves enough unresolved issues, that it could work very well as a chapter in a novel. (But I still liked all of these!) Some of the most wrenchingly evocative stories here include Rima Saret's "Marayd's Escape," Cynthia Ward's "The Opal Skull," Jere Dunham's "East of the Dawn," and Sherman's "The Price of the Wind." Hamilton's "Geese" is a fine story that doesn't descend into the porn that the author later became known for (it has some sensuality, but not in a bad way.) Picking favorites here is really hard to do, but (besides any already mentioned) some I could designate as such are Roberson's "Fair Play," Howes' "Retirement Plan," Dave Smed's "Trading Swords," Vera Nazarian's "Beauty and His Beast," and Linda Gordon's "Stained Glass."
September 23, 2019
Fantasy has evolved a LOT since this anthology was published in 1991. While there were a few gems (a pre-Anita-Blake Laurell K. Hamilton tale and an early Mercedes Lackey story among them), most of the stories were just okay. And the editor's preface to each story was ego-laden and condescending ("I discovered this writer...," etc.)
February 11, 2018
I had higher hopes, having read others in this anthology series, but either my tastes have changed or this particular selection rubbed me the wrong way with some issues.
August 24, 2021
A good collection of short stories. Lots of different writing styles and topics.
December 11, 2010
This collection of stories is an average collection in the series. The final story which always is funny with a twist was outstanding. Margaret Howes explains to all of us how you retire from your day job in the world of fantasy. Jennifer Robeson's stories are always above average. I would not recommend this book as a introductory view of the entire series but I know that I will read it again in about two years.
May 17, 2012
good collection of short works of fantasy --- been a fan of this series of publications for a very long time =)
keep-in-mind
August 25, 2012Added 8/24/12.
Short stories / fantasy
Short stories / fantasy
December 16, 2018
Still enjoying myself, the series is actually improving...far fewer misses and some real gems. When I finish I am going to wish for a single book holding only those really loved ones.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews