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Legends 2
The Great Anthology of Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy
Terry Goodkind tells of the origin of the Border between the lands in the world of The Sword of Truth, in "Debt of Bones."
George R. R. Martin sets his piece a generation before his epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, in the adventure of "The Hedge Knight."
Anne McCaffrey, the poet of Pern, returns once again to her world of romance and adventure in "Runner of Pern." And look for Legends 1 (featuring Stephen King, Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist) and Legends 3 (featuring Robert Jordan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, Terry Pratchett) at your local bookstore!
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Terry Goodkind tells of the origin of the Border between the lands in the world of The Sword of Truth, in "Debt of Bones."
George R. R. Martin sets his piece a generation before his epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, in the adventure of "The Hedge Knight."
Anne McCaffrey, the poet of Pern, returns once again to her world of romance and adventure in "Runner of Pern." And look for Legends 1 (featuring Stephen King, Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist) and Legends 3 (featuring Robert Jordan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, Terry Pratchett) at your local bookstore!
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1999
49 people are currently reading
573 people want to read
About the author
Terry Goodkind
282 books12.4k followersTerry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 23, 2017
Volume 2 of Legends collections. This one features three more fantasy novellas from different authors. They are:
Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind.
A prequel story where we find out how Zed, as a young man, created The barrier. This probably makes little sense if you havn't read at least the original Sword of Truth. **** (if your a fan).
The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin
A Dunk and Egg story from A Song of Ice and Fire. Probably the first one as it tells the story of how Dunk became a knight. Not bad but I found there were too many names for such a short novella. And, Dunk and Egg have got to be the dumbest names in fantasy fiction. The introduction of this story was pretty funny as it lists the Fire and Ice novels as follows.
A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Dance with Dragons (forthcoming)
The Winds of Winter (forthcoming)
Then the introduction says "George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which when complete will span four volumes." LOL. **** for story but -1 for confusing/silly names so a *** overall.
Runner of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.
A story that goes back to before the main Pern books when people were thinking that thread may not return. Human couriers called runners were the method of long distance communication and this is the tale on one such. My problem with this is that everyone knows the Dragons can teleport, so why would they send someone running across the continent with urgent communications?
***
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind.
A prequel story where we find out how Zed, as a young man, created The barrier. This probably makes little sense if you havn't read at least the original Sword of Truth. **** (if your a fan).
The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin
A Dunk and Egg story from A Song of Ice and Fire. Probably the first one as it tells the story of how Dunk became a knight. Not bad but I found there were too many names for such a short novella. And, Dunk and Egg have got to be the dumbest names in fantasy fiction. The introduction of this story was pretty funny as it lists the Fire and Ice novels as follows.
A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Dance with Dragons (forthcoming)
The Winds of Winter (forthcoming)
Then the introduction says "George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which when complete will span four volumes." LOL. **** for story but -1 for confusing/silly names so a *** overall.
Runner of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.
A story that goes back to before the main Pern books when people were thinking that thread may not return. Human couriers called runners were the method of long distance communication and this is the tale on one such. My problem with this is that everyone knows the Dragons can teleport, so why would they send someone running across the continent with urgent communications?
***
Overall 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
October 19, 2022
My favorite fantasy anthology of all time. I read this book back in 2014 for the first time. Reading these stories again after 8 years was so nostalgic. The book contains 3 novellas by 3 great authors of modern fantasy. Back when I was reading this for the first time, I didn't even know who George R.R. Martin was. Even though I'm not a fan of Terry Goodkind's work, I loved his story they have picked for this book. Same with Anne McCaffrey's novella. These are 3 completely different fantasy stories set in 3 worlds vastly different from each other. These stories posses the power to transfer you to their worlds, specially when read together. So beware!
February 10, 2013
The book contains three short stories. Each of the authors has written a multi volume Fantasy saga of some sort and all 3 stories are set in the respective worlds. Each short story has a preface, giving a summary of what those worlds are and the main story line of the actual sagas.
The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones, Terry Goodkind
A world torn apart by war. A village is ransacked by the enemy and its inhabitants kidnapped. A woman travels to town to find the First Wizard and claim a debt - and his help to get her family back from the enemy.
I did not like the story very much. Part of it was that it reminded me of The Wheel Of Time - which I like - and that bothered me. Also I did not find the story very interesting or original.
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight, George R. R. Martin
An old wandering knight dies. His young squire takes up his weapons, armory and horses and travels to the next town to take part in a tournament and make a name for himself. On the way he picks up a stray boy, some friends and some enemies. And all of a sudden he finds himself in a challenge of life and death.
Now this story I liked a lot. Nice adventure yarn with entertaining and lively characters. I actually ordered the first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, through Amazon.
Pern: Runner of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
The reason I bought the book - I am a big fan of the Pern series. Set just before thread falls again. The only character from the series that popped up - Lord Groghe. The story centers around a young runner on her first big trip. Adventure with a little romance thrown in. Not a very substantial story, but a subject that did not get much coverage in the series. So it was a nice addition.
I don't know what someone, who has not read any of the series, would make of it. There is not much explaining of unusual words or the social structure of Pern, so it might be a bit confusing or unclear.
All in all the book was ok for a lazy afternoon, but nothing too exciting.
The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones, Terry Goodkind
A world torn apart by war. A village is ransacked by the enemy and its inhabitants kidnapped. A woman travels to town to find the First Wizard and claim a debt - and his help to get her family back from the enemy.
I did not like the story very much. Part of it was that it reminded me of The Wheel Of Time - which I like - and that bothered me. Also I did not find the story very interesting or original.
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight, George R. R. Martin
An old wandering knight dies. His young squire takes up his weapons, armory and horses and travels to the next town to take part in a tournament and make a name for himself. On the way he picks up a stray boy, some friends and some enemies. And all of a sudden he finds himself in a challenge of life and death.
Now this story I liked a lot. Nice adventure yarn with entertaining and lively characters. I actually ordered the first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, through Amazon.
Pern: Runner of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
The reason I bought the book - I am a big fan of the Pern series. Set just before thread falls again. The only character from the series that popped up - Lord Groghe. The story centers around a young runner on her first big trip. Adventure with a little romance thrown in. Not a very substantial story, but a subject that did not get much coverage in the series. So it was a nice addition.
I don't know what someone, who has not read any of the series, would make of it. There is not much explaining of unusual words or the social structure of Pern, so it might be a bit confusing or unclear.
All in all the book was ok for a lazy afternoon, but nothing too exciting.
September 7, 2015
DEBT OF BONES: I read this one many years ago as a stand-alone hardcover. I remember thinking Goodkind must have a pretty devoted fanbase if he can get away with selling them a mediocre novella for $20 a pop. It's a decent fairy tale-type story, short and sweet. The twists at the end are a bit cheesy, and it's not really very well written, but it does contain a bunch of neat concepts.
THE HEDGE KNIGHT: Since I live under a rock, this was my first time delving into the GAME OF THRONES universe. THE HEDGE KNIGHT started out slow but eventually had me on the edge of my seat. A very visceral and satisfying read.
RUNNER OF PERN: A little too feminine for my taste. McCaffrey establishes an interesting mythos in which "runners" basically serve as the Pony Express of their world. However, the second half of the story is basically a Sandra Bullock romantic comedy.
THE HEDGE KNIGHT: Since I live under a rock, this was my first time delving into the GAME OF THRONES universe. THE HEDGE KNIGHT started out slow but eventually had me on the edge of my seat. A very visceral and satisfying read.
RUNNER OF PERN: A little too feminine for my taste. McCaffrey establishes an interesting mythos in which "runners" basically serve as the Pony Express of their world. However, the second half of the story is basically a Sandra Bullock romantic comedy.
April 28, 2022
Three excellent stories from three excellent authors. Beg, borrow, or cast a spell to get your copy. And make sure your armour is polished to a really high sheen to blind your opponent(s) so they can't deprive you of your book.
Want to read
June 16, 2016Was pretty happy to find this, mainly just because I wanna read the GRRM story ;)
July 12, 2024
Same 3 stories as in Volume 1. Only finished 2 Runner of Pern,
Debt of Bones. These were all good.
Debt of Bones. These were all good.
November 25, 2014
Sacrificing nerd credibility, I'll admit that of the three authors included in this collection, I was only familiar with George RR Martin. This made for an uneven reading experience. Even with introductions to get the reader grounded in each fictional universe, there's a tricky balance here to giving enough context for the story to make sense within the limited scope of the short works while not boring those who are already familiar with the universe, so the volume was a bit uneven.
Goodkind's Debt of Bones was probably the weakest story, but only in comparison to the others. It suffered most for the form- from awkward exposition shoehorned in as dialogue to the nagging sensation throughout that this would be far more interesting if I had read Goodkind's other books.
Martin's The Hedge Knight (more a novella than a short story) was a delight. Not sure how to talk about it without spoilers, but it's vintage George RR Martin: fully realized, fascinating characters, intrigue, high drama, and of course unanticipated deaths that leave you clamoring for a) the author's head and b) more stories, please.
I admired the world building in McCaffrey's Runner of Pern, but was ultimately disappointed that it served as a backdrop for a rather pedestrian meet-cute romance. Of the three stories, I was most interested to learn about the world of Pern, and instead we get a harvest festival and the charming and handsome son of a noble falling for the plucky and tempestuous runner... meh.
Goodkind's Debt of Bones was probably the weakest story, but only in comparison to the others. It suffered most for the form- from awkward exposition shoehorned in as dialogue to the nagging sensation throughout that this would be far more interesting if I had read Goodkind's other books.
Martin's The Hedge Knight (more a novella than a short story) was a delight. Not sure how to talk about it without spoilers, but it's vintage George RR Martin: fully realized, fascinating characters, intrigue, high drama, and of course unanticipated deaths that leave you clamoring for a) the author's head and b) more stories, please.
I admired the world building in McCaffrey's Runner of Pern, but was ultimately disappointed that it served as a backdrop for a rather pedestrian meet-cute romance. Of the three stories, I was most interested to learn about the world of Pern, and instead we get a harvest festival and the charming and handsome son of a noble falling for the plucky and tempestuous runner... meh.
December 25, 2010
This was one of the most important books that I read years ago that sparked my interest in some authors that I was not aware of. I had been out of the fantasy loop for quite a few years. I am from the Tolkien, McCaffrey, Brooks, Donaldson era, and I was out of touch. This book and the second volume, as well as the Legends II books of the last decade are essential if you want to jump into fantasy but do not know where to start. Start with vol. 1! What follows are my brief reviews of the stories in this volume:
Terry Goodkind's DEBT OF BONES is a nice little prequel to the The Sword of Truth. Once I read this, I was intrigued enough to hunt down a copy of WIZARD'S FIRST RULE. I have been a big fan ever since!
THE HEDGE KNIGHT by George R.R. Martin was my first story from the series known as A Song of Ice and Fire. I loved this little tale and I am reading it right now (December 24, 2010) again for the third time!
RUNNER OF PERN by Anne McCaffrey where she takes us back to Pern. This was the only one of these legends that I was already familiar with and I loved this new tale.
Terry Goodkind's DEBT OF BONES is a nice little prequel to the The Sword of Truth. Once I read this, I was intrigued enough to hunt down a copy of WIZARD'S FIRST RULE. I have been a big fan ever since!
THE HEDGE KNIGHT by George R.R. Martin was my first story from the series known as A Song of Ice and Fire. I loved this little tale and I am reading it right now (December 24, 2010) again for the third time!
RUNNER OF PERN by Anne McCaffrey where she takes us back to Pern. This was the only one of these legends that I was already familiar with and I loved this new tale.
July 7, 2023
This is a misleading title
Legends. Originally, published in 1998 and featuring 11 stories by established authors in their established worlds. This is 3 of those stories and is marketed as if it were an actual follow-up to that.
The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones Terry Goodkind
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight George R. R. Martin Pern:
Runner of Pern Anne McCaffrey
Why would it be called Legends 2 and not Legends {Vol 2}?
Legends. Originally, published in 1998 and featuring 11 stories by established authors in their established worlds. This is 3 of those stories and is marketed as if it were an actual follow-up to that.
The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones Terry Goodkind
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight George R. R. Martin Pern:
Runner of Pern Anne McCaffrey
Why would it be called Legends 2 and not Legends {Vol 2}?
September 29, 2013
Three short novels from Terry Goodkind, George R. R, Martin, and Anne McCaffrey are well written and provide a nice fantasy fix in small doses.
Each tell a full story and leave the reader wanting just a bit more information even though the story is complete.
Each tell a full story and leave the reader wanting just a bit more information even though the story is complete.
October 17, 2013
an inspiring collection of stories, that started me reading books like the Game of Thrones, and Wild cards... I bought it originally because of the anne mccaffrey Robert silverberg stories.
September 8, 2011
A good story and interesting insight into the history of Westeros, the Targaryen dynasty, and some characters we've grown to love.
September 28, 2011
Only reading the George R.R. Martin part
November 1, 2011
Novellas which fit existing series of works by well known authors:
Terry Goodkind; George R.R. Martin and Anne McCaffrey.
Terry Goodkind; George R.R. Martin and Anne McCaffrey.
March 21, 2012
I have only read two of the stories here, none of the other's interested me. The ones i read are by Robin Hobb and George RR Martin.
Read
February 21, 2012Legends 2 : Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy by Terry Goodkind (1999)
January 6, 2013
Excellent.
January 19, 2014
I only read "The Hedge Knight." It was the only story I was interested in. I loved it. It was too short. It was cool reading about a Westeros in which all the Targaryans haven't been killed.
June 3, 2014
Enjoyed all three stories, but The Hedge Knight was definitely the standout.
November 7, 2016
hhhmm. I liked the George Martin story best, then the pern. never really was a fan of goodkind
February 26, 2014
Great short tales of modern fantasy. George R.R. Martins "The Hedge Knight" is the clear standout.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews