Swords and Sorcerers: Stories from the Worlds of Fantasy and Adventure

by Clint Willis (Editor)

Although the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars franchises have brought swashbuckling fantasy back into the public imagination, they themselves are the product of a rich literary tradition. As Wizards provided relief for those who had read every Harry Potter and still wanted more, so will Swords and Sorcerers be a natural for those who can’t get enough of Tolkien and the Jedi. These stories from the worlds of fantasy and adventure will appeal to everyone from fans of the alternate universes created by Philip Pullman, Brian Jacques, and C. S. Lewis to those drawn by the legends of the Knights of the Round Table, from readers ready for The Three Musketeers and Robin Hood, to those raised on the video of The Princess Bride. In Swords and Sorcerers, readers will find great stories and great characters in worlds of great the best work of contemporary masters such as William Goldman, Tim Powers, and Susan Cooper; long-treasured authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, T. H. White, and Alexandre Dumas, and a rich lode of surprising and forgotten gems.

Genres: Fantasy

364 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2002

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

... probably closer to a 2.5 ...

Not a bad collection, although be warned that the contents are mostly excerpts from longer stories; also, sorcerers seemed rather thin on the ground. The collection was bookended by a couple of pretty impressive swordfights -- it opened with the duel between Westley and Inigo Montoya from William Goldman's The Princess Bride and closed with a duel from Bernard Cornwell's Excalibur. In between, there were also bits from The Three Musketeers and Musashi, an Arabian Nights story, a chapter of Monkey's travels in Journey to the West, and various other bits & bobs. The best single story was Dunsany's Hoard of the Gibbelins (who eat, as is well known, nothing less good than man). But that's going to be the best story in pretty much any anthology you care to insert it in; and there wasn't a real clunker anywhere in the bunch. My chief complaint would be that it got a bit too Arthurian near the end -- in addition to the Cornwall story you had a Steinbeck excerpt, Knowles' adaptation of Malory, and even the first part of Twain's Connecticut Yankee.

A pleasant enough diversion if you happen to have it to hand, all told, but probably not worth making the effort to seek out.

[J.M. (Joe) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically snippets from some of the editor's handpicked favorites, rather than short stories in and of themselves. Because of this, I read a few bits and skimmed the rest, then promptly returned it to the library. I'm giving it two stars for the fact that I was expecting short stories, not snippets, and, thus, was a bit disappointed by the book overall. It might make a decent bathroom reader, though.

[Tad · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of fantastic short stories from around the world.

[Thomas Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice variety of tales, but way too many are excerpts only.