The Book of Swords: Part 2

Gorel of Goliris

by Gardner Dozois (Editor), George R.R. Martin (Contributor), Ellen Kushner (Contributor)

An epic collection of fantasy tales in the grand tradition, including a never-before-published A Song of Ice and Fire story by George R.R. Martin and an introduction by Gardner Dozois.

Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a cornerstone of fantasy fiction, and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own tales of magical adventure.

Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an anthology of sixteen original epic stories by a stellar cast of modern masters, including George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, Ken Liu, Daniel Abraham, Scott Lynch, Cecelia Holland, Ellen Kushner, and more on journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid adventure, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2018

About the author

Gardner Raymond Dozois was an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004. He won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, both as an editor and a writer of short fiction.
Wikipedia entry: Gardner Dozois

http://us.macmillan.com/author/gardne...

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid anthology of well-written epic fantasy stories for adults. I knew before getting it that I wanted to read the Ellen Kushner and Elizabeth Bear stories, and just as I'd expected, they were both great - but I was surprised by how much I loved the Scott Lynch story, too, and I thought the Rich Larson story was really excellent as well.

The last three stories weren't as good a fit for my own personal tastes, but those first four stories make up the bulk of the pagecount in the book, and they're so good, they're well worth the price of the book! (And other people might well love the last three, too - it really is a matter of personal taste.)

[Charley Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent stories by excellent authors; I might have come for certain authors, but I don't think there was any story I really didn't enjoy, even if there were some that scratched my itches more than others. I'd even say it's hard to choose a favourite.

Brilliant collection, brilliant authors, and so many brilliant takes on such a classic thematic through-line. Highly recommended.

And on a final side note: those who've read Fire and Blood won't be getting anything new in the Martin content, but let his story be an incentive to buy it for those who haven't.

[Shaitarn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Most of the stories weren't of interest to me. They weren't bad, just didn't appeal to me, particularly the essay by George RR Martin which was not a story but a history lesson about one of the Targaryen family. The best stories for me were the ones by Ellen Kushner and Scott Lynch, but I doubt I'll remember them in a couple of weeks.

As I say, the stories weren't bad, so I'm not warning people away from it; I'm sure another reader would love it, so by all means pick it up if you want to. It just wasn't for me.

[Simon Curling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories based around the idea of sword and sorcery. The stand out story is by Scott Lynch. There is a George R Martin Novella about the Targaryans though it reads more like a history than a story. The other stories are all solid tales though the best of them is probably the Sword Tyraste by Cecilia Holland. All in all a good collection but not one to rush out for

[Allissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book of short stories was a struggle to get through. Apart from Lavie Tidar's Waterfalling and Cecilia Holland's The Sword Tyraste, none of them sustained my interest. Messy plots and flat characters abound. Disappointing endings and unimaginative twists were everywhere. Maybe the short story genre is not for me, but I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone who's loyal to the high fantasy genre. They'll be greatly disappointed.

[Johnny O'sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, although the GRRM story was a slog. The standout was the Scott Lynch story.

[Barry Beaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good shorts by and large

Some good stories, a lot are missing swords but that's a quibble. The Martin story is more a historical recounting.

[Bethnoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories started well, but after 2 which were mainly about drugs I got tired of the grimness. I loved the variety before this though and have enjoyed all the ones I read.