Battle Magic

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Larry Segriff (Editor), John Helfers (Contributor)

From vast armies to single champions, from legions of wizards to sorcerous duels, the original tales included in this volume are the very heart of fantasy. From kingdoms saved by the power of a spell, to magicked weapons that can steal the souls of countless enemies, to lands and peoples destroyed by dark enchantment, here are the adventures to capture your imagination and hold you spellbound till the last blow has been struck, the final victory has been gained.

The Strangeness of the Day by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Ladykiller by Rosemary Edghill
The Jewel and the Demon by Lisanne Norman
Principles of warfare by John Helfers
BattleMagic(tm) for Morons by John DeChancie
The Miracle of Salamis by Lois Tilton
Alaric's Gift by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Rite of Passage by Ed Gorman
Bright Streets of Air by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Hell's Bane by Jane Lindskold
The Fatal Wager by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
'Ware the Sleeper by Julie E. Czerneda
A Matter of Honor by Josepha Sherman
Warlord by Michelle West
Ten for the Devil by Charles de Lint

Genres: Anthologies, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Eddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

....Because we can't read smart books all the time...

[Jason Waltz · Rating 2 out of 5]

de Lint ends with a quality, elegant story.

5 stars for 2 stories that were spectacular and delivered on theme, 3 stars for 2 stories that were purty, 0 stars for a bunch of drek. Average rounded down cause I cannot justify giving these anthology an average score.

Now to the question of keeping this title in my limited library: I will never hand this to anyone to read, so is one story worth retention?

[Robert Swanson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A collection of definite poor writing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

finished my first read-through of all these stories 10/20/1999

The Strangeness of the Day by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Ladykiller by Rosemary Edghill
The Jewel and the Demon by Lisanne Norman
Principles of Warfare by John Helfers
BattleMagic™ for Morons by John DeChancie
The Miracle of Salamis by Lois Tilton
Alaric's Gift by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Rite of Passage by Ed Gorman

♦ "Bright Streets of Air" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman re-read 7/20/2014
re-appeared in The Wildside Book of Fantasy reread 4/23/2015

Hell's Bane by Jane Lindskold
The Fatal Wager by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
'Ware the Sleeper by Julie E. Czerneda
A Matter of Honor by Josepha Sherman
Warlord by Michelle West
Ten for the Devil by Charles de Lint (included in his collection Tapping the Dream Tree

[Masha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sep 06, 2014