From the Bookshelf of Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"…

Challenge! Discovery

Jason M. Waltz (Editor),

Frederick Tor

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What Members Thought

Jan 11, 2024 Jim Kuenzli rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, adventure-action-pulp, fantasy

Excellent concept for this anthology. This is a contest for the authors to write a heroic action story based upon a picture (Cover Art) and the theme of Discovery. There were a variety of stories presented here with most falling under heroic fantasy, or sword and sorcery. There was even a western that was one of the best of the bunch.

My personal favorite was "Witch with Bronze Teeth" by Keith Taylor. Lithuanian Barbarians vs Teutonic Knights! Yes Please! Taylor never disappoints, and his histor ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2017 S.E. Lindberg rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-se

Rogue Blades Entertainment has a great track record for delivering anthologies (Return of the Sword, Writing Fantasy Heroes,Rage of the Behemoth, and more). Challenge! Discovery is the 2017 edition, which posed a challenge: look at the cover, and write a story about it. The illustration features a scantily clad female warrior and a panther emerge from jungle ruins.

Challenge! Discovery (Rogue Blades Presents Challenge! Book 1) by Frederick Tor

The concept is cool, but the entries range in quality, and I disagree with the judges. Apparently the last two won 1st and 2nd p ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 12, 2018 Richard rated it really liked it

Shelves: other, anthologies

An interesting concept for an anthology. Just as the title suggests, this is contest. A contest to bring the best heroic action packed stories, and all the while displaying the theme of Discovery. Additionally authors must use the cover art as they see fit in their submission.

A few stories stood apart from the rest and I greatly enjoyed them.

Someplace Cool and Dark by Frederic S Durbin was a fun weird west story with treasure hunters, gunslingers, and spider-pigs!

In the Ruins of the Panther Pe ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2018 Dan Nelson rated it it was amazing

This was a challenge anthology, meaning all the stories where inspired and tied into the cover. This was very cool as you got an amazing variety of kinds of stories. They were all surprisingly good. I recommend it highly.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2025 Derek rated it liked it

Shelves: anthology-or-collection

It's dismissive to call the concept a noble experiment, but that's what I'll go with. The challenge provided is foremost the striking and extremely specific cover art and secondly the general theme of "discovery". With apparently a small group of judges awarding a No Prize to the best.

I'm not convinced the judging buys anything for the reader except disagreement over the selections. Personally I would have leaned into the Weird Western of "Someplace Cool and Dark" and the Barsoomian science-fant ...more

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