Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion
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Andreas wrote: "River of Souls • short story by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
This is a cut scene from the final novel of Wheel of Time, featuring an important man [spoilers removed] trying to unite..."
Unfettered came out shortly after A Memory of Light was released, containing this material that was "cut for space". So, this was the very first story in the anthology that I turn to. As I posted back then in the WoT roundup discussion, since it was material that was scattered through the earlier A Memory of Light draft and was removed, most dramatic material was left in A Memory of Light, leaving this story a little dry. Strictly for the Big Fan. (And, as previously mentioned, Spoilers for the WoT series.)
This is a cut scene from the final novel of Wheel of Time, featuring an important man [spoilers removed] trying to unite..."
Unfettered came out shortly after A Memory of Light was released, containing this material that was "cut for space". So, this was the very first story in the anthology that I turn to. As I posted back then in the WoT roundup discussion, since it was material that was scattered through the earlier A Memory of Light draft and was removed, most dramatic material was left in A Memory of Light, leaving this story a little dry. Strictly for the Big Fan. (And, as previously mentioned, Spoilers for the WoT series.)
I read the whole series and AMoL at the time it was published. But two years later, I simply couldn't put this story into context and even had a hard time remembering what "Shara" was *blush*. You're right, it's for hardcore fans similar to a handful other stories in this anthology (like the second Terry Brooks story).
I think the anthology works well as a curiosity (the deleted scenes, the unpublished early stories and the origin stories) and a sampler of some major names in the traditional fantasy markets often with writings that give a sample of their major fantasy worlds. It offers something a little different from most anthologies out there although for big name anthologies without the deleted scene/early version issue the Dozois and Martin series' will be for most people more rewarding.Overall I found myself smiling and enjoying myself during reading the collection and thats why I gave it a generous 3 stars. It got me wanting to read more by several authors and highlighted without too much inconvenience some writers that would not be my cup of tea. In addition there were a few strongish stories that any collection would be pleased to include.
There are times when I read a "best of" or a praise heaped collection and am left underwhelmed but I found myself enjoying the snippet from WoT despite only reading the first 6 or so books in the series many moons ago, despite having little expectation that a deleted scene would entertain me.
Ben wrote: "It offers something a little different from most anthologies out there although for big name anthologies without the deleted scene/early version issue the Dozois and Martin series' will be for most people more rewarding...."
Depending on how you parse the adjective "big-name" in the above, the statement changes.
I think it's fair to say that there are more "big-name" authors in this anthology than Dozois, Miller, Adams, or Strahan managed to assemble in their annual best of anthologies. Authors become "big-name" because they write novels, not short stories or novella. Those of us who read short stories have other ideas of what constitutes a big-name author, but I think we're a minority. So, yeah, as you say, you find authors here you wouldn't usually find in an anthology.
Gone are the days when new authors cut their teeth on the pulps (and it hasn't been replaced by cutting their teeth on Internet anthologies.) Also, I doubt short stories are as lucrative. Some authors still jump back and forth from short to long form (Carrie Vaughn from this collection, also Neil Gaiman, Greg Egan, Elizabeth Bear, etc.)
Charlie Jane Anders had an article in IO9 a couple weeks ago, Is the Fixup The Best Kind of Science Fiction Novel?, and the examples she supplies are all pretty old-school. (By the way, that article obeys Betteridge's Law; the answer to the headline question is, "no." :)
Depending on how you parse the adjective "big-name" in the above, the statement changes.
I think it's fair to say that there are more "big-name" authors in this anthology than Dozois, Miller, Adams, or Strahan managed to assemble in their annual best of anthologies. Authors become "big-name" because they write novels, not short stories or novella. Those of us who read short stories have other ideas of what constitutes a big-name author, but I think we're a minority. So, yeah, as you say, you find authors here you wouldn't usually find in an anthology.
Gone are the days when new authors cut their teeth on the pulps (and it hasn't been replaced by cutting their teeth on Internet anthologies.) Also, I doubt short stories are as lucrative. Some authors still jump back and forth from short to long form (Carrie Vaughn from this collection, also Neil Gaiman, Greg Egan, Elizabeth Bear, etc.)
Charlie Jane Anders had an article in IO9 a couple weeks ago, Is the Fixup The Best Kind of Science Fiction Novel?, and the examples she supplies are all pretty old-school. (By the way, that article obeys Betteridge's Law; the answer to the headline question is, "no." :)
At least a couple of those authors demonstrated in the past that they are perfectly capable of writing tremendously good shorter works. If I hadn't read some very good novellas e.g. by Rothfuss or Sanderson, my expectations and disappointment were lower. Neil Gaiman would be a very good example - I think his shorter works are better than his novels (not counting American Gods).
I think the editing of the anthology failed - of course, Speakman accepted everything he could get, and fans thanked him for it. But as a critical editor who has to slice together fitting texts, it was a failure.
There are a lot of writers who depend on short fiction to sustain their writing careers. In a number of cases writers have arrangements with fans where they email out stories every month and that is a decent chunk of money each month in a very predictable way. Two writers who do this areCaitlin Kiernan with Sirenia Digest
Cat Valente with Omikuji Project
as well as some writers doing similar things with Patreon etc such as Jeffrey Thomas
All writers who also write novels...
However in the past I think Short fiction was THE established route for getting into novel sales and novel publications. Having a record in short fiction and a readership base brought through that was a definite help in getting into novels. Now I think it is only one of many ways an author can go. They can also try self publishing their novels or might be able to get a deal straight away, it is much less of a requirement.
Also professional rates have not gone up with inflation and we have an abundance of markets that pay lowish amounts but very few that pay even 10cents a word so anyone wanting to write short stories for money needs to be willing and able to do a lot of graft something not many people are in to. And writing at the SFWA rates is a lot of graft.
Ben wrote: "so anyone wanting to write short stories for money needs to be willing and able to do a lot of graft something not many people are in to. And writing at the SFWA rates is a lot of graft. ..."
I'm glad I looked up "graft" in a UK-specific dictionary. :)
I'm glad I looked up "graft" in a UK-specific dictionary. :)
Andreas wrote: "The Sound of Broken Absolutes • novella by Peter Orullian
Musician student destroys his teacher's instrument and goes to war. Those two POVs confront us with difficult choices - "
This was an excellent story with a couple of outstanding characters. Teacher and pupil struggle with morality in the use of music as powerful magic.
It did leave me with the feeling I'd have understood better had I read more of Orullian's Vault of Heaven stories. There are some side issues at the musical academy (descant catherdral) involving the League of Civility (what the heck is that about?) and the apparently constant singing of the Suffering that's necessary in the Chamber of Anthems (for protection against mythical creatures?) Sounds like there's an interesting world lurking behind all this.
Anyway, that convinced me to add some Orullian to my diet.
Musician student destroys his teacher's instrument and goes to war. Those two POVs confront us with difficult choices - "
This was an excellent story with a couple of outstanding characters. Teacher and pupil struggle with morality in the use of music as powerful magic.
It did leave me with the feeling I'd have understood better had I read more of Orullian's Vault of Heaven stories. There are some side issues at the musical academy (descant catherdral) involving the League of Civility (what the heck is that about?) and the apparently constant singing of the Suffering that's necessary in the Chamber of Anthems (for protection against mythical creatures?) Sounds like there's an interesting world lurking behind all this.
Anyway, that convinced me to add some Orullian to my diet.
Andreas wrote: "Keeper of Memory • novelette by Todd Lockwood
The last days of a country under siege, fighting dragons. Only a group of scholars preserve the history of their people. One encounters in a dream-like sequence a maybe-future featuring main protagonist Maia from his debut novel.
Somewhat rough dialogues, but interesting setting...."
Andreas seems to have dug up a good bit of information about Mr. Lockwood and his forthcoming novel. I'm glad I didn't have that info when I started the story. (I hope Andreas doesn't mind that I don't read his mini reviews until after I've read the story.) The story offers an ambiguity about Maia, since she seems to be the ephemeral one.
Anyway, I rather liked this story, even if it was a tad on the depressing side. Young apprentice historian spends half the story wandering through the woods collecting berries for making indelible ink while his country is at war with dragon-riding invaders who don't share his respect for history. The pacing is a bit uneven, the first half being rather surreal and dreamlike, the second half a cascade of action, but overall I thought it worked pretty well.
The last days of a country under siege, fighting dragons. Only a group of scholars preserve the history of their people. One encounters in a dream-like sequence a maybe-future featuring main protagonist Maia from his debut novel.
Somewhat rough dialogues, but interesting setting...."
Andreas seems to have dug up a good bit of information about Mr. Lockwood and his forthcoming novel. I'm glad I didn't have that info when I started the story. (I hope Andreas doesn't mind that I don't read his mini reviews until after I've read the story.) The story offers an ambiguity about Maia, since she seems to be the ephemeral one.
Anyway, I rather liked this story, even if it was a tad on the depressing side. Young apprentice historian spends half the story wandering through the woods collecting berries for making indelible ink while his country is at war with dragon-riding invaders who don't share his respect for history. The pacing is a bit uneven, the first half being rather surreal and dreamlike, the second half a cascade of action, but overall I thought it worked pretty well.
Evgeny, sorry that I missed your remark about Spoilers. I'll try to sum it up later.
Andreas wrote: "Heaven in a Wild Flower • SF novelette by Blake Charlton
Men built a technological heaven from where they incarnate or turn back. Natural born children are seldom, baby girls even more. ... This is a father-daughter story with quite predictable ending. "
The premise of this story it is certainly unusual, clearly contrived to allow the author to create exactly the father/daughter story he wants to tell. Although the transformation of the world is couched as having been done by "scientists", one might as well view this as a fantasy for all the logic that has.
Taking that premise as a given, I enjoyed this story. (A bit more than Andreas, I think.) It's a soft, emotional story that hinges on the relationship between father and daughter. The conclusion seems foreordained (from the author's forward if not from the elegiac mood.) A story more about coping and reaction than plot, I think.
Men built a technological heaven from where they incarnate or turn back. Natural born children are seldom, baby girls even more. ... This is a father-daughter story with quite predictable ending. "
The premise of this story it is certainly unusual, clearly contrived to allow the author to create exactly the father/daughter story he wants to tell. Although the transformation of the world is couched as having been done by "scientists", one might as well view this as a fantasy for all the logic that has.
Taking that premise as a given, I enjoyed this story. (A bit more than Andreas, I think.) It's a soft, emotional story that hinges on the relationship between father and daughter. The conclusion seems foreordained (from the author's forward if not from the elegiac mood.) A story more about coping and reaction than plot, I think.
"I don’t actually write a lot of horror stories" - Daniel Abraham from his Forward to "Dogs"
What an extraordinary coincidence! I don't read a lot of horror stories.
Sad mostly because Abraham is several authors I enjoy reading.
What an extraordinary coincidence! I don't read a lot of horror stories.
Sad mostly because Abraham is several authors I enjoy reading.
By the way, Andreas, I've been meaning to ask: how are you determining which of these are short stories, novelettes, or novella? Are you doing the word count?
G33z3r wrote: "By the way, Andreas, I've been meaning to ask: how are you determining which of these are short stories, novelettes, or novella? Are you doing the word count?"I've outsourced that task to isfdb :)
Andreas wrote: "I've outsourced that task to isfdb :) "
Good idea, thanks. Most magazines these days, online and print, designate short stories/novelette/novella, but very few anthologies or collections bother. Come Hugo time I'm always wondering which category various things fall into. Too late for this year, though.
Good idea, thanks. Most magazines these days, online and print, designate short stories/novelette/novella, but very few anthologies or collections bother. Come Hugo time I'm always wondering which category various things fall into. Too late for this year, though.
Andreas wrote: "The Chapel Perilous • novelette by Kevin Hearne
Very entertaining retake of 6th century Sir Gawain's quest for the grail - this time with a druid as knight... The frame story starts with the same druid in contemporary U.S. telling his intelligent dog and his apprentice this story. This modern, "cool" language gives the epic quest a funny side note which I liked."
Telling an alternate version of the Holy Grail story as a story told by a modern, immortal Gawain neatly solves the problem of imposing urban fantasy storytelling style on the ancient tale, and allows a lot more humor than those old legends usually get. The story moves along briskly and entertainingly. I especially liked the hero's direct approach to dealing with bad guy. (view spoiler)
Very entertaining retake of 6th century Sir Gawain's quest for the grail - this time with a druid as knight... The frame story starts with the same druid in contemporary U.S. telling his intelligent dog and his apprentice this story. This modern, "cool" language gives the epic quest a funny side note which I liked."
Telling an alternate version of the Holy Grail story as a story told by a modern, immortal Gawain neatly solves the problem of imposing urban fantasy storytelling style on the ancient tale, and allows a lot more humor than those old legends usually get. The story moves along briskly and entertainingly. I especially liked the hero's direct approach to dealing with bad guy. (view spoiler)
Andreas wrote: "All the Girls Love Michael Stein • short story by David Anthony Durham
When cats die, they don't leave the world. No, they change from selfish creatures to caring ghost felines. Problem is that they can't interact..."
This is a short, good enough story about dead cats. More specifically, cats who come back as ghosts, not to haunt but to watch over their former humans, and be frustrated by their inability to ruin the furniture anymore. Nothing earthshaking, but cute & engaging as far as it goes, like some of the better YouTube cat videos. :)
It also got me thinking I've read or watched some other ghost-cat story sometime in the past, and it's bugging me that I can't put my finger on it.... Some hidden memory just out of reach.
When cats die, they don't leave the world. No, they change from selfish creatures to caring ghost felines. Problem is that they can't interact..."
This is a short, good enough story about dead cats. More specifically, cats who come back as ghosts, not to haunt but to watch over their former humans, and be frustrated by their inability to ruin the furniture anymore. Nothing earthshaking, but cute & engaging as far as it goes, like some of the better YouTube cat videos. :)
It also got me thinking I've read or watched some other ghost-cat story sometime in the past, and it's bugging me that I can't put my finger on it.... Some hidden memory just out of reach.
Andreas wrote: "Select Mode • short story by Mark Lawrence
Set in the Broken Empire featuring Jorg and The Nuban shortly before the start of Prince of Thorns ..."
I'm only halfway through Prince of Thorns, but I've pretty much decided I don't care for grimdark. Morally flexible characters like Locke Lamora I can enjoy, but full on psychopaths are not my cup of tea. At least not as the protagonist.
Set in the Broken Empire featuring Jorg and The Nuban shortly before the start of Prince of Thorns ..."
I'm only halfway through Prince of Thorns, but I've pretty much decided I don't care for grimdark. Morally flexible characters like Locke Lamora I can enjoy, but full on psychopaths are not my cup of tea. At least not as the protagonist.
Reading Magician I was reminded how much fantasy is D&D/ RPG inspired and with that there is a clear lack of darkness and consequences. There is a grueling battle and the odd minor character dies but everyone else carries on wiser, "leveled up" but basically otherwise unchanged.I see Grimdark as in a way a reaction against that and also against the GOOD vs EVIL simplistic narratives, characters and world views that were prevalent after the influences of both LoTR and D&D/RPG's.
But there is a difference between sophisticated and "grim" - I like characters that I want to root for, I dont want gore/cruelty fests. I dont want fiction that ignores the dark stuff like torture etc. but it dont want fiction that revels in it.
Though I enjoyed Select Mode - Prince of Thorns just looks too Grim for Grimness sake for me.
Andreas wrote: "Strange Rain • short story by Jennifer Bosworth
Prequel to Struck which is about lightnings that change your life. In this case it is the life of conjoined twins where one suffers from the separation and the other starts to develop a life of his own. ..."
Haven't read Struck, the novel to which this is apparently a prequel, so I have to take it on its merits.
This is a mercifully shorter-than-average story in this collection, centering on one of two conjoined twins separated at birth. Obviously the sister feels the separation while the brother doesn't, but the sister seems intent on making brother's life miserable until he agrees she's the only friend he needs. Having a magic-attuned stalker can really mess up your life.
I liked this less than Andreas. The heroine comes off as a weird sociopath and I have no desire to get to know her better. I presume the Mysterious Stranger who briefly wanders in fits into the novel someplace, but he doesn't fit in the context of this story as other than some bizarre plot gimmick.
Prequel to Struck which is about lightnings that change your life. In this case it is the life of conjoined twins where one suffers from the separation and the other starts to develop a life of his own. ..."
Haven't read Struck, the novel to which this is apparently a prequel, so I have to take it on its merits.
This is a mercifully shorter-than-average story in this collection, centering on one of two conjoined twins separated at birth. Obviously the sister feels the separation while the brother doesn't, but the sister seems intent on making brother's life miserable until he agrees she's the only friend he needs. Having a magic-attuned stalker can really mess up your life.
I liked this less than Andreas. The heroine comes off as a weird sociopath and I have no desire to get to know her better. I presume the Mysterious Stranger who briefly wanders in fits into the novel someplace, but he doesn't fit in the context of this story as other than some bizarre plot gimmick.
Andreas wrote: "Unbowed • novelette by Eldon Thompson
The owner of a Ninja school is accused of being part of an assassin gang. His son sets out to rescue him. Interesting father-son and romance relation spiced with lots of fighting scenes and Ninja action. .."
Once again I must concur with Andreas. Except for the part about the ninjas.
This is a pretty well executed story. Although set in the author's established universe of Asahiel, it stands alone adequately. The story is narrowly focused, and there's more than adequate exposition for what's required. Some good characters, and lots of sword fighting, because a good deal of the story takes place at a school of swordsmanship. (Ninja Academy?)
The only issue I would have with it is the plot conclusion. (view spoiler) I though it diminished the story.
I still added Thompson's The Crimson Sword to my to-read list. (Mind you, they're so much stuff on my to-read list, that's mostly an empty threat.)
The owner of a Ninja school is accused of being part of an assassin gang. His son sets out to rescue him. Interesting father-son and romance relation spiced with lots of fighting scenes and Ninja action. .."
Once again I must concur with Andreas. Except for the part about the ninjas.
This is a pretty well executed story. Although set in the author's established universe of Asahiel, it stands alone adequately. The story is narrowly focused, and there's more than adequate exposition for what's required. Some good characters, and lots of sword fighting, because a good deal of the story takes place at a school of swordsmanship. (Ninja Academy?)
The only issue I would have with it is the plot conclusion. (view spoiler) I though it diminished the story.
I still added Thompson's The Crimson Sword to my to-read list. (Mind you, they're so much stuff on my to-read list, that's mostly an empty threat.)
Andreas wrote: "In Favour With Their Stars • short story by Naomi Novik
Boring remake of Temeraire, this time in space. You'll get nothing new if you read some Temeraire novel; if you didn't you'll be probable confused."
Having read a couple of Novik's Temeraire novels, I think I was more confused than if I hadn't. Imagine my surprise when the 19th century story I expected turned out to involve starships visiting other planets, all the while keeping the same names as the novels. "Temeraire in Space" just seems like a weird fanfic premise.
Taken on its own, I suppose it's an okay story, maybe a bit rushed, but not really that engaging. The characters are incredibly thin unless you impress upon them the characteristics of their 19th century counterparts; but if you do that, it's all kind of a rehash with a spaceship instead of a frigate.
Boring remake of Temeraire, this time in space. You'll get nothing new if you read some Temeraire novel; if you didn't you'll be probable confused."
Having read a couple of Novik's Temeraire novels, I think I was more confused than if I hadn't. Imagine my surprise when the 19th century story I expected turned out to involve starships visiting other planets, all the while keeping the same names as the novels. "Temeraire in Space" just seems like a weird fanfic premise.
Taken on its own, I suppose it's an okay story, maybe a bit rushed, but not really that engaging. The characters are incredibly thin unless you impress upon them the characteristics of their 19th century counterparts; but if you do that, it's all kind of a rehash with a spaceship instead of a frigate.
G33z3r wrote: "Ninja Academy?"That was my impression, yes - they didn't train on swordsplay only but also on stealthing, poisons, traps etc. Something different from "honorable knight school", so I tried it with Ninjas :)
Andreas wrote: "The Jester • novelette by Michael J. Sullivan
Riyria protagonists on a treasure hunt with hints from a jester. Reads like a RPG adventure. A bit predictable. Narration structure with its dialogued retrospectives was different than most of the other plain stories in this anthology...."
I liked this more than Andreas did, perhaps because I've read all the Riyria novels extant. Despite featuring the two main characters from a long running series (set between Riyria Chronicles and Riyria Revelations ), the story stands nicely on its own.
I thought this was a pretty amusing story, and cleverly written. The duo have hired on with some clients looking for a famous old underground tomb, a sort of Tomb Raider or D&D adventure.
I found the narration structure Andreas commented on was very clever. We've joined the dungeon crawl late in the adventure, in which it seems a lot has gone terribly wrong. It mines humor from the recriminations among the team, all of which simply hint at the many disasters they've endured getting to this point.
If the story had been told as a straight narration, it would be ridiculously long and probably shallow. By revealing past events strictly through the angry gibes the characters throw at each other, we get the gist of the past disasters, humorous in retrospect, without extraneous detail or the connecting story which would be required in a traditional linear narration.
I liked it because it made me laugh.
Incidentally, this story is available as a free standalone audiobook, The Jester, from Audible in the US. (I think it was part of a promo of one of the audiobooks in the series.) Thanks to that, I learned how to pronounce Riyria.
(By the way, the group had a Discussion of Theft of Swords (the first Riyria omnibus) back in 2012, if you're interested in discussing Riyria further.)
Riyria protagonists on a treasure hunt with hints from a jester. Reads like a RPG adventure. A bit predictable. Narration structure with its dialogued retrospectives was different than most of the other plain stories in this anthology...."
I liked this more than Andreas did, perhaps because I've read all the Riyria novels extant. Despite featuring the two main characters from a long running series (set between Riyria Chronicles and Riyria Revelations ), the story stands nicely on its own.
I thought this was a pretty amusing story, and cleverly written. The duo have hired on with some clients looking for a famous old underground tomb, a sort of Tomb Raider or D&D adventure.
I found the narration structure Andreas commented on was very clever. We've joined the dungeon crawl late in the adventure, in which it seems a lot has gone terribly wrong. It mines humor from the recriminations among the team, all of which simply hint at the many disasters they've endured getting to this point.
If the story had been told as a straight narration, it would be ridiculously long and probably shallow. By revealing past events strictly through the angry gibes the characters throw at each other, we get the gist of the past disasters, humorous in retrospect, without extraneous detail or the connecting story which would be required in a traditional linear narration.
I liked it because it made me laugh.
Incidentally, this story is available as a free standalone audiobook, The Jester, from Audible in the US. (I think it was part of a promo of one of the audiobooks in the series.) Thanks to that, I learned how to pronounce Riyria.
(By the way, the group had a Discussion of Theft of Swords (the first Riyria omnibus) back in 2012, if you're interested in discussing Riyria further.)
G33z3r wrote: "I found the narration structure Andreas commented on was very clever."The structure was the 3rd star for me. Most stories in the anthology don't experiment, but this is a tiny deviation from standard which I appreciate. Nothing too fancy, though.
I've read the Riyria chronicles and liked them. This story was enough to fill my Riyria needs for the next time :)
Andreas wrote: "The Unfettered Knight • novelette by Shawn Speakman
Urban Fantasy set in the Annwn Cycle where two different protagonists - one from the otherworld Annwn and the other a bishop..."
A pretty fast moving story, taking place in the basements and libraries of the Vatican, crossing various druidic and Christian tropes in a more modern setting than usual. Revisits a familiar "life only precious because death exists" theme, (which, for the record, I haven't actually bought into - except in the inevitability sense. Just sayin', in case there's someone out there with a curse of immortality looking for a volunteer.) I enjoyed it.
Didn't we recently run into Lazarus of Bethany in Canticle for Leibowitz? The old guy gets around pretty well.
What was that about "Twilight Dragon"? I only found one Speakman story in the e-book edition.
Urban Fantasy set in the Annwn Cycle where two different protagonists - one from the otherworld Annwn and the other a bishop..."
A pretty fast moving story, taking place in the basements and libraries of the Vatican, crossing various druidic and Christian tropes in a more modern setting than usual. Revisits a familiar "life only precious because death exists" theme, (which, for the record, I haven't actually bought into - except in the inevitability sense. Just sayin', in case there's someone out there with a curse of immortality looking for a volunteer.) I enjoyed it.
Didn't we recently run into Lazarus of Bethany in Canticle for Leibowitz? The old guy gets around pretty well.
What was that about "Twilight Dragon"? I only found one Speakman story in the e-book edition.
Twilight Dragon was a bonus story for the UK edition.
Andreas wrote: "Twilight Dragon was a bonus story for the UK edition."
Ah. In that case, I give it ZERO ★s. No plot, no character development, no worldbuilding. On the plus side, it was a quick read.
Ah. In that case, I give it ZERO ★s. No plot, no character development, no worldbuilding. On the plus side, it was a quick read.
SUMMARY
I think it's safe to say that this anthology has more valleys than hills, and it's partly in the nature of the anthology itself. There's no overarching theme to the stories, many are from authors who don't usually write short form fantasy fiction, and given the donation nature of the collection, I suppose there wasn't a lot of curation.
Some stories are set in worlds already established by the author in their novels. A couple of those are tied so tightly to the fantasy series they come from that they wouldn't interest non-fans such as the Sanderson/Jordan Memory of Light outtakes or the Novik alternate world version of Temeraire in Space.) Others work as standalone stories despite being from larger tales (such as the Brett, Orullian, Hearne, Thompson, Lockwood, Sullivan, & Speakman) and a pair of those actually got me to add the author's novels to my to-read list. A few authors actually wrote nice original stories for the collection, not tied to any established continuity (Williams, Vaughn, Charlton, & Durham.)
Stories I enjoyed enough that I felt they were worth reading:
"The Sound of Broken Absolutes" by Peter Orullian
"Heaven in a Wildflower" by Blake Charlton
"Keeper of Memory" by Todd Lockwood
"The Old Scale Game" by Tad Williams
"Game of Chance" by Carrie Vaughn
"The Jester" by Michael J. Sullivan
"Unbowed" by Eldon Thompson
"The Unfettered Knight" by Shawn Speakman
"Mudboy" by Peter V. Brett
"The Chapel Perilous" by Kevin Hearne
"All the Girls Love Michael Stein" by David Anthony Durham
Also, I would have read "River of Souls" just on the basis of being a Wheel of Time fanboy.
So that's about a 50% success rate for me, which is a little lower than I might like in a normal anthology, but not so low I'd say I regret reading the collection.
Andreas, I think you were being a little harsh with only 1★. I'll agree this anthology has a few more clunkers than I might wish, given the almost superstar list of authors involved. But it did have enough stories worth reading for me, and a couple (e.g., "The Sound of Broken Absolutes") I might've considered for my Hugo list had I read them back when this was actually published. I wavered between 2 & 3 ★, Finally decided it was closer to just "OK".
You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mister In-Between
I think it's safe to say that this anthology has more valleys than hills, and it's partly in the nature of the anthology itself. There's no overarching theme to the stories, many are from authors who don't usually write short form fantasy fiction, and given the donation nature of the collection, I suppose there wasn't a lot of curation.
Some stories are set in worlds already established by the author in their novels. A couple of those are tied so tightly to the fantasy series they come from that they wouldn't interest non-fans such as the Sanderson/Jordan Memory of Light outtakes or the Novik alternate world version of Temeraire in Space.) Others work as standalone stories despite being from larger tales (such as the Brett, Orullian, Hearne, Thompson, Lockwood, Sullivan, & Speakman) and a pair of those actually got me to add the author's novels to my to-read list. A few authors actually wrote nice original stories for the collection, not tied to any established continuity (Williams, Vaughn, Charlton, & Durham.)
Stories I enjoyed enough that I felt they were worth reading:
"The Sound of Broken Absolutes" by Peter Orullian
"Heaven in a Wildflower" by Blake Charlton
"Keeper of Memory" by Todd Lockwood
"The Old Scale Game" by Tad Williams
"Game of Chance" by Carrie Vaughn
"The Jester" by Michael J. Sullivan
"Unbowed" by Eldon Thompson
"The Unfettered Knight" by Shawn Speakman
"Mudboy" by Peter V. Brett
"The Chapel Perilous" by Kevin Hearne
"All the Girls Love Michael Stein" by David Anthony Durham
Also, I would have read "River of Souls" just on the basis of being a Wheel of Time fanboy.
So that's about a 50% success rate for me, which is a little lower than I might like in a normal anthology, but not so low I'd say I regret reading the collection.
Andreas, I think you were being a little harsh with only 1★. I'll agree this anthology has a few more clunkers than I might wish, given the almost superstar list of authors involved. But it did have enough stories worth reading for me, and a couple (e.g., "The Sound of Broken Absolutes") I might've considered for my Hugo list had I read them back when this was actually published. I wavered between 2 & 3 ★, Finally decided it was closer to just "OK".
You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mister In-Between
Andreas wrote: "I think the editing of the anthology failed - of course, Speakman accepted everything he could get, and fans thanked him for it. But as a critical editor who has to slice together fitting texts, it was a failure...."
I think the very premise of the collection means there isn't going to be any curation and minimal editing. If you ask a bunch of colleagues to donate stories gratis, you really can't turn around and say it doesn't meet your standards. (And I'm pretty sure Speakman hasn't been an editor before, either.)
You get this sense in some of the forwards, where authors say, "I had this lying in the bottom of the drawer and blew the dust off it." Sometimes the results of that wasn't bad and maybe sometimes it should've stayed in the drawer. Other authors apparently saw this as a chance to showcase themselves to readers who hadn't tried their novels. In the case of Hearne, Thompson & Speakman himself, this worked for me. (Now I just need another four round tuit.)
Huh. I concatenated all my mini reviews above for my Goodreads book review, and I think this is the first time my review got so long Goodreads won't display the whole thing. In fact, only about half. Maybe I should rearrange them to put the good stuff at the start instead of using the ToC. I guess I need an editor.
I think the very premise of the collection means there isn't going to be any curation and minimal editing. If you ask a bunch of colleagues to donate stories gratis, you really can't turn around and say it doesn't meet your standards. (And I'm pretty sure Speakman hasn't been an editor before, either.)
You get this sense in some of the forwards, where authors say, "I had this lying in the bottom of the drawer and blew the dust off it." Sometimes the results of that wasn't bad and maybe sometimes it should've stayed in the drawer. Other authors apparently saw this as a chance to showcase themselves to readers who hadn't tried their novels. In the case of Hearne, Thompson & Speakman himself, this worked for me. (Now I just need another four round tuit.)
Huh. I concatenated all my mini reviews above for my Goodreads book review, and I think this is the first time my review got so long Goodreads won't display the whole thing. In fact, only about half. Maybe I should rearrange them to put the good stuff at the start instead of using the ToC. I guess I need an editor.
Thanks for the great summary. Can you also mention which stories can be read without spoiling the main series?
Evgeny wrote: "Can you also mention which stories can be read without spoiling the main series?"
The only story I know for sure contains spoilers for the main novel is "River of Souls" for the Jordan/Sanderson Wheel of Time.
For the others I can't say, because if I haven't read the (entire) series yet, it's not always obvious if I just read a spoiler! :(
For example, suppose I read a prequel story about how Joe became a spy for Queen Jane. If I haven't read the series it comes from, I don't know whether when Joe shows up in that story the reader already knows he's a spy, or if that's a big reveal in book 3.
Not a spoiler:
The original, standalone stories clearly fit that bill: Vaughn, Charlton, Williams, Durham, Salvatore & Abraham.
The Sullivan isn't a spoiler for Riyria, and the story stands nicely on its own.
The Carrey isn't a spoiler for Kushiel, though since it's an older, forgotten work by the author, she made some changes when she wrote the novels (she eliminated the early firearms tech); that would be confusing either way.
The Novik isn't a spoiler for Temeraire, but I'm sure people who've read the novels will see it differently than someone who hasn't. (It moves 19th century Brits into future space in a sort of "what if...")
For the others, I'm just guessing, sorry. Ben and Andreas may have read other series and can fill you in on those...
The only story I know for sure contains spoilers for the main novel is "River of Souls" for the Jordan/Sanderson Wheel of Time.
For the others I can't say, because if I haven't read the (entire) series yet, it's not always obvious if I just read a spoiler! :(
For example, suppose I read a prequel story about how Joe became a spy for Queen Jane. If I haven't read the series it comes from, I don't know whether when Joe shows up in that story the reader already knows he's a spy, or if that's a big reveal in book 3.
Not a spoiler:
The original, standalone stories clearly fit that bill: Vaughn, Charlton, Williams, Durham, Salvatore & Abraham.
The Sullivan isn't a spoiler for Riyria, and the story stands nicely on its own.
The Carrey isn't a spoiler for Kushiel, though since it's an older, forgotten work by the author, she made some changes when she wrote the novels (she eliminated the early firearms tech); that would be confusing either way.
The Novik isn't a spoiler for Temeraire, but I'm sure people who've read the novels will see it differently than someone who hasn't. (It moves 19th century Brits into future space in a sort of "what if...")
For the others, I'm just guessing, sorry. Ben and Andreas may have read other series and can fill you in on those...
G33z3r wrote: "Evgeny wrote: "Can you also mention which stories can be read without spoiling the main series?"
The only story I know for sure contains spoilers for the main novel is "River of Souls" for the Jo..."
Thanks a lot, now I have some more reading to do :)
The only story I know for sure contains spoilers for the main novel is "River of Souls" for the Jo..."
Thanks a lot, now I have some more reading to do :)
G33z3r wrote: "Andreas, I think you were being a little harsh with only 1★. I'll agree this anthology has a few more clunkers than I might wish, given the almost superstar list of authors involved. But it did have enough stories worth reading for me, and a couple (e.g., "The Sound of Broken Absolutes") I might've considered for my Hugo list had I read them back when this was actually published. I wavered between 2 & 3 ★, Finally decided it was closer to just "OK"."I'll take the nickname "Grumpy", then :)
I think we differ how we assess anthologies.
I previously stated that I disregarded the charity effect and only assess the content. With these premises, I came to 1 star, because, well, I didn't like the anthology.
I'm not harsh in this: I really didn't like it, which means 1 star.
I didn't like this anthology not being edited. This anthology had to stand the test in a sea of anthologies, but it didn't pass.
That doesn't mean that there were no stories in it worth reading - absolutely not. Orullian's story was really good and there are other stories that I liked, i.e. there were 3 and 4 stars for stories in it.
But that is not how I assessed - I didn't give an average of the stories' stars for the anthology, because in my opinion an anthology must provide something in addition. Which this anthology didn't.
And in the end I didn't like the anthology. But I put a couple of authors on my tbr and actually even read a novel from one last weekend.
Evgeny, you shouldn't read Sanderson's WoT story. I think the rest is spoiler free.
Andreas wrote: "Evgeny, you shouldn't read Sanderson's WoT story. I think the rest is spoiler free."
I already read the entire WoT, so Sanderson is not a problem for me :)
I already read the entire WoT, so Sanderson is not a problem for me :)
Andreas wrote: "Evgeny, you shouldn't read Sanderson's WoT story. I think the rest is spoiler free."
The Ninja Academy isn't a spoiler, then?
The Ninja Academy isn't a spoiler, then?
I tried to read this, as I would normally, start to finish. However, I got stuck on Rothfuss. I might skip around and pick and choose.It wasn't that I thought Rothfuss' was bad, it just didn't hold my attention.
For me with anthologies of mainly original work if it brings one or two wonderful stories into the world then for me it is a success. It would take other stories to be beyond awful (think stealing ideas, defaming people AND sexist/racist, AND badly written for me not to feel that the anthology was at least a moderate success.For me there were no "wow" stories in this collection but there was enough I really enjoyed that I gave it 3 stars and that is a very good rating for me.
I dont feel compelled to read every story in an anthology too closely and in a few cases I found I wasnt enjoying the story I skimmed to the end a little. When I get a best of the year collection I hop to my favorite authors, read some I have heard some interesting buzz about and otherwise just dip in to the odd one or two others, I dont read them all or read it cover to cover. I think if you take the collection and read it diligently cover to cover then the deleted scenes, buried in a drawer stories etc. would feel a bit of a chore but if it is seen as an opportunity (to read or not read the deleted scene etc) then I actually see it a strength of the collection.
As for spoilers of different series I dont really get spoiled by most spoilers as by the time I would ever pick a book up if I liked the story I would have probably forgotten enough as to not let it be a problem. Rather I saved money by not buying books by writers in here who I found that I didnt like their writing style (Novik etc) or intrigued and compelled to read where I otherwise might not have in the case of the Sullivan.
There are mild spoilers in the Brooks deleted scene but nothing so heavy there as to spoil any but those very sensitive to spoilers. Same with the Brett - its introducing a new character and is put across in a way that works if you have not read the series and any spoilers are very mild.
I've not read the Hearne or Lawerence series' but both are prequels that did not seem to reveal anything that would spoil the main series'.
Brenda ╰☆╮ wrote: "I tried to read this, as I would normally, start to finish. However, I got stuck on Rothfuss. I might skip around and pick and choose. It wasn't that I thought Rothfuss' was bad, it just didn't hold my attention..."
Neither Andreas nor I cared for the Rothfuss, either. (BTW, In my universe, "didn't hold my attention" = "bad". I a "books are supposed to entertain me" person.) Hopefully you'll get to one of the more engaging stories.
Ben wrote: "I dont feel compelled to read every story in an anthology too closely and in a few cases I found I wasnt enjoying the story I skimmed to the end a little...."
I pretty regularly cherry pick stories in magazines and anthologies. In fact when I first bought Unfettered, I read just 4 stories and then set it aside for later. (It seems to have been on my currently-reading shelf for 21 months.)
I read it little more thoroughly this week because it was a group discussion book.
Neither Andreas nor I cared for the Rothfuss, either. (BTW, In my universe, "didn't hold my attention" = "bad". I a "books are supposed to entertain me" person.) Hopefully you'll get to one of the more engaging stories.
Ben wrote: "I dont feel compelled to read every story in an anthology too closely and in a few cases I found I wasnt enjoying the story I skimmed to the end a little...."
I pretty regularly cherry pick stories in magazines and anthologies. In fact when I first bought Unfettered, I read just 4 stories and then set it aside for later. (It seems to have been on my currently-reading shelf for 21 months.)
I read it little more thoroughly this week because it was a group discussion book.
I've been lazy and not (virtually) picked the book up again since finishing with it a year or so ago. The only problem I have with cherry picking is that it sometimes can exclude the discovery of something new or different that just wows me.I recently subscribed to F&SF and dont think there will be many issues i read cover to cover but for £12 a year I am sure I will get more than enough great stories to feel very happy and will read a mix of my favorite authors and one or two new ones (and some stories that people recommend or rave about).
Its one of the positives of this group that it will often get me to put my toes out a little from my comfort zone and give something that is not my usual fare a little bit more of a try.
Does anyone like the Rothfuss? I gave him credit for doing something different but thats a left sided/ back handed compliment at best. If it hadnt been by Rothfuss and had not been written for a money goes to the editor anthology I do not think it would have ever seen the light of day. Writers need to experiment but their experiments dont necessarily need to be published.
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Unfettered (other topics)The Crown Conspiracy (other topics)
The Crown Tower (other topics)
The Jester (other topics)
His Majesty's Dragon (other topics)
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I had high expections because there are many authors involved that I really like. I never crossed an anthology that frustrated me so much after a couple of stories that I wanted to toss it aside. Summing up, I think that the anthology as a project of fiction failed: Out of 24 stories, I only can recommend works of three authors, none achieved my best mark of 5 stars. What makes it really a failure are the loads of bad stories in it - 6 got only 1 star (meaning "I didn't like it") and one even zero stars (meaning "I hated it"). Only one (Nocturne) tried getting out of standard narrative structures and risk a literary experiment. The overall topic was a bit vague and the stories didn't find new answers.
My favourite ★★★★ stories were
The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
The Unfettered Knight and The Twilight Dragon by Shawn Speakman
Zero, ★ for me were
The Duel by Lev Grossman
The Coach With Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss
Dogs by Daniel Abraham
Nocturne by Robert V.S. Reddick
Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks