So yes, if you want to read a whole bunch of epic fantasy, and maybe discover some new series to explore, this one is definitely worth checking out. difficulties at their very first tourney. But happily, this particular piece stands very nicely on its own - it's the first Dunc & Egg story, set a full hundred years before the events of the novels, about a young squire-turned-hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his newly-acquired squire Egg, as they run into. Martin story, written after the second Westeros novel, A Clash of Kings had come out (and there's a certain bitter amusement in reading Silverberg's introduction, in which he says the series will be completed in four volumes: Game of Thrones (1996), Clash of Kings (1998), Dance with Dragons (forthcoming) and Winds of Winter (forthcoming)). The other personal highlight was "The Hedge Knight", the George R.R. The point is that it's a very good story (and one that manages, like Jack Vance's "The Moon Moth", to encapsulate everything that makes the author great), and you should definitely read it, especially if you're already a Discworld fan. I had picked up a couple of the early Discworld books from the public library back in the 80s, but they never quite clicked for me but I read the Pratchett story here, and ran out the door to local bookstores and libraries to lay hands on every single Discworld book I could find, and ended up reading like 21 Discworld books in 25 days. Although as with all anthologies, you'll undoubtedly like some stories more than others.įor myself, at the time the book came out I had already read probably seven or eight of the series, although in some cases (Pern in particular) not for many years and while it didn't necessarily fill me with the desire to rush out and reread those old books, it was a fun place to revisit.įor me, the biggest success of the book (and honestly my favorite story in it) was Terry Pratchett's "The Sea and Little Fishes", a Granny Weatherwax story and one of the relatively few shorter pieces of fiction he wrote. (And yes, Silverberg both edits and has a story included, but I like Majipoor, so I'm prepared to allow it.)Īnd the stories are all hefty (novella-length) and generally well-crafted, and if you're already a fan of any particular author/series, I doubt you'll be disappointed, and if some of them are new to you, you might find some new favorites. Le Guin (Earthsea), Tad Williams (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) and, last but certainly not least, George R.R. Feist (Riftwar), Terry Pratchett (Discworld), Orson Scott Card (Tales of Alvin Maker), Robert Silverberg (Majipoor), Ursula K. So the contributors: Stephen King (Dark Tower), Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time), Terry Goodkind (The Sword of Truth), Anne McCaffrey (Pern), Raymond E. (And yes, I did read it back when it first came out, but this is my first return to it in, oh god, help me, 23 years.)Īnd it was a pretty huge success, and spawned effectively a whole series of successors - Legends II, most obviously, but also such later volumes as Rogues and Dangerous Women and several others.Īnd, going back to the wellspring all these years later, I was happy to find that it still holds up quite well, both for fans of the included authors who want MOAR STORIES!!!!!! of Westeros or Pern or the Gunslinger or the Wheel of Time or what have you, and for readers of epic (or epic-ish) fantasy who might be interested in broadening their horizons without having to commit to reading an entire 800 page novel or three. I remember back when this first came out, and it was a Big Deal - not just an anthology, but an original fantasy anthology (no reprints here!), and eleven Big Name fantasy authors writing all-new novellas set in their famous fantasy worlds.
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