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cmbohn's review against another edition
2.0
I only read the first two stories, but I decided that was enough.
woahno's review against another edition
5.0
I'm using this space to review just "Her Father's Sword" by Robin Hobb. There are authors and stories in this anthology that interest me as well and hopefully one day I will get to them and update this.
I have slowly been getting through The Realm of the Elderlings series and before I started The Rain Wild Chronicles I wanted to give one of the short stories a go. The goodreads reading order puts this story without a number in the series but I would put it at 2.5 between Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. I think having the context of what Fitz has been up to in Royal Assassin would be good to have going into the story but I don't think you need to have read any of the other books.
The story is about a small village called Smokerscot and a young woman named Taura. Her village is one of the many places that has been raided by the Red Ships. The invaders took some of the inhabitants of Smokerscot to be Forged after destroying half the homes and taking all the food leaving Taura and her family and her community devastated. Fitz makes a cameo as he rides through Smokerscot on his way to Shrike. He warns the villagers that their loved ones will return but be forever changed. He tells them to not let them back in, to fight them off. Understandably, many don't believe him or want to at least give their Forged family members a chance. Fitz leaves to fulfill his mission in Shrike and Taura and her village are beset by the return of their family members as Forged ones.
This story has the same tone and style as the other books in the series. Robin Hobb takes the time to set up everything and gives the characters time to breathe between scenes. It is a slow burn of a short story and feels a lot like a chapter from a Realm of the Elderlings novel. This idea, the upclose and intimate showing of a village beset by the Red Ships and the devastation caused by the returning Forged ones was brilliant. It was a micro view of the macro problem seen in the Farseer Trilogy. I loved it and felt like it delivered all the complex emotions and relationships that I have come to love from Robin Hobb and this series.
I have slowly been getting through The Realm of the Elderlings series and before I started The Rain Wild Chronicles I wanted to give one of the short stories a go. The goodreads reading order puts this story without a number in the series but I would put it at 2.5 between Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. I think having the context of what Fitz has been up to in Royal Assassin would be good to have going into the story but I don't think you need to have read any of the other books.
The story is about a small village called Smokerscot and a young woman named Taura. Her village is one of the many places that has been raided by the Red Ships. The invaders took some of the inhabitants of Smokerscot to be Forged after destroying half the homes and taking all the food leaving Taura and her family and her community devastated. Fitz makes a cameo as he rides through Smokerscot on his way to Shrike. He warns the villagers that their loved ones will return but be forever changed. He tells them to not let them back in, to fight them off. Understandably, many don't believe him or want to at least give their Forged family members a chance. Fitz leaves to fulfill his mission in Shrike and Taura and her village are beset by the return of their family members as Forged ones.
This story has the same tone and style as the other books in the series. Robin Hobb takes the time to set up everything and gives the characters time to breathe between scenes. It is a slow burn of a short story and feels a lot like a chapter from a Realm of the Elderlings novel. This idea, the upclose and intimate showing of a village beset by the Red Ships and the devastation caused by the returning Forged ones was brilliant. It was a micro view of the macro problem seen in the Farseer Trilogy. I loved it and felt like it delivered all the complex emotions and relationships that I have come to love from Robin Hobb and this series.
curgoth's review against another edition
3.0
Audio read. From a while ago - I have been lax about recording my reads.
Pretty decent reading, with reasonable accent agility.
Content-wise, there were some serious stand-out stories.
The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu was lovely, and IIRC is getting spun out into a series of novels, which I will read.
"I Am a Handsome Man", Said Apollo Crow by Kate Elliott had me smirking and grinning while listening to it. High quality trickster tale.
I was also pretty happy with both K.J. Parker's The Best Man Wins and Robin Hobbs' Her Father's Sword.
I was less impressed with George R. R. Martin's Sons of the Dragon, but I am generally not that into his ASOIAF histories - they are too dry, without enough personality. Which is strange, because when we're talking about real history, the same kind of presentation generally works for me.
Pretty decent reading, with reasonable accent agility.
Content-wise, there were some serious stand-out stories.
The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu was lovely, and IIRC is getting spun out into a series of novels, which I will read.
"I Am a Handsome Man", Said Apollo Crow by Kate Elliott had me smirking and grinning while listening to it. High quality trickster tale.
I was also pretty happy with both K.J. Parker's The Best Man Wins and Robin Hobbs' Her Father's Sword.
I was less impressed with George R. R. Martin's Sons of the Dragon, but I am generally not that into his ASOIAF histories - they are too dry, without enough personality. Which is strange, because when we're talking about real history, the same kind of presentation generally works for me.
priam_agrivar's review against another edition
4.0
I came to this book, as most people likely did, looking forward to the new Westeros history by George R.R. Martin, but was also delighted to see the book would include tales from Daniel Abraham and Scott Lynch among others. Both of their works were some of my favorites in the collection.
Some other favorites:
The Best Man Wins - Parker - Predictable outcome, but just a well-written, enjoyable read.
The Sword of Destiny - Hughes - Both interesting world building and the most amusing to read tale in the book.
The Triumph of Virtue - Williams - Good blend of intrigue and action and a main character I want to read more about.
The Mocking Tower - Abraham - An interesting world - leaves me wondering if we will see more of it from him.
Overall a very strong collection of short stories without any weak links and a few leads on authors to further explore their work!
Some other favorites:
The Best Man Wins - Parker - Predictable outcome, but just a well-written, enjoyable read.
The Sword of Destiny - Hughes - Both interesting world building and the most amusing to read tale in the book.
The Triumph of Virtue - Williams - Good blend of intrigue and action and a main character I want to read more about.
The Mocking Tower - Abraham - An interesting world - leaves me wondering if we will see more of it from him.
Overall a very strong collection of short stories without any weak links and a few leads on authors to further explore their work!
sjlee's review against another edition
4.0
The Book of Swords is an anthology series and, as per usual, it is difficult to describe over all. What I will say is that the editor, Gardner Dozois, does a really interesting job in compiling a collection of stories that offer some strong interpretations of the core conceit.
What's perhaps most remarkable is how different the stories are from one another, yet they all offer something. I'll call out my favourites below.
Most people pick up this collection for George R. R. Martin's "The Sons of the Dragon". It details the lives of Aenys and Maegor Targaryen, the sons of Aegon the Conqueror. The story has been made superfluous by Fire and Blood, but it still interesting for fans of that series. I really enjoy Martin's faux history narrative style in these stories.
"The Best Man Wins" is about a sword-smith who is commissioned to make a sword by a young man and recounts how he came to be where he is and his life's path. The plot is fairly predictable, but the writing is good, and I like the exploration of the forging process.
"Her Father's Sword" is a disturbing piece. It deals with themes of abuse and violence through the lens of a magic curse. It's difficult to describe in detail without ruining it, but it is a haunting story.
"The Smoke of Gold is Glory" by Scott Lynch is probably my favourite in the collection. The story is about a man who journeys to a town to defeat a dragon and claim his treasure. One of the best details is that there is a town in the shadow of the dragon's home for adventurers to ready themselves to try their luck. It's an interesting twist and some never manage to make it and others merely profit off of the travellers. It's a very cool concept.
I enjoyed the collection and would recommend it, it's possible these stories may lead a reader on to a greater body of work to their interest.
What's perhaps most remarkable is how different the stories are from one another, yet they all offer something. I'll call out my favourites below.
Most people pick up this collection for George R. R. Martin's "The Sons of the Dragon". It details the lives of Aenys and Maegor Targaryen, the sons of Aegon the Conqueror. The story has been made superfluous by Fire and Blood, but it still interesting for fans of that series. I really enjoy Martin's faux history narrative style in these stories.
"The Best Man Wins" is about a sword-smith who is commissioned to make a sword by a young man and recounts how he came to be where he is and his life's path. The plot is fairly predictable, but the writing is good, and I like the exploration of the forging process.
"Her Father's Sword" is a disturbing piece. It deals with themes of abuse and violence through the lens of a magic curse. It's difficult to describe in detail without ruining it, but it is a haunting story.
"The Smoke of Gold is Glory" by Scott Lynch is probably my favourite in the collection. The story is about a man who journeys to a town to defeat a dragon and claim his treasure. One of the best details is that there is a town in the shadow of the dragon's home for adventurers to ready themselves to try their luck. It's an interesting twist and some never manage to make it and others merely profit off of the travellers. It's a very cool concept.
I enjoyed the collection and would recommend it, it's possible these stories may lead a reader on to a greater body of work to their interest.
oisin175's review against another edition
4.0
Most of the stories are very good, though there are some that are a bit of a let down. All in all I'd recommend this to get a better view of the fantasy writers that you may not know as much about.
audraelizabeth's review against another edition
5.0
Only skipped 2 stories in this anthology. I did find some authors I wouldn't have normally picked out.