Scan barcode
A review by yak_attak
SwordsDark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery by Jonathan Strahan, Lou Anders
4.5
Strahan and Anders put together an absolutely stacked collection of modern fantasy heroes, turning them loose on broadly, Sword and Sorcery, and have ended up with a cracking collection of excellent stories. Despite the fairly irritating introduction (it does the "But THIS stuff is Not your TOLKIEN'S FANTASY" nonsense that. We get it. Booze and Tits. Okay.) (However it does serve as a good summary of the history of S&S) pitch sounding more flat than it should, there's a great amount of variety here, crossing styles, genre, settings, and more. Lots of Rogues and Scoundrels, bloody fights, Demons, and more - there's nothing you're going to miss out on. Honestly, only one or two (of *seventeen*!) stories are any less than great.
I came into this primarily to finally read Steven Erikson's Goats of Glory (which is good and fun), but after being shocked by the absolutely stacked roster assembled (Erikson. Cook. Wolfe. Cherryh. Moorcock. Silverberg. Abercrombie. And more!), the stories I ended up enjoying the most were often those from authors I'm *not* familiar with - either in name or reputation. The Sea Troll's Daughter by Caitlin Kiernan is quasi-Beowulf monsterslaying, except things don't go well for the town. And I'll join in calling The Deification of Dal Bamore the best story here - An Abercrombie-esque story of political upheaval, torture, violence, and god. I'm not familiar with Lebbon, but I'll absolutely be checking his other works out soon.
So yeah, to make things short, if you like S&S or any of these authors at all, get this. It's great.
Quick reviews:
Goats of Glory - Erikson - 4
A little simple for Erikson, but the twist is fun. Great writing, good characters, slightly empty.
Tides Elba - Cook - 3
I've already read (and hated) the book this was eventually turned into, but in short story format it dodges a lot of what made that novel terrible. It's alright, but not as good as older Cook.
Bloodsport - Wolfe - 4.5
I don't get the hate, this is beautifully written.
The Singing Spear - Enge - 3.5
A little too simple and obvious, but written well, and Morlock has enough character to at least make me curious about picking up Enge's other work.
A Wizard in Wiscezan - Cherryh - 4.5
One of the best in the bunch. Great setting, great scenario with a lot of character to it.
A Rich Full Week - Parker - 4.5
My first Parker, and it will absolutely not be my last - there's so much character and tone conveyed so simply, all of it a joy to read, and the ending is one of the better ones in the book, leaving you with a good bit to think about.
A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet - Nix - 3
Weaker showing from Nix, there's good ideas here, but it seems too wrapped up/neat to really be more than a fine story.
Red Pearls - Moorcock - 2.5
Sadly, the most disappointing story in the collection comes from legend Moorcock, but dang man, the pacing here is dismal, there's like 4 extra plots for no reason, and the eventual main one we're supposed to care about is the dullest of the bunch.
The Deification of Dal Bamore - Lebbon - 5
Already mentioned, but this is incredibly good.
Dark Times at the Midnight Market - Silverberg - 4.5
My first Silverberg, and won't be my last. One of the best works of setting in the collection, even though basically everything takes place in one room.
The Undefiled - Keyes - 4
I know Greg Keyes from Star Wars, so having him pop in with the nastiest story of a heroic rape monster was a hell of a shock. It works great though.
Hew the Tintmaster - Shea - 3
Cool ideas/scenes, but a little too far up its own ass to connect
In the Stacks - Lynch - 4.5
Many of these stories I'd love to have been expanded, none more so than this one - This has such a cool setting, *far* more than enough for a full book. Sad there isn't more.
Two Lions, a Witch, and the War-Robe - Lee - 3.5
At first I was really enjoying this, and then I don't even know what was going on in the second half. Feels like it was written just for the pun title at some point. Great start though.
The Sea Troll's Daughter - Kiernan - 4.5
Again, mentioned already, but this one is excellent.
Theives of Daring - Willingham - 3
The shortest in the collection by far, there isn't enough here to really make it worth your time, but the idea is cool. Could've been much more.
The Fool Jobs - Abercrombie - 4
Great work from Abercrombie, short heist story, lots nasty characters, tons of great violence.
I came into this primarily to finally read Steven Erikson's Goats of Glory (which is good and fun), but after being shocked by the absolutely stacked roster assembled (Erikson. Cook. Wolfe. Cherryh. Moorcock. Silverberg. Abercrombie. And more!), the stories I ended up enjoying the most were often those from authors I'm *not* familiar with - either in name or reputation. The Sea Troll's Daughter by Caitlin Kiernan is quasi-Beowulf monsterslaying, except things don't go well for the town. And I'll join in calling The Deification of Dal Bamore the best story here - An Abercrombie-esque story of political upheaval, torture, violence, and god. I'm not familiar with Lebbon, but I'll absolutely be checking his other works out soon.
So yeah, to make things short, if you like S&S or any of these authors at all, get this. It's great.
Quick reviews:
Goats of Glory - Erikson - 4
A little simple for Erikson, but the twist is fun. Great writing, good characters, slightly empty.
Tides Elba - Cook - 3
I've already read (and hated) the book this was eventually turned into, but in short story format it dodges a lot of what made that novel terrible. It's alright, but not as good as older Cook.
Bloodsport - Wolfe - 4.5
I don't get the hate, this is beautifully written.
The Singing Spear - Enge - 3.5
A little too simple and obvious, but written well, and Morlock has enough character to at least make me curious about picking up Enge's other work.
A Wizard in Wiscezan - Cherryh - 4.5
One of the best in the bunch. Great setting, great scenario with a lot of character to it.
A Rich Full Week - Parker - 4.5
My first Parker, and it will absolutely not be my last - there's so much character and tone conveyed so simply, all of it a joy to read, and the ending is one of the better ones in the book, leaving you with a good bit to think about.
A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet - Nix - 3
Weaker showing from Nix, there's good ideas here, but it seems too wrapped up/neat to really be more than a fine story.
Red Pearls - Moorcock - 2.5
Sadly, the most disappointing story in the collection comes from legend Moorcock, but dang man, the pacing here is dismal, there's like 4 extra plots for no reason, and the eventual main one we're supposed to care about is the dullest of the bunch.
The Deification of Dal Bamore - Lebbon - 5
Already mentioned, but this is incredibly good.
Dark Times at the Midnight Market - Silverberg - 4.5
My first Silverberg, and won't be my last. One of the best works of setting in the collection, even though basically everything takes place in one room.
The Undefiled - Keyes - 4
I know Greg Keyes from Star Wars, so having him pop in with the nastiest story of a heroic rape monster was a hell of a shock. It works great though.
Hew the Tintmaster - Shea - 3
Cool ideas/scenes, but a little too far up its own ass to connect
In the Stacks - Lynch - 4.5
Many of these stories I'd love to have been expanded, none more so than this one - This has such a cool setting, *far* more than enough for a full book. Sad there isn't more.
Two Lions, a Witch, and the War-Robe - Lee - 3.5
At first I was really enjoying this, and then I don't even know what was going on in the second half. Feels like it was written just for the pun title at some point. Great start though.
The Sea Troll's Daughter - Kiernan - 4.5
Again, mentioned already, but this one is excellent.
Theives of Daring - Willingham - 3
The shortest in the collection by far, there isn't enough here to really make it worth your time, but the idea is cool. Could've been much more.
The Fool Jobs - Abercrombie - 4
Great work from Abercrombie, short heist story, lots nasty characters, tons of great violence.