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A review by heliopteryx
After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien by Martin H. Greenberg
3.0
I'm not a big fantasy reader, so I'm supremely unqualified to say anything about this anthology as it relates to Tolkien. It just looks like a collection of mostly fantasy to me. A couple are more sci fi-like and some are more magical realism-like.
- Reave the Just by Stephen R. Donaldson :thumbsdown: (great concept, but I hated the execution)
- Troll Bridge by Terry Pratchett :thumbsup:
- A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple by Robert Silverberg
- The Dragon of Tollin by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (horrifying!)
- Faith by Poul and Karen Anderson
- In the Season of the Dressing of Wells by John Brunner
- The Fellowship of the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip
- The Decoy Duck by Harry Turtledove
- Nine Threads of Gold by Andre Norton
- The Conjure Man by Charles de Lint
- The Halfling House by Dennis L. McKiernan
- Silver or Gold by Emma Bull
- Up the Side of the Air by Karen Haber
- The Naga by Peter S. Beagle
- Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Mike Resnick
- Winter's King by Jane Yolen
- Gotterdammerung by Barry N. Maltzberg (a very minimalist subversion of fantasy tropes)
- Down the River Road by Gregory Benford
- Death and the Lady by Judith Tarr
Overall, some of these stories definitely felt like a waste of time, but I thoroughly enjoyed enough of them that I don't regret reading this. Some more detail about the best stories:
In the Season of the Dressing of Wells is set in the aftermath of WWI, as a traumatized veteran struggles to adjust to small town life, and stumbles upon an ancient tradition.
The Conjure Man is a lovely tale about the power of stories. Reave the Just is also about the power of stories, but it wasn't fun to read due to the incredibly painful caricatures the characters all were. The Conjure Man, like most of these stories, is short enough the characters don't need to do much more than convey the story, but it did so in such a nice way, that makes you imagine that once there used to be magic and adventure, and perhaps there still is if you know where to look.
Silver or Gold is about a young apprentice witch. I don't know exactly why, but the journey she goes on was so nice to read, it kind of makes me want to check out the author's other work.
Down the River Road is a bizarre vaguely sci fi story of a tube-shaped world completely unlike reality, yet never in ways that are explained. I saw the ending coming a long way off, yet I think it might be better that way.
Death and the Lady is a good contrast to some of the more stuffy traditional gender roles stories in this collection. It takes place in a small French village depleted of men due to warfare and the Black Death. They receive a mysterious guest.
Some more detail about the worst stories:
Reave the Just tries to be about the power of ideas. But it does so through the most overexaggerated, stereotypical characters. It just wasn't fun to read aboutthe tragic, helpless widow trapped and raped by the big evil lord, whose rescuer is the village idiot.
The Halfling House was fun at first, but it kind of overstayed its welcome. It was definitely trying too hard with terribly un-funny humor.
Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies was also trying too hard with the humor, but at least it was short. I will never get back the time I wasted reading this. The pop cultural references have aged horribly. The most charitable thing I can say is this story is about the way corporations milk the value out of everything.
In the Season of the Dressing of Wells is set in the aftermath of WWI, as a traumatized veteran struggles to adjust to small town life, and stumbles upon an ancient tradition.
The Conjure Man is a lovely tale about the power of stories. Reave the Just is also about the power of stories, but it wasn't fun to read due to the incredibly painful caricatures the characters all were. The Conjure Man, like most of these stories, is short enough the characters don't need to do much more than convey the story, but it did so in such a nice way, that makes you imagine that once there used to be magic and adventure, and perhaps there still is if you know where to look.
Silver or Gold is about a young apprentice witch. I don't know exactly why, but the journey she goes on was so nice to read, it kind of makes me want to check out the author's other work.
Down the River Road is a bizarre vaguely sci fi story of a tube-shaped world completely unlike reality, yet never in ways that are explained. I saw the ending coming a long way off, yet I think it might be better that way.
Death and the Lady is a good contrast to some of the more stuffy traditional gender roles stories in this collection. It takes place in a small French village depleted of men due to warfare and the Black Death. They receive a mysterious guest.
Some more detail about the worst stories:
Reave the Just tries to be about the power of ideas. But it does so through the most overexaggerated, stereotypical characters. It just wasn't fun to read about
The Halfling House was fun at first, but it kind of overstayed its welcome. It was definitely trying too hard with terribly un-funny humor.
Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies was also trying too hard with the humor, but at least it was short. I will never get back the time I wasted reading this. The pop cultural references have aged horribly. The most charitable thing I can say is this story is about the way corporations milk the value out of everything.