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A review by exeidur
The Very Best of Tad Williams by Tad Williams
4.0
I think this is a 4-star bundle overall. There were one or two stories (mostly toward the end) which really weren't my thing, so I could've done without those. Sci-Fi isn't really my thing usually, but I really liked "The Boy Detective of Oz", "Not with a Whimper, Either", and especially "Z is for...", though I was very confused while reading it and didn't like the beginning one bit.
There's some wonderful fantasy in here as well, and it already starts out with it! "The Old Scale Game" was a lot of fun to read, and it really got me interested in the rest of the stories. "The Stranger's Hands", "Child of an Ancient City", and "A Stark and Wormy Knight" are all pretty good, with "Child of an Ancient City", although quite predictable, being my favourite.
What I think is especially brilliant, is the fact that Williams manages to really work out 3-dimensional, real characters in immensely short stories. Yes, some of them are a bit cliché and/or predictable, but his creative writing skills make up for that. I also think it's really admirable how he manages to write in many different styles and voices. He writes from a dragon's point of view in "A Stark and Wormy Knight", and it really sounds like what you would imagine a dragon to sound like! He writes through a chat room in "Not with a Whimper, Either" and he writes "Black Sunshine" as if it were a movie script. I really disliked that one, because of all the 'fade in to' 'fade out to', etc., and because I generally don't like the type of movies, but I'm sure some people think it's brilliant.
All in all, I think it's a very nice collection of stories. I could've done without a few of them, but the majority were really good reads, and I was pretty sad that they couldn't go on longer. Definite recommendation for people who like fantasy, sci-fi, or both of them (or who just enjoy short stories in general).
There's some wonderful fantasy in here as well, and it already starts out with it! "The Old Scale Game" was a lot of fun to read, and it really got me interested in the rest of the stories. "The Stranger's Hands", "Child of an Ancient City", and "A Stark and Wormy Knight" are all pretty good, with "Child of an Ancient City", although quite predictable, being my favourite.
What I think is especially brilliant, is the fact that Williams manages to really work out 3-dimensional, real characters in immensely short stories. Yes, some of them are a bit cliché and/or predictable, but his creative writing skills make up for that. I also think it's really admirable how he manages to write in many different styles and voices. He writes from a dragon's point of view in "A Stark and Wormy Knight", and it really sounds like what you would imagine a dragon to sound like! He writes through a chat room in "Not with a Whimper, Either" and he writes "Black Sunshine" as if it were a movie script. I really disliked that one, because of all the 'fade in to' 'fade out to', etc., and because I generally don't like the type of movies, but I'm sure some people think it's brilliant.
All in all, I think it's a very nice collection of stories. I could've done without a few of them, but the majority were really good reads, and I was pretty sad that they couldn't go on longer. Definite recommendation for people who like fantasy, sci-fi, or both of them (or who just enjoy short stories in general).