The Book of Swords

by Gardner Dozois (Editor)

Other authors: Daniel Abraham (Contributor), Elizabeth Bear (Contributor), CJ Cherryh (Contributor), Kate Elliott (Contributor), Robin Hobb (Contributor) — 11 more, Cecelia Holland (Contributor), Matthew Hughes (Contributor), Ellen Kushner (Contributor), Rich Larson (Contributor), Ken Liu (Contributor), Scott Lynch (Contributor), George R. R. Martin (Contributor), Garth Nix (Contributor), KJ Parker (Contributor), Lavie Tidhar (Contributor), Walter Jon Williams (Contributor)

Series: The Book of...Swords and Magic {edited by Gardner Dozois} (Swords)

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271	8	98,942	(3.45)	13
Fantasy. Fiction. Short Stories. Thriller. HTML:New epic fantasy in the grand tradition�including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin! Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard�s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock�s Elric of Melnibon�, Fritz Leiber�s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction�and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure. Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters�many of them set in their authors� best-loved worlds. Join today�s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel. FEATURING SIXTEEN ALL-NEW STORIES: �The Best Man Wins� by K. J. Parker �Her Father�s Sword� by Robin Hobb �The Hidden Girl� by Ken Liu �The Sword of Destiny� by Matthew Hughes ��I Am a Handsome Man,� Said Apollo Crow� by Kate Elliott �The Triumph of Virtue� by Walter Jon Williams �The Mocking Tower� by Daniel Abraham �Hrunting� by C. J. Cherryh �A Long, Cold Trail� by Garth Nix �When I Was a Highwayman� by Ellen Kushner �The Smoke of Gold Is Glory� by Scott Lynch �The Colgrid Conundrum� by Rich Larson �The King�s Evil� by Elizabeth Bear �Waterfalling� by Lavie Tidhar �The Sword Tyraste� by Cecelia Holland �The Sons of the Dragon� by George R. R. Martin And an introduction by Gardner Dozois �When fine writer and expert editor [Gardner] Dozois beckons, authors deliver�and this surely will be one of the year�s essential anthologies.��Kirkus Reviews (starred review).… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)

Only skipped 2 stories in this anthology. I did find some authors I wouldn't have normally picked out. (

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audraelizabeth | Jun 8, 2021 |

In the introduction to this collection of short stories, the editor writes that he has always been a fan of "Sword and Sorcery" Fantasy, and he recognizes the essential stamp of that style on the realistic "Grimdark" Fantasy that has been gaining popularity since the mid-1990's. To me, the general difference between those sorts of stories is that the former tends to have more success (or at least survival) for its protagonists, and those protagonists tend to be more heroic (even if they're brooding troubled Byronic anti-heroes). The stories in this collection vary between those two subgenres, and I think that makes the total package stronger. There's no guarantee that things will turn out well for any of the characters, but neither is there a promise that it will all always go wrong. (

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wishanem | May 27, 2021 |

Entertaining short storys, picked up mainly to read the GOT short story but found others were good ones.. i recommend her fathers sword,the sword of destiny,the sons of the dragon (

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DanJlaf | May 13, 2021 |

After listening to more then 50% of this book, I decided it was time to just drop it. I only liked one of the 14 stories I did listen to , I did skip a few of them within those 14 but I just can't do it anymore. These are long, drawn out and boring stories. None of them were keeping my attention, I was falling asleep through them, it just wasn't worth my time and effort. The one story I did like was "Her Father's Sword" by Robin Hood, it was interesting and appealing, and kept my attention. I may be missing out on the rest of the stories, but I honestly don't know and honestly don't care. Its not worth the struggle to keep trying to listen to this (

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SweetKokoro | Jul 31, 2020 |

Some good stories here, but don't be fooled by the title - the stories for the most part don't have anything to do with swords. I fell for the trap and assumed this would be somehow related to swords, combat, something like that. This is just another vehicle for fantasy writers to write short stories, which may or may not have swords in them. Many of them are about rogues, not swordsmen. It would probably also help if I was more familiar with the worlds of some of the authors, so if you are fans of some of these writer's longer works, the stories may appeal to you more. (

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Karlstar | Dec 1, 2018 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Dozois, Gardner	Editor	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Abraham, Daniel	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Bear, Elizabeth	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Cherryh, CJ	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Elliott, Kate	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hobb, Robin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Holland, Cecelia	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hughes, Matthew	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kushner, Ellen	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Larson, Rich	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Liu, Ken	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Lynch, Scott	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Martin, George R. R.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Nix, Garth	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Parker, KJ	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tidhar, Lavie	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Williams, Walter Jon	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

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The Book of...Swords and Magic {edited by Gardner Dozois} (Swords)

Contains

The Hidden Girl {novelette} by Ken Liu

The book of swords. Part 1 by Gardner Dozois

The book of swords. Part 2 by Gardner Dozois

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Locus Award (Winner – Anthology – 2018)

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The Book of Swords

Original title

The Book of Swords

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2017-10-10

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▾Book descriptions

Fantasy. Fiction. Short Stories. Thriller. HTML:New epic fantasy in the grand tradition�including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin!
Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard�s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock�s Elric of Melnibon�, Fritz Leiber�s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction�and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure.
Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters�many of them set in their authors� best-loved worlds. Join today�s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel.
FEATURING SIXTEEN ALL-NEW STORIES:
�The Best Man Wins� by K. J. Parker
�Her Father�s Sword� by Robin Hobb
�The Hidden Girl� by Ken Liu
�The Sword of Destiny� by Matthew Hughes
��I Am a Handsome Man,� Said Apollo Crow� by Kate Elliott
�The Triumph of Virtue� by Walter Jon Williams
�The Mocking Tower� by Daniel Abraham
�Hrunting� by C. J. Cherryh
�A Long, Cold Trail� by Garth Nix
�When I Was a Highwayman� by Ellen Kushner
�The Smoke of Gold Is Glory� by Scott Lynch
�The Colgrid Conundrum� by Rich Larson
�The King�s Evil� by Elizabeth Bear
�Waterfalling� by Lavie Tidhar
�The Sword Tyraste� by Cecelia Holland
�The Sons of the Dragon� by George R. R. Martin

And an introduction by Gardner Dozois
�When fine writer and expert editor [Gardner] Dozois beckons, authors deliver�and this surely will be one of the year�s essential anthologies.��Kirkus Reviews (starred review).

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