The Book of Swords

by George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, Scott Lynch Narrated by Various

Overview

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 Melniboné, 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.

"The Best Man Wins" by K. J. Parker, read by John Lee
"Her Father's Sword" by Robin Hobb, read by Katharine McEwan
"The Hidden Girl" by Ken Liu, read by Kim Mai Guest
"The Sword of Destiny" by Matthew Hughes, read by Elliott Hill
"'I Am a Handsome Man' Said Apollo Crow," by Kate Elliott, read by Steve West
"The Triumph of Virtue" by Walter Jon Williams, read by Elliott Hill
"The Mocking Tower" by Daniel Abraham, read by Richard Brewer
"Hrunting" by C. J. Cherryh, read by John Lee
"A Long, Cold Trail" by Garth Nix, read by Nicholas Guy Smith
"When I Was a Highwayman" by Ellen Kushner, read by Kirby Heyborne
"The Smoke of Gold Is Glory" by Scott Lynch, read by Ralph Lister
"The Colgrid Connundrum" by Rich Larson, read by Mark Deakins
"The King's Evil" by Elizabeth Bear, read by Julia Whelan
"Waterfalling" by Lavie Tidhar, read by Mark Deakins
"The Sword Tyraste" by Cecelia Holland, read by Steve West
"The Sons of the Dragon" by George R. R. Martin, read by Ralph Lister
 
And an introduction by Gardner Dozois, read by Arthur Morey

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/14/2017
Swords and sorceries abound in this massive anthology, featuring several luminaries of the fantasy genre. A few of these stories stand out, including Ken Liu’s “The Hidden Girl,” in which a girl in mythical China is kidnapped by a sorceress and trained to become a brilliant assassin who walks between worlds. “ ‘I Am a Handsome Man,’ Said Apollo Crow” by Kate Elliott also breaks the mold with a man, or maybe a banished god, who’s bound by a curse to serve but may remain wily enough to choose his own master. Robin Hobb’s “Her Father’s Sword” will take her regular readers back to familiar territory as a young village girl struggles to cope with an attack in the setting of her Farseer novels. Other works, such as Daniel Abraham’s “The Mocking Tower” and Ellen Kushner’s “When I Was a Highwayman” (which takes place in her Riverside setting), feel familiar for a different reason, differentiating themselves very little from general fantasy tropes. The anthology has strengths and weaknesses, but many readers will pick it up just for a new George R.R. Martin short story tied to the Song of Ice and Fire series. (Oct.)

Library Journal

09/15/2017
Award-winning editor and anthologist Dozois has brought together some of the biggest names in fantasy for his latest anthology inspired by the sword and sorcery (S&S) subgenre. While S&S had its heydey in the 1960s and 1970s with Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" tales, and Robert E. Howard's "Conan the Barbarian" stories, it lives on in the feel of much of today's epic fantasies. Standouts here include K.J. Parker's opening story, "The Best Man Wins," and George R.R. Martin's closing piece, "The Sons of the Dragon," set in the early days of the Targaryen kings. In between there are tales heavy on swords and light on sorcery, as well as the reverse, but most share the high adventure quotient that makes S&S such enjoyable fantasy. Elizabeth Bear's "The King's Evil" stars the duo at the center of her newest novel, Stone in the Skull (see review on p. 57). VERDICT With original stories from contributors such as Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, Ken Liu, Ellen Kushner, Bear, Lavie Tidhar, Kate Elliott, and Scott Lynch, this is a great collection for any fantasy fan. [See Prepub Alert, 4/10/17.]—MM

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2017-08-06
Dozois, an indefatigable editor (The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fourth Annual Collection, 2017, etc.), introduces an all-new compendium of 16 original stories, many set in their authors' established fantasy universes.In his extensive and knowledgeable introduction, Dozois explains that the term "sword & sorcery" was coined by fantasy great Fritz Leiber (the Fafhrd/Gray Mouser yarns) and ranges from its birth in the old pre-WWII pulps through Tolkien up to today's doorstoppers and blockbusters. Many of the entries group themselves naturally. K.J. Parker and, less successfully, Cecelia Holland take up the theme of revenge. Other authors expose the moral ambiguities implicit in much of the subgenre's culture (Ken Liu, Ellen Kushner), and a Rich Larson standout features a pair of curiously principled rogues. Of those set in established worlds, Robin Hobb writes of FitzChivalry Farseer and the Red Ship raiders; Matthew Hughes draws inspiration from Jack Vance's renowned Dying Earth scenario; Walter Jon Williams offers a promising sampler of a forthcoming series; Garth Nix's tales of Sir Hereward and the sorcerously animated ventriloquist's dummy, Master Fitz, are justly famous; Elizabeth Bear writes enthrallingly about the Dead Man, formerly an emperor's guard, and his companion mercenary, the Gage, a brass automaton with a human soul, the stars of her latest novel and series; Lavie Tidhar weighs in with one of his guns-and-sorcery tales about Gorel of Goliris; and, disappointingly, George R.R. Martin offers an undramatic, ultraviolent chronicle set in an era well before the current Game of Thrones books. The remainder defy classification. Kate Elliott's fine effort portrays a mysterious exile from the spirit world who challenges the emperor of Rome; Daniel Abraham captivates with his fine knotty tale of a thief, a prince, and a mysterious magic tower; C.J. Cherryh wonders what happened after Beowulf slew the monster Grendel; and a thrill-a-minute yarn from Scott Lynch somewhat resembles a sorcerous Raiders of the Lost Ark. When fine writer and expert editor Dozois beckons, authors deliver—and this surely will be one of the year's essential anthologies.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172195754
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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