Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
DAW (1984), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 255 pages
Description
In each of these 15 fantasies the central character is a woman. There are 7 other Sword and Sorceress anthologies.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, in the dark days pre-Buffy, it was hard to find a female action hero. And yes, little girls need them, and teens, and even young women. So when the first Sword and Sorceress was published in 1984, I grabbed it, and it was love at first sight of the cover.
To be honest none were greatly memorable. When I recently picked up again an anthology of stories by Isaac Asimov after decades, I immediately remembered the content of most from just their title, and of many others just from the first few paragraphs. I could say the same of classic literary short stories after having read them once years before. None of the stories here rise to that level, and you couldn't mistake any for literary fiction. None really take stylistic chances. Only two are even first person. A disconcerting amount--over a third--contain at least the threat, and three times the depiction, of rape. With a couple of the stories, I didn't see the point of the protagonist being a woman--their gender could have been changed and it wouldn't have impacted the story in the slightest.
On the other hand, I found only two clunkers. Otherwise these were all enjoyable, and a few especially so. If I had to name a favorite, it would be Stephen L. Burns "Taking Heart" one of the few humor pieces, and with a great handling of point of view and a nicely wry twist. Followed closely by two historical fantasies: Charles Saunder's "Gimmile's Songs," set in Africa with an amazon heroine and Robin W. Bailey's "Child of Orcus" set in Ancient Rome with a woman ex-gladiator in the pay of Empress Messalina. I also particularly liked Pat Murphy's "With Four Lean Hounds" which had a nice fairy tale feel.
In the years the anthology has existed (it's still being published with Elizabeth Waters as editor) it has included such authors as Mercedes Lackey, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Moon and Laurell K. Hamilton. It got off to a solid start here.
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I still own that paperback. On the back it boasts the appearance of "Glen Cook, Phyllis Ann Karr, Charles R. Saunders, Jennifer Roberson, Diana Paxson." Others on the contents page who'd later gain prominence include Emma Bull (her first sale) and Charles de Lint. There are 15 fantasy short stories here in all. To be honest none were greatly memorable. When I recently picked up again an anthology of stories by Isaac Asimov after decades, I immediately remembered the content of most from just their title, and of many others just from the first few paragraphs. I could say the same of classic literary short stories after having read them once years before. None of the stories here rise to that level, and you couldn't mistake any for literary fiction. None really take stylistic chances. Only two are even first person. A disconcerting amount--over a third--contain at least the threat, and three times the depiction, of rape. With a couple of the stories, I didn't see the point of the protagonist being a woman--their gender could have been changed and it wouldn't have impacted the story in the slightest.
On the other hand, I found only two clunkers. Otherwise these were all enjoyable, and a few especially so. If I had to name a favorite, it would be Stephen L. Burns "Taking Heart" one of the few humor pieces, and with a great handling of point of view and a nicely wry twist. Followed closely by two historical fantasies: Charles Saunder's "Gimmile's Songs," set in Africa with an amazon heroine and Robin W. Bailey's "Child of Orcus" set in Ancient Rome with a woman ex-gladiator in the pay of Empress Messalina. I also particularly liked Pat Murphy's "With Four Lean Hounds" which had a nice fairy tale feel.
In the years the anthology has existed (it's still being published with Elizabeth Waters as editor) it has included such authors as Mercedes Lackey, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Moon and Laurell K. Hamilton. It got off to a solid start here.
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LibraryThing member empress8411
I’m not even sure where I first picked up one of MZB’s Sword and Sorceress books. All I know is I was hooked with the first one. It took me several years to collect all 21, but I loved each one. Some years are better than other, and there are a few stories that I have never forgotten, but over
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all, you can’t go wrong reading this entire set! Show Less
Language
Original publication date
1984
Physical description
255 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0879979283 / 9780879979287
Local notes
OCLC = 164
0 local
0 local