In the series of anthologies of original stories which began with this volume, the late editor Bradley mines similar territory, and deals with similar strong female protagonists, as does Esther Freisner in the later Chicks in Chainmail series. The quality of writing (at least in the initial volumes of both, the only ones I've read) is high in both; the main difference being that Bradley's series tends to feature tales that are more serious in tone, with less humor. (Though that doesn't mean that they all necessarily have none of the latter; and a couple would have been at home in the later series as well.) That doesn't reduce their entertainment value, and often makes them more compelling.The Goodreads default description lists all 15 stories by author. They come in great variety, as do the settings, and the heroines. Some of the latter can be rough-edged, and may sometimes do some things I wouldn't do, or recommend; but all of them have good hearts at their core, and earn the reader's goodwill and respect. (Some of them, like de Lint's bounty huntress Aynber, and Charles R. Saunders' alternate-African warrior woman Dossouye, are series characters who appear in a number of stories elsewhere by these authors.) Some of my favorites here are "The Valley of the Troll," "Gimmile's Songs," "Severed Heads" (which isn't as grisly-gory as the title makes it sound), "Child of Orcus," "Daton and the Dead Things" and "Sword of Yraine." But virtually all of these are worth reading; the only one here that I felt was a little weak is "House in the Forest."Bradley's substantial introduction is an added benefit of the book; she provides a good historical sketch of the role of female characters in sword-and-sorcery fantasy fiction, and some really insightful comments on the appeal and value of strong, three-dimensional heroines in this field. (Her meaty biocritical notes on each story's author are a very worthwhile feature, as well!) She very rightly outlines an equalitarian perspective that explicitly differentiates her purpose here from "feminist propaganda" and Woman-uber-alles male- bashing; the female perspective here is rightly seen as an essential part of the human perspective, that includes both genders as important, needed and responsible contributors to the world and the human story. Even so, I would differ with her on one point. Though she dedicates this volume to C. L. Moore and to "all of us who grew up wanting to be Jirel," she faults Moore here for Jirel's realization in "Black God's Kiss," after killing her adversary Guillaume, that she loved him; Bradley thinks this weakens the character, and sends the message that "woman's pride only stood in the way of true happiness --interpreted as surrender to a man." Personally, I didn't take Moore's story that way; I interpreted it as a true-to-life reflection of the fact that sometimes underneath anger and enmity there can be a bond between two people --just as a male, too, might feel attracted to a woman who can fight him tooth-and-nail, and even defeat him. (And it's as much, or more, Guillaume's pride as Jirel's that separates them.) But that's a quibble --and one that has nothing to do with the great stories in this collection!
I read this such a long time ago that I really can't remember any of the stories at this stage so this book would be a good contender for a re-read! However, when I read the book in 1989 (!) I jotted down very brief notes onto a bookmark, which I left in the book. The stories (of fifteen) that I liked the most at that time were those by Michael Ward, Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Robin W. Bailey and Dorothy J. Heydt. I seemed to be undecided about the stories by Stephen L. Burns and Diana L. Paxson. I noticed that rape was a feature of four of the stories (those by Glen Cook, Charles R. Saunders, Jennifer Roberson and Diana L. Paxson) so some people might not appreciate them. I also noted that in the story by Phyllis Ann Karr, women were attracted to a man, while in Stephen L. Burns' story, a woman pretends to be attracted to a man. And that's all I noted down! If I ever get around to reading this book again, I might have a bit more to say about it.
What do You think about Sword And Sorceress (1986)?
"What are we without friends? Just severed heads rolling across the sands." pg. 49 Glen CookHere are my thoughts on the tales within this book: The Garnet and the Glory by Phyllis Ann Karr: Not my favorite tale at all, it was an okay read. Perhaps if I read more of the sagas of Frost and Thorn I would have found it better.Severed Heads by Glen Cook: better than the first tale, and I did like the revenge side of the taleTaking Heart by Stephen L. Burns: technically a story about a male thief...bu
—Angela
I haven't been a huge fan of short stories because they always seem to be so-so, but this collection was fantastic. I liked every single story, although I did like some more than others. MZB definitely knew how to recognize a damn good story. It also makes me think about writers - I think writing novels and writing stories take different types of talents. Some have both but some writers have only one. And I think some of the stories I've been disappointed in lately have been written by novelists - the story seems to be missing something or feels like it should actually be a longer work. I didn't get that feeling with any of the stories in this book. They all felt like short self-contained episodes. I'm looking forward to reading the other volumes edited by MZB.
—Karen
