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.
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)
