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The Book of Swords
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Katharine Lee McEwan, Kim Mai Guest, Elliot Hill, Richard Brewer, Nicholas Guy Smith, Kirby Heyborne, Mark Deakins, Steve West, Ralph Lister
- Length: 22 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
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 best-selling 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 16 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
Readers: Arthur Morey, Julia Whelan, Mark Deakins, Ralph Lister, Kirby Heyborne, Nicholas Guy Smith, Richard Brewer, Steve West, Elliott Hill, Kim Mai Guest, Katherine Mc Ewan, and John Lee
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Game of Thrones fans everywhere are eagerly awaited the release of House of the Dragon, the prequel series bringing viewers back to the epic fantasy world introduced in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. HBO's new show is based on Martin's Fire & Blood, a sweeping novel set 300 years before the first book in the saga. You can jump into Fire & Blood and enjoy this fantasy series without any prior knowledge of the books or television series.
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Firstborn
- Dragonlance: Elven Nations Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Paul B. Thompson, Tonya C. Cook
- Narrated by: Steve Coulter
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When the leader of the Silvanesti elves dies, conflict threatens to drive his sons apart. While Sithas wishes the elves to withdraw more and more from any contact with other races, Kith-Kanan and his Wildrunners forge connections and trade goods with the humans of Ergoth. As the world of Krynn watches, a new elven nation rises from the strife.
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After all this time
- By Jesse on 04-17-13
By: Paul B. Thompson, and others
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The House of the Stag
- By: Kage Baker
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before the Riders came to their remote valley, the Yendri led a tranquil, pastoral life. When the Riders conquered and enslaved them, only a few escaped to the forests. Rebellion wasn't the Yendri way; they hid, or passively resisted, taking consolation in the prophecies of their spiritual leader. Only one possessed the necessary rage to fight back: Gard the foundling, half-demon, who began a one-man guerrilla war against the Riders.
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Delightfully humorous
- By Katherine on 09-09-11
By: Kage Baker
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Morningstar
- By: David Gemmell
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A country in desperate need of heroes. Angostin invaders surge through the Highlands, laying waste to everything in their path. Darkness follows in their wake as a mad necromancer resurrects the eons-dead Vampyre Kings. Only the bandit Jarek Mace, and the magicker and bard Owen Odell, have the courage to fight the Angostins and the undead. Whispers soon spread that Mace is the legendary Morningstar, a saviour who will protect his country in its hour of need. Yet Mace seems nothing more than a thief and a liar.
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Sheer Magnificence!
- By Carol on 11-29-18
By: David Gemmell
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Fatemarked
- The Fatemarked Epic, Book 1
- By: David Estes
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come. An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him. A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.
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Written to fit an ideology, not the story it tells
- By znidarsic.blaz on 04-30-18
By: David Estes
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The Briar King
- The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone, Book 1
- By: Greg Keyes
- Narrated by: Patrick Michael
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The kings woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber.
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Good stuff
- By Jake on 06-10-10
By: Greg Keyes
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Ink Mage
- A Fire Beneath the Skin, Book 1
- By: Victor Gischler
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the first installment of the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, the city of Klaar has never fallen. No enemy has ever made it across the Long Bridge or penetrated the city's mighty walls. Even when a powerful invading army shows up at the gates, the duke and his daughter, Rina Veraiin, are certain that it poses little threat. But they are cruelly betrayed from within and, in a horrific spasm of violence, the city is brought to its knees.
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mixed feelings
- By Elvira on 10-28-15
By: Victor Gischler
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Bloodleaf
- By: Crystal Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.
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Not Understanding All the Praise
- By GPChlorine on 08-23-19
By: Crystal Smith
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The Bone Doll's Twin
- Tamir Triad, Book 1
- By: Lynn Flewelling
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine, Lynn Flewelling
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As people start to recall the Oracle's prophecy, Erius begins to quietly kill off his female relatives who pose the only threat to his monarchy. Constantly in fear for her life, Princess Ariani the King's sister, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. But Ariani is married to Lord Rhius, the patron of the powerful wizard Iya, and Iya has sinister plans for the babes.
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Not a bad beginning, but . . .
- By bluestatereader on 12-29-10
By: Lynn Flewelling
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The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.
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Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
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A Warrior's Journey
- Dragonlance: Ergoth Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Paul B. Thompson
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The mighty Ergothian empire is gripped by civil war. Centuries before the first Cataclysm sunders Ansalon, two imperial dynasties struggle for supremacy. Brutal warlords jockey for power, while corrupt wizards sell their skills to the highest bidder. Unnatural monsters prey on the unwary. Amid this chaos and upheaval, a brave young peasant shakes the towers of the mighty as his fate and the destiny of Krynn collide.
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Only buy on sale
- By Mr Dangerous on 08-06-24
By: Paul B. Thompson
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Iron Axe
- The Books of Blood and Iron, Book 1
- By: Steven Harper
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this brand new series from the author of the Clockwork Empire series, a hopeless outcast must answer Death's call and embark on an epic adventure... Although Danr's mother was human, his father was one of the hated Stane, a troll from the mountains. Now Danr has nothing to look forward to but a life of disapproval and mistrust, answering to "Trollboy" and condemned to hard labor on a farm. Until, without warning, strange creatures come down from the mountains to attack the village.
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I DON'T WANT YOU TO FOLLOW ME,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-22-17
By: Steven Harper
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Transformation
- Rai-Kirah, Book 1
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
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Seriously Excellent
- By Sharon on 09-25-13
By: Carol Berg
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Son of Avonar
- Bridge of D'Arnath, Book 1
- By: Carol Berg
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Magic is forbidden throughout the Four Realms. For decades, sorcerers and those associating with them were hunted to near extinction.But Seri, a Leiran noblewoman living in exile, is no stranger to defying the unjust laws of her land. She is sheltering a wanted fugitive who possesses unusual abilities-a fugitive with the fate of the realms in his hands...
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Great Series!
- By Bob-o on 08-30-16
By: Carol Berg
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Green Rider
- By: Kristen Britain
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Karigan G’ladheon, running away from school, is traveling through a deep forest when a galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of the magical messengers of the King. Before he dies, he makes Karigan swear to deliver the message he’s carrying, and gives her his green coat, with the symbolic brooch of his office.
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What a fantastic discovery!
- By GLENNO on 11-27-14
By: Kristen Britain
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The Red Wolf Conspiracy
- By: Robert V. S. Redick
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire.
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Not Bad, not great.
- By Aerindel on 10-15-09
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- By Maliboo on 07-22-13
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- By: Fred Saberhagen
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Fool's Assassin
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FitzChivalry - royal bastard and former king’s assassin - has left his life of intrigue behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married to his childhood sweetheart, Molly, and leading the quiet life of a country squire. Though Fitz is haunted by the disappearance of the Fool, who did so much to shape Fitz into the man he has become, such private hurts are put aside in the business of daily life, at least until the appearance of menacing, pale-skinned strangers casts a sinister shadow over Fitz’s past...and his future.
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Switching to Kindle version.
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The Rise of the Dragon
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- By: George R. R. Martin, Elio M. García Jr, Linda Antonsson
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This lavish visual history—featuring over 180 all-new illustrations—is a stunning introduction to House Targaryen, the iconic family at the heart of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.
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This is a cash grab, and nothing more
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By: George R. R. Martin, and others
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Fevre Dream
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When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern - no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove.
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Vampires, the Mississippi, and George R. R. Martin
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Fool's Errand
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For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But now, into his isolated life, visitors begin to arrive: Fitz's mentor from his assassin days; a hedge-witch who foresees the return of a long-lost love; and the Fool, the former White Prophet, who beckons Fitz to fulfill his destiny. Then comes the summons he cannot ignore. Prince Dutiful, the young heir to the Farseer throne, has vanished.
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A solid fantasy story in first person
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By: Robin Hobb
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Old Venus
- A Collection of Stories
- By: George R.R. Martin - editor, Gardner Dozois - editor
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Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction's top talents, collected by best-selling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois.
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Varied but overall solid
- By David on 09-20-15
By: George R.R. Martin - editor, and others
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Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
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Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
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By: Robin Hobb
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The Dying Earth
- Tales of the Dying Earth, Book 1
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Performance
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Story
The stories in The Dying Earth introduce dozens of seekers of wisom and beauty, lovely lost women, wizards of every shade of eccentricity with their runic amulets and spells. We meet the melancholy deodands, who feed on human flesh and the twk-men, who ride dragonflies and trade information for salt. There are monsters and demons. Each being is morally ambiguous: The evil are charming, the good are dangerous. All are at home.
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A Decadent and Hopeful Dying Earth
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By: Jack Vance
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Legends
- Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 1
- By: Stephen King, Robert Silverberg
- Narrated by: Frank Muller, Sam Tsoutsouvas
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Revisit the famous and fantastic realms conjured up by the world's most celebrated authors of fantasy in Legends - the greatest collection of original fantasy short novels ever published, where the best of the best tell all-new original tales set in the lands they created. Each audiobook presents the novels complete and unabridged, and will be sensational listening for the millions of fans of these writers and worlds.
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A GREAT REDISCOVERY
- By Darth Daddy on 04-14-13
By: Stephen King, and others
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Dying of the Light
- By: George R. R. Martin
- Narrated by: Iain Glen
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A whisperjewel has summoned Dirk t’Larien to Worlorn, and a love he thinks he lost. But Worlorn isn’t the world Dirk imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight. Gwen needs Dirk’s protection, and he will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means challenging the barbaric man who has claimed her. But an impenetrable veil of secrecy surrounds them all, and it’s becoming impossible for Dirk to distinguish between his allies and his enemies.
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A thoughtful, gothic sci-fi debut
- By Ryan on 11-23-13
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Wild Cards I
- Wild Cards, Book 1
- By: George R. R. Martin - editor
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
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Performance
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Story
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Dry Politics
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-24-13
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The King's Justice
- Two Novellas
- By: Stephen R. Donaldson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Kevin Orton
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In The King's Justice, a stranger dressed in black arrives in the village of Settle's Crossways, following the scent of a terrible crime. He even calls himself "Black", though almost certainly that is not his name. The people of the village discover that they have a surprising urge to cooperate with this stranger, though the desire of inhabitants of quiet villages to cooperate with strangers is not common in their land, or most lands.
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A far cry from his best work
- By Audio Gra Gra on 11-03-15
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The Book of Dragons
- An Anthology
- By: Jonathan Strahan - editor
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson, Lorna Bennett, Eleanor Caudill, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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R.F. Kuang, Kate Elliott, Ken Liu, Todd McCaffrey, Garth Nix, Peter S. Beagle, and other modern masters of fantasy and science fiction put their unique spin on the greatest of mythical beasts - the dragon - in never-before-heard works written exclusively for this fantasy anthology compiled by award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan!
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Too many stories just stopped without being done
- By ChocolateChipCookie330 on 06-25-24
What listeners say about The Book of Swords
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- alisa
- 10-25-17
a mixed bag
This collection has a lot to offer I'm a big fan of Garth Nix Robin Hobb and GRRM. I'd never heard of some of the authors included but now I'm interested in searching down other novels. some of the stories were so tough to get through and blended together.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Nick
- 07-18-18
Great compilation! Great stories.
Some performances better than others. Almost all the stories were top notch. Great stories by some of the best authors in their genre.
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- AtomixIGN
- 10-23-17
Solid, but not amazing anthology
One of the things I like about Gardner and GRRM anthologies is that they both tell you about the author and give you a list of their previous Works before presenting their novelas. That is especially useful in the audiobook version of Book of Swords as it's divided into 260 - 5 minute chapters. So if you want to skip ahead to Scott Lynch in the chapter hundred 50-ish range you just keep clicking forward until you hear an author description chapter. it's jarring because of the change of narrator. I have to mention that almost all of the narrator's here are very good. that is rare.
There are a number of very solid stories in this book. Robin Hobb, the aforementioned Scott Lynch. George RR Martin throws a chapter from the Blood of the Dragon series he's been working on forever. it's a fine elaboration on the chapters from the History of Westeros. the Riverside story in this book is an odd one, but apt.
I would say if anything this book suffers from a number of notable absences. There's no Brandon Sanderson or Joe Abercrombie. There's no Patrick Rothfuss or Jim Butcher. I would have liked to have heard the words "Would you like to destroy some evil today?" or have taken a journey with a certain dozen and a certain father of swords with a certain crack nut narrating the tail.
One of the best reasons to pick up an anthology like this is to discover or get into somebody who has a great series that you might not have heard of or have been hesitant to try. So I'm writing this in direct response to anyone who would buy big giant book filled with stories by dozens of authors to only read one and review it based on that one story.. don't publish reviews.
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20 people found this helpful
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- Yuman
- 11-27-17
S&S At it's best.
Excellent variety, inventive writing, along with polished voicing, time and imagination flew for the length of the book.
Dozen or so short stories made good breaks and range, my favorite was the ancient story teller about hunting a dragons gold.
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6 people found this helpful
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- eric
- 11-09-17
awesome.
It's only good because of the Game of thrones short story. lol. jk. some books were pretty good.
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- Michael
- 12-16-20
while all the stories are good...
...one alone makes this whole book worth it.
The Smoke of Gold is Glory is truly the best of the bunch. It played out like a movie in my head.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kupfer
- 04-06-24
Too Much Fantasy
I am a true fan of the medieval so I was initially excited by the titles and the prospects for a good read. That quickly changed and I had to stop listening when it became apparent that this was a work truly dedicated to pure fantasy, much of which just baffled me and my thinking.
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- Stoutfelow
- 08-24-24
the variety of stories kept my interest.
not all the stories kindled my interest. the readers were all very good. I won't name names.
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- 🔥 Phx17 🔥
- 01-18-24
Few memorable novellas
The best thing I can do is address some of the other reviews, to provide a better idea of the contents.
It was said there’s no Table of Contents and the narrators aren’t identified:
It appears the editors took this comment to heart because there is now a nice Table of Contents clearly identifying the 16 novellas and further separating the author intros so that you can skip them if you’re that impatient to move forward. At the very end, you are provided the title, author, and narrator of each entry.
It was said there is inappropriate content:
There are two entries using the F bomb (and only 1 over-using it). There are zero described sex acts; everything is fade to black or obliquely mentioned. There are two entries with themes of abusing women (again, discussed but not detailed). As for violence, it’s about what you’d expect from something titled Book of Swords.
It was said this cared most about diversity:
By my count, there were 4 of 16 (25%) with a FMC and 2 of 16 (12.5%) with LGBTQ representation.
If you are that fragile flower that needs 100% of your fantasy to feature straight, white, males,
then by all means pass on this.
As for me, my biggest issue is that so many of these were forgettable. Sure, there were swords and stabby stabby parts, but were there characters I’ll be able to name or worlds/magic systems I’ll be able to describe a week from now? Not really. There were a few solid entries and I now have a few authors to look up (a primary benefit of anthologies, in my opinion). This was an acceptable 2-for-1 credit purchase.
Still on the fence? Here’s a quick blow by blow:
1. ⭐️ Best Man Wins by KJ Parker - contrarian and pithy, like Bronn lecturing on swords and war … without the fooox.
2. Her Father’s Sword by Robin Hobb - skip this if you don’t like the GrimDark genre or couldn’t handle Theon’s arc- FMC with lots of plundering and a brutal Darwin aesthetic. Guessing this was the “inappropriate content” entry that turned another off. Seems to be from the author’s Farseer universe.
3. ⭐️ Hidden Girl by Ken Liu - his stories tend to be more cerebral, but the shorter length makes it go down easier as the question posed is: should killers have a conscience? FMC. Ode to Arya?
*** random thought and probably way off base: it feels a little like the authors were assigned to pick a GoT character and write a tribute story, but not using the GoT universe
4. ⭐️ The Sword of Destiny by Matt Hughes - feels like classic 80s fare with Faustian bargains and Sphinx-style riddles. Tyrion would be tickled.
5.⭐️ I am a Handsome Man, Said Apollo Crow by Kate Elliot - Brienne would approve of this slick story. Steve West’s narration elevates things.
6. The Triumph of Virtue by Walter Jon Williams - Bland. Feeling Gendry’s ultimately pointless arc.
7. ⭐️The Mocking Tower by Daniel Abraham - Feeling Qarth and strange magics and indirect lessons
8. Hrunting by CJ Cherryh- A Beowulf tribute giving 13th Warrior vibes that never quite hooked me. Channeling “what is dead may never die!”
9. ⭐️ A Long Cold Trail by Garth Nix - lighter tale of sorcerer’s puppets and godlettes, felt Sam Tarly YA
10. When I was a Highwayman by Ellen Kushner - not sure if it was the robo-narration of Kirby Heyburn or the dwelling on domestic squabbles but this went over like Renly and Margaery’s honeymoon.
MM references.
11. ⭐️ The Smoke of Gold is Glory by Scott Lynch - did he just say “well placed buttocks”? This was cheeky and felt like a pirate treasure hunting adventure. It was fun enough that I may finally bite on the author’s much longer Lies of Lock Lamora.
12. The Colgrid Conundrum by Rich Larson - went off script and from swords to steampunk, with furnaces, masks, and potions. The number of F bombs and abuse themes also dimmed my enjoyment.
13. The King’s Evil by Elizabeth Bear. FMC. … zzz… what? Where was I? Must have dozed off.
Too much feelings, not enough action.
14. Water falling by Lavie Tidhar - “The job was simple: find a man, then kill him.” Another one that goes off script. Was there a sword at all? This was instead a Weird Western tale of gunslinging, addiction, and chained-gods. Very gritty.
15. The Sword Tyraste by Cecelia Holland - Steve West at his shouty, chew the scenery best,
but I still won’t remember much except it was a revenge tale.
16. The Sons of the Dragon by George RR Martin, narrated by Ralph Lister - a nice supplement between seasons of House of the Dragon, but it’s mostly a recitation of who beget who, and who beheaded who.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Joshua
- 12-14-19
stupendous
I just love being able to hear more information and Histories on the series as George RR Martin writes thank you very much.
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