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Spell Singers
Paperback.
236 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 6, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 4, 2016
This anthology first caught my eye because the character Lythande, whom I had first encountered in the Thieves' World anthologies, was featured prominently on the cover. I know, I know, judging a book by it's cover... What can I say? For some reason I keep putting off reading it and it got put away on a shelf and then packed into a box of books I felt that I'd get to later. Well, later has arrived. ;) When I was an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, my favorite class to play was a Bard. So the notion of an entire book of "Spell Singers" was very intriguing. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that off the six stories, only the two featuring Lythande dealt with something close to what I would actually call song-magic.
The first two stories, by Mercedes Lackey, were the weakest for me. They both dealt with Martis and Lyran. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with these stories, there just wasn't anything particularly right with them either. The writing style was amateurish and disappointing (to me they felt like glorified fan-fiction). The characters were uninteresting, bland and unsophisticated. To be fair, I have read some of Lackey's other books and while she's a fine author, her style just doesn't really appeal to me. These stories were prime examples of exactly why I have no interest in reading more of her stories.
Next was a story by Jennifer Robinson. The last story in the collection was by Ru Emerson. I particularly liked this one. Strong character motivations, well developed personalities. Again a little on background of the world behind the story, but as this was the longest tale in the book it had time to give more background than the others. So I ended up just wanting to know more. I particularly enjoyed the ending, which many readers might find anticlimactic, but I found very refreshing. I may have to find more books by Emerson.
The other two stories, by Marion Zimmer Bradley were definitely my favorites. Since I was looking forward to a couple more tales about Lythande I quite enjoyed them. These were, unfortunately, the two shortest tales in the anthology, but what they lacked in length, they made up in character and style.
All-in-all a nice collection, enjoyable, but also (for me) disappointing as there really wasn't much "spell singing" going on. People just don't seem to grok bards (at least the D&D variety). ;)
The first two stories, by Mercedes Lackey, were the weakest for me. They both dealt with Martis and Lyran. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with these stories, there just wasn't anything particularly right with them either. The writing style was amateurish and disappointing (to me they felt like glorified fan-fiction). The characters were uninteresting, bland and unsophisticated. To be fair, I have read some of Lackey's other books and while she's a fine author, her style just doesn't really appeal to me. These stories were prime examples of exactly why I have no interest in reading more of her stories.
Next was a story by Jennifer Robinson. The last story in the collection was by Ru Emerson. I particularly liked this one. Strong character motivations, well developed personalities. Again a little on background of the world behind the story, but as this was the longest tale in the book it had time to give more background than the others. So I ended up just wanting to know more. I particularly enjoyed the ending, which many readers might find anticlimactic, but I found very refreshing. I may have to find more books by Emerson.
The other two stories, by Marion Zimmer Bradley were definitely my favorites. Since I was looking forward to a couple more tales about Lythande I quite enjoyed them. These were, unfortunately, the two shortest tales in the anthology, but what they lacked in length, they made up in character and style.
All-in-all a nice collection, enjoyable, but also (for me) disappointing as there really wasn't much "spell singing" going on. People just don't seem to grok bards (at least the D&D variety). ;)
June 24, 2022
A collection of stories by MZB, Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, and Ru Emerson.
Most notable is "Of Honor and the Lion," by Roberson. It is the story of Hale and Lindir, the star-crossed lovers who inadvertently began the qu'mahlin. Jumps back and forth between Lindir's labor (Alix?), during which she dies, and her running off with Hale. His lir is killed by Tynstar.
Lackey's stories seem like they might be Valdemar-set, but no clear references. MZB's don't seem to be Darkover stories. Focus on Lythande.
Most notable is "Of Honor and the Lion," by Roberson. It is the story of Hale and Lindir, the star-crossed lovers who inadvertently began the qu'mahlin. Jumps back and forth between Lindir's labor (Alix?), during which she dies, and her running off with Hale. His lir is killed by Tynstar.
Lackey's stories seem like they might be Valdemar-set, but no clear references. MZB's don't seem to be Darkover stories. Focus on Lythande.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2021
Picked it up because it had a shiny colorful cover. I should know better. Slurs get dropped within the first four pages of the story. It was almost enough to put me off reading the entire book. I had trouble focusing on the rest of the stories, none of them really caught my attention.
April 19, 2025
There was a lot of great stories in this collection. A great collection of writers and characters. Only complaint is I wish some of the stories where full books, would eat them up.
March 10, 2009
For traditional fantasy, does it get better than this author menu? I don't think so. A rich, enjoyable book. Each story is set within a wider world, making it even more impressive that each of these finely crafted stories can stand on their own but still slot neatly into the larger world mythologies.
January 20, 2016
Bardic Voices #1, short fantasy stories with some of the best of the best fantasy writers.
April 10, 2016
Although I read this long ago, I still remember enjoying it and wishing there was a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews