The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy

by Mike Ashley

This dazzling new collection of off-the-wall fantasies features stories from the minds of the funniest writers in the field, including Esther Friesner, Neil Gaiman, Tom Holt, Paul di Filippo, Adam Roberts and Molly Brown. Here are 35 stories guaranteed to reassure us that the next-door world will be just as mad as this one. It includes a mix of brand-new stories and rare finds or forgotten gems, with a wide range of tales to suit every taste in humour. From the missionary plunged into the bizarre initiation rituals of a lost tribe to the bloke who thought magic would help his love life, from a wizard allergic to magic who sneezes his way into chaos to a man who finds his shoes have taken over control of his life, The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy unfalteringly turns fantasy and horror fiction on its head and makes magic into mayhem. A welcome new shot of comic genius in the sphere of fantasy fiction.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Humor, Anthologies, Fiction, Comedy, Ebooks

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Michael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that this is a huge book. There are only 512 pages, but it seems to go on forever. I think that this book would be enjoyed most if it was placed on a coffee table in your living room and picked up every now and again when you are in the mood for a short read. But to sit down and read it straight through was quite a chore.

I originally picked this book up solely for the Terry Pratchett Discworld story 'Troll Bridge'. But there are quite a few great stories in here. My favorite was probably 'A Fortnight of Miracles' by Randall Garrett -- but there were quite a few others worth mentioning --

Pizza To Go by Tom Holt
Death Swatch by Esther Friesner
Alaska by John Morressy
The Return of Mad Santa by Al Sarrantonio
Ruella in Love by Molly Brown

I know that there were others that I enjoyed as well, but these stick out.

Overall a fun read, but one that probably needs to be savored in small bites.

[Nevyana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Много интересна колекция. Горе-долу половината разкази бяха, меко казано не по вкуса ми. Хумористичната страна се оказа трудна за откриване. Останалите, обаче, бяха изключително приятни.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 4 out of 5]

Майк Ашли е съставител и редактор на редица от изключително популярните на запад The Mammoth Book of… заглавия. Какви пък са тия книги-мамути, ще попитате? Чисто и просто дебели сборници с богато съдържание на тематично съдържание. Поредиците могат да са посветени на какви ли не жанрове и обикновено събират кратки творби на редица изявени автори от дадената литературна сфера. Майк Ашли специализира предимно в остросюжетните жанрове – научна фантастика и фентъзи, крими и трилър, мистерия и ноар… На родните читатели Майк Ашли е познат като съставител на антологиите „Един смахнат свят. Сериозно комично фентъзи“ и „Дебела антология на адски смешното фентъзи“, както и с антологията, която сме решили да ви представим днес. „Алергия към магия“ (изд. „Прозорец“) отново е посветена на комичното фентъзи и съдържа цели 35 разказа, сред чиито автори са някои от най-големите майстори на жанра. Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Stoneme Mayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get past the first story (I found the language hard going) by Avram Davidson to get into a good Tom Holt short. A demon of a third story with a charming ending by Craig Shaw Gardner then follows.
Next a dark humour-less story about the pitfalls of selling home computers to fairies by Gardner Dozois,Jack Dann and Michael Swanwick. At last a laugh-out-loud story of pre-nuptuals between "The Grim Lord" and "Princess Minuriel" - "Death Swatch" by Esther Friesner is a breath of "fresh" air.
Overall a good book to put down and pick up whenever the mood takes you especially if like me you can take months to finish a single novel.

[Rob Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very worthwhile e.g. a Cohen the Barbarian story by Pratchett, some not worth the time.

[Juho Salo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I bought in English, way back when I was young and stupid and thought that David Eddings could not write a bad book and R.A. Salvatore was the peak of fantasy.

Back then I liked it. But perhaps the biggest contribution to my life was that due to this book I found the sequel which introduced me to the Evil Overlord -list -- something I try to uphold in my daily life to this day.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually bought this a couple of summers ago when my friends and I discovered a used book shop. But this book has every type of comic fantasy that you could want like how many years does it take monkeys to type Shakespeare to an evil overlord getting his castle redecorated for his upcoming wedding.

[Steph De Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because, having discovered and loved the work of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde, I was keen to explore the genre of comic fantasy a bit further. Sadly, however, this anthology of short stories by various authors is not to my taste. There are a few enjoyable stories in this collection: I particularly like Esther Friesner's "Night Swatch", John Morressy's "Alaska", Anthony Armstrong's "The Warlock's Daughter, Jane Yolen's "The Tale of the Seventeenth Eunuch", and Al Sarrantonio's "The Return of Mad Santa". 

Nonetheless, for the most part, this collection left me cold. Several of the stories not only failed to elicit a laugh (or even a smile), but also are rather dull. I'm drawn to fantasy that is inventive, whimsical, or clever; these stories simply fall short for me in these dimensions. I confess I'm not a huge fan of short stories as a general rule, and this fact is likely also to have coloured my experience; others may find more to enjoy here than I did. Perhaps now is the time finally to pick up that copy of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" that's been sitting unread on my bookshelf for the last year...

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book doesn’t really elicit huge guffaws. But it is filled with stories about creatures, humans, dragons, etc. who find that magic and wizardry can have hilarious pitfalls. Some of the stories aren’t what I’d call funny at all. (“Alaska”, “A Fortnight of Miracles” and “Wu-Ling’s Folly” are notable examples.) What the yarns mainly accomplish is to turn the idea of magical dealings on their heads: evil sorcerers get their comeuppance in unusual ways; enchantments take bizarre turns; powerful wizards turn out to be bungling amateurs and so forth.

There are the usual names here and some choices that may not be known to modern readers. So for the mild chuckle or outright snort of laughter, take your pick from among this collection.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a short story now and again - nice to have an anthology on hand to dip in and out of. Like most collections, there were stories I liked, some I didn't and some just sort of passed me by. Some of my favourite authors are included, like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but there were loads that I had never heard of. I can't say that any of the stories had me laughing out loud, but maybe I gave a wry chuckle - whether it's a Santa gone mad after bottling up centuries of goodness or how a stroppy teenager copes with falling in love with the King of Hell or an aged hero bests a troll or why Cinderella wasn't the best match for the prince - there's something here to enjoy.

Well worth the read.

[Desislava Blazheva-Ivanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm usually a fast-paced reader when it comes to short story collections, but this one felt like a never-ending task. I wouldn't say it was difficult to read—I actually enjoyed most of the stories—but it somehow felt heavy and cumbersome.

That said, a number of stories really stood out to me. My favorites from the collection were:

1. Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar by Neil Gaiman
2. Ruella in Love by Molly Brown
3. A Fortnight of Miracles by Randall Garrett
4. Wu-Ling’s Folly by Alan Dean Foster
5. The Return of Mad Santa by Al Sarrantonio
6. Been a Long, Long Time by R. A. Lafferty
7. The Return of Max Kearny by Ron Goulart

Each of these had a unique tone or twist that made them memorable, even if the overall collection felt uneven.

[Dainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

All shades of fantasy and all types of humour come together in this anthology, looking to provide a little something for everyone.

Although not in "bust a gut laughing"-range of funny, I was mostly left pleasantly enough entertained, with a few outright gems. Unfortunately a few lazy attempts have snuck in, without any intention of the author committing to the story, and a lot of the portrayals of female characters are just as problematic as one would expect from this mix of genres.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that is suppose to be full of funny stories and well... It is a quick and light read in the end. Most of the time short stories are so cliche and you cant even bring yourself to engage in the story because either there is not enough of characters exposition or it's a cliche theme and end of the story. That is why, apart from some stories like the one about the dragons keeper: I will probably forget all of them in a year.

[Sho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably should have dipped in and out of this rather than try to read one story a night.
They were amusing, mostly, and just right for my bed time reading but I would probably have enjoyed them more if I had interspersed out my reading of the stories with other books.

None particularly stick out as memorable.

[Harold Citron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun short fantasy stories by a good selection of authors. While not every one was great, enough of the 36 were solid in both character and plot.

Since they are stand alone stories, you can start and stop at will for a short burst of reading, and the ones that were great, were worth reading again.

[John Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my perspective, some few are disappointing and are in this collection only to provide some depth and breadth. Not everyone has the same tastes, though, which is part of what Ashley, the editor, notes in the introduction, and so that depth and breadth are good. I'm sure that most readers will, like me, greatly enjoy and laugh along with the vast majority of these tales.

[Ray]

Some of the absolutely best fantasy/science fiction writers have short stories in this volume. I like when they update a myth or folk tale in another manner than the traditional story line.

[Дени ★ Проданова · Rating 2 out of 5]

Много ми се искаше повече разкази да ми харесат. От 36, нямаше и 6, които да останат в съзнанието ми. Доста тъжно.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some real gems here.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading "The mammoth book of comic fantasy" a few months ago and I left it behind till' a few weeks ago. I liked it...maybe I would've appreciated it more if read it all-in.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely fun and engaging anthology of humorous genre fiction, including a number of classics of the subgenre. Highlights for me included 'Death Swatch' (Esther Friesner), 'Troll Bridge' (Terry Pratchett), 'Shoggoth's Old Peculiar' (Neil Gaiman), 'War of the Doom Zombies' (Richard A. Lupoff), and 'The Return of Mad Santa' (Al Sarrantonio). Highly recommended.

[Angie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of them are more in the quirky/whimsical category as opposed to comic. Quirky is not a bad thing, but if you are expecting it to be really funny throughout, you might be disappointed. My favorites are Neil Gaiman's Lovecraftian spoof and F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre's The Unpleasantness at the Baloney Club - sort of a Sayers/Wodehouse inspired number. The Terry Pratchett story featuring Cohen the Barbarian was good too.

[Ch J Loveall · Rating 4 out of 5]

my quest for authors continues - I have read authors

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this is a short story collection, I'm rating all of the stories with the Goodreads star value. I know, it's a crazy task, but I'm up to it.

Introduction - 2 stars
Peregrine: Alflandia - 1 star (confusing and not at all funny)
Pizza To Go - 2 stars (starts strong, ends weak)
A Malady Of Magicks - 3 stars
Golden Apples Of The Sun - 4 stars
Death Swatch - 5 stars
Press Ann - 5 stars (the unusual form adds to the story)
Troll Bridge - 4 stars (classic Discworld)
The Toll Bridge - 2 stars
Alaska - 3 stars (actually has nothing to do with the US state)
The Cat With Two Tails - 2 stars
The Warlock's Daughter - 4 stars
The Glass Slip-Up - 5 stars (really funny)
The Distressing Damsel - 4 stars
Tender Is The Night-Gaunt - 1 star (tries to hard to be a pastiche)
Shoggoth's Old Peculiar - 5 stars (by Neil Gaiman, naturally)
Looking-Glass Land - 3 stars
The Story Of The Four Little Children - 2 stars
The Disadvantages Of Mind - 3 stars
The Return Of Max Kearny - 4 stars (like a funny Dresden Files)
The Unpleasantness At The Baloney Club - 4 stars
A Fortnight Of Miracles - 5 stars (very entertaining, if not laugh out loud funny)
Aphrodite's New Temple - 2 stars
The Fifty-First Dragon - 2 stars
The Boscombe Walters Story - 3 stars
Fall'n Into The Sear - 3 stars
The Cunning Plan - 1 star (some stories just try too hard)
War Of The Doom Zombies - 2 stars (the title's the best part)
The Tale Of The Seventeenth Eunuch - 4 stars
An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth - 5 stars (short and sweet)
Queen Of The Green Sun - 3 stars
Wu-Ling's Folly - 4 stars
Mebodes' Fly - 3 stars
The Return Of Mad Santa - 5 stars (surprisingly fun)
Ruella In Love - 3 stars
Been A Long, Long Time - 4 stars

[Edward Snell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these stories were amazing and the others were "only" great. Covering a vast amount of time as far as when written as well as styles this was an amazing find I picked up at a thrift store for next to nothing. As an added bonus it included a Terry Pratchett short I had never read this book is worth it's weight in gold in my opinion.

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great example of why short stories have fallen out of favor. First somebody hypes the story too big, Mike in this case, then they don't deliver on the punch line. No one ever reads an entire anthology and thinks, "God Bless 'em every one!" In America most of these stories don't qualify as Fantasy. We call these, "The Tears of a Clown." The other reviewers are confused, easy to do since these Mammoth books breed when no one is looking: no Neil Gaiman or Cthulhu Stories in the American Library edition.

[Timothy Tobolski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a long long time since I read this, and since I recently acquired two of the other five volumes (and just discovered I still need two more) I figured I'd start plowing through these again. I've gotten to the point of requiring all my fantasy reading to contain at least a modicum of humor; let's face it, Tom Holt and Terry Pratchett have spoiled me.

Besides which, I simply cannot recommend the Mammoth Book series enough.

[Jewels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously, I do not share a sense of humor with Mike Ashley. I don't think I cracked a smile the whole time I was reading this, and it was a bit of a chore to get through. I did like the stories by some of my favorite writers, such as Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, but even their stories were more wistful or dark than what I would expect in a 'comic' fantasy. I do get dark humor, don't get me wrong, but I just wasn't feeling it in this volume.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories in this were not even funny. Actually, in most cases I had to try and remind myself that they were even supposed to be funny. Maybe it is just me not being British enough and not understanding the humour in some of these, but I am very glad I only paid 2 euros for this book at a flea market.

It felt like the better stories were in the beginning and in the end, so no wonder the middle part took me like 2 months to get through.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very funny collection of short stories. They are all over the map in style and setting. Not all are laugh-out-loud, but every story is worth reading. I read this book over a very long period of time, using it as a short "time-filler" since the individual stories take only a few minutes.