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The Lawrence Watt-Evans Fantasy Megapack
Lawrence Watt-Evans may be best known for his fantasy and science fiction novels, particularly the Ethshar series, but he has published a significant body of short fiction, too, including the Hugo Award-winning -Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers.- This MEGAPACK(R) collects his fantasy stories -- more than 400 pages of terrific reading! Included THE TEMPLE OF LIFE
MEHITABEL GOODWIN
HEART OF STONE
THE FINAL CHALLENGE
BETH'S UNICORN
THE BRIDE OF BIGFOOT
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
DROPPING HINTS
THE BOGLE IN THE BASEMENT
2 THE MAN FOR THE JOB
CHAPERONE
OUT OF THE WOODS
GHOST STORIES
THE FROG WIZARD
HORSING AROUND
SPIRIT DUMP
ARMS AND THE WOMAN
MITTENS AND HOTFOOT
JUST PERFECT
TRIXIE
IN NEPHELEGERETES
IN FOR A POUND
SOMETHING TO GRIN ABOUT
BEST PRESENT EVER!
If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for -Wildside Press Megapack- to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!
MEHITABEL GOODWIN
HEART OF STONE
THE FINAL CHALLENGE
BETH'S UNICORN
THE BRIDE OF BIGFOOT
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
DROPPING HINTS
THE BOGLE IN THE BASEMENT
2 THE MAN FOR THE JOB
CHAPERONE
OUT OF THE WOODS
GHOST STORIES
THE FROG WIZARD
HORSING AROUND
SPIRIT DUMP
ARMS AND THE WOMAN
MITTENS AND HOTFOOT
JUST PERFECT
TRIXIE
IN NEPHELEGERETES
IN FOR A POUND
SOMETHING TO GRIN ABOUT
BEST PRESENT EVER!
If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for -Wildside Press Megapack- to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!
363 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2017
45 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 2, 2025
I normally enjoy Lawrence Watt-Evans. His Ethshar novels were clever, grounded, and full of the quiet worldbuilding that makes you feel like you’re peeking into a living society. Unfortunately, this collection didn’t land for me the same way.
Most of the stories here feel like fragments of bigger ideas, premises that might’ve grown into great novels but instead stop just as they get interesting. A few are fun or intriguing, but many read more like notes from his worldbuilding journal than finished tales. It’s uneven, and while the imagination is there, the execution often isn’t.
That said, two stories did stand out: “Out of the Woods” and “Best Present Ever.” Both showed real promise and left me wishing Watt-Evans had expanded them into full novels. You can see flashes of his usual wit and craftsmanship there, the same strengths that make his longer works shine.
I’ve been picking at this book for months, reading a story here and there, hoping for one that really clicks. The pacing and tone are all over the place, and I found myself wishing he’d had room to let these ideas breathe.
Still, you can glimpse what makes Watt-Evans worth reading: the dry humor, the logical magic, and the sense that ordinary people matter in extraordinary worlds. Fans of his novels might find some curiosities here, but if you’re new to him, start elsewhere (The Misenchanted Sword or With a Single Spell).
Bottom line: a mixed bag, occasionally insightful, mostly frustrating. It reminded me how much better Watt-Evans is at the long game than the short one.
Most of the stories here feel like fragments of bigger ideas, premises that might’ve grown into great novels but instead stop just as they get interesting. A few are fun or intriguing, but many read more like notes from his worldbuilding journal than finished tales. It’s uneven, and while the imagination is there, the execution often isn’t.
That said, two stories did stand out: “Out of the Woods” and “Best Present Ever.” Both showed real promise and left me wishing Watt-Evans had expanded them into full novels. You can see flashes of his usual wit and craftsmanship there, the same strengths that make his longer works shine.
I’ve been picking at this book for months, reading a story here and there, hoping for one that really clicks. The pacing and tone are all over the place, and I found myself wishing he’d had room to let these ideas breathe.
Still, you can glimpse what makes Watt-Evans worth reading: the dry humor, the logical magic, and the sense that ordinary people matter in extraordinary worlds. Fans of his novels might find some curiosities here, but if you’re new to him, start elsewhere (The Misenchanted Sword or With a Single Spell).
Bottom line: a mixed bag, occasionally insightful, mostly frustrating. It reminded me how much better Watt-Evans is at the long game than the short one.
March 30, 2019
the Fantasy Megapack is a collection of 24 short stories, with the common theme of being Lawrence Watt-Evans' fantasy stories never published in a collection before, and not related to his Ethshar series. This results in a mix of urban fantasy and more traditional fantasy realm stories. Of course, being stories from Watt-Evans, they're often humorous without being satires or spoofs, and involve situations where the protagonist solves their problems with wit rather than brute force or strength of arms or magic. Quite a few in the collection had me grinning and several made me laugh out loud. Several delightful and playful stories also had a main character who was a cat, which as a cat person, was a fun treat.
Like any anthology, there's a mix of great stories, and merely good entertaining stories, but in this case, none fell flat, or weren't entertaining in some way. My favorites were:
"Heart of Stone"
"The Bride of Bigfoot"
"Chaperone" (this felt like it could be a prequel to a series, but alas, just a fun story)
"Horsing Around"
"Arms and the Woman"
"In re:Nephelegeretes"
Like any anthology, there's a mix of great stories, and merely good entertaining stories, but in this case, none fell flat, or weren't entertaining in some way. My favorites were:
"Heart of Stone"
"The Bride of Bigfoot"
"Chaperone" (this felt like it could be a prequel to a series, but alas, just a fun story)
"Horsing Around"
"Arms and the Woman"
"In re:Nephelegeretes"
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August 26, 2021Great ,new to me,stories
You have action and adventure, brownies that do what brownies do! demons to be vanquished but by who? Plus kittens who find dragons to play with not to mention Santa's elves having one member make his escape and taking care of a bully in a special way! Lots of great entertainment
You have action and adventure, brownies that do what brownies do! demons to be vanquished but by who? Plus kittens who find dragons to play with not to mention Santa's elves having one member make his escape and taking care of a bully in a special way! Lots of great entertainment
December 27, 2018
It's a compilation of short stories by one of my favorite authors. What's not to like?
July 7, 2021
I'm so glad I found this book, Lawrence Watt-Evans is a damn good author. One story did make me cry at the end.
February 1, 2026
Occasional late-night fluff reading. A mixed bag, but mostly enjoyable. And none of the stories gave me nightmares.
August 25, 2019
Some of the stories are a bit insubstantial, and some read more like scenes from novels than short stories (there is a difference, which writers who are mainly novelists don't always appreciate). And there is a bit more casual death and mayhem in a few of the early ones than I was looking for. But on the whole, amusing and entertaining.
The copy editing needs another run-through (minor scruffiness, nothing really big; OCR errors, missing minor words and the occasional dropped quotation mark, mainly) and the formatting and paragraph breaks are occasionally out, but it's not enough to be a dealbreaker for me.
The copy editing needs another run-through (minor scruffiness, nothing really big; OCR errors, missing minor words and the occasional dropped quotation mark, mainly) and the formatting and paragraph breaks are occasionally out, but it's not enough to be a dealbreaker for me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews