Guilds & Glaives

by S.C. Butler (Editor), Joshua Palmatier (Editor)

Stop right there! If you like your fantasy filled with fellowships and noble quests, this anthology is not for you. And if you love lengthy tales of politics and power, then it won’t be to your taste either. But if you like a little intimacy with your evil, and your vengeance short and sweet, with perhaps a pinch of silliness in the witchcraft, then these fourteen delicious sweetmeats of sword and sorcery will prove right up your alley. And it will be a dank, twisting, fetid alley, too.

In this book you will find no high elves (only low), no politics (unless assassination is involved), and certainly no nobility. Come explore the perilous streets and clashing blades found in Guilds & Glaives.

Contents:
* Introduction (Guilds & Glaives) (2018) • essay by S. C. Butler
* In the Asps' Nest (2018) / short story by Lawrence Harding I
* The Sword and the Djinn (2018) / short story by Howard Andrew Jones
* Honors Among Thieves (2018) / short story by Esther M. Friesner [as by Esther Friesner]
* Rainbow Dark (2018) / short story by Charles Ingrid [as by Jenna Rhodes]
* The Three Assassins of Lord Slaughter (2018) / short story by Gini Koch [as by Anita Ensal]
* Footprints of the Hound (2018) / short story by Violette Malan
* The Witch That Wasn't (2018) / short story by Leah Webber
* Oathbreaker (2018) / short story by Dave Wolverton [as by David Farland]
* Blood and Onyx (2018) / short story by R. K. Nickel
* The Charter (2018) / short story by Ashley McConnell
* Guild of the Ancients (2018) / short story by David B. Coe [as by D. B. Jackson]
* The Cage at the End of the World (2018) / short story by James Enge
* Assassinsssss (2018) / short story by Jason Palmatier
* Those Who Look Back (2018) / short story by Amelia Sirina

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Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2018

About the author

S. C. Butler was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the middle of the last century, which really isn’t so very long ago. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, with no dogs, no cats, and certainly no shape-shifting bears.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guilds and Glaives edited by S.C. Butler
****3.8****

Actual rating of twelve books (two I skipped so I didn't count them towards my overall rating) came out to 3.79 so I rounded up to 4.

A very interesting assortment of short stories. Lots of both Guilds and Glaives present.
My favorites from this anthology are:

Book Six:
Footprints of the Hound by Violette Malan 4.5 Stars
This book is the reason I bought the anthology. I wanted more Dhulyn and Parno and Malan didn't disappoint!

Book Seven:
The Witch That Wasn't by Leah Webber 5 stars
A hilarious case of mistaken identity, told with humour, both engaging and clever. Really liked this one.

Book Nine:
Blood and Onyx by R.K. Nickel 4.5 stars
Just plain cool body swapping blood magic. Give me more!

Book Thirteen:
Assassinsssss by Jason Palmatier 4 stars
I didn't really expect to like this one about teenage assassins and BAFE (Best Assassin Friend Ever!) but it was actually pretty interesting and funny to boot!

Book Fourteen:
Those Who Look Back by Amelia Sirina 4.5 stars
Such and interesting concept for a magic system, I'm not actually 100% sure I understood it all but I would love to read more on this and get a better grasp of it.

While short stories aren't normally my thing, I'm glad Ms. Malan wrote for this anthology because I got some really fun reads out of it aside from hers. Lots of the other books were enjoyable as well but I've only listed my favorites (ones above 4 stars) here.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a Sword & Sorcery anthology by any stretch. It has a few, 5 if I'm being lenient. It also has 4 silly stories that pretty much are time wasters, 1 I couldn't even finish. So don't believe the cover text that says "a pinch of silliness" and "14 delicious sweetmeats of Sword and Sorcery." In fact, that 'sweetmeats' bit should have warned me: no one uses that word for true S&S tales.

So less than 50% S&S. The anthology does open strong with 2 of the best stories from Jones and Harding. Rhodes, Malan, and Nickel deliver the other good to passable Sword & Sorcery.

Good fantasy stories that aren't S&S come from Webber, McConnell, Jackson, Sirina. The others? Meh to skippable.

So less than 70% success as a fantasy anthology and barely over a third successfully Sword & Sorcery. Gotta go less than 3 stars baby.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The anthology was full of crisp, readable and action-oriented stories. I breezed through them at a steady pace, enjoying the following works to the greatest extent:
1. Esther Friesner's 'Honor Among Thieves'
2. Gini Koch's 'The Three Assassins of Lord Slaughter'
3. Violette Malan's 'Footprints of the Hound'
4. Leah Webber's 'The Witch That Wasn't'
5. Jason Palmatier's 'Assassinsssss'.
These stories had the right mix of adventure and dark humour occasionally breaking into laugh-out-loud moments, without lessening the thrill or suspense aspects. Absolutely loved them.
Other stories were also solid and capable. Overall, this is definitely a volume that a lover of fantasy might enjoy.
Recommended.

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another truly excellent anthology collated and edited by the Zombies Need Brains team. I particularly liked the following stories (and wanted either sequels or prequels, and will definitely be looking for other stories by the authors concerned): Ashley McConnell - The Charter; Leah Webber - The Witch That Wasn't; Gini Koch - The Three Assassins Of Lord Slaughter; Violette Malan’s - Footprints Of The Hound; and Jenna Rhodes' Rainbow Dark.

(There were two stories I started but couldn't finish for different reasons, but I see no need to 'name and shame' the authors. What didn't work for me almost certainly works for others.)

[Mark Slauter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories. Refreshing read from novels.