After the King: Stories in Honour of J.R.R. Tolkien

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

First published on the hundredth anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien’s birth, After the King presents original stories in honor of Tolkien from some of the finest fantasists of our time. Stephen R. Donaldson, Peter S. Beagle, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and many others contribute dazzling tales of high fantasy, fully capturing the spirit and originality of Tolkien’s greatest work. The millions whose lives have been touched by Tolkien will find the same primal storytelling magic here, undiluted and running ever on.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Short Story Collection

544 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1991

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Rich Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shhhh... Listen... Hear it?
That's the sound of J. R. R. Tolkien spinning in his grave over the fact that this anthology is said to be in his honor.

Please.

None of the stories in this volume are Tolkienesque in the slightest. While one does mention Hobbits and another mentions Halflings and there are Goblins and Elves and a Troll, that's where the similarity ends.

Granted, I've only read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, but I don't recall Leprechauns and Sugar Plum Fairies. And the story about time travel and zombies? And the one that took place in Normandy?

Frankly, this volume reads like a collection of stories that otherwise failed to reach publication. Their pointlessness is only surpassed by their plotlessness.

With the exception of one gem -- Terry Pratchett's "Troll Bridge." But even in this case, the story belongs to the lore of Discworld, not Middle Earth. (The presence of this short story did, however, garner an extra star for the volume overall. Without it, the rating would have been a solid "one.")

Overall, this volume was painful and, at times, offensive.

[Krazykiwi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a winner. I've been reading this on and off, a story here or there, for the last 6 months. Despite the stellar list of authors, many of whom are long-time favourites of mine, it just didn't work for me. None of these stories were particularly fabulous examples of any of the authors work, and the attempts to imitate Tolkien's style fell flat. Tolkien, for good or worse, remains for me eminently friendly and readable, and often deeply humorous, whereas a lot of these stories just plodded.

 

All in all, I'd rather just go read Tanith Lee, who does this kind of thing much better than what's here. Actually, half these authors have done exactly this kind of thing much much better than they did here. 

 

2.5ish, because it's certainly not bad writing, it's just.. not as good as it should have been.

[Grete · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think Tolkien would have a very high opinion of this collection.

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una muy buena recopilación de historias que sorprende puesto que siendo un homenaje a Tolkien la variedad y calidad de los relatos es muy apreciable. Con ese estilo cualquiera esperaría que los autores tiráran de refritos del señor de los anillos y nos contarán aventurillas de una comunidad viajando y luchando contra un señor oscuro o la típica historia del héroe predestinado a triunfar contra el mal. Aquí encontramos poco de eso y aunque los relatos incluyan seres mágicos como trolls, goblins o elfos todos desprenden originalidad y son originales.
La primera mitad del libro es la que a mi parecer contiene los mejores relatos pero quitando un par la verdad es que los he disfrutado casi todos. Los que más me han gustado:

Reave, el justo (****): Un chico se enamora de una viuda que vive con un hombre cruel que intenta controlarla. Pedirá ayuda a un alquimista y este le dira que diga que es pariente de Reave, un hombre temido en todo el reino. Las cosas se complicarán cuando Reave llegué al pueblo a averiguar sobre ese supuesto pariente.

El puente del troll(****): Un divertido cuento de Terry Pratchett, un caballero se dispone a cruzar el puente de un troll y lo que espera que será una aventura para él se convierte a una crítica a los avanzes de la sociedad y sus consecuencias cuando vea en las tristes condiciones en las que vive el monstruo.

El dragon de Tollin (****): Un emisario se translada volando a una tierra arrasada por un dragón. Allí encontrará al único superviviente, un enano que guarda un hevo como si fuese un preciado tesoro.

Fé(*****): Un grupo de trolls construye un palacio de roca inexpugnable y se dedica a secuestra a los niños de una aldea. Los niños les sirven como criados pero uno de ellos dará con la manera de escpar de allí. El cuento que más me ha gustado.

El pato de reclamo(****): Unos monjes llegan a una comunidad de barbaros y uno de ellos empieza a influenciar con la religión las antiguas costumbres de la aldea. El jefe de la aldea le dará la oportunidad para hacerlo, confiando en que sus habitantes se burlarán de él. Buena crítica a las relaciones de poder entre el estado y la iglesia.

La casa Halfling(****): Un variopinto grupo de personajes pequeños(mediano, duende, hada..) viven aventuras en una casa que viaja entre mundos.

Algunos relatos sobran y eso alarga un libro que hubiese sido genial con ellos pero esto suele pasar en este tipo de recopilaciones. Lo que no entiendo es las desmesuradas crítcas negativas a este libro. Supongo que como lleva Tolkien en la portada muchos esperan algo diferente. Yo reconozco que también pero me he llevado una muy buena grata sorpresa.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve taken on another short story compilation today, against my better judgement. But on to After the King , a compilation of fantasy (and kinda sci-fi, and some vaguely supernatural) short stories dedicated to the father of high fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien. And it’s edited by my favorite editor, Martin H. Greenberg, who I swear has his fingers in everything.

Reave the Just is not a name invoked lightly. Legends tell of his prowess in dispensing of the wicked of the world. His is a name with power behind it, so when Jillet starts dropping it as part of his plan to impress a rich widow, no one is more surprised than Jillet himself when Reave actually shows up. Starting off with a bang, Stephen R. Donaldson brings us the story of a misogynistic idiot (the story actually points out what an asshole he’d being, so props for that) and his ‘kin’, a warrior who fights not with weapons, but with words. Reave was a wonderful character, and such a welcome twist on the usual barbarian sell-sword type of warrior. A great story to start off what is a great collection.

A beaten down knight approaches a Troll Bridge (by Terry Pratchett) with the intent of shaking down its guardian (there’s too few proper troll bridges now days to go around killing their proprietors). It’s a fun little story about a knight and a troll chatting about the state of the world and the break with good, wholesome, fairy tale-style traditions.

The priest Diriente suffers a crisis of faith when holy relics that contradict the scriptures he’s been raised to believe and serve are discovered buried under the temple. A Long Night’s Vigil at the Temple by Robert Silverberg is a beautiful, more sci-fi than fantasy tale following Diriente’s crisis and his decision about what he should do with this new knowledge; bury it and allow the faithful to continue in ignorance or share it and destroy their hope in the future. I was quite impressed by it, the author did a great job expressing the turmoil and hallucinations/revelations Diriente is going through.

The Dragon of Tollin by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough isn’t a story with a plot-line so much as a report on a conversation between a dragon-keeper Halfling and winged envoy of a Southern High Queen. The envoy has been sent to the Northworld to discover the reason behind its strange silence and finds it decimated and abandoned, save for a mutilated Halfling and a dragon’s egg in the capital city. The story is the explanation of what happened and why the egg is so important to both of them for very different reasons. They are an optimist and a realist, and in the end this is all that matters. It was a nice story that gave an enjoyable look at the troubles progression, and I can’t even fault the envoy for coloring the ending as he did. We all might have done the same, hopefully with less blatant racism. And it ended with me feeling smug about the envoy’s likely fate and terrible for the poor beleaguered Halfling, which is impressive for a short story that’s mostly a campfire tale.

In Faith by Poul and Karen Anderson, Runt is among a collection of children saved by goblins when he was a child and raised to serve under them with faith and gratitude, until his devotion to their tales of rescue abruptly end. You can see where this one was going because the beginning of the tale is the goblins' arrival from the point of view of the neighboring village and it’s pretty clear the goblins' story of saving the children is a load of crock. Even still, the story is a terrific tale of revelation and escape by characters who don’t speak the local language and who have a distorted understanding of the world they’re escaping to.

In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells by John Brunner, the locals of Welstock are rallying around young Ernest Peake as he pitches in during the first Dressing of the Wells they’ve had since the war put a stop to such frivolities. But his aunt, the Lady of the Manor, is in a holy rage, eager to condemn her tenants and put a stop to such pagan rituals. The town is now relying on Ernest to see that the water goddess can be appeased. It’s a lovely story that alludes heavily to a supernatural being, but whose presence is never felt (take the Gaffer’s statements at the end how you will). It focuses more on the romance of Ernest and Alice, the vicar’s daughter, and Ernest’s reintroduction to the village when he returns from the war plagued with PTSD. It’s refreshing after goblins and dragons to have a little bit of eccentric normality.

The Fellowship of the Dragon is the story I read when I stopped and ordered the book for my birthday present. I didn’t even need to look at the rest of the stories. They were great up to this point, but Patricia A. McKillip sold it. It tells of the quest of five knights/nobles/hunters/all of the above to hunt down their queen’s missing minstrel before someone winds up removing his head from his shoulders. He’s very pretty, and the queen is very widowed, but he’s a complete ass and more than a few folk would be happy to see the end of him. The great thing about it is that, while the group does get seperated and the story does have an ending, no one is killed/finishes the quest, they all just drift into other stories.

The Decoy Duck (by Harry Turtledove) is the name given to a priest by the Chieftain of the barbarian tribe he has come to convert to his God, both because he succeeds at seducing away a number of the tribesman, and also because the priest was a former barbarian himself converted sometime after being sold as a slave to their enemies. What follows is a moderately amusing tale of the Chieftain who realizes too late he should have killed the priest the moment he saw him. It's got some pretty interesting parts, none of which involve the priest as I found him to be stubbornly wooden. But the Chieftain was a great character and our forays into his mind were far more interesting than when we dipped into the priest's; it's like a permanent, droning, preachy sermon in there.

In Nine Threads of Gold by Andre Norton a Weaver (she who weaves together magic and heroes) is pulled to the side of a small group of children who are being attacked by demonic creatures. It's the origin story for a group of heroes; what brought them together, their first taste of the evil they were to fight, and how they came to realize that evil and stand against it. It's good, but we don't know enough of the characters for them to become fleshed out and the Weaver is annoyingly all-knowing.

The Conjure Man by Charles de Lint is a story of a magical being left behind after his story ended and who is stuck protecting the sites where the stories gather to be remembered. It's a cute story but not very memorable.

At The Halfling House (by Dennis L. McKiernan) all sorts of wee folk are welcomed and catered to, and on one adventure they may even be counted on for a rescue. This story wasn't particularly interesting, the characters were pretty dull, but the variety of patrons was horribly amusing. This anthology being a tribute to Tolkien, the Halfling House is exactly what you'd expect: a magical smial run by a Warrow (an elvish-looking halfling) but boasting at least one proper Hobbit among its clientele. Also Brownies, Pixies, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and others that our narrator can or can't recognize. Most of the fun of reading is finding out how many kinds of wee folk the author can conjure up for us.

Moon Very Thin's teacher has gone off in search of a lost prince in Silver or Gold by Emma Bull. Deciding that searching for her would be better than running about taking care of the village chores, she sets out after her and finds resolution, confirmation, and love. The 'love' bit was a little too fairy tale-like for me; they knew each other only a few days. The characters were all interesting, even the prince who only appears in the last handful of pages, and there are some really fantastic lines throughout. My personal favorite is near the end where the prince asks her name, then asks if she's waxing or waning. She replies that it depends from moment to moment. The magic feels understandable, and the characters think realistically, and it's tied with Fellowship for being the best in the collection, with the rest left far behind.

Up the Side of the Air by Karen Haber is an adorable story of a wizard in need of a new apprentice and the girl he's stuck with instead. Not that there's anything wrong with her, she's in good health and eager to work, but she's a girl. A sexist look at wizards dealing with a no-nonsense little scrap who's got more good common sense than the best of them. A fun read with a healthy dose of comeuppance.

The Naga by Peter S. Beagle is an excerpt from a non-existent longer work exploring the history of nagas; specifically the brief legend of a king and his nagini queen. It's cute but not memorable, but it's refreshing to see a naga story other than the stale oft-retold classic of a king spying on his wife and children during their private time and discovering their serpent identity. In The Naga the creatures are seen as good luck and the king knows full well what his queen is. The problem stems from the hot-blooded young statesmen who come to resent the kingdom's quiet peace and prosperity.

In Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Mike Resnick, the fairies have vowed to take revenge on the three people who made their lives miserable: Walt Disney ( Fantasia ), Balanchine (chorographer of The Nutcracker ) and Tchaikovsky (composer of The Nutcracker , specifically on the hit list for The Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairies). This one was pretty darn cute and the best of the later stories, but I've never been a fan of the 'supernatural beings in modern day' theme.

Winter's King by Jane Yolen is a short tale of a dead boy brought back to life, who grows and undergoes hardships that slide off his back as he yearns to join the winter folk he knows to be his true kin. It's quick, it's nice, and it's got more of a fairy tale feel than the rest of the stories in the collection.

In Götterdämmerung by Barry N. Malzberg a group of adventures travel to seek the help of a wizard in retrieving a magic ring. The result of his answer might not be quite what the wizard had expected. It's a nice story with cardboard characters that become much more interesting right when the story cuts off. It's a great set-up for a longer plot but it doesn't do much on its own. Unlike The Fellowship of the Dragon, which reads like the beginning of a story but still feels like a full adventure in and of itself, this one feels like a chapter taken out of a book. You're dropped into a situation with no bearing on what brought you to this point, and you're pulled out as soon as the action starts.

I have no idea what Down the River Road by Gregory Benford is about. There're ripples in the time space continuum, and metal where there should be sand, and hats made of hydrogen because reasons, and it made no sense at all. I skimmed the hell out of it is what I'm saying.

In Death and the Lady by Judith Tarr, a mysterious young woman arrives at a convent seeking sanctuary from her dead lover's brother, who hunts her down to have as his own. It's a very good story that I've read before, and a strong one to end on, but I've little to say of it. The nuns are trapped in their cloister and the story tells the tale of their confrontation with the woman's supernatural nature.


THE VERDICT? It's a great compilation that really had me going to add it to the collection before it started to fizzle out. Would have liked to see the stronger stories better distributed, but I'm sure many out there have different tastes and find the distribution just fine. Either way it's definitely worth a read.

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually tend to skip books which have "Tolkien" flaunted on the cover, but are written by other authors. Terrible experiences to blame here. But this one is actually good. Not tolkienesque in the narrow sense of the term, no companies of heroes embarking on quests to defeat evil dark lords in this book. No fair haired elves walking on snow, no hobbits smoking and chatting over the freshly brewed ale, no wizards with pointy hats. Well, almost none. But certainly none of the cheep imitations which usually goes under a cover with Professors name somewhere in the corner.
I've read some of the authors before, but most were a pleasant discovery. In all flavours of fantasy - from epic to urban, from dark to cheerful. Generally entertaining and easy to read.

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is a tribute to J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, books which had a substantial impact on the fantasy genre. Thirty or so authors have contributed stories inspired by Tolkien. As with many such works, the quality of the writing here varies from story to story. Most are good to excellent, making it an enjoyable read.

But let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. A few stories seem out of place in the volume. Gregory Benford's "Down the River Road," is similar to Tolkien only in world-building, otherwise it is a very different sort of fantasy--a boy travels down a river that is literally a time stream, with "timequakes" and storms that alter the speed of time. It's an interesting story but hardly Tolkienesque. "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies" by Mike Resnick desperately and unsuccessfully tries to be comic. But the lesser stories are few in this volume.

My favorite stories were the fantasy horror "Faith" by Poul and Karen Anderson, where a goblin fortress appears near a human village and the human children start disappearing, and "The Fellowship of the Dragon" by Patricia A. McKillip, where a band of female warriors headed into the wilderness to save a bard from the clutches of a dragon. The most Tolkienesque story was "Nine Threads of Gold" by Andre Norton--nine children gather at a Hold where a sorceress binds them together to fight the evil that has overwhelmed the land. The narrative and the writing style mimic well the tone of old epics, the like of which Tolkien translated. The book has a lot of other entertaining stories.

Overall, I recommend this for Tolkien fans.

[Shadow Wolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating breakdown
2 stars for the overall quality of the stories. Two genuinely great stories. A handful of good stories but too many stories that are below average, just plain bad or were/should have been outright skips.
Minus 1 story for how un-Tolkien this collection of stories in honor of Tolkien feels.


Individual story ratings

Introduction by Jane Yolen - mostly harmless, mostly unnecessary as introductions tend to be

Reave the Just by Stephen R. Donaldson
1 star
A rich widow, a pile of suitors all trying to win her over with (fake) magic and love potions. One more "suitor" who essentially steals the widow's inheritance, imprisons and rapes her and tortures one of the suitors who claims to be kin to the titular Reave the Just. Reave eventually shows up and set things to right in his own peculiar fashion. Competent writing but I found the story pretty distasteful and the Tolkien connection escapes me. Maybe Reave is supposed to be a much more passive manifestation of Gandalf's mission to inspire people to fight the shadow?

Troll Bridge by Terry Pratchett
Do not know what to even rate this one. No issues with the story. It's a Discworld story that stars Cohen the Barbarian so it is pretty much a known quantity and I am reasonably sure I read it before, I just do not recall where. As far as aligning with the theme of this collection, though? It simply does not. I am beginning to feel like I should have taken the other reviewers at their word. I am not going to DNF because the contributor list is pretty solid but right now, I feel like I am going to be surprised if I come across a story that honors Tolkien, matches his style or incorporates his themes.

A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple by Robert Silverberg
2.5 stars
Who knew Tolkien made vital contributions to the ancient astronauts sub-genre, too?
The story is ok, if just barely but again, nothing whatsoever to do with Tolkien.

The Dragon of Tollin by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
1 star
What in the grim dark future where there is only war did I just read? Another story that left a bad taste in my mouth and again, where is the Tolkien connection?

Faith by Poul and Karen Anderson

3, maybe 3.5 stars
A decent enough tale that at least feels like it draws on the same mythopoetic traditions Tolkien used.

In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells by John Brunner
Very light on fantasy, mostly this is just our England through the eyes of a soldier recovering from his experiences in WW1. More of a take on Tolkien's life than his fantasy fiction with very light Middle Earth reference and a bit of the "pagan traditions survive beneath the veneer of Christianity" shtick. For all that, it is not unenjoyable. 3 stars.

The Fellowship of the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip
Vaguely Tolkien-ish and enjoyable enough. 5 knights on a quest to rescue a bard from a dragon. 3.5 stars.

The Decoy Duck by Harry Turtledove
Another piece that draws more on Tolkien's real life, namely his academic pursuits and his religion as it is a fictionalized version of a pagan culture being converted to a Christianity analogue. Reasonably enjoyable, somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars.
 
Nine Threads of Gold by Andre Norton
A post-apocalyptic setting with demons and what may or may not be magitech. Feels more like Shannara than Tolkien but I reasonably enjoyed and would not mind reading more stories in the same setting. As far as I can tell right now, however, this is a one-off story. 3.5 stars

The Conjure Man by Charles de Lint
I am very, very biased because I've loved de Lint's stories ever since I stumbled across "Moonheart". Plus, I feel like this is the only story so far that really honored (one facet) of Tolkien's spirit. 5 stars, no complaints, and more Tom Bombadill AKA the Conjure Man, please. Including a Newford story should feel like cheating on par with the earlier Discworld story but still, 5 stars, no complaints, and more Tom Bombadill AKA the Conjure Man, please.

The Halfling House by Dennis L. McKiernan
What even was this? A dimension-hopping inn, assorted wee folk, a heist and a random cliffhanger? No Tolkien connection whatsoever. 0 stars and I wish I had skipped it.

Silver or Gold by Emma Bull
An apprentice witch goes on a quest to find her mentor and complete the mentor's quest. A lovely story that, much like "The Conjure Man", felt like coming home. Charming, emotionally impactful and all around satisfying. 5/5. Time to re-read the couple of Emma Bull's books I've read before and dig deeper into her bibliography.

Up the Side of the Air by Karen Haber
Something about a wizard getting an illiterate girl slave instead of a boy to be his apprentice. The story is sympathetic towards the girl and does not depict her as useless or anything but did not really do anything for me. 2 stars.

The Naga by Peter S. Beagle
An alleged report of a king and a naga who fell in love and their ultimately tragic fate. Nothing wrong with the story but not really my cup of tea and again, whatever Tolkien connection is there, it went over my head.

Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Mike Resnick
Something about the sugar plum fairies taking exception to the way they have been depicted in fiction and plotting bloody revenge that eventually turns into financial shenanigans and corporate takeovers instead. Again, not really my cup of tea and again, no real connection to Tolkien. 2 stars.
 
Winter’s King by Jane Yolen
A brief vignette about the life of an unusual child and his eventual reunion with his kin. Felt more like Hans Christian Andersen than Tolkien to me. Not bad, not particularly good, no real substance but too short to overstay its welcome. 2 stars.

Götterdämmerung by Barry N. Malzberg
A really weird take on Der Ring des Nibelungen or maybe a parody of the same? I guess that's the (pretty superficial) Tolkien connection, but ultimately, this is another story I wish I'd skipped. 0 stars.

Down the River Road by Gregory Benford
I gave it a few pages, up to the part where the kid ran into a man who kidnapped him at gun point. The writing style actively annoyed me, so I did not want to deal with 80+ pages more of it, and the plot did not seem to be going anywhere I wanted to follow. Skipped.


Death and the Lady by Judith Tarr
Black Death and exiled fae and knights after their magic. Oh my. Not bad but not particularly great or memorable. 2.5 stars.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve said this so many times, it’s hard to rate a collection of short stories. This collection varies from 2 - 4. Did not think this was a tribute to Tolkien, the master of the genre.

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це було непогане передсонне читання. Оскільки я не фанатка Толкіна, то й ступінь присутності його духу в оповіданнях мені визначити важко. Кілька аторів я виписала, щоб пошукати інші їх тексти.

Перше оповідання вразило мене особливо, в поганому сенсі, там на повному серйозі позитивна фігура запитує в згвалтованої жінки, чому та не наклала на себе рук, та звинувачує в тому що вона "чинила недостсатньо спротиву, оскільки все ще жива". Аж такого я в Толкіна, все ж, не зустрічала, і мені тепер цікаво - автор це серйозно, чи то така дуже тонка іронія з приводу місця жінки в текстах професора.

[Conan The Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terminado este Homenaje a Tolkien.

La verdad no me gustó mucho, no era lo que esperaba pero no fue eso lo que causo que el libro no me gustara sino que realmente no le vi mucha relación a algunos de los cuentos, sobre todo los dos últimos se me hicieron enormemente aburridos, el penúltimo sobre todo. Algunos otros me gustaron bastante como "La naga", de Peter S. Beagle, "La casa halfling", de Dennis L. McKiernan, "La comunidad del dragón" de Patricia A. McKillip, El Rey del Invierno", de Jane Yolen, "La rebelión de los duendes de confite", de Mike Resnick y sobre todo mi favorito "El puente del troll" de Terry Pratchett pero en general los demás la verdad no fueron muy de mi agrado.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent, reasonably eclectic collection of fantasy stories, "in honor of J. R. R. Tolkien." However, in many cases, the Tolkien connection is difficult to discern, except insofar as one can argue that all modern fantasy can be traced, one way or another, to Tolkien's influence and achievements. Indeed, the two stories that most explicitly reference Tolkien (Mike Resnick's "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies," which mentions hobbits, and Dennis L. McKiernan's "The Halfling House," which features an uncredited guest appearance by Bilbo Baggins) are also among the weakest in the collection--though more for their indifferent attempts at being humorous than for their Tolkien connections. Even Terry Pratchett, who can do humour successfully, has an amusing enough but undistinguished offering that deals rather cleverly with the stories about trolls and heroes, so at least has some link to Tolkien's interest in storytelling per se. John Brunner's contribution is set post World wAr I and has a former soldier suffering from PTSD as its protagonist, so might be linked to Tolkien's life--somewhat--more than to his fiction. It is a good story (better than anything in the recent Brunner collection I read, in fact), but hardly Tolkienesque. Nothing here is, really, which may of course be a good thing--why read mediocre pastiche? The best stories are the least like Tolkien, in fact--Emma Bull's "Silver or Gold," for instance, plays nicely with folk tale conceits but owes, I think, much more to Ursula K. Le Guin in how it does so than it does to Tolkien. One of the oddest inclusions is Gregory Benford's "Down the River Road," which is a) SF, not fantasy, and b) an obvious riff on Mark Twain, not Tolkien. (There's an SF story from Robert Silverberg, as well, which is also not very Tolkienesque, but it does play on how stories--or myths--are made and can shape a culture, so it does tie in to some of Tolkien's own characteristic concerns.).) It's an intriguing enough story about a river that literally carries one through time, but it seems like an odd fit. The resto of the stories are a mixed bag. None are really bad, a few are quite good (e.g. Judith Tarr's, Jane Yolen's, Peter S. Beagle's, a few others) but others (e.g. Harry Turtledove's, Patricia A. McKillip's, Andre Norton's) did not do much for me.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Kind of a mixed bag. Loved the story by Emma Bull and
the one by Judith Tarr. Didn’t care for the Greg Benford story. But most of them were pretty good.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some masters of the genre contribute to this book that honors J.R.R. Tolkien. Strong stories from Andre Norton, Patricia A. McKillip, Emma Bull and others. There are also the usual his and misses you find in any collection of short stories - some yawners, some clunkers. What the book misses is some explanations from the authors as to why they included or wrote a particular short story as a celebration of Tolkien, how did Tolkien’s life or work influence them? That could have tied this collection together better, took it into a new, more interesting place. Without that narrative thread, it feels like much looser, and “Tolkien” falls away occasionally leaving you wondering “Why is this story here? Would Tolkien have even LIKED this story?” Something delightful about this collection is the number of women contributing; Tolkien’s works are not know for female inclusion. McKillip specifically takes the Tolkienish word “fellowship” and adds female kick-assery to it while still retaining what is likable about the hobbit writer. Bull includes an ending to her story that remains, even after 26 years of reading novels and short stories, one of the most beautifully moving endings of anything I’ve ever read.

[Brit (Circus_of_Damed) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a whole this is exactly what I was expecting from this anthology. For the most part I enjoyed the majority of the stories, with a few standouts and a few heavily missing the mark. For the whole though the bulk of the stories felt very Tolkien inspired to me, without feeling like they we copying or unoriginal. The detailed star rating of each individual story and my quick thoughts as well will be given below.

Reave the Just: 1 star
A short story with as many mentions of rape as this one was far to excessive, add in the victim blaming and shaming and it sickened and angered me. There was nothing Tolkien inspired about this story.

Troll Bridge: 5 stars
Pure humor and lighthearted fun, very Tolkien inspired, but with a Disc World twist of Terry Pratchett which made me very interested n picking up that series. Also the good old days vibes this story get was amazing.

A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple: 4 stars
This has a sci-fi and fantasy blend to it that I wasn't expecting to find. That being said this very much has Tolkien contemplative nature of a task and one questioning there ability to complete it, with the religious overtures in Tolkien work.

The Dragon of Tollin: 3 stars
Playing with the idea of The Hobbit, has a heavy handed approach with the ideas of greed and it bewitching effect. Found the darker tones p\present very enjoyable and a nice twist to The Hobbit story idea.

Faith: 5 stars
Felt like it belonged in Tolkien universe of works while still keeping the author voice and not feeling like a writer forcing themselves to write like Tolkien. Had the darkness and bittersweet end that I found in the work of Tolkien I've read, in particular Lord of the Rings.

In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells: 4 stars
This felt like it was inspired by Tolkien life after his return from WWI to England. And his motivation to write The Lord of the Rings. It had a beautiful and magical feel to it that enhanced the story.

The Fellowship of the Dragon: 5 stars
This felt heavily inspired by specifically The Fellowship of the Ring, but with an all female cast. Which was really nice given how rarely female characters are present or featured in Tolkien work or works inspired by him. The ending also had an amazing twist I didn't foresee, but really enjoyed. Would love a full length novel to see what happens next.

The Decoy Duck: 3 stars
This has very Viking inspired feel to it. And playing on history with the clash between Viking raiders and Catholic Englishmen. The only thing that perhaps could be Tolkien inspired is the religious nature of the story. However very much enjoyed the short story for what it was.

Nine Threads of Gold: 3 stars
This had very strong feelings of Fea present, but was very Tolkien inspired work with Wheel of Time influences as well. It had everything from ancient fight between good and evil to chosen one trope and band of unlikely friends fighting together and overcoming temptation. Really enjoyed and added a little originality with the inclusion of Fea in the story.

The Conjure Man: 4 stars
The hint of Tolkien pain at his return to England and the loss of nature to Industrialism was an interesting bend to the story. Appreciated the hint at how storytelling is needed in one life, and how the story isn't about Tolkien work but his life.

The Halfling House: 5 stars
This mad direct references and pulls from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. From dragons to rings of power and ring wraiths, to possibly inserting Bilbo and the Shire directly into the story. The band of Hero, that were all Wee Folk, was an amazing touch especially given the adventures they went on. Really a fun and cute tall I fell into.

Silver or Gold: 3 stars
An adventure tale to save a lost king, very enjoyable to read, but in no way felt Tolkien inspred to me.

Up the Side of the Air: 3 stars
This felt like they were pulling on Return of the King in particular Gandalf and Merry relationship. Enjoyable and found the ending very sweet and cute. Absolutely heart warming.

The Naga: 4 stars
The story had a very beautiful message weaved throughout. The writing was beautiful and the writer enjoyed dropping in SAT words throughout. The story itself wasn't very Tolkien inspired, but the message it delivered absolutely was.

Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies: 2 stars
This story didn't feel like it was inspired by Tolkien in any way. Add to it that I didn't really enjoy the story in and of itself and it was bust. I will say it was worth a chuckle so not a complete loss.

Winter's King: 4 stars
This was haunting and beautiful, the writing felt very fairytale in nature, right down to the disjointed and confused nature. Wishing this had been longer and more detailed. Felt like this was an Elven story Legolas wound have told to the Hobbits.

Gotterdammerung: 2 stars
This feels like it was perhaps inspired by Saruman fall to darkness before it came to light. However the writing was poor and the story felt disjointed to me.

Down the River Road: 1 star
This felt very disjointed, confusing, and overall unpleasant to read. For the most part like I was reading a Sci-Fi story that was on a bad acid trip. It felt like this story had no point at all, I get what the protagonist was after and what happened but it felt like it had no real point to the story.

Death and the Lady: 4 stars
This was haunting and had a beautiful magical feel throughout. Very much like it would be an Elven tail present in one of Tolkien books.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rereading this book, and it's fascinating to me that the stories I loved the most when I first read this book now seem like some of the most unnuanced and formulaic, while the ones I used to think were "boring" are now among my favorites.

The ones I used to think were creepy, though, apparently can still give me nightmares.

[Igor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not finish this book which is something that rarely happens. Stories are of rather uneven quality and I couldn't actually grasp why some of them were in this anthology. Some are reminiscent of Tolkien's works in theme or setting but others does not to seem to have anything in common with them. Too little to keep me going till the end, unfortunately.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, not a terrible book, however I ended up giving 2 stars because, while fairly standard and typical fantasy fare, it had nothing to do in either style or substance with J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. To me, it was just false advertising and kind of cheesy. If it had a different title, I might have liked it more...

[Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sulle orme del Re” è una raccolta di racconti scritti da notə autorə di fantasy in onore di Tolkien. Se alcuni di questi racconti possono richiamare l’opera tolkeniana per ambientazione o per l’ampio spazio descrittivo utilizzato, altri lasciano un grosso punto interrogativo su come siano stati selezionati.

“Reave il Giusto” di Stephen D. Donaldson
Inventarsi una parentela per far colpo su una donna e subirne le conseguenze, tra dramma è commedia degli equivoci. Ambientazione molto da hobbit, ma svolgimento lento e prolisso.

“Il ponte dei Troll” di Terry Pratchett
Cavalieri, apprendisti, troll e tradizioni, “per l’amore delle cose che erano”. Un veloce divertissment, non uno dei migliori di Pratchett.

“Lunga notte di veglia al tempio” di Robert Silverberg
Sotto un tempio viene scoperto il luogo di sepoltura di coloro che vengono venerati nel tempio stesso. La religione, come sempre, distorce il passato ed il presente per i suoi fini. Apre temi interessanti, ma in un racconto non ha spazio per esplorarli.

“Il Drago di Tollin” di Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
I pro e i contro dell’allevare un drago a protezione di un regno. Interessante.

“Fidarsi” di Poul e Karen Anderson
Rapimenti di goblin, promesse di terre verdi e momenti migliori. La forza e la curiosità dei bambini e la loro capacità di resistere. Completo e solido.

“La vestizione dei pozzi” di John Brunner
Nel dopoguerra, in Gran Bretagna, in un paesino si cerca di ripristinare un’antica tradizione legata alla divinità delle acque. Finiranno coinvolti, chi volontariamente e chi no, la moglie ed il nipote del defunto lord locale. Prevedibile, ma interessante come lo sono sempre le tradizioni pre-cristiane.

“La compagnia del drago” di Patricia A. McKillip
Cinque guerriere, dietro richiesta della regina, partono per recuperare il suo straordinario e attraente arpista, rapito da un drago. Nelle terre del nord affronteranno prove diverse che le separeranno. La vittoria, inaspettata, verrà ottenuta mediante la cortesia. Non è facile scrivere racconti, ma Patricia McKillip è una narratrice straordinaria.

“Anatra da richiamo” di Harry Turtledove
Uno scontro di volontà sullo scivoloso sentiero che divide il potere religioso da quello secolare nelle fredde terre del nord. Ben scritto, lascia un po’ di amaro in bocca.

“Nove fili d’oro” di Andre Norton
Nelle poche pagine del racconto viene costruito un mondo con un suo passato ed una sua mitologia: magia, demoni, avversari terribili e tessitrici di destini. VOGLIO IL RESTO DELLA STORIA!!!! Cioè, è completo, ma Andre Norton, volendo, avrebbe potuto tirarne fuori un’altra trilogia.

“L’uomo delle evocazioni” di Charles de Lint
Un racconto ambientato nel mondo moderno, con radici profondamente junghiane, sulla raccolta e la trasmissione delle storie. Di una delicata bellezza.

“La casa dei nani” di Dennis L. McKiernan
Una compagnia di creature del Piccolo Popolo, assemblata casualmente, si trova in missione per recuperare il figlio ed il nipote del proprietario di una casa magia che attraversa le dimensioni. Funziona.

“Oro e argento” di Emma Bull
La ricerca della propria maestra, partita a sua volta alla ricerca di un principe. La quotidianità di una strega di campagna e la messa in discussione dei cosiddetti precetti fondamentali della magia. Amarezza e lieto fine. Molto carino.

“Su nell’aria” di Karen Haber
Un mago anziano ha richiesto un nuovo apprendista, ma gli portano una ragazzina. Nonostante gli enormi poteri di lui, sarà il pragmatismo di lei ad essere fondamentale. Caruccio.

“Il naga” di Peter S. Beagle
Un romantico mito dell’area indiana. Un compitino.

“La rivolta delle fate confetto” di Mike Resnick
Un piccolo divertissement fanta-finanziario.

“Il re dell’inverno” di Jane Yolen
Un bimbo nato morto riportato alla vita dal padre con un’antica melodia. La malinconia del richiamo di voci che non si possono seguire, legate all’inverno. Struggente.

“Gotterdammerung” di Barry N. Malzberg
Ovvero un altro modo di narrare la caduta degli dei nella saga dei Nibelunghi. Per apprezzarlo a pieno serve la conoscenza dell’opera a cui fa riferimento.

“La strada lungo il fiume” di Gregory Benford
Un mondo che vive in funzione di un fiume fatto di metalli liquidi, vortici e che è la manifestazione dello scorrere del tempo: verso valle è il futuro, verso monte è il passato. John lo percorre in entrambe le direzioni, alla ricerca del padre. Alcuni elementi sono inquietanti, altri prevedibili per chiunque abbia letto un po’ di paradossi temporali, altre cose vengono lasciate in sospeso (cosa che non apprezzo particolarmente).

“La Morte e la Signora” di Judith Tarr
Un villaggio provato da guerra e malattia, al limitare di un bosco. Sono rimaste solo donne, bambini e anziani o invalidi. L’arrivo di una misteriosa viandante diretta al bosco metterà alla prova la forza delle abitanti del villaggio e del vicino convento. Un bel racconto sulla determinazione e su ciò che delle volte siamo noi stessə a negarci.

[Miguel Angel Pedrajas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta recopilación de relatos en homenaje a J. R. R. Tolkien adolece del mismo problema que suelen tener otros libros similares. La calidad de los relatos es irregular, el estilo de cada uno de los autores también. Y, en muchos de ellos, es difícil poder interpretar dónde se oculta el homenaje del autor a la figura del homenajeado. En este caso, podemos encontrar elementos de fantasía, los temas de la corrupción, objetos mágicos, la lucha entre el bien y el mal o el destino de las personas.

Hay relatos muy interesantes como "El puente del troll" (de Terry Pratchett), "Reave el Justo" (de Stephen R. Donaldson), "En la estación de engalanar los pozos" (de John Brunner), "Fe" (de Poul Anderson y Karen Anderson) o "Una larga vigilia en el tiempo" (de Robert Silverberg), que tocan temas diferentes y con enfoques variados. Fantasía, terror e incluso ciencia ficción muy bien escritos y que mantienen al lector atado a las páginas. Pero a mitad del libro el nivel de los relatos baja estrepitosamente. O al menos, no ofrecen la frescura y originalidad de los primeros.

No recomendaría este libro a los amantes de Tolkien porque creo que no encontrarán lo que esperan. En cambio, está bien para bucear en estilos e historias cortas diferentes. Yo lo he leído porque pertenece a la colección de libros que estoy leyendo de Terry Pratchett y estoy siguiendo el orden de publicación de su obra. Pero creo que de otra manera, no habría caído entre mis lecturas.

[Marcos Palacios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Por encima de que los relatos no tengan el «sabor» de Tolkien, no significa que no sean válidos. A ver: en toda antología puede o no gustarte todo. Es mi caso, lo habéis comprobado. Pero en general me ha parecido un buen libro, desligándolo del título. Desconozco si la editorial original tenía pensado atraer simplemente a la gente haciéndole creer que en este libro encontraría rastros y mundos de la Tierra Media. Lo primero que hay que pensar es que no se pueden usar elementos de la obra del autor, por lo derechos. Así que, a ciegas, cogí este volumen y empecé a leerlo. Los 19 relatos son muy distintos entre sí, lo que le da mucho más valor, porque no se hace monótono. También hay variedad de estilos, unos mejores y otros no tanto, según el gusto.

Al final, todo se reduce a las preferencias personales. He encontrado historias bien escritas y traducidas —esto último importante, porque ninguna se escribió en español, y hay que ser muy bueno para realizar una traducción de tal calibre—. Mi enhorabuena a Jaume de Marcos, Mila López y Elvira Sáiz.

El hecho de un libro de este género literario me haya embaucado es un logro, porque ya dije que no soy dado a leerlo. Es más: quien más me gusta es Tolkien, y precisamente **Reseña completa en 3 partes:
https://cosmoversus.com/homenaje-a-to...
https://cosmoversus.com/homenaje-a-to...
https://cosmoversus.com/homenaje-a-to...

[Maya Joelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. Some of the stories are very good, some are okay, and some are awful.

worth reading: "Troll Bridge" (some profanity), "Faith" (death/violence), "The Fellowship of the Dragon," "Nine Threads of Gold," "The Conjure Man," "Silver or Gold," "Up the Side of the Air," "Winter's King" (mature content), "Death and the Lady" (some mature content)

read with caution: "Reave the Just" (sexual content), "In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells" (sexual content, violence, strange religious content), "The Halfling House"

skip: "A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple," "The Dragon of Tollin," "The Decoy Duck" (sexual content), "The Naga," "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies," "Down the River Road" (seriously. do not read this one. ever.)

Would *not* hand to a child who enjoyed LOTR. Maybe worth it for a teen or adult who can weed through the awful bits. Not really in honor of Tolkien (except a few of the "worth reading" stories); frankly, I think he'd be horrified by most of it.

Thoughts on my favorite stories in the collection:

- The Fellowship of the Dragon: I really enjoyed this one, especially how most of the characters were women. Realized later it's by McKillip (I love her The Forgotten Beasts of Eld). I would've loved for it to be longer.

- Death and the Lady: This reminded me of Tam Lin. I liked it.

- Silver or Gold: Ahhhh, my favorite story in this book, possibly ever. The characters are memorable and I love the slow, soft romance. Plus the magic system! And the worldbuilding!

---
read 12/22/2017
reread 4/1/2019

[Telthor · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part, I found the majority of these tales plodding and tedious and pointless.

Truly, the best of the batch were Terry Pratchett’s Troll Bridge and Emma Bull’s Silver or Gold. The short story format felt cleanest in those tales.

I enjoyed Karen Harber’s Up the Side of the Air, and and at least Yolen’s Winter King felt like a fairy tale. I know so many of the authors in the list and like them, I just...couldn’t get into this collection. It’s too uneven.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note the book is called AFTER The King. Not MORE of the KIng.
This eclectic book spans a range of different kinds of fantasy, and a SF story or two.

Read as stories about fantastical settings and events, it is a good collection.
If you want more of the Tolkien world, and beings therein, go elsewhere, back to Tolkein himself perhaps.

Personally I am not a fan of Tolkien and this collection suited me just fine.

[Steph Bennion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading this one and off for over a year and finally got to the end. It's quite a mix of stories, very few of which having an obvious connection to Tolkien's work, some even being science fiction at heart. I don't read a lot of fantasy (I bought this for the Terry Pratchett short story, "Troll Bridge") but there's a few authors here I might investigate further.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dennis L. Mckiernan is one of my most favorite authors, so I just started putting together the books containing his short stories. It was fun to get another adventure with Warrows, even a short one. I liked the other authors and even discovered some new ones I'd never read before, but will do so now.

[Paulo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma coletânea de contos com altos e baixos.

Podem ser em homenagem a Tolkien, mas fiel ao enredo, apenas um conto :-o

Adquira se sua intenção for ler bons contos de fantasia, mas não no Universo de Tolkien ...

[Brandy Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is very misleading. Several of the stories were very good but none of them seemed even remotely Tolkienesque. This just seems like an excuse for most of these authors to get a short story published either to see what the fan reception would be or to earn a few extra bucks.

[Sarah H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me nearly two years to finish this! As with most anthologies, I liked a few of the stories better and the ones I didn't like really slowed me down. My favourites were by Terry Pratchett, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Patricia A McKillip, Emma Bull, and Judith Tarr.

[Kate Millin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories to honour J R R Tolkien. I loved the Terry Pratchett’s ‘Troll Bridge’ and John Brunner’s ‘In the season of the Dressing of the Wells. I liked all of the other stories, except for Gregory Benford’s ‘Down the River Road’ which I found difficult and confusing.