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Another 70+ year old book I accidentally dropped and tore the cover from. Damn shame.

The print is tiny. The story thus far isn’t very exciting. I am looking for something more interesting for the interim.

We galloped over pathways carpeted with amber leaves, through yellow forests, where the sun shafts lit the woods to glory. We rose early, we halted seldom. We flung out an arc of outriders far to the rear to give us warning of pursuit.

So you may think of us for making so much haste to overtake our fate. Indeed, I think we would have halted then, and there, if we could even have imagined all that lay ahead.

The story breaks from first person pov for a chapter

He seized the amulet and held it above his head so that the device graven thereon pointed toward Krimpal.

I believe this is the illustration on the cover. A short decisive moment.

A scene much like the cover. The black tendrils were absent

Riddled with typos. Page 83 seems to omit the article A. More of the sentence could be lost but I don’t think so.

Reading the stories all-together and in sequence makes for a tedious read. This last story’s only item of interest was it introduced a character for the next story.

Wow! The Rexa didn’t have sex with her female companion. I didn’t know this was possible!

Though Pemba was short and without honed muscles, she appeared dangerous in ways only the worst witches could. By magic or mad medical practices, she had merged metal into her arms. Iron and copper conduits ran through her flesh, glimmering in the sun. While many mages favored the use of ores and crystals to enhance their spells, few were as damned to use their very bodies, sapping dormant energy from blood and bones

“Oh shit!” was my exclamation. My wife, in the other room, was very concerned. When I explained myself she was relieved that it wasn’t an emergency, but quickly grew bored with my recitation.

A character just stepped forth and I was completely shocked when I recognized him! he has not been named yet. I am grinning ear to ear. I haven’t felt like this in a long time.

Good on you, Mr. Feist!

Tim Akers has the best story this far

A very slow start but things are heating up

Thus far it remains an unsung anthology. Enjoying it quite a bit

*spoiler alert*

Quintessential S&S archetype. Bests everything the tower has to offer and when offered the world he refuses to share power with the sorceress when it is already within his power to take.

Troy!

Inviting in something from the outer dark

I knew it would come to this, but…

Unsure how to feel about The Bear and the Nightingale by Bruce Erling Strange. Plenty of action. The protagonists flirt for most of the story—even while fighting the undead. Potential for more from this duo is strong.

I don’t see how the story will end with the time remaining

Things are looking grim

The Eggshell Carver: A Tale of the Inland Sea by Tais Teng was next.

This self-contained story concerns a lowly eggshell carver who becomes obsessed with a rukh eggshell, a khan who is seeking immortality, and a spirit seeking rebirth.

Shamir is no fool. Although, caught under the scrutiny of those more powerful than himself, his options are limited.

Blackshield Manor by Marc Edward Star.

If you love that Lovecraftian touch and the madness that follows, then this story is definitely for you.

For me, stories set in a world or setting in which the protagonist is trapped by society and/or circumstances with no way out, are really a bummer. I feel the pressure. I feel the anxiety of there being absolutely no way out.

Tomb Robbers by Susan Murrie Macdonald is third in this anthology. The story concerns two small time pick-pockets who decide to try their hand at grave robbing. Dismissing all of the stories warning of tomb guardians, the duo throw caution to the wind and find out first hand the veracity of those legends.

I would classify Macdonald’s story as fantasy.

Midwinter by David A. Sutton is very brief. Although, the protagonist is one I am sure everyone has encountered at least once before.

I hung on every word having no clue where the story was heading. Hours after reading it I still feel like it was incomplete. I was caught off guard when the last page appeared. It is a reprint, and its origin publication makes sense.