![]() Title: Warriors Editors: George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois Format: ARC Available Formats: TC, Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook Page Count: 734 Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction/Anthology/Assorted Genre Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: March 16, 2010 ISBN-13: 9780765320483 Series: Stand Alone Rating: 8 of 10 |
Summary:
George R. R. Martin begins this anthology with an introduction explaining his goal: a spinner rack. He says that he wants Warriors to be like those old spinner racks in candy stores, in which genres were mixed without any semblance of order. Martin and Gardner Dozois followed this model with Warriors. The anthology jumps from genre to genre without any particular order. The only qualification the stories had to have: (1) be a story about a "warrior," however that's interpreted and (2) be high-quality.
TL;DR Version:
A high quality, varied group of stories about many different kinds of "warriors." For those who like to push past pet genres, this is a must read. For those who are interested in military or "warrior" issues--a very good read.
Review:
Warriors certainly has some heavy-hitters in its ranks: George R. R. Martin, Diana Gabaldon, David Weber, Naomi Novik, James Rollins, Robin Hobb, Peter S. Beagle, Carrie Vaughn, and S.M. Stirling to name a few. Many readers will pick up the book for the Martin short story (which is, actually, one of the longest--if not the longest--in the book) which tells a story of Sir Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, and Gabaldon's story, which takes place in her Lord John universe. Of course, I'm sure many fans of the other authors will come out in droves as well, to see what the author offers in this genre-freeing anthology. Some, like Joe Haldeman stick with his main genre of science fiction, while others like Carrie Caughn instead chose something other than what they are primarily known for (in Vaughn's case, she's known for her urban fantasy series, but here offers a story of a World War II WASP playing detective in an environment that's very hostile to females).
Honestly, I was pretty shocked with the overall quality of the anthology. Almost every story is written well. Of course, I found some stories a little off-putting, if only because they were in genres that don't particularly interest me (though I gave them a shot) or because they seemed to have a world behind them that I wasn't included in, because I hadn't read the author before (Diana Gabaldon). Otherwise, though, it's a very strong group of stories with an interesting idea. I sort of wonder to myself whether this book will be shelved in fantasy, because the two editors are often associated with science fiction or fantasy or whether it will "graduate" to the general fiction shelves because of its diversity.
I won't talk about every story, because part of the fun of the anthology is being surprised by what you find next, but some stories I liked particularly well are:
"Forever Bound" by Joe Haldeman
In "Forever Bound" a group of strangers must learn to work together in the new military technology of the day. The thing I liked about this story is how it approaches the military, the unexpected moments of humanity throughout, and the repercussions in the story..."Dirae" by Peter S. Beagle
Honestly explaining Beagle's story would take the magic out of it, so I'll instead just tell you what Martin and Dozois say about it: "You may find the opening pages of this story a bit confusing, but stick with it, and we promise that you'll be rewarded with a compelling study of the price of compassion--and introduced to perhaps the strangest and most unlikely warrior in this whole anthology.""The Girls From Avenger" by Carrie Vaughn
Vaughn's story, as I mentioned above is the story of a WWII WASP trying to find the answers behind her friend's death. The story is fun both for its historical setting as well as its light feminist leanings. A very enjoyable read."The Mystery Knight" by George R. R. Martin
And yes, Martin. Really, this story doesn't need much introduction. Apparently, I've been missing out on the "Dunk and Egg" stories, which are found in The Hedge Knight and Sworn Sword, but I found that even without those novels as background, the story read well on its own.Unsurprisingly, when I reflect back, the majority of the stories that are my favorites reflect my genre preferences, even if I enjoyed some of the other genre stories well enough (with the exception of Vaughn's story, which tickled my feminist self).
I'd like to say that I loved Warriors desperately enough to believe in Martin's "spinner rack," but in the end, I really can't. Sure, I enjoy a good foray into other genres now and again (and it certainly helps when they're all as high quality as in this anthology), but in the end I get more pleasure out of my pet genres. Also, I think Martin shoots down his own theory a little by dismissing the romance genre on the whole (He says in the introduction, "Okay, I confess, I never did get into romances or nurse novels."). The dismissal follows through int he anthology. And while I'm not exactly a romance fan, if one's going to truly embrace the "spinner rack"...
Anyhow, I enjoyed Warriors and recommend it to anyone curious. Of course, for anyone who has interest in military or "warrior" concepts, this is particularly fun, because one can explore a bunch of different (and often non-traditional) forms of the "warrior."
Cover/Title/First Line Critique:
I adore this cover. It's exactly something that I'd pick up off the shelf. The colors are distinctive and elegant. I love the shades of gold. And the sword. Really, it just reflects the anthology incredibly well--which is saying a lot, since the anthology itself is so varied and diverse.
Rating: 8 of 10 [Learn more about the rating system?]
This book was provided for the purpose of receiving a review courtesy of the publisher.
















