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Reviewed by: Cath
Rating: 6/10
Genre: Fantasy
379 pages/1998
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Legends 2 : Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy
edited by
Robert Silverberg
The book contains three short stories. Each of the authors has written a multi volume Fantasy saga of some sort and all 3 stories are set in the respective worlds. Each short story has a preface, giving a summary of what those worlds are and the main story line of the actual sagas.
1) The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones, Terry Goodkind
A world torn apart by war. A village is ransacked by the enemy and its inhabitants kidnapped. A woman travels to town to find the First Wizard and claim a debt - and his help to get her family back from the enemy.
I did not like the story very much. Part of it was that it reminded me of The Wheel Of Time - which I like - and that bothered me. Also I did not find the story very interesting or original.
2) A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight, George R. R. Martin
An old wandering knight dies. His young squire takes up his weapons, armory and horses and travels to the next town to take part in a tournament and make a name for himself. On the way he picks up a stray boy, some friends and some enemies. And all of a sudden he finds himself in a challenge of life and death.
Now this story I liked a lot. Nice adventure yarn with entertaining and lively characters. I actually ordered the first book of the series, A Game of Thrones, through Amazon.
3) Pern: Runner of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
The reason I bought the book - I am a big fan of the Pern series. Set just before thread falls again. The only character from the series that popped up - Lord Groghe. The story centers around a young runner on her first big trip. Adventure with a little romance thrown in. Not a very substancial story, but a subject that did not get much coverage in the series. So it was a nice addition.
I don't know what someone, who has not read any of the series, would make of it. There is not much explaining of unusual words or the social structure of Pern, so it might be a bit confusing or unclear.
All in all the book was ok for a lazy afternoon, but nothing too exciting.
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