Sword and Sorceress XVI

There are 26 short stories in this 16th addition to the female-oriented fantasy anthology, Sword & Sorceress, as summarized below:A Japanese woman encounters a turtle-like creature whose fate is in her hands when she accidentally injures it in Fujiko's "The Kappa's Gift". >> A mythical room known as "The Changeless Room" (by Charlotte Carlson) materializes in a young girl's family cellar one day. Marion considers this one horror, but I don't. It's not very scary, just confusing. >> "Isabelle and the Siren" by Mary Catelli -- A woman with acute depression avoids the fatal song of a siren, though the townsfolk aren't as lucky. People with depression can probably relate to this one. >> "Dragon's Tear" by Sonya Fedotowsky -- An elf and her three companions travel to a dragon's cave in search of a jewel that will save her island. A good one. >> "A Sister's Blood" by Patricia B. Cirone -- Confined in a dungeon, two sisters--one a swordswoman, the other a sorceress--try to find a way out of their prison cell. >> "Changed" by Lisa Deason -- A woman visits a magician, known as the Collector, who shapeshifts her--as well as others--into half-human/half-animal creatures, then keeps them as caged circus freaks. Vaguely reminded me of Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn". >> A ruthless king demands a sorceress to help him attain "The Power to Change the Shape of the Land" in Dayle A. Dermatis' story. The ending was a bit unfinished. Not bad though. >> "The Frog Prince" by Linda J. Dunn -- A princess is forced to kiss frog after frog in a king's attempt to find his shapeshifting son. A unique twist on the same-named fable. >> "Honey From the Rock" by Dorothy J. Heydt -- A sorceress tries to heal a dying Greek goddess, Artemis.<p>"The Will of the Wind" by Christina Krueger -- A teacher ignores the regulations and traditions of her school in order to initiate one of her talented students into the Priesthood. Bittersweet ending. >> A martial arts student is asked to judge a kata contest in Carol E. Leever's "Moonlight on Water". Cat & martial arts lovers should like this one. >> "Nine Springs" by Kathleen M. Massie-Ferch -- A warrior searches for a sacred spring that will heal her dying friend. Another good one. >> This poetic story deals with the reincarnation of a "Mistweaver" (by Terry McGarry). >> "Waking the Stone Maiden" by Cynthia McQuillin -- A young woman searches for the Stone Maiden. Another good one. >> "City of No-Sleep" by Vera Nazarian -- A city is transformed every night when the king falls asleep. Imaginative setting. >> "Daughter of the Bear" by Diana Paxson -- When a woman is blamed for killing a man, she calls on a Viking bear god to prove her innocence. >> "The Wishing Stones" by Lisa S. Silverthorne -- A captured sorceress plots her freedom through three little wishing stones. Nice & short. >> "A Fool's Game" by Selina Rosen -- A woman seeks the teachings of a legendary swordswoman. Good lesson on life in general.<p>"The Anvil of Her P

As usual MZB came out with another enjoyable collection of Sword & Sorceress. # 16 isn't quite as good as 8 or 9, my favorites, but it's still great fun. My favorite story in this volume is Choices by Lisa Deason, a really original take on shapeshifting that entertained me and made me think. Also worthy of special mention are Moonlight on Water by Carol Leever and Enaree by Deborah Wheeler--it's refreshing to read great fantasy stories based on ethnicities other than Western European. The only reason I'm not giving this anthology five stars is because of the sprinkling of mediocre, highly forgettable stories in among the gems--so forgettable I've already forgotten what they were called. There's nothing truly bad here, however, and this is a very solid entry in the series.

The "Sword And Sorceress" series is a series of collections of short stories set in the "sword and sorcery" genre, but with all female protagonists. Marion Zimmer Bradley always explains, in her introductions, that she began the series because in traditional "sword and sorcery", female characters wer relegated to the role of "bad conduct prizes" for the (male) protagonists.It's a fine series, and this is one of the better books in the series. Number 15 is still my favorite, but this one is in the top three, possibly second-best. There's a nice mix of continuing adventures of characters we've seen in earlier volumes and totally new stories. I didn't care at all for "A Sister's Blood", by Patricia B. Cirone, but that was essentially because I didn't care for the conclusion it reached. I will, however, concede that it was well-written, and could be the catalyst for an interesting discussion or two with someone who disagreed with me. "Moonlight On The Water", by Carol E. Leever, was excellent, as were "The Wishing Stones", by Lisa S. Silverthorne, and "A Fool's Game", by Selina Rosen. "The Anvil Of Her Pride", by Lawrence Schimel, was a bit predictable, but good nonetheless, and "The Day They Ran Out Of Princesses", by Gail Sosinsky Wickman, was just plain fun.

Okay, this book is set up just like all the others in the Sword & Sorceress series. However, this one seems to be one of the better ones of the series. Marion Zimmer Bradley seems to know what her readers/fans like to read. Excellent stories!