Sword and Sorceress XX

Let us hope that the quality of the stories does not spiral downward anymore now that Marion Zimmer Bradley is dead. There are a few really good stories, a lot of pretty decent ones, and a few that outright suck. I was looking for the quality of stories from, for example, Out of Avalon. Diane Paxton, Jennifer Roberson, etc. they are excellent authors. There just were not many of their quality in this volume. Plus the book was so small. I like to have a big book filled with stories to read. But that's just a personal preferecne I suppose and i'm not knocking off points for that. The one missing star is due to the lack of quality in a few of the stories. They are very well done for ametur authors, but perhaps not up to what Bradley may have desired if she were still around. The previus volumes are filled with absolutely wonderful tales, let us just hope that this is the runt of the series and continue upward and onward.

As usual, MZB and her able staff have collected a wide range of stories. Many old favorites are back, along with some rarely seen writers. I have to say that I was not as happy overall with the quality of the stories as I have been in previous collections. Also, their proofreading/editing department needs to shape up a bit, I have never seen so many errors in one printing. The usual short funny story for the last entry is not present, being replaced by the homily given at MZB's funeral. The good news is that, despite published story to the contrary, this is NOT the last volume planned. I hope that the quality improves for the very last one.

Unbelievable that this fantasy anthology has reached number twenty. Even more incredible is that the collection remains very fresh as the stars continue to be female practitioners of sword, spell, or both yet the underlying theme changes. This time the proposition is ?finding yourself or your true path?.Besides eighteen overall well done tales (with a few really great ones especially a mermaid ? this reviewer admits Ariel and ilk always hooks me) starring female champions from all walks of life, some of the contributions dip into other genres like mystery and horror. The introduction also provides an interesting question in which several of the authors answering that when they were younger, they wanted to be (fill in the blank). Though mostly female authors, there are a few male writers, but readers will not be able to delineate gender without checking the name. Fantasy fans of heroines will appreciate this tale that will probably introduce the audience to future greats (no predictions forthcoming but watch out for the real McCoy) as previous collections have done. Finally besides the short stories, a nineteenth finale contribution ?Homily? is the final entry in more ways than one as this is the calming words said at the funeral of the legendary Marion Zimmer Bradley who obviously is writing words of wisdom starring heavenly souls.Harriet Klausner