Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy

Reviewed by Jeannine R. Burkholder on 07/13/2008 Fantasy stories ignite the imagination in ways that realistic fiction can not. Characters are larger than life. Conflicts mean life and death - often for an entire race or culture. In this collection, editors Dann and Dozois, have collected unpublished short stories from a variety of well-known fantasy authors. Each story is about a wizard, but rarely do they appear in the pointed hat and starry cape (like the one on the cover of the book): * Orson Scott Card introduces us to the mages of the elements, who draw their power and their forms from nature. * Mary Rosenblum creates a magical world of colorful auras and a mysterious villain, threatened with oblivion by the real mask they wear. * Terry Dowling takes us to a special school, where students make choices that affect not only their own magical power and abilities, but those around them as well. * Journey through Hell and talk to the devil with stories from Andy Duncan and from Terry Bisson. There is no way to give proper accolades to every story and author represented in this book. Pick up the book and choose one of the excellently crafted stories to embark on a magical mini-vacation today! There are 18 destinations to choose from; a little something to suit every fantasy reader.

You may think you know wizards. You may think you know magic. But the wizards in these stories just might have a few surprising tricks up their sleeves. "The Witch's Headstone" contains a dead sorceress who's more kind than creepy, despite the warnings to the contrary. "Holly and Iron" centers around an ancient magical battle where one unprepared woman could unite or destroy two races. In "The Ruby Incomparable" the only daughter of Good and Evil has mastered most of the secrets of the universe, but she can't understand her own mother. In "Winter's Wife" money is no match for the power of magic. The list goes on, and each story will make you rethink what you thought you knew. Or maybe confirm it. Some of the authors you'll recognize. Some may be completely new. All of them have found a fan in me. I'll be the first to admit I usually dislike collections of short stories. I feel like I'm being cheated if they're good, and fooled if they're not. Another thing I had to rethink after reading this book. I fell back in love with the authors that I knew, learned more about ones that I'd only heard of, and discovered brand new obsessions. This is a must for fantasy fans, and a great introduction for newcomers. Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

I am only halfway through the book but I already love every stories so far. I loan it from the library but will have to buy one now for my "reference" Sci-Fi/Fantasy shelf. Absolutely the best I've read, are there more like these colletions out there? If you know please let me know!!!

A great short story is a gem, a perfectly shaped, intriguing work of art, crafted by a master. You may think writing a full length book is harder, but the short story form is the rock that's sunk many a lesser author's creative ship. And then, there's this collection. Each story is written by a master at his peak; Neil Gaiman, Kage Baker, Jane Yolen, etcetera. I couldn't tell you each one is better than the last, as it would imply somehow there was a lesser tale in the bunch. Instead, I'll say that this is a lovely necklace of wonderful tales about wizards written by people who are wizards in their own right. Prepare yourself to be amused, charmed, delighted and transported.