The Crafters [Paperback]

Christopher Stasheff (Author), Bill Fawcett (Author)

Book Description

Series: Crafters | Publication Date: December 1, 1991

Every family has a special heirloom that's passed from generation to generation, and the Crafters' heirloom is their magical power--and the family familiar, Willow. Weaving the legend of witches, warlocks, and alchemists with original stories are Christopher Stasheff, Katherine Kurtz, Esther Friesner, and others. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace (December 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441121306
• ISBN-13: 978-0441121304
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars good and nice book for a rainy afternoon, April 24, 2010

By 

Ruby J. Curtis "fantasylover" (Gadsden,Al USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crafters (Paperback)

The Crafters is a nice fantasy book to curl on the couch or sofa on a rainy afternoon and drift away into the stories. Each author brings a little more information to the different characters and the book along with its sequel is faced paced to keep your head in the book blocking out the world.

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun summer read. Good, entertaining SF fluff, July 3, 2006

By 

Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crafters (Paperback)

Not EVERY book has to be deep and meaningful. When you're in the mood for a lightweight "just entertain me," this set of short stories will do the trick.

The Crafters (and its sequel, brilliantly named Crafters II) is a "shared universe" novel, a subgenre that was popular in the late 80s and into the early 90s, when this book came out. (The most successful of the Shared Universes was Thieves World.) Essentially, it's magical historical fantasy, short tales that follow the history of a family starting in the 1600s and continuing (in this first book) into the 1800s. The family rejects the label of "witchcraft," because by their definition that means a pact with the devil; their Talent is guided by alchemy and science.

As with any set of short stories, the quality is uneven based on the contributor, and there are a occasional discrepancies. But none of these stories is a clinker. The authors who contributed include names that later became much better known, or were "names" at the time: Katherine Kurtz, Christopher Stasheff, Robert Scheckley, Esther Friesner, Ru Emerson, Jody Lynn Nye.

There's nothing deep in this set of stories, but they're fun: a good accompaniment to a beach chair and a cold beer. Don't go WAY out of your way to get a copy of this book (though I see that Amazon has plenty of used copies for very little money), but it's worth picking up if the opportunity presents itself.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection, November 16, 2003

By 

starschylde "ancientmyst" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crafters (Paperback)

Awesome, vivid and a very unique collaberation. Not much in fiction grabs my fancy the way that this book did. If you like history, witchcraft, suspense and even romance, this is an awesome read!