Epic [Paperback]

John Joseph Adams (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2012

From the creation myths and quest sagas of ancient times to the megapopular fantasy novels of today, this quintessential anthology of epic fantasy is adventurous storytelling at its best. With rich and vibrant world building, readers are transported to antiquated realms to witness noble sacrifices and astonishing wonders. Gathering a comprehensive survey of beloved stories from the genre, this compilation includes stories by such luminaries as George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robin Hobb, and Tad Williams. Inspiring and larger-than-life, these tales offer timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil and express mankind’s greatest hopes and fears.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The best anthology I read this year. ... I highly recommend Epic: Legends of Fantasy for all lovers of epic fantasy fiction. You will not be disappointed." -Fantasy Literature

"Ultimately, the shrewdness of Adams' choices in putting the book together comes through. ... Adams achieves a repositioning of the definition of epic fantasy, one that renders it both more accessible and more vital." -Green Man Review

"At over 600 pages, Epic: Legends of Fantasy will definitely get you your money's worth and the seventeen stories inside will help satisfy your epic fantasy cravings, or possibly leave you wanting more." —www.blog.42SciFi-Fantasy.com

"For newcomers and fans of the genre, this solid collection offers a strong sampler of short fiction by 17 masters and rising stars of epic fantasy. . . . An excellent showcase of epic fantasy at its best." —Library Journal (December 2012)

"Epic: Legends of Fantasy is both wonderful PR for the genre and a gateway drug to whole new realms." —www.CityBookReview.com

About the Author

John Joseph Adams, called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble, is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as OZ REIMAGINED, THE MAD SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION, EPIC: LEGENDS OF FANTASY, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, ARMORED, UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS: NEW ADVENTURES ON BARSOOM, LIGHTSPEED: YEAR ONE, BRAVE NEW WORLDS, WASTELANDS, THE LIVING DEAD, THE LIVING DEAD 2, BY BLOOD WE LIVE, FEDERATIONS, THE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, and THE WAY OF THE WIZARD. He is a four-time finalist for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is the co-host of Wired.com's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. Forthcoming anthologies include WASTELANDS 2 (Night Shade Books, 2013) and ROBOT UPRISINGS (Doubleday, 2014). Find him online at johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Tachyon Publications (October 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616960841
• ISBN-13: 978-1616960841
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Joseph Adams, called "the reigning king of the anthology world" by Barnes & Noble, is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as OZ REIMAGINED, THE MAD SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION, EPIC: LEGENDS OF FANTASY, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, ARMORED, UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS: NEW ADVENTURES ON BARSOOM, LIGHTSPEED: YEAR ONE, BRAVE NEW WORLDS, WASTELANDS, THE LIVING DEAD, THE LIVING DEAD 2, BY BLOOD WE LIVE, FEDERATIONS, THE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, and THE WAY OF THE WIZARD. He is a four-time finalist for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is the co-host of Wired.com's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. Forthcoming anthologies include WASTELANDS 2 (Night Shade Books, 2013) and ROBOT UPRISINGS (Doubleday, 2014). Find him online at johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent anthology for every fantasy fan's bookshelf February 13, 2013

By Ryan

Format:Kindle Edition

We all love our epic fantasy. Hundreds of pages, hundreds of thousands of words, multi-volume series. Epic: Legends of Fantasy was put together by acclaimed anthology editor John Joseph Adams, and is his attempt to try and capture as many facets of epic fantasy as possible. This is the biggest anthology I have ever read, almost twice the size of any other anthologies I read, and I think it is also one of the best epic fantasy anthologies I have ever read.

Epic: Legends of Fantasy contains an insightful foreward by Brent Weeks, and seventeen "short" stories, ranging from 10 to 100 pages in length, from some of the biggest names in modern epic fantasy. These names and their contributions are:

Robin Hobb - Homecoming
Ursula K. Le Guin - The Word of Unbinding
Tad WIlliams - The Burning Man
Aliette de Bodard - As The Wheel Turns
Paolo Bacigalupi - The Alchemist
Orson Scott Card - Sandmagic
Patrick Rothfuss - The Road to Levinshir
Brandon Sanderson - Rysn
Michael Moorcock - While the Gods Laugh
Melanie Rawn - Mother of All Russia
Kate Elliott - Riding the Shore of the River of Death
Mary Robinette Kowal - Bound Man
N. K. Jemisin - The Narcomancer
Carrie Vaughn - Strife Lingers in Memory
Trudi Canavan - The Mad Apprentice
Juliet Marillier - Otherling
George R. R. Martin - The Mystery Knight

If you are looking through this list and thinking that some of these stories sound familiar, then you would be right. This collection is made up entirely of reprinted stories, most being from this decade, but some going back as far as the 60's (Moorcock and Le Guin).... Other stories are lifted directly from the novel (Rysn by Sanderson is an interlude from The Way of Kings, while The Road to Levinshir by Rothfuss is the version that appeared in The Wise Man's Fear, not the version that appeared in Writers of the Future). Some of these stories are set in the same universes created by these authors, and some are just great stories in no way connected to any other works the authors have produced. The result is a fantastic mix of new and old, familiar and unfamiliar, but all falling under that overarching title of epic fantasy.

Homecoming by Robin Hobb is an excellent start to this anthology and one of my favourite stories. The story is set in the Rain Wilds and is a story of survival as told through the pages of a diary. I was very disappointed with the offerings from Le Guin, Williams, and Elliott - these stories are not great stories, and are not a reflection of how good these writers actually are. I was disappointed in the offerings from Sanderson and Rothfuss, not because they were bad but because they were lifted directly from their novels - they are great samples of how good these guys can write, but as stories they struggle to stand alone from the main novel. Card, Moorcock, Rawn, Vaughn and Marillier all submitted solid, entertaining stories that also showcase their writing ability, and the anthology closes with the very classy The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin - the third tale from his Dunk and Egg series (set 89 years before the events of A Game of Thrones).

There were some stories in this anthology that stand out far above the rest of the pack. Aliette de Bodard is the only author in this anthology I had never heard of before, but her story As The Wheel Turns is a brilliant retelling of a Taoist legend and has really made me interested in finding more of her work. The Narcomancer by N. K. Jemisin and Bound Man by Mary Robinette Kowal are equally brilliant in developing such rich characters in a small space of time and really making you feel for them before shoving them straight into the meat grinder, turning the handle, and seeing what comes out. But the stand out story in this anthology is The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi, a highly acclaimed novella about a young man trying to develop a machine to fight the deadly poisonous bramble that is slowly taking over his world and grows bigger every time someone uses magic.

Epic: Legends of Fantasy is an anthology that would fit nicely upon the shelf of any fantasy reader. John Joseph Adams should definitely be congratulated for managing to get the rights to all of these fantastic stories. If you haven't read some or any of these authors before, then this anthology (with the exception of Le Guin, Williams and Elliott) will definitely help you to decide whether or not you should pick up other works by these authors. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Mixed Collection April 26, 2013

By Steven Woodcock

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Let's be clear from the start--I really *wanted* to like this collection a lot.

I am a big fan of fantasy short story collections. When this one popped up on my radar I figured it would make an excellent addition to the Tanglewood library and placed it on the Short List for ordering.

It's definitely mixed. There are some excellent stories in here ("The Alchemist" has a wonderfully different take on magic and "Sandmagic" is a fine tale of revenge) and some that frankly just didn't make much sense to me ("The Word of Unbinding"). Most fell somewhere in the middle for me--moderately enjoyable as I read them, but more-or-less forgettable as I began the next story. I only skipped a couple and in looking at those as I write this I do note those are from authors I've not enjoyed much in the past, so perhaps it's just a writing style thing.

Of course that's the point of a collection like this, and your mileage may vary. Not a bad collection, just not what I would call "epic".

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it. January 9, 2013

By Chris

Format:Kindle Edition

I enjoyed it. Its pretty hard to say I loved it but they were good stories. I'm going to check out several of the authors further

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Stories Are Better Than Others January 3, 2013

By Night Owl Reviews

Format:Paperback

I love fantasy books. J.R.R. Tolkien and George R R Martin are two of my favorite authors ever. So when I heard George was going to be writing one of the stories in this anthology I jumped on the chance to review it right away.

Like any anthology there are some stories in this book I liked better than others, but over all this was an amazing book.

My only problem with this book was that only half of the stories could stand-alone.

Review by: Aquaflame64 / © Night Owl Reviews / Full Review on NOR Website

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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stories December 27, 2012

By Arelbee

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fantastic stories from the best authors around. They leave you wanting more. This is a must have for fantasy fans.