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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderfully eclectic volume of fantasy writing, August 11, 2000
This review is from: My Favorite Fantasy Story (Paperback)
I enjoyed last year's predecessor volume, My Favorite Science Fiction Story, but this volume is even better. The premise is that eighteen bestselling fantasy writers were asked to pick their all-time favorite fantasy story (by another writer). The result is a very eclectic assortment of tales. Most of these stories I had never seen before (even though I had read other stories by the same authors), but the most enjoyable part was reading the introductions, and discovering why each author picked the story he or she did. I loved M. John Harrison's story "The Dancer from the Dance," but I think I liked it more than I would have otherwise, just because Stephen Donaldson's very evocative introduction sets the stage so well. Also, I have always loved Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" stories, and I loved reading Robert Silverberg and George R. R. Martin each explaining why they chose a different story from that book, and seeing how their opinions closely mirrored my own. Neil Gaiman chose a story by R. A. Lafferty that I had never read before. Not only did I love the story, but it also made me reexamine some of Gaiman's own work, and think about the ways which Lafferty might have influenced his writing. If you are looking for the fantasy found in endless volumes of Tolkein ripoffs and Jordan wannabes, this is not the book for you. (Even Margaret Weis, who has often been a guilty practitioner of the aforementioned, picks a beautiful story by Charles Dickens to introduce.) But if you are looking for one of the most interesting and well-rounded collections of first-rate fantasy literature to be found in print today, you should buy this book.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Fantasy Anthology, September 12, 2000
This review is from: My Favorite Fantasy Story (Paperback)
This is a very good fantasy anthology. It's got excellent stories like 'Troll Bridge' by Pratchett, 'Stealing God' by Doyle & Macdonald, 'Liane the Wayfarer' by Vance, 'More Spinned Against' by Wyndham, and the classic 'Unicorn Variations' by Zelazny. Not all of the stories are excellent. I didn't enjoy the older ones (I always have a difficult time with pre-1900 fantasy) by Ingelow, Dickens, or M.R. James. The Harrison story had so much information in it that it was difficult to follow. What makes this anthology stand out from others are the short introductions given by other authors in which they explain why they enjoy that particular story. They don't always go into great detail (Marion Zimmer Bradley and Tanya Huff wrote very short pieces, but the intros by Donaldson and George R.R. Martin were particularly interesting. This anthology brought several good stories to my attention that I likely would never have otherwise read, notably the Wyndham and Doyle/Macdonald pieces. There's a lot of good fiction in here for a low price. Check it out.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed it Very Much, December 6, 2010
I have always loved Fairy Tales and short stories, and this book did not disappoint. My favorite tale in this anthology was Mopsa the Fairy, and wish I could find more stories like it! I love the turn of the century (late 1800's) fancy that filled this story. The stories were engaging and covered a wide variety of styles. I'd love to see another made with the same premise. I'd opt for the cheaper paperback version though, this one seems a bit high priced.
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