Customer Reviews

Tales Of Zorro

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Johnston McCulley is a hard act to follow. As the Creator of El Zorro, he's the champ, the master. However, these authors of Tales of Zorro do a commendable job as keepers of the flame. This book is a real treat for any Zorro fan, whether you love Guy Williams, Duncan Regehr, or Antonio Banderas, among others, in the role.
Seventeen all new stories about the adventures of Zorro are a mix of many versions from McCulley's written word to movies to Television, some written in such a graphic way you can easily imagine them as half hour TV shows much like Disney's Zorro. Some are more inventive than others, some with a unique point of view. While several are stand outs two in particular are exceptional: "Winds of Change" by Richard Dean Starr for suspense, creativity, understanding of the character, and the vernacular of McCulley, and "Colors Seen By Candlelight" by Peter David for imagination, action, romance, and a clever twist. The bold illustrations by the internationally renown Rubén Procopio are a wonderful added bonus.
There is something here for every Zorro fan. If you love the character you will love Tales of Zorro.

What a fantastic book! I love the whole package, from the Guy Williams, Jr. intro to the stories to the fantastic illustrations by Ruben Procopio- this is one thrilling rollercoaster ride!

First of all, the book looks beautiful - I have the TPB, but I need to get the hardcover. I love the anthology format(and really enjoyed Moonstone's recent Phantom book book as well). The illustrations throughout and "Z" chapter dividers just reinforce the fun. I wish there were more Procopio illustrations in there, like with the recent REH books from another publisher.
The first story I read was by newcomer Jeanne Schamberger and it really set the tone for everything I want in a Zorro story: the familar cast, some sneaky quick-changes, a clever premise and something new- in this case; pirates! The author even made some allusions to both classic Zorro and the Allende story too - and made them work.
The "Winds of Change" is brilliant tale as well. It combines a thoughtful concept with crisp, brilliant story-telling.
Kudo's to Richard Dean Starr and Moonstone for assembling such a great scope of authors..all my favorites are here: Peter David, Loren Estleman, Max Allan Collins, Bob Greenberger - -wow! Christmas came early this year!

I'm giving it an A+ and can't wait for the sequel!

I thought with so many authors I would be getting different versions of Zorro. From Guy Williams, Duncan Regehr to Antonio Banderas, but the authors seemed to have created a time line which takes a lot form Isabel Allende's story. I'm a Zorro fan that didn't care for Allende's version and decided not to read the second half of the stories from the book for this reason, and I felt that Allende's version was being pushed on me. I did enjoy the stories I did read and liked the writers' style better than Allende's. If you do like Allende's version of Zorro, I recommended this book, and even if you are not give it a try.

I heard that there should be another volume and I do hope that a different approach is taken where Allende's version isn't the dominate version. I hope they leave the time line up to the individual author, and realize that not all Zorro fans are Allende's fans and in the end the fans are the ones that decided what version they want the most.

I am a huge Zorro fan, but when I pay full price for a new book, I expect it to be proofed before it is printed. I can read fanfiction online for free if I don't mind overlooking grammatical errors and typos. This book is full of typos and it is so disturbing that I haven't finished reading all the stories. I have most of the stories read but there are a few yet I haven't read. Out of the stories I have read, there are a few pretty good ones and some that are pretty mediocre and at least one I thought was terrible.

Don't believe for a minute that Isabelle Allende contributed any stories to this book. She wrote an "Afterword" for this book which is about why she wrote her book, "Zorro." One story, "The Weeping Woman" by Greg Cox is worthwhile.

I prefer Johnston McCulley's Zorro (since he created Zorro) and the Disney Zorro was based on those stories. These stories are mostly based on other Zorro creations--like Allende's and New World Zorro.

There are a lot of people who collect all kinds of Zorro memorabilia and will have to have this book just to add to their collection.

Like all the reviewers, I'm a huge Zorro fan, from the original Disney movies to the Duncan Regehr Disney series, through the Antonio Banderas Mask of Zorro. I haven't read any of Allende's material, but I hear she is pretty much the current "standard" for Zorro fiction. I liked every single story in this book, and thought they had not only great action but also great character development. You really get a better sense of who Zorro is as a person in his "real life" rather than just the swashbuckling hero. I will mention that I read the original Mark of Zorro (Curse of Capestrano) not long before I read this book, so it was fresh in my mind while I read this. Even still, I didn't find any big contradictions or negatives in comparison. This is just a solid book all around.

Now, for the only thing I didn't like, which has been mentioned many times. The editing/proof-reading. There are indeed a lot of errors, but not so many that it turned me off of reading it. I'm removing one star for that, because Zorro deserves a better editor, but as far as the stories themselves, I have no complaints.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of excellent short stories.

Each one has captured the flavour and essence of Zorro which includes romance, adventure and action. Being a huge fan of the Zorro character I recommend this to every Zorro fan and to anyone who enjoys a good action adventures story in the short story genre.

I will now purchase the next edition of this story through Amazon.com and cant wait to recieve it.

I find TALES OF ZORRO to be an excellent collection of new stories about this beloved character. Most of Jonston McCulley's original Zorro stories -- other than his first, The Mark of Zorro -- are nigh impossible to find, so this new collection is both welcome and wonderful. Despite the different writers, the stories can be read as a single collection with a single voice. I'm looking forward to volume two which should be coming out not too far into 2010. Zorro influenced so many characters: the Lone Ranger, Batman, the Green Hornet, Superman -- I could go on. If you loved the Disney Zorro show with Guy Williams, the New World Zorro program with Duncan Regehr, or the Zorro films with Antonio Banderas -- you will love this new collection of Zorro tales.

"The Fox" has been around a lonnng time. The "Curse of Capistrano" introduced the world to Zorro. Johnston McCulley penned the legendary tale in 1918, and it took little time for Hollywood (Douglass Fairbanks) to bring him to the silent screen as the 2nd `hero' taken from popular media. (Tarzan was the first in 1918).

From that time forward, Zorro has always been in the public eye. Don Diego de La Vega has appeared in pulp magazines (McCulley), comic books (Disney, Dell, Dynamite, Gold Key, Marvel), paperbacks and hardcovers, TV (Disney, New World, new series, Filmation), and the BIG screen. Costumes, statues, and hundred s of licensed goods have borne the Zorro name. When once McCulley owned the character, Disney, then now Zorro Productions under the watchful eye of Sandra Curtis and John Gertz have been faithful guardians.

Today, Moonstone Books is the proud publisher of Zorro fiction while Dynamite publishes the Wagner/Francovilla comic book. Tales was a labor of love, and the results speak for themselves.

Sculptor Ruben Procopio supplied inspired artwork for the interior of the book while Doug Klauba and Martinez supplied excellent covers. The book includes 17 NEW pieces of fiction by writers such as Peter David, Jeff Marriotte, Robin Wayne Bailey, Greg Cox, Nancy Holdner, Elizabeth Massie, Jan Adkins, Loren Estelman, Ed Gorman, and Max Allan Collins.
The book is fantastic. Each author interprets Zorro a slightly different way, yet each story could be a TV episode unto itself.

Fans of heroic fiction will love this book. All ages will appreciate the talent and obvious love for the character. Moonstone Books is to be congratulated on this historical volume!

[...]

I have been a Zorro fan for a great many years, and was incredibly excited to hear of the release of this book, containing some of the first Zorro stories in many years. I jumped at the opportunity to order it, and as soon as I picked up my copy, began reading with great anticipation.

Sadly, however, I found my interest dropping off very quickly after finding numerous gramatical errors which took my attention away from the content of the stories. It is quite clear that the editors used a Spell Checker function on their computers when putting the book together, however no one seems to have bothered to check grammer.

I can understand one or two errors, which can be found in most every book on the market, however, by the time I got to the half way point in this book there were well over 50 such errors including places where words are repeated, left out, incorrectly used, and, worst of all, an incident where an entire sentence is reversed!!!!

Upon brining this up to the publisher via email I was promptly informed that the book "had been editted many times" and they were "very proud of the volume". Basically, my concern was brushed off.

Content wise, the stories that I was able to read were strong, and, as a Zorro fan, brought the hero back to some glory. Sadly, I only read half the book, as the constant errors were too hard for me to get past, and continually took away from the content. My 2 star rating is only here because the artwork inside is excellent, and the character is portrayed, for the most part, in a very true-to-his-roots form.