When the Hero Comes Home [Paperback]

Gabrielle Harbowy (Editor), Ed Greenwood (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2011

HEROES come in a thousand guises, and so do stories about them. The only survivor of a war struggles to return to a home that doesn’t exist anymore. A rebel leader loses everything she fought for and must start from scratch. A hero who has fought for her village her whole life must retire into obscurity without ever being known for her deeds. A starship returns to an Earth that is much changed, yet too much the same. A soldier is haunted by the very thing that saved his life. And King Arthur returns in Albion’s hour of need. Dark fantasy. Urban fantasy. Political intrigue. Science fiction. From the horrific to the heartwarming. Introducing 19 pulse-pounding tales, by luminaries and great new voices. Co-edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood. Featuring an introduction by Susan J. Morris. Stories by Marie Bilodeau, Steve Bornstein, Xander Briggs, Erik Buchanan, Brian Cortijo, Erik Scott de Bie, J.M. Frey, Ed Greenwood, Gabrielle Harbowy, Jim C. Hines, Chris A. Jackson, Rosemary Jones, Julie Kagawa, Jay Lake, Todd McCaffrey, J.P. Moore, Peadar Ó Guilín, Shannon Page, Tony Pi, Phil Rossi

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Dragon Moon Press (June 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897492251
• ISBN-13: 978-1897492253
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,673,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection June 21, 2011

By Andrew Jack

Format:Kindle Edition

When The Hero Comes Home edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood, was a real surprise. I expected it to be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be as moving as it was. This is a perfect example of how an anthology of stories should work, individual tales tied together by a cohesive theme.

When The Hero Comes Home looks at the aftermath of various heroic battles and daring deeds, something that contemporary fantasy rarely does. In doing so the authors use the fantasy setting to examine some very real world issues like PTSD and the ways that trauma can change us.

Moving as the anthology was, don't think that it's all doom and gloom, some of the stories are pure fun, and even the more serious tales manage to find a glimmer of hope for the protagonists. I think this is a big part of what makes When The Hero Comes Home so good; it would have been easy to make every one of the stories inside an angst fest, or to write off the traumas the characters have gone through as trivial but all of the stories handle the fine line well.

The stories all have a fantasy setting, but within that catch all term there are a wide variety of settings and themes. Whether it's the dragon with a penchant for rescuing damsels in Full Circle by Steve Bornstein (which has a fantastically well crafted twist to it) or the "just this side of real life" tale The Evil That Remains by Erik Buchanan; When The Hero Comes Home has something for everyone. There's even a goblins and zombies tale that really does not play out the way you'd expect (The Blue Corpse Corps by Jim C Hines).

There's a sentence I never thought I'd type.

There's also a story in there called The Legend Of Gluck by Marie Bilodeau. If a title that awesome doesn't interest you then you're dead to me.*

I struggled with this review, because there really is nothing bad to say about When The Hero Comes Home, except that I wish I'd written some of these stories, and that I wish there were more of them. I also wish I could go into detail about all the stories contained within; rest assured that they are all excellent. Dragon Moon Pres has outdone themselves with this one.

Highly Recommended.

* OK, dead might be a little harsh. Badly injured at least

N.B This review was originally posted on [...]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Part of the Story You Never Hear August 16, 2011

By Leah Petersen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's not what you usually think of, is it? What happens to the hero after it's all over. But that's the subject of the utterly fantastic anthology When the Hero Comes Home, edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood. I came to this knowing I'd like at least some of it, because Gabrielle is an incredible editor and I already love JM Frey's writing. What I didn't expect is that I would like--that I would love--all of it. (OK, total honesty, I have no stomach for zombies, so the little bit of that in a couple of stories, I didn't like, but I'm clearly in the minority with the zombie-ickies, so don't mind me.)

There's such a wonderful diversity in these stories. Sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, it's definitely a new experience with every story. And there are some real flashes of brilliance in here.

Keeping Time by Gabrielle Harbowy I read first, because she's my editor and I idolize her but I'd never read anything by her. I was so pleasantly surprised, both by the compelling storytelling and by the ending. The Once and Now-ish King by JM Frey I jumped to next, since I already love her debut novel, Triptych. That. One. Rocks. So insanely clever and funny.

There's such raw, real humanity--and inhumanity--in The Evil that Remains by Erik Buchanan. Brine Magic by Tony Pi was unique, fascinating, and moving. One and Twenty Summers by Brian Cortijo left me gasping for more--and those were not tears, really they weren't. But, Brian, when you write more of this one, I want first dibs.

The imagery and emotion of Ashes of the Bonfire Queen by Rosemary Jones was so real that I find myself still thinking of it, feeling it, more than a week later. Mirror Mirror by Phil Rossi was such a creepy-realistic look at the human psyche and the things we do and are capable of. And if I'm ever capable of writing the rich prose Erik Scott de Bie does in Oathbreaker, a Tale of the World of Ruin, I'll die a happy writer. The best part of that one wasn't just the beautiful drapery, but the way it revealed a fascinating story set in a world far more well-imagined than you usually expect in a short.

Full Circle, by Steve Bornstein, may well be my secret favorite. I'm a sucker for a well-told second person POV and this one is pitch perfect. Steve also builds an great story from very little real info to start on, letting the surprise unfurl with the story, without leaving you scratching your head wondering what's going on. Just the delicious thrill of I-know-I'm-going-to-love-this-as-soon-as-I-figure-it-out.

Those aren't all the great things about this anthology, or even the best, simply the ones that stick out to me over a week later when I finally had a chance to write this review. Don't do yourself the disservice of missing this one. It's an amazing experience.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Short-Story Collection June 23, 2011

By Ryan Mcfadden

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't read short stories...usually. This one piqued my interest based around a cool theme. I thought it might have one or two good stories, then a lot of filler -- but fortunately, they were all top notch. The stories (by a mix of shared-world veterans and Cdn authors) are all excellent...such that I found I wanted to tell people about the plots or characters -- that special moment when you HAVE to share the experience with someone. A few really jumped out at me: J.M. Frey's story was pure genius (both touching and hilarious), Jim C Hines with his Jib the Goblin was a frolicking (yes, I just said frolicking) good read, Marie Bilodeau and The Legend of Gluck...well the story is as good as the title, Julie Kagawa...yeah, see, I could list all of them.