Warriors
(Book)

The title of this massive anthology implies a binding military-sf theme, but actually the book is an essay in providing lots of different genres between one set of covers. Happily, it's entirely successful. There really is something for everybody in it. Joe R. Lansdale has a straight history-cum-mystery about the Buffalo Soldiers, among other things. Naomi Novik eschews dragons in favor of bioengineering on a distant planet too distant for the characters' comfort. Steven Saylor goes back before Gordianus the Finder's era to the fall of Carthage, regarded from the Carthaginian perspective. Lawrence Block forsakes Matthew Scudder to present a very odd young lady of easy virtue. Likewise, Carrie Vaughan's character herein isn't really a werewolf but a member of the WWII WASP. Both S. M. Stirling and David Weber hew closer to standard military-sf than many others; both are complete masters of it, of course, who have ever so slightly pushed its limits. And both editors contribute, Dozois a classy last-survivor piece, and Martin a sidebar to his Ice and Fire saga.--Green, Roland Copyright 2010 Booklist

For this mammoth collection, 20 award-winning, bestselling authors (including the editors) were commissioned to write original stories about warriors, with no other parameters. The result is an unpredictable assortment, where SF and fantasy rub elbows with mystery, historical, and military fiction, and even a western. The Vikings of Cecilia Holland's "The King of Norway," the secret community in Howard Waldrop's WWI tale, "Ninieslando," and the rogue AIs in Dozois's own "Recidivist" provide a little something for everyone. Urban fantasy author Carrie Vaughn turns in "The Girls from Avenger," a straight historical piece about female WWII pilots, while historical fantasist Naomi Novik's "Seven Years from Home" is pure SF. There are a few clunkers, but on the whole, the editors succeed admirably in their mission to break down genre barriers and focus on pure entertainment. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This anthology of midlength fiction by prominent authors follows a pattern set by staple genre collections 999 (horror) and Legends (fantasy). In this case, though, star editors Martin (A Game of Thrones) and Dozois have chosen to work with a theme. The result is an eclectic mix of straight fiction, historical fiction, noir, sf, and epic fantasy novellas, each focused on a central warrior figure. All are worth reading, but the standouts are Lawrence Block's "Clean Slate," about a woman fighting her past; "Out Of The Dark" by David Weber, military SF with a twist; "The Girls From Avenger" by Carrie Vaughn, featuring a WASP searching for the truth of her friend's death; and "My Name Is Legion" by David Morrell, a tale from the real history of the French Foreign Legion. Verdict The collection is already much anticipated by fans of Diana Gabaldon and Martin for two stories set in their respective series worlds ("The Custom of the Army" and "The Mystery Knight," respectively) but would be well worth purchasing even without them. The many different styles and genres give it broad appeal. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Karl G. Siewert, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The title of this massive anthology implies a binding military-sf theme, but actually the book is an essay in providing lots of different genres between one set of covers. Happily, it's entirely successful. There really is something for everybody in it. Joe R. Lansdale has a straight history-cum-mystery about the Buffalo Soldiers, among other things. Naomi Novik eschews dragons in favor of bioengineering on a distant planet—too distant for the characters' comfort. Steven Saylor goes back before Gordianus the Finder's era to the fall of Carthage, regarded from the Carthaginian perspective. Lawrence Block forsakes Matthew Scudder to present a very odd young lady of easy virtue. Likewise, Carrie Vaughan's character herein isn't really a werewolf but a member of the WWII WASP. Both S. M. Stirling and David Weber hew closer to standard military-sf than many others; both are complete masters of it, of course, who have ever so slightly pushed its limits. And both editors contribute, Dozois a classy last-survivor piece, and Martin a sidebar to his Ice and Fire saga.

This anthology of midlength fiction by prominent authors follows a pattern set by staple genre collections 999 (horror) and Legends (fantasy). In this case, though, star editors Martin (A Game of Thrones) and Dozois have chosen to work with a theme. The result is an eclectic mix of straight fiction, historical fiction, noir, sf, and epic fantasy novellas, each focused on a central warrior figure. All are worth reading, but the standouts are Lawrence Block's "Clean Slate," about a woman fighting her past; "Out Of The Dark" by David Weber, military SF with a twist; "The Girls From Avenger" by Carrie Vaughn, featuring a WASP searching for the truth of her friend's death; and "My Name Is Legion" by David Morrell, a tale from the real history of the French Foreign Legion. Verdict The collection is already much anticipated by fans of Diana Gabaldon and Martin for two stories set in their respective series worlds ("The Custom of the Army" and "The Mystery Knight," respectively) but would be well worth purchasing even without them. The many different styles and genres give it broad appeal. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Karl G. Siewert, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib. Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

For this mammoth collection, 20 award-winning, bestselling authors (including the editors) were commissioned to write original stories about warriors, with no other parameters. The result is an unpredictable assortment, where SF and fantasy rub elbows with mystery, historical, and military fiction, and even a western. The Vikings of Cecilia Holland's "The King of Norway," the secret community in Howard Waldrop's WWI tale, "Ninieslando," and the rogue AIs in Dozois's own "Recidivist" provide a little something for everyone. Urban fantasy author Carrie Vaughn turns in "The Girls from Avenger," a straight historical piece about female WWII pilots, while historical fantasist Naomi Novik's "Seven Years from Home" is pure SF. There are a few clunkers, but on the whole, the editors succeed admirably in their mission to break down genre barriers and focus on pure entertainment. (Mar.)