A review by perpetualgloom
Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery by Michael Moorcock, Garth Nix, Robert Silverberg, Jonathan Strahan, Scott Lynch, Michael Shea, Glen Cook, C.J. Cherryh, K.J. Parker, Gene Wolfe, Tim Lebbon, Tanith Lee, Caitlín R. Kiernan, James Enge, Lou Anders, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Greg Keyes, Bill Willingham

3.0

A mixed bag, as any short story collection is naturally going to be. Some contributors (Joe Abercrombie, K. J. Parker, Scott Lynch, Steven Erikson) provide the succintly written, character driven stories that make modern sword and sorcery fun. By contrast, the contributions of the old masters who've been included - Glen Cook and Michael Moorcock, for whom I've never really managed to develop a soft spot - just reminded me how far this sub genre has come from the days of purple prose and cliched, half finished characters.