A review by jefffrane
The Book of Swords by Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin

4.0

I suspect this may be Gardner Dozois' last anthology, but he goes out on a strong note. Dedicated to original stories of Sword & Sorcery, it contains lots of strong stories, although a few seem to stretch the term's definition. Some are light-hearted, but Robin Hobb's "Her Father's Sword" is cold and dark. Good stuff from K. J. Parker, Matthew Hughes, and Kate Elliott. There's excellent historical S&S from C. J. Cherryh and Cecilia Holland. More good storytelling from Garth Nix, Ellen Kushner, Rich Larson and Elizabeth Bear. Truly, not a clinker in the bunch, which says a great deal about Gardner Dozois and his decades of contribution to the fields of fantasy and science fiction.