from: DAW
Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780886773021
ISBN number: 0886773024
Label: DAW
Manufacturer: DAW
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: July 01, 1986
Publishing house: DAW
Sale Popularity Level: 1443618
Studio: DAW
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Andrews, J. Edwin: "Talla" the Dragon Mistress is a healer who demands five years of service for a healing - not from the patient, but from the one who requests her services.
Andrews, Mavis J.: "The Hunters" A young human hunter is caught alone on the ice by a pack of wolf-like creatures, having killed members of their pack.
Carpenter, Melissa: "A Tale From Hendry's Mill" concerns not practical Hendry herself, but her younger daughter, an awkward, naive dreamer who accidentally attracts the attention of a passing demon. Attempts at suggesting an interesting backstory for the demon; undeveloped protagonist.
Cirone, Patricia B.: "S.A.R." A would-be-gymnast-turned thief, caught in the midst of a break-in, suddenly finds herself dropped onto a plain apparently in answer to a stranger's prayer for help. The editor's preface for this hurts more than helps.
Heydt, Dorothy J: "The Song and the Flute" A Cynthia story (Heydt having written several of them for SWORD AND SORCERESS both before this volume and in the twenty years since its original publication). Cynthia - a very opinionated Greek widow in Roman times - is quite definitely in charge of the two male magicians with whom she's fleeing across the open sea, attempting on the one hand to call up winds by magical song and on the other to avoid the Sirens. "Next time, we must be sure to steal the boat with the new *sails*, not the one with the new paint."
Johnson, Polly B.: "Fresh Blood" is needed to rejuvenate the inbred royal house of the Immortals in the Aztec-flavoured culture, but the young Ruling Princess' willingness to question even the real powers behind the throne - the priests and her chamberlain - may end in a different sort of fresh blood. One of the best stories in here.
Judith, Anodea: "The River of Tears" The Healers' Academy has no set length for training; Subhana, near the end of her strength after four years, must still fight for the life of a patient whose condition has been aggravated by the stress of dealing with a cruel husband.
Kenin, Millea: "Scarlet Eyes" The protagonist is a sorceress who has fled an arranged marriage by escaping into a previous incarnation - confusing both for her famous ancestor and for her, since the history books didn't record *everything*.
Kramer-Rolls, Dana: "Journeytime" The very junior priestess Esme, sent out to collect taxes along the border with a dangerous neighbouring kingdom, learns not only about the lives of common soldiers but of the wheels within wheels of temple politics and schism.
Lackey, Mercedes: "Sword Sworn" One of Lackey's very first two professional sales (see also FREE AMAZONS OF DARKOVER), this very first Tarma and Kethry story can also be found in OATHBLOOD. Rape/revenge story, with the complication that in Tarma's culture a bloodfeud can be pursued only by priests/priestesses devoted to the clans as a whole.
Moon, Elizabeth: Set in the world of THE DEED OF PAKSENARRION, the protagonists get very good "Bargains" on their purchases in the market. But you get what you pay for...
Overstreet, A.D.: "Enter the Wolf" - the only fighting-age survivor of The Pack (elite fighting unit with overtones of priestesshood), who has been sent out on her First Quest to regain two sacred charges: a religious relic and the child prince whose bodyguard she should rightly be. Worth reading but awkward in places, e.g. how a lone survivor could get as far as the protagonist does if veterans could be destroyed so easily.
Paxson, Diana L.: Shanna (see volumes I, II) and Chai (introduced in "Sky Sister", see MOONSINGER'S FRIENDS) are lost in "The Mist on the Moor", where two strange oldsters set them odd tests in exchange for healing Shanna's horse.
Roberson, Jennifer: "Valley of the Shadow" Reminiscent of Roberson's very first Sword-Dancer short story (which appeared in another volume of these anthologies) as a very dangerous woman attracts the admiration of two assassins in a tavern.
Saunders, Charles R.: Separated from her war-bull in strange country, Dossouye follows him into "Marwe's Forest" where each of them for a time finds companionship. Dossouye (introduced in a previous volume) is a warrior of Abomey wandering the world after surviving a catastrophe her religion says should have killed her.
Tafoya, Terry: "Tupilak" is a shaman's construct that must be animated by the shaman's own soul - the only spell that might make the murderer of the protagonist's father vulnerable to revenge. But she's also his only teacher in the ways of becoming an Inuit shaman...
Waters, Elisabeth: "A Woman's Privilege" The fates of the shape-changer Acila and her mentally-afflicted brother hang on whether they can together defeat a conqueror seeking to murder one sibling and marry the other.
Wheeler, Deborah: A nature-wizard is ... Read More
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This is Marion Zimmer Bradley's third anthology of sword and sorcery fiction devoted to stories where women are the protagonists. They come in many forms, warriors, thieves, mages, healers, wise-women, adventurers and wanderers. MZB sticks to her guns throughout-these are not romances, nor are they stories where women are the sidekicks, or simply women to be overcome by a more powerful male. Instead, this anthology holds a wide range of stories, and an infinitely wide range of heroines. Since the very first Sword and Sorceress anthology, these stories became increasingly popular, so that MZB had received rampant submissions for this third anthology from hopeful writers. Most of her intro delves into her editing methods, and what she expects from a story. Readers get to see a bit of the process behind selection, as well as MZB's sharp and humorous personality that I personally found delightful.
MZB once more serves up a range of voices; from familiar returning favorites, to brand new very first sales. Probably one of the most noteworthy new authors, in my opinion, is Mercedes Lackey. "Sword Sworn" is, I believe, Misty's debut as a published author, and is certainly the very first introduction to her unforgettable mercenary heroines, Tarma and Kethry who are the protagonists of Lackey's later novels; OATHBOUND and OATHBREAKERS. Lackey has gone on to quite a career since then, but even this very first short story showcases her talents as a writer. As to returning favorites, MZB has included an interesting tale of a dragon and a young nature-wizard "Dragon Amber" by Deborah Wheeler (noteworthy, in part because Bradley tends to dislike any sort of `cliché' dragon story), "Valley of Shadow" by Jennifer Roberson, "Journeytime" by Dana Kramer-Rolls, "Marwe's Forest" by Charles Saunders, and "The Mist on the Moor" by Diana L. Paxson.
"Journeytime" by Dana Kramer-Rolls, "The River of Tears" by Anodea Judith, and "Sword Sworn" by Mercedes Lackey are more serious ventures, dealing with the transformation of character and the journey, both physical and spiritual, these characters make. Unlike her very first two anthologies, number three has a greater number of serious stories, the balance of humour is not as prevalent, still there are one or two that lighten the mood. "Orpheus" by Mary Frances Zambreno is about an unusual pair of women adventurers sent to retrieve a soul from the underworld, and "Bargains" by Elizabeth Moon where the bargains in question, may be no bargain at all.
Among my favorites is "A Tale From Hendry's Mill" by Melisa Carpenter, an interesting take on the `rape and revenge' theme, and one very likable heroine. "More's the Pity" by L. D. Woeltjen is a haunting tale that works its spell very effectively in a few short pages. As mentioned above, "Sword Sworn" by Mercedes Lackey is her introduction to two female mercenaries, and a powerful story of both sword and sorcery-and vengeance. Perhaps the most intriguing story is Jennifer Roberson's "Valley of the Shadow". It's one you'll just have to read.
All of the stories in this anthology are strongly written and well selected, although there are quite a few longer, more serious pieces than in the last two anthologies. I still consider this collection worth five stars, but could have wished for one or two shorter humorous pieces interspersed in the mix. For any reader who enjoys reading stories about women in fantasy, this is definitely a good place to find them! If you have read this anthology and have enjoyed it, I highly recommend finding the very first two anthologies-they're just as well written!
Happy reading! ^_^ --shanshad
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I would like to write a review but I can not find the book at any library or at any stores. Can somebody please help me out.
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