Scott Abbott

This book collects the various short stories MZB wrote about the mage Lythande. It's an excellent collection with stories written over the last 20 years of Bradley's life.

As might be expected with a collection of thinly-connected stories written over such a long time, there are continuity issues. The actual world Lythande inhabits fluctuates, from two or more secondary worlds to some version of our world and back. It's occasionally jarring, but the stories aren't about world-building anyway - a minor annoyance.

More annoying is the constant re-stating of Lythande's backstory & situation. Of course it's completely understandable and was really unavoidable - each story was published somewhere different for a potentially new audience, and Bradley did a fine job of bringing the necessary facts to each story in a different way. So, another minor annoyance really.

The editing, proofreading, and formatting are truly first rate in the ebook edition I received. Much appreciation to Elisabeth Waters, Judith Tarr, and Vonda N. McIntyre!

Overall it's a pleasant collection of mostly short, simple stories centered around a decent character finding interesting situations. Definitely recommended.

Note: I recieved this book free for an honest review.

Simply the best collection of novellas I've ever read. The least of these stories is outstanding; the best are masterpieces. An absolute must-read for any fan of hard SF.

Three hundred pages of people talking about what's about to happen, fifty pages of it happening, another hundred pages of people talking about what just happened.

I want my money back.

This series just gets better and better with each book. Don't know how Butcher does it!

A master work, best book I've read in recent years.