Art of War: Anthology for Charity
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
How do you get forty fantasy authors to contribute short stories for a war-themed anthology without paying them? It sounds as if there should be a good punchline to that, but all Petros Triantafyllou did was twist the moral thumbscrews and tell them all the profits would go to Doctors Without Borders, a charity that works tirelessly across the world to alleviate the effects of conflict, sickness and poverty. So, with clear consciences, several busloads of excellent and acclaimed fantasy authors have applied themselves to the task of penning a veritable mountain of words on the subject of The Art of War, expect bloodshed, gore, pathos, insight, passion, and laughs. Maybe even a wombat. Who knows. Anyway, as the original blurb said: "It's good. Buy it." -Mark Lawrence Featuring: Mark Lawrence, Ed Greenwood, Brian Staveley, Miles Cameron, John Gwynne, Sebastien De Castell, Mitchell Hogan, Stan Nicholls, Andrew Rowe, C.T. Phipps, Rob J. Hayes, Nicholas Eames, Mazarkis Williams, Ben Galley, Michael R. Fletcher, Graham Austin-King, Ed McDonald, Anna Stephens, Anna Smith Spark, RJ Barker, Michael R. Miller, Benedict Patrick, Sue Tingey, Dyrk Ashton, Steven Kelliher, Timandra Whitecastle, Laura M Hughes, J.P. Ashman, M.L. Spencer, Steven Poore, Brandon Draga, D. Thourson Palmer, D.M. Murray, Anne Nicholls, R.B. Watkinson, Charles F Bond, Ulff Lehmann, Thomas R. Gaskin, Zachary Barnes & Nathan Boyce. With a Foreword by Brian D. Anderson. Print version includes 40 black & white interior art pieces.
Reviews with the most likes.
Short story anthologies are almost always a great way to get a good introduction to a lot of different authors and this one here is an absolute cracker! 40 stories on the theme of war by a who's who of the best fantasy authors out there today. Added to that this is all for a fantastic cause as all money raised is going to MSF.
The short stories themselves are on the whole extremely good - probably one of the best quality collections I have read. They all provide a great bite sized chunk of story (I found them the perfect length to read on my 20 minute bus ride to work). As with any collection there are some variability in quality (and peoples taste may vary) but I found there were very few stories I actively disliked compared to the ones I enjoyed. Generally I found the ones by the authors I knew already to be easier to read, but this often because I am already familiar with their writing style/worlds.
The theme of war can be a bit bleak, but the way you digest the collection can help here - again a short story collection is great for just taking one story at a time.
Buy this for the good charity cause if nothing else, but the stories themselves are excellent too!
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