| Author: Anthology & Jim C. Hines | |
| Rating: 8 (Maria's Scale) | Reviewer: Maria |
| Genre: Fantasy | Publisher:DAW Fantasy |
| Pages: 320 | Orig Pub Date: 2007 |
| Binding: Paperback |
This anthology is a great read for a plane, train, doctor’s office—anywhere with frequent interruptions. You will be given a glipse of somewhere else--sometimes a pleasant interlude, sometimes a foreign land, sometimes a scary, unpleasant place, but it is always an adventure.
As with any anthology it is impossible to cover every story. Overall, I enjoyed Heroes in Training, edited by Jim C. Hines and Martin H. Greenberg. My favorites were, of course, those that were written with entertainment and humor in mind. There were many stories in this book that raced along, leaving me wanting more of the characters and additional stories with those faces. I suspect that because Jim Hines had editing duties, some stories were selected because of their fairy tale basis—each of those in the anthology had a new twist, of course.
I thoroughly enjoyed Esther M. Friesner’s “Roomies” both because of the fairy princess concept and the twist ending. The characters and their actions were predictable, but rather than monotony, it was a comfort read; a soothing cup of soup on a cold afternoon. This story was a delightful little tale of small-town-girls do good with justice served.
Speaking of justice, Peter David’s tale, “Sir Apropos of Nothing and the Adventure of the Receding Heir” was a tale of an unlikely hero, yet somehow I found myself on his side despite his rather cowardly, unhero-like habits. Justice in that story was skillfully delivered with an ironic, unexpected twist. Very good.
The Wizard’s Legacy by Michael A. Burstein was perhaps my favorite story in the bunch; it was a traditional tale of a boy who must accept challenges, must battle the enemy and overcome many obstacles in order to reach his goals. Again, characterization played a strong part here, and Burstein moved the story along so quickly, I was quite disappointed when the adventure came to an end.
Three Names of the Hidden God by Vera Nazarian didn’t capture me right off, but as I read, my interest grew. What appeared to be a tale of the lowly man outsmarting and helping the royals became an intricate story of treason and justice. For those looking for different settings, this one had a bit of a fantasy, historical middle east flavor.
Eugie Foster’s Honor is a Game Mortals Play is a wonderful little adventure with treachery, vengeance and romance rolled into an unusual setting (sort of a cross between the Asian culture and mythology) with lots of action. I’ve read and enjoyed Foster’s stuff before, and this is one of her best; a very good tale—truly a Hero in Training, the character coming into her own.
I was a bit surprised to find such a broad range of stories; in addition to the above there was horror such as James Lowder’s “Beneath the Skin” and political stories such as Robin Wayne Bailey’s “The Children’s Crusade” and Catherine H. Shaffer’s “The Apprentice.” While neither “Crusade” nor “Apprentice” were subtle in their lectures, both were quite clever in weaving fantasy into the mix.
This anthology is a great read for a plane, train, doctor’s office—anywhere with frequent interruptions. The stories vary in length with few very short ones. Almost every story has enough meat to give you the illusion—for just a moment—of being somewhere else. The somewhere else is sometimes a pleasant interlude, sometimes a foreign land, sometimes a scary, unpleasant place, but it is always an adventure.
Jim Hines is the author of Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero and the forthcoming Goblin War (From DAW in 2008). Reviews of Goblin Quest can be found here:
http://www.fantasybookspot.com/node/155
A chat interview with Jim can be found here:
http://www.fantasybookspot.com/node/2066
Martin H. Greenberg has edited/contributed to several anthologies including: Fantasy Gone Wrong, Places to Be, People to Kill, and Pandoras Closet
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