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The Chronicles of the Black Company #2.3 - Bone Eaters
Operation Arcana
In the realms of fantasy, the battlefield is where heroism comes alive, magic is unleashed, and legends are made and unmade. From the War of the Ring, Tolkien’s epic battle of good versus evil, to The Battle of the Blackwater, George R.R. Martin’s grim portrait of the horror and futility of war, these fantastical conflicts reflect our highest hopes and darkest fears, bringing us mesmerizing visions of silver spears shining in the sun and vast hordes of savage beasts who threaten to destroy all that we hold dear.
Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams is sounding the battle cry and sixteen of today’s top authors are reporting for duty, spinning never-before-published, spellbinding tales of military fantasy, including a Black Company story from Glen Cook, a Paksenarrion story from Elizabeth Moon, and a Shadow Ops story by Myke Cole. Within these pages you’ll also find World War I trenches cloaked in poison gas and sorcery, modern day elite special forces battling hosts of the damned, and steampunk soldiers fighting for their lives in a world torn apart by powers that defy imagination.
Featuring both grizzled veterans and fresh young recruits alike, including Tanya Huff, Simon R. Green, Carrie Vaughn, Jonathan Maberry, and Seanan McGuire, Operation Arcana is a must for any military buff or fantasy fan. You’ll never look at war the same way again.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Elizabeth Moon
Tobias Buckell & David Klecha
Myke Cole
Jonathan Maberry
Genevieve Valentine
Django Wexler
Yoon Ha Lee
Weston Ochse
Myke Cole
Ari Marmell
Tanya Huff
Carrie Vaughn
TC McCarthy
Glen Cook
Simon R. Green
Seanan McGuire
Linda Nagata
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About John Joseph Adams:
“John Joseph Adams has become one of those editors who I know will put together something I will love to read and know that the book I’m about to purchase isn’t going to let me down.” —Wil Wheaton
“Merits a place on fantasy fans’ bookshelves.” —Publishers Weekly, on Epic: Legends of Fantasy
“A genuine triumph. . . . [A] ‘must buy’ for every sci-fan you know.” —Romantic Times, a “Top Pick” for February 2013, on The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination
John Joseph Adams—called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble.com—is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Way of the Wizard. He is a two-time finalist for the Hugo Award and a three-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of Lightspeed Magazine, and is the co-host of Wired.com’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.
Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams is sounding the battle cry and sixteen of today’s top authors are reporting for duty, spinning never-before-published, spellbinding tales of military fantasy, including a Black Company story from Glen Cook, a Paksenarrion story from Elizabeth Moon, and a Shadow Ops story by Myke Cole. Within these pages you’ll also find World War I trenches cloaked in poison gas and sorcery, modern day elite special forces battling hosts of the damned, and steampunk soldiers fighting for their lives in a world torn apart by powers that defy imagination.
Featuring both grizzled veterans and fresh young recruits alike, including Tanya Huff, Simon R. Green, Carrie Vaughn, Jonathan Maberry, and Seanan McGuire, Operation Arcana is a must for any military buff or fantasy fan. You’ll never look at war the same way again.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Elizabeth Moon
Tobias Buckell & David Klecha
Myke Cole
Jonathan Maberry
Genevieve Valentine
Django Wexler
Yoon Ha Lee
Weston Ochse
Myke Cole
Ari Marmell
Tanya Huff
Carrie Vaughn
TC McCarthy
Glen Cook
Simon R. Green
Seanan McGuire
Linda Nagata
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About John Joseph Adams:
“John Joseph Adams has become one of those editors who I know will put together something I will love to read and know that the book I’m about to purchase isn’t going to let me down.” —Wil Wheaton
“Merits a place on fantasy fans’ bookshelves.” —Publishers Weekly, on Epic: Legends of Fantasy
“A genuine triumph. . . . [A] ‘must buy’ for every sci-fan you know.” —Romantic Times, a “Top Pick” for February 2013, on The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination
John Joseph Adams—called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble.com—is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and The Way of the Wizard. He is a two-time finalist for the Hugo Award and a three-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award. He is also the editor and publisher of Lightspeed Magazine, and is the co-host of Wired.com’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.
320 pages, ebook
First published February 16, 2015
About the author
John Joseph Adams
352 books956 followersJohn Joseph Adams is the series editor of BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. He is also the bestselling editor of many other anthologies, such as ROBOT UPRISINGS, DEAD MAN'S HAND, BRAVE NEW WORLDS,WASTELANDS, and THE LIVING DEAD. Recent and forthcoming books include WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, OPERATION ARCANA, PRESS START TO PLAY, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, and THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH (consisting of THE END IS NIGH, THE END IS NOW, and THE END HAS COME). Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award (for which he has been nominated nine times), is a seven-time World Fantasy Award finalist, and served as a judge for the 2015 National Book Award. John is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is a producer for Wired's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. You can find him online at www.johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
April 1, 2019
💣 Overall rating: 3.380765333 stars. Yes, you are quite right, this rating has indeed been very scientifically computed.
Military Fantasy short stories galore, oh my! Don’t let your little barnacled selves be fooled by my moderately pathetic rating for this anthology. It’s actually one of the best Fantasy anthologies I’ve read in a looooong time (if not in the entirety of my entire life). Granted, there is some Premium QualityCrappy Not So Good Stuff (PQCNSGS™) here, but there are also some Pretty Damn Scrumptious Stories (PDSS™) to be had. You know, the kind of PDSS™ that make you want to read more PDSS™ written by the most wondrous authors who wrote said PDSS™. Hay.
Okay, I know that some of you pretend to have boring things to do and uninteresting places to go and stuff, so I shall be uncharacteristically kind and compassionate, spare you the agony of reading the Booker Prize-worthy reviews I wrote for each bloody shrimping story in this anthology, and very generously give you a time-saving YES Perhaps Maybe Then Again Maybe Not NO Recap (YPMTAMNNR™):
🥇 You really really really want to read 🥇
✔ Bone Eaters by…Wait for it…Dun dun dun and stuff…Glen Cook! I kid you not.
✔ The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry.
✔ Weapons In The Earth by Myke Cole.
✔ The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee.
✔ Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell.
✔ The Way Home by Linda Nagata.
★ You might want to read ★
✔ The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler (this one nearly made it up there ↑, only that it didn't. Life sucks and stuff).
☢ You might or might not want to read ☢
✔ American Golem by Weston Ochse.
✔ Blood, Ash, Braids Genevieve Valentine.
✔ Mercenary’s Honor Elizabeth Moon.
☠ You do not want to read ☠
✘ Rules of Enchantment David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell.
✘ Steel Ships by Tanya Huff.
✘ Sealskin by Carrie Vaughn.
✘ Pathfinder by T.C. McCarthy.
✘ Bombers Moon by Simon R. Green.
✘ In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire.
➽ Bone Eaters by Glen Cook: 9 stars. And a half .
This Piece of Pure Undiluted Utter Black Company Awesomeness Short (PoPUUBCAS™) is especially quite deliciously scrumpalicious because:
① We learn more about Darling in this story than in the whole series put together. And that is NOT completely NOT delightfully joyful and stuff. Oh, and by the way, a very private message to The Author Who Shall Not Be Named: this is how you do mute women characters. No need to thank me. My pleasure and stuff.
② My boyfriend Croakie is as yummy and grumpy and yummy and sarcastic and yummy and deadpan and yummy and cynical and yummy and yummy. Oh, and he's yummy, too. Sometimes.
③ There is a Mini Lady in the making here. 'Nuff said and stuff.
④ Goblin + One-Eye = squeeeeee like a slightly hysterical, hyperventilating 13-year-old fangirl on crack. Because yes, I have a thing for ancient, derelict, always-up-to-no-good, ever-bickering wizards with a thing for crafting revolting illusions with too many eyes and too many legs and too many claws and stuff.
⑤ The last paragraph makes me dream of a spin-off series. Which is a little exciting. Not much, though. Just a little bit.
All in all, this short story kinda sorta made me feel like:
Yeah, I know, I have the most unexpected reactions when it comes to this author/series/whatever.
➽ The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry: 4 stars.
☣ Warning: the firstcouple of paragraphs in this mini crappy non-review are is merely an introduction of sorts. There is a slight chance they it might possibly be longer than the actual mini crappy non-review part of this mini crappy non-review.
I only learnt of Mr Maberry's existence a month ago. And I have my delicious boyfriend Daniel Faust to thank for this most serendipitous introduction. What happened was: I had purchased the Urban Allies collaborative anthology because it features one of Danny Boy's short adventures. I could have done the Who Gives a Fish Thing (WGaFT™), and left it at that, but I had a sudden surge of uncharacteristic compassion and benevolence towards the other stories in the collection, and decided to read some of them ← I hope you didn't believe a word of this because it's total bullfish and stuff. What really happened is: after reading my boyfriend's collaboration with the most boringly lackluster magician that ever was, I realized that there was a Larry Correia short in this anthology, too. Since I somewhat enjoyed Monster Hunter International a little (which I may or may not have mentioned before), I decided to give Correia's story a try. And it just so happens that Correia wrote said story in collaboration with Jonathan Maberry! Aha!
I'm hilarious, I know.
Anywayyyyy, I kinda sorta thought that said story (most deliciously called Weaponized Hell) was very moderately entertaining. So when I discovered that there was a Maberry short in this delightful collection here, I obviously went all…
Yep, that is indeed me going all hilarious on you again. You better make the most of it before I start charging entrance fee and stuff.
Soooooo, now for the mini crappy non-review part of this mini crappy non-review: Thermopylae Type Thingie (TTT™, or T³ for short) + vamps + sorcery + nuns = fishing hell to the bloody shrimping YES!
QED and stuff.
➽ Weapons In The Earth by Myke Cole: 4 stars.
Because Myke Cole is a pretty cool guy I follow on Twitter. And maybe also because I've been wanting to read The Armored Saint for, like, forever and stuff. Well at least for the month and a half since it was released and stuff.
Well, well, well…This was slightly dark and depressing and bleak. . And a little dark and depressing and bleak, too. But hey, it could have been much worse! The author could have killed everyone and everything within a two hundred thousand miles radius of the story and stuff. Which he didn't. I mean, he almost nearly did. But he didn't. Unless I got the Final Slightly Dead Headcount (FSDH™) wrong and stuff. Anyway, YES, Weapons in the Earth is kinda sorta grim, but it also happens to be kinda sorta pretty cool. Also, it's a great, effective, original suicide method for cute kitty/fluffy bunny-loving freaks. But I digress. What is so cool about this story, you ask? Let's see…
① It's about goblins. And everyone knows goblins are sexy as fish. I mean, there's one here who’s really extremely super hot: his body is swollen and adorned with lovely patches of scraggly hair, and veins that look like tree roots. Yum. His many unaligned eyes are all different sizes, and very strategically placed near his armpits. How scrumpalicious indeed. My exoskeleton is getting all tingly and stuff. He's got swollen purple lips, his jaw hangs to his knees and histeeth yellowed tusks rear up to one of his lower eyes. Sigh. So much heavenly beauty. I think I'm in love.
② There's a super villainous villain. Who might or might not be the Super Sensually Sensuous Goblin (SSSG™) I so vividly describedby shamelessly copying the author's text in the previous paragraph. And incidentally, the guy creature of my dreams. I mean, who could resist such a deadly combination of damnably titillating, voluptuous good looks and complete, utter evil wickedness? Not bloody shrimping little me, that's who. This delicious guy creature is pretty much absolutely perfect, as far as I'm concerned and stuff.
③ There's cool Earth Magic Stuff (EMS™). Spoiler alert: this might or might not be why the story is called Weapons of the Earth.
④ There's blood and gore and bloodshed and stuff. Which is not quite entirely surprising given the final body count.
⑤ Super cows to the rescue!
Now if this ⤴ doesn't entice you to read this story, I don't know what will.
➽ The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee: 4.45698 stars.
Dammit dammit dammit and quintuple dammit. I'd written a perfectly fascinating mini crappy non-review for this moderately exciting tale, but it apparently went poof on me. Dammit dammit dammit and quintuple dammit again.
Okay, I'm afraid this won't be quite as fascinating as the previous by-product of my ever-scintillating two grey cells, but here goes:
Asian-type setting + war + military magicians + calligraphy as a weapon + spoiler spoiler spoiler + bloodshed + books + sadly beautiful and beautifully sad stuff =
➽ The Way Home by Linda Nagata: 4.5 stars.
This slightly awesome story can be read for free online.
A military team trapped in what seems to be Hell’s suburb. “Modernized, weaponized,” and somewhat homicidal, deathly lethal demons. Combat. Violence. Death. Spoiler spoiler spoiler. YUM.
Great writing + cool premise + interesting characters + non-stop action = Linda Nagata, I need a full-length novel set in this world. Now .
➽ Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell: 4 stars.
Because WWI + witchcraft + trenches + demon summoning + infiltrating enemy lines + military magi = YES, please!
➽ The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler: 3.5 stars.
I thought Mr W. was going to go the Flintlock Fantasy of Deadly Boredom Route (FFoDB™) here, but decided to read the story anyway because I'm bold and audacious like that. So imagine my surprise when I realized this was no FFoDB™ candidate, but a Quite Entertaining Steampunk Sci-Fi Type Thingie (QESSFTT™)! Flabbergasted a little I most certainly was, when aware of this I became!
Quick maths time:
Not entirely uninteresting world building with potentially potent potential + original, diverse cast of characters (some of them the deliciously eccentric, slightly goofy scientist type) + funny stuff + lots of action + cool, um, enemy-type thingies (that is a technical term, yes) + mini slaughter fest = bloody shrimping hell! This is what The Thousand Names should have been like! Also: bloody stinking fish! I want a full-length novel set in this world! Also, also:
P.S. I would have given this one 4 scrumpalicious stars if it had felt like an actual story, and not like a scene from a book. But it did, so I didn't. Ha.
➽ American Golem by Weston Ochse: 2.7545 stars.
So the premise is pretty cool (because war + Afghanistan + golem +revenge = duh of course it's pretty cool) and I really like the whole Modern Day Warfare Meets Fantasy World Thingie (MDWMFWT™) and the author's personal experience as a soldier in the Greater Middle East adds a lot to the story but…
Ask not why for know the answer to that question I do not.
➽ Mercenary’s Honor by Elizabeth Moon: 2.5 stars.
This story could have been all sorts of super awesomely cool. Because mercenaries and stuff. And it is a truth universally acknowledge that all mercenaries are super awesomely cool because slightly ruthless and a little amoral, ergo hot and sexey and stuff. Well all mercenaries except the ones in this story it seems. I mean, all these guys worry about is honor, loyalty and all kinds of silly, grand, noble ideas! That’s completely preposterous! And I’m pretty sure my Black Company homies would take offense at such a shameful display of dignity and respectability!
➽ Blood, Ash, Braids by Genevieve Valentine: no rating because no rating.
I read this. I know I read this. Okay, so I don’t remember reading this but I know I did. Damn, I must have been high on top quality stuff at the time. I mean, why else would I have no bloody shrimping recollection of what this story is about? Sorry, what? My two ever-flailing, decaying, amnesia-prone grey cells might have something to do with it you say? Oh please, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll have you know my little head is functioning at full capacity right now. Anyway, care to remind me what it was we were talking about? It seems to have slipped my mind for some strange, unknown reason.
➽ Pathfinder by T.C. McCarthy: 2 stars.
This could have been great and intriguing and refreshing because Korean war setting meets the surpernatural, but it wasn’t and it wasn’t and it wasn’t so it wasn’t. Also, boring boring bored.
➽ Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell: 2 stars.
US Marines + Elves + Trolls + Orcs + Bloody Shrimping Second Person Narrative from Hell (BSSPNfH™) + what the stinking fish is going on here?! =
➽ Steel Ships by Tanya Huff: 2 stars.
Okay, so the idea of military-type, seal/selkie-like shapeshifters going on a covert operation is slightly awesome and original and stuff. Only that this feels like an action scene from a book, not like an actual story. So meh and stuff.
➽ Sealskin by Carrie Vaughn: 2 stars.
There might possibly perhaps be a point to this story. Maybe. I might possibly perhaps have completely missed it. A little. Not by much. Obviously.
➽ In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire: 2 stars.
My favourite Peter Pan characters are Captain Hook and Tick-Tock the Crocodile, so imagine my utter disappointment and total indignation when I realized they weren’t featured in Seanan McGuire’s take on Neverland! This story is all about silly Pans and boring Wendys and stuff, with no pirate or croc in sight! It is quite outrageous, if you ask me. And might perhaps maybe explain why I didn’t exactly like this story very much, despite its supposed darkness and cleverness and depth and stuff. But worry not, Seanan McGuire. This is the fourth story of yours I’vemisread so far, and we both know that it’s not me you, it’s you me.
➽ Bombers Moon by Simon R. Green: 2 stars.
Yet another story that could have been slightly awesome but wasn’t. This is getting old and stuff. This one is about the WWII Dresden bombing. And involves possessed Spitfire bombers. Should have been pretty cool, huh? Right. The problem here is that the author turned this pretty great premise into a over-simplified, uninspired story where the good guys are GOOD (and therefore backed up by most benevolent angels) and the bad guys are EVIL (and therefore backed up by super villainous demons). Oh, goody.
Bye now. I’ll see my little self out and stuff.
Military Fantasy short stories galore, oh my! Don’t let your little barnacled selves be fooled by my moderately pathetic rating for this anthology. It’s actually one of the best Fantasy anthologies I’ve read in a looooong time (if not in the entirety of my entire life). Granted, there is some Premium Quality
Okay, I know that some of you pretend to have boring things to do and uninteresting places to go and stuff, so I shall be uncharacteristically kind and compassionate, spare you the agony of reading the Booker Prize-worthy reviews I wrote for each bloody shrimping story in this anthology, and very generously give you a time-saving YES Perhaps Maybe Then Again Maybe Not NO Recap (YPMTAMNNR™):
🥇 You really really really want to read 🥇
✔ Bone Eaters by…Wait for it…Dun dun dun and stuff…Glen Cook! I kid you not.
✔ The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry.
✔ Weapons In The Earth by Myke Cole.
✔ The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee.
✔ Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell.
✔ The Way Home by Linda Nagata.
★ You might want to read ★
✔ The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler (this one nearly made it up there ↑, only that it didn't. Life sucks and stuff).
☢ You might or might not want to read ☢
✔ American Golem by Weston Ochse.
✔ Blood, Ash, Braids Genevieve Valentine.
✔ Mercenary’s Honor Elizabeth Moon.
☠ You do not want to read ☠
✘ Rules of Enchantment David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell.
✘ Steel Ships by Tanya Huff.
✘ Sealskin by Carrie Vaughn.
✘ Pathfinder by T.C. McCarthy.
✘ Bombers Moon by Simon R. Green.
✘ In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire.
➽ Bone Eaters by Glen Cook: 9 stars. And a half .
This Piece of Pure Undiluted Utter Black Company Awesomeness Short (PoPUUBCAS™) is especially quite deliciously scrumpalicious because:
① We learn more about Darling in this story than in the whole series put together. And that is NOT completely NOT delightfully joyful and stuff. Oh, and by the way, a very private message to The Author Who Shall Not Be Named: this is how you do mute women characters. No need to thank me. My pleasure and stuff.
② My boyfriend Croakie is as yummy and grumpy and yummy and sarcastic and yummy and deadpan and yummy and cynical and yummy and yummy. Oh, and he's yummy, too. Sometimes.
③ There is a Mini Lady in the making here. 'Nuff said and stuff.
④ Goblin + One-Eye = squeeeeee like a slightly hysterical, hyperventilating 13-year-old fangirl on crack. Because yes, I have a thing for ancient, derelict, always-up-to-no-good, ever-bickering wizards with a thing for crafting revolting illusions with too many eyes and too many legs and too many claws and stuff.
⑤ The last paragraph makes me dream of a spin-off series. Which is a little exciting. Not much, though. Just a little bit.
All in all, this short story kinda sorta made me feel like:
Yeah, I know, I have the most unexpected reactions when it comes to this author/series/whatever.
➽ The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry: 4 stars.
☣ Warning: the first
I only learnt of Mr Maberry's existence a month ago. And I have my delicious boyfriend Daniel Faust to thank for this most serendipitous introduction. What happened was: I had purchased the Urban Allies collaborative anthology because it features one of Danny Boy's short adventures. I could have done the Who Gives a Fish Thing (WGaFT™), and left it at that, but I had a sudden surge of uncharacteristic compassion and benevolence towards the other stories in the collection, and decided to read some of them ← I hope you didn't believe a word of this because it's total bullfish and stuff. What really happened is: after reading my boyfriend's collaboration with the most boringly lackluster magician that ever was, I realized that there was a Larry Correia short in this anthology, too. Since I somewhat enjoyed Monster Hunter International a little (which I may or may not have mentioned before), I decided to give Correia's story a try. And it just so happens that Correia wrote said story in collaboration with Jonathan Maberry! Aha!
I'm hilarious, I know.
Anywayyyyy, I kinda sorta thought that said story (most deliciously called Weaponized Hell) was very moderately entertaining. So when I discovered that there was a Maberry short in this delightful collection here, I obviously went all…
Yep, that is indeed me going all hilarious on you again. You better make the most of it before I start charging entrance fee and stuff.
Soooooo, now for the mini crappy non-review part of this mini crappy non-review: Thermopylae Type Thingie (TTT™, or T³ for short) + vamps + sorcery + nuns = fishing hell to the bloody shrimping YES!
QED and stuff.
➽ Weapons In The Earth by Myke Cole: 4 stars.
Because Myke Cole is a pretty cool guy I follow on Twitter. And maybe also because I've been wanting to read The Armored Saint for, like, forever and stuff. Well at least for the month and a half since it was released and stuff.
Well, well, well…This was slightly dark and depressing and bleak. . And a little dark and depressing and bleak, too. But hey, it could have been much worse! The author could have killed everyone and everything within a two hundred thousand miles radius of the story and stuff. Which he didn't. I mean, he almost nearly did. But he didn't. Unless I got the Final Slightly Dead Headcount (FSDH™) wrong and stuff. Anyway, YES, Weapons in the Earth is kinda sorta grim, but it also happens to be kinda sorta pretty cool. Also, it's a great, effective, original suicide method for cute kitty/fluffy bunny-loving freaks. But I digress. What is so cool about this story, you ask? Let's see…
① It's about goblins. And everyone knows goblins are sexy as fish. I mean, there's one here who’s really extremely super hot: his body is swollen and adorned with lovely patches of scraggly hair, and veins that look like tree roots. Yum. His many unaligned eyes are all different sizes, and very strategically placed near his armpits. How scrumpalicious indeed. My exoskeleton is getting all tingly and stuff. He's got swollen purple lips, his jaw hangs to his knees and his
② There's a super villainous villain. Who might or might not be the Super Sensually Sensuous Goblin (SSSG™) I so vividly described
③ There's cool Earth Magic Stuff (EMS™). Spoiler alert: this might or might not be why the story is called Weapons of the Earth.
④ There's blood and gore and bloodshed and stuff. Which is not quite entirely surprising given the final body count.
⑤ Super cows to the rescue!
Now if this ⤴ doesn't entice you to read this story, I don't know what will.
➽ The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee: 4.45698 stars.
Dammit dammit dammit and quintuple dammit. I'd written a perfectly fascinating mini crappy non-review for this moderately exciting tale, but it apparently went poof on me. Dammit dammit dammit and quintuple dammit again.
Okay, I'm afraid this won't be quite as fascinating as the previous by-product of my ever-scintillating two grey cells, but here goes:
Asian-type setting + war + military magicians + calligraphy as a weapon + spoiler spoiler spoiler + bloodshed + books + sadly beautiful and beautifully sad stuff =
➽ The Way Home by Linda Nagata: 4.5 stars.
This slightly awesome story can be read for free online.
A military team trapped in what seems to be Hell’s suburb. “Modernized, weaponized,” and somewhat homicidal, deathly lethal demons. Combat. Violence. Death. Spoiler spoiler spoiler. YUM.
Great writing + cool premise + interesting characters + non-stop action = Linda Nagata, I need a full-length novel set in this world. Now .
➽ Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell: 4 stars.
Because WWI + witchcraft + trenches + demon summoning + infiltrating enemy lines + military magi = YES, please!
➽ The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler: 3.5 stars.
I thought Mr W. was going to go the Flintlock Fantasy of Deadly Boredom Route (FFoDB™) here, but decided to read the story anyway because I'm bold and audacious like that. So imagine my surprise when I realized this was no FFoDB™ candidate, but a Quite Entertaining Steampunk Sci-Fi Type Thingie (QESSFTT™)! Flabbergasted a little I most certainly was, when aware of this I became!
Quick maths time:
Not entirely uninteresting world building with potentially potent potential + original, diverse cast of characters (some of them the deliciously eccentric, slightly goofy scientist type) + funny stuff + lots of action + cool, um, enemy-type thingies (that is a technical term, yes) + mini slaughter fest = bloody shrimping hell! This is what The Thousand Names should have been like! Also: bloody stinking fish! I want a full-length novel set in this world! Also, also:
P.S. I would have given this one 4 scrumpalicious stars if it had felt like an actual story, and not like a scene from a book. But it did, so I didn't. Ha.
➽ American Golem by Weston Ochse: 2.7545 stars.
So the premise is pretty cool (because war + Afghanistan + golem +revenge = duh of course it's pretty cool) and I really like the whole Modern Day Warfare Meets Fantasy World Thingie (MDWMFWT™) and the author's personal experience as a soldier in the Greater Middle East adds a lot to the story but…
Ask not why for know the answer to that question I do not.
➽ Mercenary’s Honor by Elizabeth Moon: 2.5 stars.
This story could have been all sorts of super awesomely cool. Because mercenaries and stuff. And it is a truth universally acknowledge that all mercenaries are super awesomely cool because slightly ruthless and a little amoral, ergo hot and sexey and stuff. Well all mercenaries except the ones in this story it seems. I mean, all these guys worry about is honor, loyalty and all kinds of silly, grand, noble ideas! That’s completely preposterous! And I’m pretty sure my Black Company homies would take offense at such a shameful display of dignity and respectability!
➽ Blood, Ash, Braids by Genevieve Valentine: no rating because no rating.
I read this. I know I read this. Okay, so I don’t remember reading this but I know I did. Damn, I must have been high on top quality stuff at the time. I mean, why else would I have no bloody shrimping recollection of what this story is about? Sorry, what? My two ever-flailing, decaying, amnesia-prone grey cells might have something to do with it you say? Oh please, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll have you know my little head is functioning at full capacity right now. Anyway, care to remind me what it was we were talking about? It seems to have slipped my mind for some strange, unknown reason.
➽ Pathfinder by T.C. McCarthy: 2 stars.
This could have been great and intriguing and refreshing because Korean war setting meets the surpernatural, but it wasn’t and it wasn’t and it wasn’t so it wasn’t. Also, boring boring bored.
➽ Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell: 2 stars.
US Marines + Elves + Trolls + Orcs + Bloody Shrimping Second Person Narrative from Hell (BSSPNfH™) + what the stinking fish is going on here?! =
➽ Steel Ships by Tanya Huff: 2 stars.
Okay, so the idea of military-type, seal/selkie-like shapeshifters going on a covert operation is slightly awesome and original and stuff. Only that this feels like an action scene from a book, not like an actual story. So meh and stuff.
➽ Sealskin by Carrie Vaughn: 2 stars.
There might possibly perhaps be a point to this story. Maybe. I might possibly perhaps have completely missed it. A little. Not by much. Obviously.
➽ In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire: 2 stars.
My favourite Peter Pan characters are Captain Hook and Tick-Tock the Crocodile, so imagine my utter disappointment and total indignation when I realized they weren’t featured in Seanan McGuire’s take on Neverland! This story is all about silly Pans and boring Wendys and stuff, with no pirate or croc in sight! It is quite outrageous, if you ask me. And might perhaps maybe explain why I didn’t exactly like this story very much, despite its supposed darkness and cleverness and depth and stuff. But worry not, Seanan McGuire. This is the fourth story of yours I’ve
➽ Bombers Moon by Simon R. Green: 2 stars.
Yet another story that could have been slightly awesome but wasn’t. This is getting old and stuff. This one is about the WWII Dresden bombing. And involves possessed Spitfire bombers. Should have been pretty cool, huh? Right. The problem here is that the author turned this pretty great premise into a over-simplified, uninspired story where the good guys are GOOD (and therefore backed up by most benevolent angels) and the bad guys are EVIL (and therefore backed up by super villainous demons). Oh, goody.
Bye now. I’ll see my little self out and stuff.
June 3, 2016
** RULES OF ENCHANTMENT—David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell
Tolkien's world and our own have had a portal open between them. It's taking both modern military technology and strategic alliances to fight off threats such as trolls and dragons. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the second-person voice, and the tongue-in-cheek style with geeky references to D&D and the LoTR movies didn't do it for me either.
**** THE DAMNED ONE HUNDRED—Jonathan Maberry
Classic sword-and-sorcery, plus vampires, plus a situation reminiscent of the Battle of Thermopylae. I really enjoyed this one.
**** BLOOD, ASH, BRAIDS—Genevieve Valentine
Historically interesting, AND a rousing good tale. A group of Russian WWII fighter pilots, all women, are assigned horribly dangerous missions. A bit of witchcraft may help them stay alive...
**** MERCENARY’S HONOR—Elizabeth Moon
I'm sure a lot of people will buy this anthology just for this story - a 'Paksworld' tale - and I don't believe they'll be disappointed. Familiar characters (including Kieri Phelan and Halveric) make their appearance, but this is a fully stand-alone, and cleverly entertaining tale of two mercenary commanders and how they work out a situation which initially seems untenable for both of them.
*** THE GUNS OF THE WASTES—Django Wexler
Bonus points for being what I personally feel that steampunk ought to be (weird sci-fi, not faux-Victorian romance). However, this is really a fun action scene with quirky characters, rather than a fully-developed story. It feels like (and I hope it might be) an excerpt from a forthcoming novel.
***** THE GRAPHOLOGY OF HEMORRHAGE—Yoon Ha Lee
I really enjoy Yoon Ha Lee's takes on the ideas of lexical magic. I found echoes here of some of her other work: 'Effigy Nights' and 'Iseul's Lexicon' - but this is a piece that works on its own.
A brilliant magician has been forced into a dangerous military position in official retribution for the groundbreaking - but status-quo-threatening - ideas she came up with in university. Now, her mission will require her to explore even more radical ideas - and may demand the ultimate self-sacrifice.
*** AMERICAN GOLEM—Weston Ochse
The main character goes AWOL in Afghanistan to pursue his true mission: to kill the Osama-bin-Laden-like terrorist who was responsible for his brother's death. The twist is: the 'brother' is actually a golem, created just for this purpose. The author has clearly drawn on his own experiences in Afghanistan to inform this story.
*** WEAPONS IN THE EARTH—Myke Cole
A long and rather harrowing story of a group of goblins from a nomadic tribe who have been taken prisoner by their enemies. It's a quite bleak and agonizing experience.
*** HEAVY SULFUR—Ari Marmell
Alternate-history WWI, with trench warfare and mages on both sides summoning spirits and demons. A dangerous mission behind enemy lines, with a magical element thrown into the mix.
*** STEEL SHIPS—Tanya Huff
A quick, action-oriented episode. Selkie-type shapeshifters in the midst of a war come up with a dangerous mission to protect their side from the threat of the enemy's new ironclad riverboats. Feels like an excerpt from a longer tale.
*** SEALSKIN—Carrie Vaughn
A burnt-out American military man goes to Ireland, like so many tourists, in search of his 'roots' - and faces a dramatic decision about which part of his heritage to choose to follow.
*** PATHFINDER—T.C. McCarthy
In an underground military hospital complex in Korea, a young nurse fulfills her traditional/supernatural role of escorting the souls of the dead to the afterlife. However, both her jobs are full of more than the usual hazards, both paranormal and mundane.
**** BONE EATERS—Glen Cook
The Black Company is back! And in classic form! This is another one where fans of the series may very well find this one story alone worth the price of admission.
I'll defer to those who are more detail-oriented if I'm wrong, but the events here seem to take place around the time of the events in 'The White Rose.' Croaker is the annalist and narrator, and Darling is the leader of the Company. The group is magically led to a village of Hungry Ghosts, and must use ingenuity to escape and/or nullify the threat.
Will Cook's long-promised further entries into this series be finally forthcoming soon? We can only hope...
** MOON—Simon R. Green
This is an example of exactly what I don't like alternate history to do. It takes a morally and politically complex real-life situation (the bombing of Dresden) and attempts to remove any ambiguity from it by adding in a compelling reason for the attack which never existed, and quite literally making it a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, complete with a misguided, traitorous opponent to the action. I'm sure some will see this as nothing more than an action story, but I see it as a misguided attempt to assuage historical guilt through rewriting.
**** IN SKELETON LEAVES—Seanan McGuire
Recommended for those who enjoyed Lisa Jensen's 'Alias Hook' and/or who are interested in darker explorations of the Peter Pan story. What happened in Neverland after the stories of Peter that we're all familiar with? Is the otherworld as stable as it seemed, or might it change, gradually and depending on the children that are brought to it? Children can be not just heartless, but vicious, and there's always a disturbing aspect to not growing up.
*** THE WAY HOME—Linda Nagata
A military team has somehow been caught in a hostile otherworld populated my attacking demons. By trial and error, they've learned that each death opens a temporary portal home - for only one soldier. Can the commander manage to get every member of his team home safely?
Many thanks to NetGalley and Baen books for the opportunity to read this anthology of quality military fantasy! As always, my opinion is solely my own.
Tolkien's world and our own have had a portal open between them. It's taking both modern military technology and strategic alliances to fight off threats such as trolls and dragons. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the second-person voice, and the tongue-in-cheek style with geeky references to D&D and the LoTR movies didn't do it for me either.
**** THE DAMNED ONE HUNDRED—Jonathan Maberry
Classic sword-and-sorcery, plus vampires, plus a situation reminiscent of the Battle of Thermopylae. I really enjoyed this one.
**** BLOOD, ASH, BRAIDS—Genevieve Valentine
Historically interesting, AND a rousing good tale. A group of Russian WWII fighter pilots, all women, are assigned horribly dangerous missions. A bit of witchcraft may help them stay alive...
**** MERCENARY’S HONOR—Elizabeth Moon
I'm sure a lot of people will buy this anthology just for this story - a 'Paksworld' tale - and I don't believe they'll be disappointed. Familiar characters (including Kieri Phelan and Halveric) make their appearance, but this is a fully stand-alone, and cleverly entertaining tale of two mercenary commanders and how they work out a situation which initially seems untenable for both of them.
*** THE GUNS OF THE WASTES—Django Wexler
Bonus points for being what I personally feel that steampunk ought to be (weird sci-fi, not faux-Victorian romance). However, this is really a fun action scene with quirky characters, rather than a fully-developed story. It feels like (and I hope it might be) an excerpt from a forthcoming novel.
***** THE GRAPHOLOGY OF HEMORRHAGE—Yoon Ha Lee
I really enjoy Yoon Ha Lee's takes on the ideas of lexical magic. I found echoes here of some of her other work: 'Effigy Nights' and 'Iseul's Lexicon' - but this is a piece that works on its own.
A brilliant magician has been forced into a dangerous military position in official retribution for the groundbreaking - but status-quo-threatening - ideas she came up with in university. Now, her mission will require her to explore even more radical ideas - and may demand the ultimate self-sacrifice.
*** AMERICAN GOLEM—Weston Ochse
The main character goes AWOL in Afghanistan to pursue his true mission: to kill the Osama-bin-Laden-like terrorist who was responsible for his brother's death. The twist is: the 'brother' is actually a golem, created just for this purpose. The author has clearly drawn on his own experiences in Afghanistan to inform this story.
*** WEAPONS IN THE EARTH—Myke Cole
A long and rather harrowing story of a group of goblins from a nomadic tribe who have been taken prisoner by their enemies. It's a quite bleak and agonizing experience.
*** HEAVY SULFUR—Ari Marmell
Alternate-history WWI, with trench warfare and mages on both sides summoning spirits and demons. A dangerous mission behind enemy lines, with a magical element thrown into the mix.
*** STEEL SHIPS—Tanya Huff
A quick, action-oriented episode. Selkie-type shapeshifters in the midst of a war come up with a dangerous mission to protect their side from the threat of the enemy's new ironclad riverboats. Feels like an excerpt from a longer tale.
*** SEALSKIN—Carrie Vaughn
A burnt-out American military man goes to Ireland, like so many tourists, in search of his 'roots' - and faces a dramatic decision about which part of his heritage to choose to follow.
*** PATHFINDER—T.C. McCarthy
In an underground military hospital complex in Korea, a young nurse fulfills her traditional/supernatural role of escorting the souls of the dead to the afterlife. However, both her jobs are full of more than the usual hazards, both paranormal and mundane.
**** BONE EATERS—Glen Cook
The Black Company is back! And in classic form! This is another one where fans of the series may very well find this one story alone worth the price of admission.
I'll defer to those who are more detail-oriented if I'm wrong, but the events here seem to take place around the time of the events in 'The White Rose.' Croaker is the annalist and narrator, and Darling is the leader of the Company. The group is magically led to a village of Hungry Ghosts, and must use ingenuity to escape and/or nullify the threat.
Will Cook's long-promised further entries into this series be finally forthcoming soon? We can only hope...
** MOON—Simon R. Green
This is an example of exactly what I don't like alternate history to do. It takes a morally and politically complex real-life situation (the bombing of Dresden) and attempts to remove any ambiguity from it by adding in a compelling reason for the attack which never existed, and quite literally making it a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, complete with a misguided, traitorous opponent to the action. I'm sure some will see this as nothing more than an action story, but I see it as a misguided attempt to assuage historical guilt through rewriting.
**** IN SKELETON LEAVES—Seanan McGuire
Recommended for those who enjoyed Lisa Jensen's 'Alias Hook' and/or who are interested in darker explorations of the Peter Pan story. What happened in Neverland after the stories of Peter that we're all familiar with? Is the otherworld as stable as it seemed, or might it change, gradually and depending on the children that are brought to it? Children can be not just heartless, but vicious, and there's always a disturbing aspect to not growing up.
*** THE WAY HOME—Linda Nagata
A military team has somehow been caught in a hostile otherworld populated my attacking demons. By trial and error, they've learned that each death opens a temporary portal home - for only one soldier. Can the commander manage to get every member of his team home safely?
Many thanks to NetGalley and Baen books for the opportunity to read this anthology of quality military fantasy! As always, my opinion is solely my own.
December 10, 2021
Bone Eaters (The Chronicles of the Black Company #2.3)
"I am destined to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when shit happens."
"I am destined to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when shit happens."
Read
March 15, 2015Operation Arcana turned out to be a fairly short collection of stories that had only one directive; each short had to deal with military and fantasy- every other detail was left to the authors. While I have read themed collections before this one felt quite a bit different. It is hard to pin down but I think I am used to short stories trying (sometimes a bit too hard) to deliver a message and there isn’t much of that here. Not that there were not important things being said in some of these stories, but it was one of the loosest feeling collections I have ever read.
As would be expected from a multi-author anthology the quality varied; a couple of great stories, a couple of low points, but mostly filled with good entertainment. I never know how to rate a collection beyond ‘worth reading’ or ‘not’ so I will classify this one in the probably worth reading category for even casual fantasy fans. As is my way I refuse to rate individual short stories but instead point out a few highlights.
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry was the second story in and the first to really catch my attention. One big heroic act is needed and damned if it doesn’t stand out. I love it when a short story gives me as much history as a novel; or at least enough to make me feel like it has.
Immediately next comes Genevieve Valentine’s Blood, Ash, Braids. Valentine is always a highlight in any collection and it is no different here; one of a couple World War II retellings and easily the best. Witches in outdated bi-planes, what else would you need to know?
Yoon Ha Lee is a new author to me but I quite enjoyed The Graphology of Hemorrage, a story that breaks away from the battle heavy theme and deals with the subterfuge aspects of war instead. I am always interested in language and it is that, along with a little bit of magic, that provides the key to bittersweet success in this story.
Fantasy Review Barn
The absolute highlight for me though came from a very surprising place. In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire wins the collection. I was not surprised because of who the author was, I have heard many good things about her work. Rather I was surprised by the subject manor, one Peter Pan. I have absolutely no interest in the Peter Pan world but now there is one exception. This isn’t a happy Neverland story, dealing with a never ending war and child soldiers with no option of growing up. Proof that even old stories can be used in completely original ways.
Most of the other stories were serviceable enough, some of them better than others. As I mentioned there were only two I didn’t enjoy (Simon R Green’s was as over the top and unnecessary as anything else I have read by the man, Mike Cole’s story felt like something I should like but I never was able to click with it). This was also a collection that didn’t have any stories that pushed the boundary of the ‘short’ description, something I appreciated as I flew through it in a single day. Over all I am glad to have read it and once again found a few new authors to watch for.
Copy for review received via NetGalley from publisher.
As would be expected from a multi-author anthology the quality varied; a couple of great stories, a couple of low points, but mostly filled with good entertainment. I never know how to rate a collection beyond ‘worth reading’ or ‘not’ so I will classify this one in the probably worth reading category for even casual fantasy fans. As is my way I refuse to rate individual short stories but instead point out a few highlights.
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry was the second story in and the first to really catch my attention. One big heroic act is needed and damned if it doesn’t stand out. I love it when a short story gives me as much history as a novel; or at least enough to make me feel like it has.
Immediately next comes Genevieve Valentine’s Blood, Ash, Braids. Valentine is always a highlight in any collection and it is no different here; one of a couple World War II retellings and easily the best. Witches in outdated bi-planes, what else would you need to know?
Yoon Ha Lee is a new author to me but I quite enjoyed The Graphology of Hemorrage, a story that breaks away from the battle heavy theme and deals with the subterfuge aspects of war instead. I am always interested in language and it is that, along with a little bit of magic, that provides the key to bittersweet success in this story.
Fantasy Review Barn
The absolute highlight for me though came from a very surprising place. In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire wins the collection. I was not surprised because of who the author was, I have heard many good things about her work. Rather I was surprised by the subject manor, one Peter Pan. I have absolutely no interest in the Peter Pan world but now there is one exception. This isn’t a happy Neverland story, dealing with a never ending war and child soldiers with no option of growing up. Proof that even old stories can be used in completely original ways.
Most of the other stories were serviceable enough, some of them better than others. As I mentioned there were only two I didn’t enjoy (Simon R Green’s was as over the top and unnecessary as anything else I have read by the man, Mike Cole’s story felt like something I should like but I never was able to click with it). This was also a collection that didn’t have any stories that pushed the boundary of the ‘short’ description, something I appreciated as I flew through it in a single day. Over all I am glad to have read it and once again found a few new authors to watch for.
Copy for review received via NetGalley from publisher.
Read
February 9, 2016Rules of Enchantment - A forgettable story about marines versus elves. Yeah, you read that right. Could've been cool like Halo crossed over with Legend of Zelda. Would've worked had it had more of a plot. Should've tried tried harder to explain what the heck was going on (besides shooting and screaming).
The Damned One Hundred - Personal pet peeve for fantasy books is authors referring to their character's age in seasons, like so-and-so is eight summers old. Does being in a fantasy automatically cause all your characters to not know the concept of a year? But otherwise, great short story inspired by Thermopylae with a twist.
Blood, Ash, Braids - Female combat pilots (who are actually witches)? As crazy as it sounds, this one actually worked. Magical realism, weight of war, and all that. I can't believe this is by the author of The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (which I didn't particularly care for).
Mercenary's Honor - Pretty much generic fantasy. Too much talk about countries and armies and just talk. Meh.
The Guns of the Wastes - Again, the problem with a lot of short story authors is forgetting they're not trying to tell a novel length story in short form, it's more about honing in on one idea/aspect/topic and going with it. I can see Wexler's point with this, but because of the background required for the 'real' story to work it feels too small.
The Graphology of Hemorrhage - Hands down the best title since Babylon 5's The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. An interestingly philosophical take on the ramifications of war as well.
American Golem - A bit obvious and played straight, but not bad at all.
Heavy Sulfur - World War I with magic. Don't see much of a point and there are many better alternate histories of WWI out there.
Steel Ships - Steel ships? You mean ironclads? Unfortunately despite the heavy dialogue I'm still not sure what the point of the plot was...
Sealskin - Umm ok.
Pathfinder & Bone Eaters - Not sure I get these...
Bomber's Moon - Angels flying with Allied pilots against the Nazis. Except the angel didn't add anything to the story except give the Allies the moral high ground over the Nazis, which frankly I don't need an angel to tell me, so this was a miss.
In Skeleton Leaves - Did Seanan McGuire just write a Peter Pan inspired short story? I'm usually a fan of hers, but I've read this three times and I'm still not sure I get it. Isn't that antithetical to the whole point of Peter Pan?
The Way Home - Wow I wish this was a full length novel. Great concept, excellent focus, awesome writing. Did I mention I wish this was a full length novel?
The Damned One Hundred - Personal pet peeve for fantasy books is authors referring to their character's age in seasons, like so-and-so is eight summers old. Does being in a fantasy automatically cause all your characters to not know the concept of a year? But otherwise, great short story inspired by Thermopylae with a twist.
Blood, Ash, Braids - Female combat pilots (who are actually witches)? As crazy as it sounds, this one actually worked. Magical realism, weight of war, and all that. I can't believe this is by the author of The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (which I didn't particularly care for).
Mercenary's Honor - Pretty much generic fantasy. Too much talk about countries and armies and just talk. Meh.
The Guns of the Wastes - Again, the problem with a lot of short story authors is forgetting they're not trying to tell a novel length story in short form, it's more about honing in on one idea/aspect/topic and going with it. I can see Wexler's point with this, but because of the background required for the 'real' story to work it feels too small.
The Graphology of Hemorrhage - Hands down the best title since Babylon 5's The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. An interestingly philosophical take on the ramifications of war as well.
American Golem - A bit obvious and played straight, but not bad at all.
Heavy Sulfur - World War I with magic. Don't see much of a point and there are many better alternate histories of WWI out there.
Steel Ships - Steel ships? You mean ironclads? Unfortunately despite the heavy dialogue I'm still not sure what the point of the plot was...
Sealskin - Umm ok.
Pathfinder & Bone Eaters - Not sure I get these...
Bomber's Moon - Angels flying with Allied pilots against the Nazis. Except the angel didn't add anything to the story except give the Allies the moral high ground over the Nazis, which frankly I don't need an angel to tell me, so this was a miss.
In Skeleton Leaves - Did Seanan McGuire just write a Peter Pan inspired short story? I'm usually a fan of hers, but I've read this three times and I'm still not sure I get it. Isn't that antithetical to the whole point of Peter Pan?
The Way Home - Wow I wish this was a full length novel. Great concept, excellent focus, awesome writing. Did I mention I wish this was a full length novel?
August 10, 2015
A cracking anthology filled with great stories. I really enjoyed the diversity shown by the contributors. Highly recommended for all fans of military fantasy.
Read
January 31, 2022I'm not going to rate this book since I only put it on the wishlist for the Glen Cook story, "The Bone Eaters" (which gets 3.3 -3.4 stars) - a sentiment I notice a lot of reviewers expressed. Go Black Company groupies!
If I had chanced upon a physical copy or even an e-book version, I probably would have read the entire collection. Alas, audible books and me do not fare well together. Unless I'm listening to one in the car, I invariably fall asleep or my attention fatally wanders as I listen to the CD. As I no longer have the 2-hour drive to and from work since the plague began [2020], I don't have much opportunity to drive long distances and, thus, not much opportunity to make an audible CD worthwhile.
"The Bone Eaters" is a good, solid Black Company story set after the debacle at Juniper, when the Company is on the run w/ Darling and the Lady's minions are hot on their tail. You'd definitely get more out of it if you've read the Black Company books but it holds up simply as a short story - you don't need the background to understand what Cook is g0ing for. And if you are a member of the Company, it's de rigueur.
If I had chanced upon a physical copy or even an e-book version, I probably would have read the entire collection. Alas, audible books and me do not fare well together. Unless I'm listening to one in the car, I invariably fall asleep or my attention fatally wanders as I listen to the CD. As I no longer have the 2-hour drive to and from work since the plague began [2020], I don't have much opportunity to drive long distances and, thus, not much opportunity to make an audible CD worthwhile.
"The Bone Eaters" is a good, solid Black Company story set after the debacle at Juniper, when the Company is on the run w/ Darling and the Lady's minions are hot on their tail. You'd definitely get more out of it if you've read the Black Company books but it holds up simply as a short story - you don't need the background to understand what Cook is g0ing for. And if you are a member of the Company, it's de rigueur.
February 9, 2015
Writers learn to write by reading the works of other writers. We learn to write well by reading good stories and analyzing what works and what doesn’t. Here are some things I learned by reading Operation Arcana, an anthology of science-fictional war stories edited by John Joseph Adams, forthcoming from Baen Books in March 2015.
In “Rules of Enchantment,” the first story in Operation Arcana, you view things through the group mind of US Marines battling Orcs and Trolls in a modern version of Tolkien’s mythological universe. The story is ingenius, but the POV takes some getting used to. You see things through multiple eyes simultaneously, and you’re not quite sure who you are at any given moment. The Marines are on the other side of the rift, in a land where magic works as well as conventional weapons, and tactical spells like Tactician’s Weave and glamours to disguise magical beings as humans are commonplace and real. Well-written and full of action, this splendid tale sets the tone for the wonderful stories that follow.
Jonathan Mayberry’s “The Damned One Hundred” is a retelling of the classic story of 300 Greeks who battled Persians at Thermopylae, except Mayberry adds witches and vampires to the mix to make the story more exciting. “Blood, Ash, Braids” is about witches, too, but modern-day (circa 1943) witches who fly planes instead of brooms. It’s also about giving one’s all for one’s country and one’s friends.
“The Guns of the Wastes” is a superbly-crafted tale of a shavetail lieutenant fresh from the academy encountering an alien enemy for the first time. Django Wexler flawlessly blends steampunk landcruisers, alien mechanical spiders, and military fiction into a more than satisfying story.
“The Graphology of Hemorrhage” by Yoon Ha Lee could aptly have been re-titled “Shadow Soup.” To make shadow soup you must first catch a shadow, add whatever vegetables you can steal, and boil it long enough to make it palatable or nourishing. Lee provides lots of nourishment in this palatable story about shadow characters, love, war, and the meaning and making of words.
“American Golem,” surprisingly, is directly related to “The Graphology of Hemorrhage.” Both stories are about war and the power of words, of symbols. The word golem itself means “my unshaped form.” Author Weston Ochse claims the Jews of Prague learned to make golems from the ancient Chinese. A Jew and a Navajo medicine woman create a half-human killing machine—a golem, a kachina--from the ashes of a dead American soldier. The symbols for revenge are etched on the golem’s forehead, and the blood of its maker assures the golem of immortality. The story is not only about fulfilling a mission and extracting revenge, but about self-sacrifice and what it means to be human. That theme—whether intended or unintended--seems to run through all of the stories in this marvelous book.
“Heavy Sulfur” is a WWI story of trench warfare and magic. Author Ari Marmell weaves a spell of High Magick straight from the annals of the Golden Dawn. Both English and German forces use sorcerers and necromancers to win the Great War, and Corporal Cleary is caught in the middle. Like other characters in Operation Arcana, Cleary is called upon to make the supreme sacrifice.
Hae Jung is a “Pathfinder.” As a People’s Republic nurse, Hae Jung tends dying soldiers in Korea in 1951. She is also a Pathfinder who guides the dying to their ancestors. T. C. McCarthy tells a heart-breaking tale of death and dying from the viewpoint of America’s Korean War enemy. This story is so well-written that I couldn’t stop reading despite the blood and horrors that assaulted my senses.
Glen Cook is an old friend. He’s a quiet, unassuming kind of guy who loves books as much as I do. “Bone Eaters” is a Black Company tale, and Cook is a master craftsman. He is also a guest of honor at this year’s World Fantasy Con in Saratoga Springs, NY. One can learn a lot by reading Glen Cook. Cook’s style is a bit like Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore at their best. Hungry ghosts, hunger incarnate, populate this story along with Croaker’s band of misfits. Chasing Midnight, a new addition to the company of wizards, is intriguing. Croker, the Annalist who worries about secret meanings hidden in words, records the events in his own words. He uses images like “Darling had us drafted and rolling as quick as it took the buzzard family to complete a couple of circles around the sky.” Glen Cook is always a good read.
“Bomber’s Moon” is about flying with the angels. It has been said that if God had meant man to fly, He would have given man wings. But with Hitler forming a pact with the devil, God has chosen sides and has granted man wings. The Archangel Uriel flies with the bomber’s crew, the bomber’s cannon have been replaced with water cannons spraying Holy water, the bombs have been blessed, the bullets have crosses etched into the lead. What could possibly go wrong? Himmler and Goebbels are in Dresden conjuring demons, and the crew heads to Dresden to destroy the city. What happens when the plane is hit by flak, their guardian angel deserts them, and the men are left without a prayer? A pacifist priest steps in and adds yet another complication to the story. Author Simon R. Green tells a gripping story that keeps the reader turning pages until the end.
I got to sit next to Seanan McGuire during an autographing session at Windycon. “In Skeleton Leaves” is the first Seanan McGuire story I’ve read. Set in a nightmare version of Peter Pan’s Neverland where The Pan is female and Wendys are a dime a dozen, this gender-bending tale of Lost Girls and Boys gives new meaning to the fun and games of childhood play. When Pans grow up or die, they are replaced by another Pan and the never-ending war in Neverland between the Pirates and the Lost Children continues forever. Pans are liars and fliers. And McGuire adds a few unexpected twists and turns to the tale before one final twist of the knife. If this is an example of McGuire’s imagination, I want to read all of her writing.
The entire anthology is lots of fun. There are a few important lessons to be learned about war and writing and the sacrifices that both require.
Operation Arcana, edited by John Joseph Adams. To be published in trade paperback March 3, 2015 by Baen Books. $15.00. Available now for pre-order discount at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Full Disclosure: Paul Dale Anderson was provided a free Advance Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.
In “Rules of Enchantment,” the first story in Operation Arcana, you view things through the group mind of US Marines battling Orcs and Trolls in a modern version of Tolkien’s mythological universe. The story is ingenius, but the POV takes some getting used to. You see things through multiple eyes simultaneously, and you’re not quite sure who you are at any given moment. The Marines are on the other side of the rift, in a land where magic works as well as conventional weapons, and tactical spells like Tactician’s Weave and glamours to disguise magical beings as humans are commonplace and real. Well-written and full of action, this splendid tale sets the tone for the wonderful stories that follow.
Jonathan Mayberry’s “The Damned One Hundred” is a retelling of the classic story of 300 Greeks who battled Persians at Thermopylae, except Mayberry adds witches and vampires to the mix to make the story more exciting. “Blood, Ash, Braids” is about witches, too, but modern-day (circa 1943) witches who fly planes instead of brooms. It’s also about giving one’s all for one’s country and one’s friends.
“The Guns of the Wastes” is a superbly-crafted tale of a shavetail lieutenant fresh from the academy encountering an alien enemy for the first time. Django Wexler flawlessly blends steampunk landcruisers, alien mechanical spiders, and military fiction into a more than satisfying story.
“The Graphology of Hemorrhage” by Yoon Ha Lee could aptly have been re-titled “Shadow Soup.” To make shadow soup you must first catch a shadow, add whatever vegetables you can steal, and boil it long enough to make it palatable or nourishing. Lee provides lots of nourishment in this palatable story about shadow characters, love, war, and the meaning and making of words.
“American Golem,” surprisingly, is directly related to “The Graphology of Hemorrhage.” Both stories are about war and the power of words, of symbols. The word golem itself means “my unshaped form.” Author Weston Ochse claims the Jews of Prague learned to make golems from the ancient Chinese. A Jew and a Navajo medicine woman create a half-human killing machine—a golem, a kachina--from the ashes of a dead American soldier. The symbols for revenge are etched on the golem’s forehead, and the blood of its maker assures the golem of immortality. The story is not only about fulfilling a mission and extracting revenge, but about self-sacrifice and what it means to be human. That theme—whether intended or unintended--seems to run through all of the stories in this marvelous book.
“Heavy Sulfur” is a WWI story of trench warfare and magic. Author Ari Marmell weaves a spell of High Magick straight from the annals of the Golden Dawn. Both English and German forces use sorcerers and necromancers to win the Great War, and Corporal Cleary is caught in the middle. Like other characters in Operation Arcana, Cleary is called upon to make the supreme sacrifice.
Hae Jung is a “Pathfinder.” As a People’s Republic nurse, Hae Jung tends dying soldiers in Korea in 1951. She is also a Pathfinder who guides the dying to their ancestors. T. C. McCarthy tells a heart-breaking tale of death and dying from the viewpoint of America’s Korean War enemy. This story is so well-written that I couldn’t stop reading despite the blood and horrors that assaulted my senses.
Glen Cook is an old friend. He’s a quiet, unassuming kind of guy who loves books as much as I do. “Bone Eaters” is a Black Company tale, and Cook is a master craftsman. He is also a guest of honor at this year’s World Fantasy Con in Saratoga Springs, NY. One can learn a lot by reading Glen Cook. Cook’s style is a bit like Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore at their best. Hungry ghosts, hunger incarnate, populate this story along with Croaker’s band of misfits. Chasing Midnight, a new addition to the company of wizards, is intriguing. Croker, the Annalist who worries about secret meanings hidden in words, records the events in his own words. He uses images like “Darling had us drafted and rolling as quick as it took the buzzard family to complete a couple of circles around the sky.” Glen Cook is always a good read.
“Bomber’s Moon” is about flying with the angels. It has been said that if God had meant man to fly, He would have given man wings. But with Hitler forming a pact with the devil, God has chosen sides and has granted man wings. The Archangel Uriel flies with the bomber’s crew, the bomber’s cannon have been replaced with water cannons spraying Holy water, the bombs have been blessed, the bullets have crosses etched into the lead. What could possibly go wrong? Himmler and Goebbels are in Dresden conjuring demons, and the crew heads to Dresden to destroy the city. What happens when the plane is hit by flak, their guardian angel deserts them, and the men are left without a prayer? A pacifist priest steps in and adds yet another complication to the story. Author Simon R. Green tells a gripping story that keeps the reader turning pages until the end.
I got to sit next to Seanan McGuire during an autographing session at Windycon. “In Skeleton Leaves” is the first Seanan McGuire story I’ve read. Set in a nightmare version of Peter Pan’s Neverland where The Pan is female and Wendys are a dime a dozen, this gender-bending tale of Lost Girls and Boys gives new meaning to the fun and games of childhood play. When Pans grow up or die, they are replaced by another Pan and the never-ending war in Neverland between the Pirates and the Lost Children continues forever. Pans are liars and fliers. And McGuire adds a few unexpected twists and turns to the tale before one final twist of the knife. If this is an example of McGuire’s imagination, I want to read all of her writing.
The entire anthology is lots of fun. There are a few important lessons to be learned about war and writing and the sacrifices that both require.
Operation Arcana, edited by John Joseph Adams. To be published in trade paperback March 3, 2015 by Baen Books. $15.00. Available now for pre-order discount at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Full Disclosure: Paul Dale Anderson was provided a free Advance Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 7, 2020
A wide scattering of stories, ideas, and quality in this one. I figured a collection of stories about fantasy + warfare had to be a slam dunk, but I was wrong.
Still, there are some gems in here, and some stories /worlds I would love to see fleshed out into novels.
My favorites:
Bone Eaters by Glen Cook (can't get enough of that Black Company action!)
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry (for fans of The Battle of Thermopylae)
The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler (Probably more because I love intriguing world building than for the story itself. Definitely one I want to see become a novel.)
Other stories I enjoyed (in no particular order):
The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee
Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell
The Way Home by Linda Nagata
American Golem by Weston Ochse
Blood, Ash, Braids Genevieve Valentine
The rest were either 'meh', not my cup of tea, or stories I didn't even bother reading because so many reviews warn me off.
Overall, probably the most hit-and-miss collection I've read so far from John Joseph Adams, but it still held some great work that I would recommend.
Still, there are some gems in here, and some stories /worlds I would love to see fleshed out into novels.
My favorites:
Bone Eaters by Glen Cook (can't get enough of that Black Company action!)
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry (for fans of The Battle of Thermopylae)
The Guns of the Wastes by Django Wexler (Probably more because I love intriguing world building than for the story itself. Definitely one I want to see become a novel.)
Other stories I enjoyed (in no particular order):
The Graphology of Hemmorhage by Yoon Ha Lee
Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell
The Way Home by Linda Nagata
American Golem by Weston Ochse
Blood, Ash, Braids Genevieve Valentine
The rest were either 'meh', not my cup of tea, or stories I didn't even bother reading because so many reviews warn me off.
Overall, probably the most hit-and-miss collection I've read so far from John Joseph Adams, but it still held some great work that I would recommend.
December 2, 2018
Overall, the general philosophy behind the collection of stories in this anthology might be expressed as something like, "What if we were to plop our army guys into our D&D game?" The results ran a wide and fascinating gamut, some focusing on modern military in a supernatural setting, while others went the other way and featured supernatural creatures crossing paths with something in our own world. In a few stories, war is quite literally hell. Okay, so we didn't quite get Cthulhu in power armor (no, really...Google it), but if we assume, if only for a little while, that things like goblins and selkies are real, what the imagination conjures can be quite interesting and even chilling.
April 1, 2015
I’m not one to typically read short story collections or anthologies but the theme behind the latest John Joseph Adams’ edited Operation Arcana was sufficiently intriguing to pique my interest. The focus of Operation Arcana is on military fantasy and includes a wonderful list of contributors. The stories in Operation Arcana run the gamut from high action, to more subtle medications of war and combat. By and large Operation Arcana is full of tight, entertaining fiction. I’m not going to go through every story in the anthology but there were really a handful of stories that absolutely blew me away.
Ari Marmell’s Heavy Sulfur offers an interesting take on the First World War; an area not often covered in fantasy fiction. Marmell grounds the story in reality; injecting it with subtle magic; it’s a unique backdrop and one I’d be interested in seeing employed more often. I skipped over Weston Ochese’s goofy-titled Seal Team 666 but his story here, American Golem, has me seriously reconsidering that decision. Featuring some serious action and a quiet mediation on the horror of war and the nature of existence make for a well-rounded and entrancing story. Myke Cole’s Weapons of the Earth, deals goblins and takes place in the magical Source seen in his Shadow Ops novels. While the Shadow Ops series has offered glimpses into the lives and culture of the goblins, Weapons of the Earth really delves into things as it focuses on a tribe of nomadic goblins who are being held as POWs by a less benevolent set of goblins. Weapons of the Earth is a real eye opener and I sincerely hope that Cole follows up with more short fictions set in the world of Shadow Ops; it’d be neat to get something from the Naga! I was extremely impressed with Seanan McGuire’s In Skeleton Leaves. In this story she reworks the story of Peter Pan in a very dark way; it is an interesting look at being forced to grow up in a land where that is supposed to be impossible.
Oddly the story I was most excited about, a Black Company story by Glen Cook called Bone Eaters, I found extraordinarily difficult to get into. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve finished the Black Company series combine with the fact that Bone Eaters takes place right around the events of The White Rose. It wasn’t bad in anyway but it was difficult going back to cast of character who, to me at least, have been mostly dead for a number of years. Perhaps it’s about time I went back and re-read The Black Company novels. While I’ve only discussed a hanful of stories that I thought were the best in the anthology there were no real disappointments (outside the above). Each and every story in Operation Arcana is a fine read with many offering a unique take on the anthology’s premise. Operation Arcana is an anthology that I whole-heartedly recommend to anyone and everyone who enjoy exciting military themed fantasy fiction.
Ari Marmell’s Heavy Sulfur offers an interesting take on the First World War; an area not often covered in fantasy fiction. Marmell grounds the story in reality; injecting it with subtle magic; it’s a unique backdrop and one I’d be interested in seeing employed more often. I skipped over Weston Ochese’s goofy-titled Seal Team 666 but his story here, American Golem, has me seriously reconsidering that decision. Featuring some serious action and a quiet mediation on the horror of war and the nature of existence make for a well-rounded and entrancing story. Myke Cole’s Weapons of the Earth, deals goblins and takes place in the magical Source seen in his Shadow Ops novels. While the Shadow Ops series has offered glimpses into the lives and culture of the goblins, Weapons of the Earth really delves into things as it focuses on a tribe of nomadic goblins who are being held as POWs by a less benevolent set of goblins. Weapons of the Earth is a real eye opener and I sincerely hope that Cole follows up with more short fictions set in the world of Shadow Ops; it’d be neat to get something from the Naga! I was extremely impressed with Seanan McGuire’s In Skeleton Leaves. In this story she reworks the story of Peter Pan in a very dark way; it is an interesting look at being forced to grow up in a land where that is supposed to be impossible.
Oddly the story I was most excited about, a Black Company story by Glen Cook called Bone Eaters, I found extraordinarily difficult to get into. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve finished the Black Company series combine with the fact that Bone Eaters takes place right around the events of The White Rose. It wasn’t bad in anyway but it was difficult going back to cast of character who, to me at least, have been mostly dead for a number of years. Perhaps it’s about time I went back and re-read The Black Company novels. While I’ve only discussed a hanful of stories that I thought were the best in the anthology there were no real disappointments (outside the above). Each and every story in Operation Arcana is a fine read with many offering a unique take on the anthology’s premise. Operation Arcana is an anthology that I whole-heartedly recommend to anyone and everyone who enjoy exciting military themed fantasy fiction.
September 7, 2015
As with most anthologies, there were several excellent stories, but more that were mediocre - even when written by authors whom I love and respect. Nevertheless, this was one of the few anthologies that I actually managed to finish from end to end so I guess I can recommend it to those readers who love military fantasy. Although Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell was my favorite, I think that the best story in the anthology was In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire. This one has all the hallmarks of a true classic. I probably liked The Way Home by Linda Nagata the least, although the story is quite well written, but it just failed to speak to my interests, I guess.
Black Company story was a real treat, but I must say that an anthology with this thematic that lacks a story by Steven Erikson is flawed at the start. I don't know if Mr. Adams approached Mr. Erikson or not - and even if he did, Erikson is really not a short story writer, but this had to be mentioned.
Black Company story was a real treat, but I must say that an anthology with this thematic that lacks a story by Steven Erikson is flawed at the start. I don't know if Mr. Adams approached Mr. Erikson or not - and even if he did, Erikson is really not a short story writer, but this had to be mentioned.
March 7, 2015
I'm probably a little biased when it comes to my own story, but now that I've read them all there's a lot of good stuff in here!
May 7, 2015
Çok çok iyi. Uzun inceleme gelecek
Read
January 10, 2022I remember first hearing about this book -- maybe when the editor was looking for a title? -- as a fantasy version of the popular military-sf subgenre, and which asked the question: why isn't there more military fantasy?
Of course, war has long been a part of modern fantasy since Tolkien's days, but there's a lot more chosen one mystical farm boys than actual planning of wars in the genre. Is there a reason for this? Well, maybe one reason is that so much fantasy takes place in a pre-industrial second world, where industry and war-on-an-industrial scale is the province of the dark lords.
I wonder if that's why so many of these stories take modern-day soldiers and put them in proximity to fantasy worlds or rules:
* Rules of Enchantment—David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell -- a unit of soldiers in a Tolkien-esque fantasy land
* American Golem—Weston Ochse -- a golem hunts down the killer of his "brother"
* Sealskin—Carrie Vaughn -- disillusioned Navy seal meets his selkie family
* The Way Home—Linda Nagata -- a unit trapped in fantasy land tries to get home one at a time
A second, related tranche might be the historical military fantasy -- all 20th century, because, again, that's probably where our modern idea of war really comes from (well, maybe the American Civil War would be another starting point, gosh I wonder if they received any submissions for that):
* Blood, Ash, Braids—Genevieve Valentine -- WW2 Soviet Night Witches
* Heavy Sulfur—Ari Marmell -- world war 1 demonology
* Pathfinder—T.C. McCarthy -- something's eating souls in a north Korean military hospital
* Bomber’s Moon—Simon R. Green -- the firebombing of Dresden by angels
The third group is actually out-and-out fantasy about war and soldiers:
* The Damned One Hundred—Jonathan Maberry -- a doomed kingdom makes a plan with vampires
* Mercenary’s Honor—Elizabeth Moon -- a mercenary unit settling down in a town fights an invading force
* The Guns of the Wastes—Django Wexler -- a new guy on a giant land ship deals with the weird aliens
* The Graphology of Hemorrhage—Yoon Ha Lee -- a sorcerer uses radical magic
* Weapons in the Earth—Myke Cole -- a group of captured goblin POWs get abused (note: technically this connects to Earth since the bad guys have human guns, but other than that, we don't see anything)
* Steel Ships—Tanya Huff -- wereseals vs. metal ships
* Bone Eaters—Glen Cook -- a Black Company story
* In Skeleton Leaves—Seanan McGuire -- a Peter Pan war story
Of these stories, I'm afraid I was listening to them as I fell asleep, and in fact, some of them didn't make me want to restart the story when I woke up; and I've had to refresh my memory with other reviews for many of the stories. Though to be fair, I'm in that phase of the year where I'm thinking more and more about Sherwood Anderson's nervous breakdown -- and thinking longingly of it. So maybe me bouncing off much of this book has more to do with that.
That said, I do admire that this book takes in everything from active war time activity to a slight case of PTSD after action. There were many stories that I liked, including Glen Cook's, which makes me want to read the Black Company series, and Elizabeth Moon's (also related to a series, I've learned). But while these stories were interesting and often a little removed, I found that I couldn't really get into a lot of the stories because I couldn't get into the characters and/or the stories weren't really about the typical dynamism of character: a good sergeant at the beginning of the story was likely to be a good sergeant at the end, no dilemma or journey required. That gave many of the stories a flatness to them, which feels like a problem in a book about life-or-death matters.
Of course, war has long been a part of modern fantasy since Tolkien's days, but there's a lot more chosen one mystical farm boys than actual planning of wars in the genre. Is there a reason for this? Well, maybe one reason is that so much fantasy takes place in a pre-industrial second world, where industry and war-on-an-industrial scale is the province of the dark lords.
I wonder if that's why so many of these stories take modern-day soldiers and put them in proximity to fantasy worlds or rules:
* Rules of Enchantment—David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell -- a unit of soldiers in a Tolkien-esque fantasy land
* American Golem—Weston Ochse -- a golem hunts down the killer of his "brother"
* Sealskin—Carrie Vaughn -- disillusioned Navy seal meets his selkie family
* The Way Home—Linda Nagata -- a unit trapped in fantasy land tries to get home one at a time
A second, related tranche might be the historical military fantasy -- all 20th century, because, again, that's probably where our modern idea of war really comes from (well, maybe the American Civil War would be another starting point, gosh I wonder if they received any submissions for that):
* Blood, Ash, Braids—Genevieve Valentine -- WW2 Soviet Night Witches
* Heavy Sulfur—Ari Marmell -- world war 1 demonology
* Pathfinder—T.C. McCarthy -- something's eating souls in a north Korean military hospital
* Bomber’s Moon—Simon R. Green -- the firebombing of Dresden by angels
The third group is actually out-and-out fantasy about war and soldiers:
* The Damned One Hundred—Jonathan Maberry -- a doomed kingdom makes a plan with vampires
* Mercenary’s Honor—Elizabeth Moon -- a mercenary unit settling down in a town fights an invading force
* The Guns of the Wastes—Django Wexler -- a new guy on a giant land ship deals with the weird aliens
* The Graphology of Hemorrhage—Yoon Ha Lee -- a sorcerer uses radical magic
* Weapons in the Earth—Myke Cole -- a group of captured goblin POWs get abused (note: technically this connects to Earth since the bad guys have human guns, but other than that, we don't see anything)
* Steel Ships—Tanya Huff -- wereseals vs. metal ships
* Bone Eaters—Glen Cook -- a Black Company story
* In Skeleton Leaves—Seanan McGuire -- a Peter Pan war story
Of these stories, I'm afraid I was listening to them as I fell asleep, and in fact, some of them didn't make me want to restart the story when I woke up; and I've had to refresh my memory with other reviews for many of the stories. Though to be fair, I'm in that phase of the year where I'm thinking more and more about Sherwood Anderson's nervous breakdown -- and thinking longingly of it. So maybe me bouncing off much of this book has more to do with that.
That said, I do admire that this book takes in everything from active war time activity to a slight case of PTSD after action. There were many stories that I liked, including Glen Cook's, which makes me want to read the Black Company series, and Elizabeth Moon's (also related to a series, I've learned). But while these stories were interesting and often a little removed, I found that I couldn't really get into a lot of the stories because I couldn't get into the characters and/or the stories weren't really about the typical dynamism of character: a good sergeant at the beginning of the story was likely to be a good sergeant at the end, no dilemma or journey required. That gave many of the stories a flatness to them, which feels like a problem in a book about life-or-death matters.
April 25, 2015
Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S Buckell
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry
Blood, Ash, Braids by Genevieve Valentine
Mercenary’s Honour by Elizabeth Moon
The Guns of the Waste by Django Wexler
The Graphology of Hemorrhage by Yoon Ha Lee
American Golem by Weston Ochse
Weapons in the Earth by Myke Cole
Heavy Sulfer by Ari Marmell
Steel Ships by Tanya Huff
Seal Skin by Carrie Vaughn
Pathfinder by T.C McCarthy
Bomber’s Moon by Simon R Green
In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire
Bone Eaters by Glen Cook
The Way Home by Linda Nagata
This anthology is connected by 2 things: soldiers and speculative fiction. Which is a pretty broad remit which I think is probably the main flaw of this book. It isn’t a major flaw because there is a lot of overlap in the speculative fiction fandom, but the bringing of high fantasy, sci-fi and urban fantasy together with such little connection doesn’t make it that coherent but I don’t think that’s especially needed; though some of the stories seem a bit out of place. I think it also helped that there are only 16 stories in this anthology – I’ve read a few lately that have a truly immense number of stories that tend to leave me thoroughly sick of the book before I’m half way through (and the fact I say “only” with 16 tells you how long they’ve been).
I’ll be honest, I kind of expected lots of action scenes and little in the way of plot – short stories and big epic fights don’t leave much room for anything else. Yes, I had low expectations (and a little semi-guilty expectation of shameless epicy action which, yes, I like, I admit it) and they were countered – a lot of these stories are surprisingly deep with either very original settings or fascinating conflicts.
In terms of original setting, I’m most impressed by In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire. A truly dark and downright disturbing retelling of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys war against the pirates. It’s dark, draws on some excellent elements of the Fisher King and is wonderfully thematic and dark and just plain eerie and slightly horrifying. It also has a fascinating retake on Wendy and Pan, turning them into titles – with male Wendys and female Pan being possible. It’s creepy and wonderful and shuddery-awesome
The Graphology of Hemorrhage by Yoon Ha Lee isn’t exactly an original setting per se – but the magic style of calligraphy presented is the most original concept in the book and related to, but utterly unlike anything I’ve read before. The art of written magic, of literature and culture and writing all underpinning magic which, in turn, comes at a terrible price for the caster is eerie and original and beautiful and, ultimately, tragic. The ending is desperately sad and bleak in its power. The wizard is a woman as well – and the characters are all East Asian.
I think Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S Buckell is probably the story I’d most want to see develop into a full novel and full series. Earth with portals opening up to a High Fantasy world with trolls and orcs invading Earth and human soldiers having to make alliances with elves and battle against the invaders. What I really like about it is the interesting way magic and technology meet – from helicopter gunships shooting trolls to using magic to give a military squad a more unified viewpoint and almost a hive mind. What I absolutely hate about this story, though, is it is written in the second person. This never ever ever ever works – I’ve never liked it. We follow one squad which includes a female soldier (who uses her mind bond to keep wandering-eyed men to focus) and it has a latino character as well.
There were several stories in this book which drew on real world conflicts. We’ve said before repeatedly how bad this could go with lots of appropriation but in general it didn’t go there. These taking of real world wars didn’t assert that magic caused the war or the atrocities within it – it’s just taking our world, adding magic and seeing how the mechanics of war would differ by adding woo-woo while not actually have it change the personalities involved
The Guns of the Waste by Django Wexler is a close competitor – the setting is steampunk alternate world with a racially diverse cast (including a protagonist and most of the cast) with several capable female characters holding military rank and a range of religions and cultures being developed in a very wide world that is nicely touched upon in very elegant, sparse writing. We get a powerful sense of the different cultures without having to go into too much detail and bogging down the story. We have a dire threat which has a wonderful sinister sense and some of that lovely epic conflict I was looking for.
Mercenary’s Honour by Elizabeth Moon is a high fantasy story centring around mercenaries. It’s not my favourite but it has interesting musing on loyalty, honour and contracts – conflicting loyalties and, interesting, the idea of how much a commander actually owes their soldiers. It’s an interesting take on honour which often looks at honour towards your enemies or loyalty to your lord – but what about the men under your command? It also has an aspect of looking at what an elderly mercenary – and one with a disability – does as he ages.
Blood, Ash and Braids by Genevieve Valentine is a World War 2 story following a squad of Russian female pilots. The Night Witches – actually drawing on the history of the real Night Witches and mentioning several of these actual women including Marina Raskova, Yevdokia Bershanskaya and Nadezhda Popova. This works without being too dubious because there is very little woo-woo in the story. The woo-woo comes from one of the pilots being an actual witch – but the way it is written it could equally be a superstition as much as actual magic (it’s also a really fascinating magic system) making it more of a reality based tale of these women’s heroism than “how they did it because woo-woo”
Heavy Sulfer by Ari Marmell is a World War 1 story – the British forces on the western front only now we have wizards among the machine guns controlling clouds of mustard gas and demons summoned in the trenches. It’s a fascinatingly well done and it’s an amazing combination I really just revelled in.
The characterisation isn’t bad… but kind of nothing new even with a nice twist at the end. They do include a female officer, her magic making her valuable and it’s clear that women are welcome in the arm because woo-woo isn’t limited to gender
Pathfinder by T.C McCarthy takes on the Korean war and, again, sensibly keeps the supernatural somewhat away from the conflict. War, with its brutality, its loss and the devastating pain as well as complex loyalties is all there in its human horror. The woo-woo is peripheral, there is a supernatural conflict using the war as a setting, covered by the war but not actually causing, affecting or being affected by the war; it’s one of the ways you can use these settings without appropriating it or lessening the scope of them and it’s well done. Our protagonist is a Korean woman, most of the cast is Korean and it seems to draw heavily from Korean beliefs. Her role as comfort and guide for the dying makes for a tragic yet bittersweet story and one where woo-woo doesn’t cure everything, but does make everything more bearable and understood.
Read More
The Damned One Hundred by Jonathan Maberry
Blood, Ash, Braids by Genevieve Valentine
Mercenary’s Honour by Elizabeth Moon
The Guns of the Waste by Django Wexler
The Graphology of Hemorrhage by Yoon Ha Lee
American Golem by Weston Ochse
Weapons in the Earth by Myke Cole
Heavy Sulfer by Ari Marmell
Steel Ships by Tanya Huff
Seal Skin by Carrie Vaughn
Pathfinder by T.C McCarthy
Bomber’s Moon by Simon R Green
In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire
Bone Eaters by Glen Cook
The Way Home by Linda Nagata
This anthology is connected by 2 things: soldiers and speculative fiction. Which is a pretty broad remit which I think is probably the main flaw of this book. It isn’t a major flaw because there is a lot of overlap in the speculative fiction fandom, but the bringing of high fantasy, sci-fi and urban fantasy together with such little connection doesn’t make it that coherent but I don’t think that’s especially needed; though some of the stories seem a bit out of place. I think it also helped that there are only 16 stories in this anthology – I’ve read a few lately that have a truly immense number of stories that tend to leave me thoroughly sick of the book before I’m half way through (and the fact I say “only” with 16 tells you how long they’ve been).
I’ll be honest, I kind of expected lots of action scenes and little in the way of plot – short stories and big epic fights don’t leave much room for anything else. Yes, I had low expectations (and a little semi-guilty expectation of shameless epicy action which, yes, I like, I admit it) and they were countered – a lot of these stories are surprisingly deep with either very original settings or fascinating conflicts.
In terms of original setting, I’m most impressed by In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan McGuire. A truly dark and downright disturbing retelling of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys war against the pirates. It’s dark, draws on some excellent elements of the Fisher King and is wonderfully thematic and dark and just plain eerie and slightly horrifying. It also has a fascinating retake on Wendy and Pan, turning them into titles – with male Wendys and female Pan being possible. It’s creepy and wonderful and shuddery-awesome
The Graphology of Hemorrhage by Yoon Ha Lee isn’t exactly an original setting per se – but the magic style of calligraphy presented is the most original concept in the book and related to, but utterly unlike anything I’ve read before. The art of written magic, of literature and culture and writing all underpinning magic which, in turn, comes at a terrible price for the caster is eerie and original and beautiful and, ultimately, tragic. The ending is desperately sad and bleak in its power. The wizard is a woman as well – and the characters are all East Asian.
I think Rules of Enchantment by David Klecha & Tobias S Buckell is probably the story I’d most want to see develop into a full novel and full series. Earth with portals opening up to a High Fantasy world with trolls and orcs invading Earth and human soldiers having to make alliances with elves and battle against the invaders. What I really like about it is the interesting way magic and technology meet – from helicopter gunships shooting trolls to using magic to give a military squad a more unified viewpoint and almost a hive mind. What I absolutely hate about this story, though, is it is written in the second person. This never ever ever ever works – I’ve never liked it. We follow one squad which includes a female soldier (who uses her mind bond to keep wandering-eyed men to focus) and it has a latino character as well.
There were several stories in this book which drew on real world conflicts. We’ve said before repeatedly how bad this could go with lots of appropriation but in general it didn’t go there. These taking of real world wars didn’t assert that magic caused the war or the atrocities within it – it’s just taking our world, adding magic and seeing how the mechanics of war would differ by adding woo-woo while not actually have it change the personalities involved
The Guns of the Waste by Django Wexler is a close competitor – the setting is steampunk alternate world with a racially diverse cast (including a protagonist and most of the cast) with several capable female characters holding military rank and a range of religions and cultures being developed in a very wide world that is nicely touched upon in very elegant, sparse writing. We get a powerful sense of the different cultures without having to go into too much detail and bogging down the story. We have a dire threat which has a wonderful sinister sense and some of that lovely epic conflict I was looking for.
Mercenary’s Honour by Elizabeth Moon is a high fantasy story centring around mercenaries. It’s not my favourite but it has interesting musing on loyalty, honour and contracts – conflicting loyalties and, interesting, the idea of how much a commander actually owes their soldiers. It’s an interesting take on honour which often looks at honour towards your enemies or loyalty to your lord – but what about the men under your command? It also has an aspect of looking at what an elderly mercenary – and one with a disability – does as he ages.
Blood, Ash and Braids by Genevieve Valentine is a World War 2 story following a squad of Russian female pilots. The Night Witches – actually drawing on the history of the real Night Witches and mentioning several of these actual women including Marina Raskova, Yevdokia Bershanskaya and Nadezhda Popova. This works without being too dubious because there is very little woo-woo in the story. The woo-woo comes from one of the pilots being an actual witch – but the way it is written it could equally be a superstition as much as actual magic (it’s also a really fascinating magic system) making it more of a reality based tale of these women’s heroism than “how they did it because woo-woo”
Heavy Sulfer by Ari Marmell is a World War 1 story – the British forces on the western front only now we have wizards among the machine guns controlling clouds of mustard gas and demons summoned in the trenches. It’s a fascinatingly well done and it’s an amazing combination I really just revelled in.
The characterisation isn’t bad… but kind of nothing new even with a nice twist at the end. They do include a female officer, her magic making her valuable and it’s clear that women are welcome in the arm because woo-woo isn’t limited to gender
Pathfinder by T.C McCarthy takes on the Korean war and, again, sensibly keeps the supernatural somewhat away from the conflict. War, with its brutality, its loss and the devastating pain as well as complex loyalties is all there in its human horror. The woo-woo is peripheral, there is a supernatural conflict using the war as a setting, covered by the war but not actually causing, affecting or being affected by the war; it’s one of the ways you can use these settings without appropriating it or lessening the scope of them and it’s well done. Our protagonist is a Korean woman, most of the cast is Korean and it seems to draw heavily from Korean beliefs. Her role as comfort and guide for the dying makes for a tragic yet bittersweet story and one where woo-woo doesn’t cure everything, but does make everything more bearable and understood.
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July 4, 2019
I wish wholeheartedly that I could say this was a good book, but it wasn't. Even by the standards of short story collections, this wasn't a great book. The best story in the whole bunch by far was the first one out of the gate and that felt like a tease. It was enough to get you excited and want more, and then everything after that failed to live up to expectations and then some.
If you're looking for a great book of short stories, this is not it at all. Keep moving, or better yet, pick up something by Harlan Ellison.
If you're looking for a great book of short stories, this is not it at all. Keep moving, or better yet, pick up something by Harlan Ellison.
October 1, 2018
Worst collection in memory, partly reflecting the value of a good title.
Arcana - noun: arcanum; plural noun: arcana secrets or mysteries.
[As in Major Arcana from the popular Tarot card decks.]
This book holds neither secrets nor mysteries, nor the magic one might anticipate given the title. Even usually top authors contributed writing I found mediocre, unoriginal, and depressing. Skip it.
Arcana - noun: arcanum; plural noun: arcana secrets or mysteries.
[As in Major Arcana from the popular Tarot card decks.]
This book holds neither secrets nor mysteries, nor the magic one might anticipate given the title. Even usually top authors contributed writing I found mediocre, unoriginal, and depressing. Skip it.
August 27, 2018
Did not finish.
As an LOTR fan, the first story was cool and had me cracking up at things like FOB Hammerhand, etc. Then there was the story about the Russian Night Witches and that was awesome. The story about the golem was ok. The others were just not very good and I gave up on the rest of the collection.
As an LOTR fan, the first story was cool and had me cracking up at things like FOB Hammerhand, etc. Then there was the story about the Russian Night Witches and that was awesome. The story about the golem was ok. The others were just not very good and I gave up on the rest of the collection.
May 29, 2020
I am not a lord of the rings or fantasy fan. I’ll admit that right up front. I do enjoy military stories though. I loved how this book was able to weave fantasy and military together. It had some amazing stories and a few nod fests, but overall it was a great collection of entertaining and well written stories.
Definitely worth a read if you like fantasy novels.
Definitely worth a read if you like fantasy novels.
February 4, 2024
Not a genre i've read before and i was happily surprised. My annoyance with compilations is the inconsistency of the enjoyment i get from the stories, but happily i enjoyed the majority of these. Nothing better than present day military taking on trolls and all the other kind of strange and unusual tales.
November 18, 2017
Great ones in this anthology. Liked the most, good with a mixing of SF and Fantasy with a lot historical, Second world war mostely, war fantasy included as well with supernatural things going on.
December 17, 2018
The anthology had some of my favorite shirt stories i will continue to reread this book!
June 26, 2019
Military fantasy - a genre I didn’t know I needed until I read this collection of short stories.
August 20, 2019
It was okay. Nothing really stood out. I guess, though, I'm just not all that interested in magic. The Peter Pan story was pretty cool, though.
September 6, 2019
Some stories were pretty good, others I didn't really care for. It was worth reading, though, not lost time.
January 24, 2020
Some weird, some good short stories of military fantasy. Made for easy listening on a long Jeep ride where I have a tendency to drift in and out of consciousness.
October 19, 2020
Several stories in this are quite good and none were disappointing.
January 24, 2022
For “In Skeleton Leaves” by Seanan McGuire. 5 stars
October 24, 2022
Outstanding.....
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