The Book of Swords is an anthology of fantasy stories collected by American author and anthologist Gardner Dozois, released in print on October 10, 2017, and in audiobook on October 19, 2017.
Background George R. R. Martin clarified in January 2017 that unlike his previous anthology collaborations with Dozois, he was merely a contributor to The Book of Swords, which was edited by Dozois alone. Dozois notes in his introduction that this anthology is set to focus on the fantasy sub-genre of sword and sorcery, which he notes has often been mischaracterised as "epic fantasy", and collected these stories to reassert and exemplify the sword and sorcery genre in its own right. He notes that the anthology is intentionally a collection of the sub-genre's stable of "classic" writers, such as Holland, Nix, Hobb and Martin, along with a range of newcomers to the genre, such as Bear, Tidhar, Liu and Lynch.
Contents Title Author Narrator Notes Introduction Gardner Dozois Arthur Morey"The Best Man Wins"K.J. ParkerJohn Lee"Her Father's Sword"Robin HobbKatharine McEwanA Realms of the Elderlings story"The Hidden Girl"Ken LiuKim Mai Guest"The Sword of Destiny"Matthew HughesElliot Hill""I Am a Handsome Man," said Apollo Crow"Kate ElliottSteve West"The Triumph of Virtue"Walter Jon WilliamsElliot Hill"The Mocking Tower"Daniel AbrahamRichard Brewer"Hrunting"C. J. CherryhJohn LeeRelating to the Norse mythological sword of the same name"A Long, Cold Trail"Garth NixNicholas Guy SmithAlso published in the collection Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer by Garth Nix (2023)"When I was a Highway Man"Ellen KushnerKirby Heyborne"The Smoke of Gold is Glory"Scott LynchRalph Lister"The Colgrid Conundrum"Rich LarsonMark Deakins"The King's Evil"Elizabeth BearJulia Whelan"Waterfalling"Lavie TidharMark Deakins"The Sword Tyraste"Cecelia HollandSteve West"The Sons of the Dragon"George R.R. MartinRalph ListerA historical writing set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire
Audiobook The audiobook version of The Book of Swords was released on October 19, 2017. Its narrators include Arthur Morey, Katharine McEwan, Kim Mai Guest, Elliot Hill, Steve West, Richard Brewer, Nicholas Guy Smith, Kirby Heyborne, Ralph Lister, Mark Deakins, and Julia Whelan. This collection totals 22 hours and 13 minutes, and was produced by Random House Audio for HarperCollins Publishers.
References
External links The Book of Swords at ISFDB