Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged)

Author - Le Guin, Williams, Terry, Ursula, Tad Goodkind ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Audio Download Book item from audible.com was reviewed on 10-Dec-2008.

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1) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. Many years ago, when this series of three books first came out in paperback, I bought the first volume because of the Stephen King Dark Tower Story. I love the Dark Tower series and when I accidentally stumbled on this story, I was very excited. Needless to say, I loved the novella but I also read the other novellas in the volume and quickly became an Orson Scott Card fan and have read the Ender series written by Card because of this volume (I was already a fan of Sci-fi so the Ender series was a logical place to start on Card books). This volume also got me interested more in the fantasy genre and before this had only read the Stephen R Donaldson series "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" which I still highly recommend as being one of the best fantasy series available. However, since reading volume 1 of the Legends series, I have become a huge fantasy fan.

So, I finally ran across this particular volume (Legends Volume 3) in a used book store and when I saw that Terry Pratchett and Tad Williams had contributed novellas, I had to buy it. To start off, I have not yet read any of the Jordan "Wheel of Time" series because I have heard so many different opinions about his style of writing. His books are huge to say the least so that has made me shy away from his series. I must say though, that after reading "New Spring" (which he has since expanded on to make a prequel novel) that I am interested in the series and plan on reading the first book to see if I like it. Yes, it was confusing for the first half of the story since I had no background to this series, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading and ended up enjoying the story.

The second story is Ursula LeGuin´s Story "Dragonfly". This story is simply beautiful. I have read some of LeGuin´s other stories but never any full novels. I WILL be reading this series, though I know the series is older than the others in this volume.

Tad Williams´ story is also well written and as great as I had expected. I own the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series but have not read it yet, though I have been looking forward to reading it. I have read his "Otherland" series (over 4000 wonderful pages) and loved every word of it. From reading the "Otherland" series, I consider Mr. Williams one of my favorite authors, right up there with Stephen King with character development and making the reader feel like you are there with the characters sharing the adventure with them. This guy is one of the greatest.

The last story is "The Sea and Little Fishes" by Terry Pratchett, another one of my favorite authors. This novella is just as funny and well written as any of his books. It is a great introduction to his Discworld universe and provides an excellent example of this series. Read this story, laugh, and nod your head in agreement to the social commentary that he throws in and I bet you will want to read more. Pratchett´s Discworld series will have you laughing and even on the verge of tears in some places. I would recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters (one of the Granny novels), "Guards! Guards!" (a great dragon story and introduction to the Night Watch of the Discworld series), or "Mort" ( a hilarious story about a favorite Discworld character known as "Death". Did you know that the great stallion that "Death" rides is named "Binky"? How funny is that?)

Anyway, I went on a lot more about these stories then I intended. Get the Legends series, all three books and then get the new Legends II series which also has some great novellas by authors like Terry Brooks and another one by Tad WIlliams which is based on that great "Otherland" series. You will not be disappointed. It is well worth the money you spend.¤

2) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. I purchased this book looking for the stories by King and McCaffrey, only to find out that they are in a different volume. The reviews and book info are the same for all three volumes, so I suppose this review will also be listed on all three. Anyway, this is a review for LEGENDS 3!

There are four stories in Legends 3:

New Spring, by Robert Jordan, a Wheel of Time story.

Dragonfly, by Ursula K. Le Guin, an Earthsea story.

The Burning Man, by Tad Williams, a Memory, Sorrow and Thorn story.

The Sea and Little Fishes, by Terry Pratchett, a Discworld story.

This is a case where they saved the best for last :) Each story gets progressively better. I thought I would go ahead and read this book rather than return it since I am always on the lookout for new (to me) fantasy writers. After all the hype about Robert Jordan´s Wheel of Time series, I must say I was sorely dissappointed. The story was fairly interesting, and maybe the books are better than this short story, but I can´t say I´m in much of a hurry to buy them now. However, I think maybe my daughter might like the children´s versions.

Dragonfly was better, and the ending was the best part of all. If this was the beginning of the series, I´d be much more likely to want to buy the books, but from what I can figure out, this happens at the end of the series. Will we ever find out what happens next? I kinda doubt it. There hasn´t been a new book in this series for a long time. But, I might eventually check this series out.

The Burning Man was pretty cool. It seemed to kinda stand alone though. Can´t really imagine what the series is like.

The Sea and Little Fishes was the coolest. The whole Discworld thing, the world being flat and flying thru space on the backs of four elephants riding on a giant turtle was a little weird, but that hardly had anything at all to do with the story. It was about witches, not so much about magic as how they interacted with one another and with the mortals all around them. I think I´d like to read more of these.

I hope you find this helpful and don´t make the same mistake that I did, thinking all of these stories are in one book, because they are actually in three. If you did find it helpful, please vote that you did. Thanks!¤

3) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. Yes I know it´s probably outrageous to the other authors of this book (but I don´t care); I bought it for the Terry Pratchett short novel. The Terry Pratchett short novel "All the little fishes" (in case your wondering) takes place on discworld, revolving around Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg and the witch trials. These are the trials they have at the Ramtops every year where each witch proves her worth and shows off her magic ability. If you have the Nanny Ogg cookbook or want to learn more about the witch trials there are references to it in there. It is an excellent short story around 80 pages. However what makes it worth reading is that it really has the No-nonsense gritty fun of Granny Weatherwax proving she is the best of all the witches! Nothing like a contest of wills to bring out the wickedness. If you like Granny weatherwax or are at least smart enough to be afraid of her this story is for you! The other authors are worth a glance too, after all they got famous for some reason or other. I do have to admit Anne McAffery also tempted me to get the book as there is a pern dragon saga story as well, and her stuff is also a good read for sci-fi fans.¤

4) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. If you are craving a new story in the Wheel of Time, try this one. It is a great look into the past of Moiraine and Lan. It is something that was hinted at in the main novels, but it certain expands on the readers knowledge of their relationship. Lan for much of the series is stone cold and he is hard to relate to, much like Rand 7-10. Lan is much like the boy Rand used to be, except a warrior.

It has to be read after 4 or 5, or it won´t be as thoroughly enjoyed (thats for newbies). The great thing is Robert Jordan expressed an interest to do another such novella if the opportunity arose. Little stories can be found in "The World of Robert Jordan´s the Wheel of Time" til the next book comes out.¤

5) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. I read Legends in one piece, so please bear with me reviewing here. Legends (and Far Horizons) as well, were a brilliant move. Short stories about the worlds you know and love, in one book with yet unexplored worlds... it´s awesome, both from the fan´s and the publisher´s point of view.

The quality of the stories was high. King´s story was beautiful and enchanting, I am not a great fan of Pratchett, though, Feist and Goodkind´s stories were entertaining enough, if not a little predictable.

I felt myself also highly attracted to Williams´ story for some reason. And I havent even read the series. Still gotta find the first book somewhere. :)
Jordan´s story, as a WOT fan, was nice enough. It was nice to be back in the WOT world again (this was during the wait for book 9). For me, it grabbed hold and didnt let go. Although I agree that it might be a little vague and incomprehensible for the people who are not familiar with the Wheel of Time.
The big thing about Legends though, has got to be the Hedge Knight. It got me to reading Martin´s work, and it had got me to favoring Martin above Jordan as soon as I was done with the series.

Legends did what it was made for - introduce fans into worlds they havent explored yet, and show them a little bit more of the worlds they know and love. So yes, Legends was brilliant.¤

6) Audio Download Book Legends: Stories by the Masters of Fantasy, Volume 3 (Unabridged) by audible.com. The great anthology of short novels by the masters of modern fantasy.

Robert Jordan relates crucial events in the years leading up to The Wheel of Time in "New Spring."

Ursula K. Le Guin adds a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portraying a woman who wants to learn magic, in "Dragonfly."

Tad Williams tells a dark and enthralling story of a haunted castle in the age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, in "The Burning Man."

Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, of a magical contest and the witch Granny Weatherwax, in "The Sea and Little Fishes."
¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Jan-2009, , 390-710-8X0-540-370-QVB-8

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