Sure, I enjoy a good sci-fi novel now and again--although I don't much care for ones based on TV shows because I'd rather just watch the show. But fantasy I am quite discriminating of, and this anthology by Jennifer Roberson I find to be a good portrait (Dorian Gray style) of what I dislike about the genre.
Genre: short story anthology (fantasy)
Plot: Roberson strives to have some variety in her plots, and to some degree she achieves this. The "some" should be a tip off to you. She has a various amount of settings, but the main characters are predominantly strong
Structure: Again, it varies due to the nature of the collection, but for the most part there are either extremely long "did I fall into a novel" stories, or short, almost inconsequential vignettes. Almost none of them felt "right," the way a good short story should feel. Fitting with the strong women theme, she mostly writes in the first person of her chosen heroine. This does little to persuade me against her actually writing of one woman's many past lives.
Execution: This is Roberson's main flaw. Despite her formal education, I just don't thinks he's very good at writing. Competent, yes; creative, at times. But definitely not good, which is especially puzzling considering she's the author of multiple multi-volume series. I found myself describing her style as vapid, pointless, wooden, and laughable in the non-intended way. Most of all wooden. There's just no spirit, no clever play of words that make her stories sparkle. All of her heroines felt very much like the same rip-off of the aforementioned Bradley (and warrior princess), and all the men felt like the same generic guy written over and over and over again, like a bad extra being used too many times.
Theme:Roberson rarely moves from the traditional, tried-and-true (I guess) fantasy themes--Arthur, Robin Hood, a nondescript medieval place, Norse mythology, and the strong, goddess-worshiping women who inhabit such places. She does have some more imaginative forays into modern settings, but for the most part I found them all terribly tired.
Read this if you like Marion Zimmer Bradley, or have a particular penchant for fantasy but want to hold off on your next 450 page epic. If you're not already a fan of the genre, I doubt this will do much to win you over.
1 out of 5 stars
Other works:
well, see for yourself
If you liked this, you might also like:
Margo Lanagan's Red Spikes and Black Juices anthologies
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Swords and Sorceresses anthologies
I've met LOTS of people that have fantastic educations, but have no talent. It's a shame really. Thanks for the heads up on this one. While I'm not that into reading fantasy, I've been known to stray into it every once in a while. I won't waste my time on this one :)
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