Review only for The Fixed Stars . The Fixed Stars is a short story set in October Daye's world about a 1500 years before the events in the series. It's told from the point of view of my favourite side character the Luidaeg. Back then she was still going by the name given to her by her parents - Antigone but she was already bound by her sister's geas. In this story she betrays Faerie to ensure the future of all mixed-bloods and in thus making sure that our favourite changeling will be born and le...

Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt bring together a nice compilation of fantasy military stories. There are several known names here (Glen Cook, Elizabeth Moon, and Larry Correia among them). My favorite stories are Glen Cook's "Bone Candy" and Elizabeth Moon's "First Blood." That is not to say I did not enjoy the other tales, but these are the ones I enjoyed the most. Read and see which you like.

** Ashes and Starlight (Runelords) by David Farland Number of 'Runelords' books read by me before reading this story: 0. Number I'll read after having read this story: yeah, still likely 0.'Classic' fantasy with a very 80's feel, mixed with 'alien-invasion.' Almost felt like a tie-in to a D&D-style game. The story is action-oriented, with a captive warrior-prince, a buffoonish king, and a winsome young princess. It felt like an episode from a longer story, not a self-contained piece. The writing...

Review of The Fixed Stars2.5 starsI'm sorry to say it, but even though this short story was told from my favorite character's perspective, I didn't enjoy it very much. It's not because the story was bad - it wasn't. Wars, fights and betrayals are just not my cup of tea.

Overall rating: 3.48273333 stars. Yes, I did have to use my waterproof calculator to figure this out. Arthropodic disclaimer (updated April 6, 2018): I got this collection because it features a story from a semi-crappy series called the Mostest Awesomest Black Company of Shrimpy Gloriousness (MABCoSG™), by some semi-talented guy called Glen Cook is a God (GCiaG™). I might did bother to read the shorts by Annie Bellet and Larry Correia (because reasons) in the near future, provided my murderou...

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews Shattered Shields edited by Brozek and Schmidt is an anthology focused on military fantasy, specifically heroic struggles and epic combat. Here seventeen short stories and novellas explore the vast expanse of military fantasy in all its varied forms from adventures in hither unexplored worlds to new tales from established worlds such as David Farland’s Runelords, Elizabeth Moon’s Paksenarrion, and Glen Cook’s Black Company. But no matter the setting, wh...

Only read The Fixed Stars by Seanan McGuireWhile this was a nice glimpse into the Luidaeg's past I really didn't understand the significance of it, but hopefully I found that out soon. In this story there's a battle between Faerie and The Merlin's, and the Luidaeg betrays her own kind, because she knows what will happen if she doesn't. As of right now all these short stories involve either Tybalt or The Luidaeg. I don't why that is, but I do enjoy a look into their pasts. We always get hints of

(Just in case this short story gets merged with the anthology it was originally published in and this review ends up over there: This review is for the Seanan McGuire story, "The Fixed Stars.")I LOVE THE LUIDAEG SO MUCH.I want to see more of Old Faerie SO BAD.Merlins!Spoilers (through A Red-Rose Chain) and speculation: (view spoiler)[So in this story we find out that merlins have only one magical scent, because their magic is less complex than fae magic. I'm 100% certain this is going to turn ou...

I really cannot laud Seanan McGuire's talent enough. Her October Daye series appears on the surface to the casual reader as yet another in a multitude of fluffy urban fantasy series.One would be dead-wrong in going with that assumption, as this dark and richly crafted tale affirms. I have only read through Book 4 of the series, and I really would not recommend reading this short story, found in the compilation "Shattered Shields" any sooner than that. This is the story of the Luideag, here refer...

Please note: this review will be updated as I read more stories from the anthology.So as I mentioned this is an anthology of short fantasy stories. The collection consists of the following:The Keeper of Names by Larry Correia.In an oppressive medieval society a rebellion is brewing among its lowest cast (slaves). Suddenly a guy shows up among rebels who seems to have overall cynical (or realistic, depending on the point of view) attitude toward the whole revolution thingy. Can he convince others...

Bone Candy (The Chronicles of the Black Company #1.3) is like a prologue to Port of Shadows (The Book of the North #1.5).“When is the battlefield not a battlefield?” “When is my enemy not an enemy?”“We’ll win one big time without lifting a blade if those two survive.”“When it’s your friend patting your back with one hand while sticking a dagger in with the other.”

I received an early copy of this book through NetGalley.Epic fantasy was my preferred genre through my teen years and feels like a cozy read for me. As with most anthologies, this was hit and miss for me, in part because I was not familiar with all of the existing settings that were used and that did make it difficult to follow along sometimes. It was nice to see diversity reflected through the stories, from varied skin colors to bonded pairs of warrior lovers. It definitely felt like a collecti...

A short story set very far into the backstory of the October Daye stories. This is the turning point of the war between Faerie and man and is a look at how the Luidaeg set up events to force Oberon's hand. It's a touching piece of history and gives a lot of insight into one of the oldest and more mysterious characters in the setting.

Quite a good collection of stories. Some heavy hitters in here, and all are very high quality. Given a chance, I'd definitely read more collections by this editor. All the stories were entertaining, and I can honestly say every one was an easy read, and despite the wide assortment of stories in this collection, only one story from the whole bunch failed to interest me, so I consider that a win by all involved. The fact that I blew through it in little more than an afternoon just speaks volumes f...

Shattered Shields is an anthology of military fantasy edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Jennifer Brozek. Included are seventeen new stories from such well-known authors as Glen Cook, Elizabeth Moon and David Farland. Some are set in established worlds, others in new universes. It’s a wide selection of tales dark, light, serious and humorous. Swords and sorcery, hack and slash. About half-way through the anthology, I did have to put it aside for a couple of days. I found it hard to consider each...

I picked this up for the Seanan McGuire piece, but found myself plunged into many different worlds in the other stories as well. I enjoyed nearly all of them, and was particularly happy with the diversity in the pieces.

If you're on my Christmas gift list and you read fantasy, I'm sending you a copy of Shattered Shields. It's just that good of a collection.One of the most surprising and enjoyable selections on my reading list this year, Shattered Shields has something for everyone. In addition to providing hours of enjoyable reading, the collection of stories from authors like Larry Correia, David Farland, Glen Cook, and Seanan McGuire is full of bite-sized portions of fantastical adventure. If commitment is a

For all the fantasy and short fiction I read, I rarely read fantasy short fiction. The Shattered Shields anthology aptly filled this void in my reading, bringing together both familiar and unfamiliar authors. Like any collection of short fiction, not all of the story worked for me. The ones that did resonate, though, were especially astounding. Even considering myself well read, I was surprised at how many of the authors and worlds on display were new to me.I can’t give a rundown of every story

An enjoyable collection of short stories. I've definitely found a couple of new authors to follow! My particular favourite is 'Yael Of The Strings' about a bard forced to fight against giant spiders! Most of the stories aren't very long but still manage to entertain.

Mixed bag of stories, best (or, at least, I liked them best:• Vengeance• The Gleaners• Bone Candy