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A review by mayajoelle
After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien by Martin H. Greenberg
3.0
Well. Some of the stories are very good, some are okay, and some are awful.
worth reading: "Troll Bridge" (some profanity), "Faith" (death/violence), "The Fellowship of the Dragon," "Nine Threads of Gold," "The Conjure Man," "Silver or Gold," "Up the Side of the Air," "Winter's King" (mature content), "Death and the Lady" (some mature content)
read with caution: "Reave the Just" (sexual content), "In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells" (sexual content, violence, strange religious content), "The Halfling House"
skip: "A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple," "The Dragon of Tollin," "The Decoy Duck" (sexual content), "The Naga," "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies," "Down the River Road" (seriously. do not read this one. ever.)
Would *not* hand to a child who enjoyed LOTR. Maybe worth it for a teen or adult who can weed through the awful bits. Not really in honor of Tolkien (except a few of the "worth reading" stories); frankly, I think he'd be horrified by most of it.
Thoughts on my favorite stories in the collection:
- The Fellowship of the Dragon: I really enjoyed this one, especially how most of the characters were women. Realized later it's by McKillip (I love her The Forgotten Beasts of Eld). I would've loved for it to be longer.
- Death and the Lady: This reminded me of Tam Lin. I liked it.
- Silver or Gold: Ahhhh, my favorite story in this book, possibly ever. The characters are memorable and I love the slow, soft romance. Plus the magic system! And the worldbuilding!
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read 12/22/2017
reread 4/1/2019
worth reading: "Troll Bridge" (some profanity), "Faith" (death/violence), "The Fellowship of the Dragon," "Nine Threads of Gold," "The Conjure Man," "Silver or Gold," "Up the Side of the Air," "Winter's King" (mature content), "Death and the Lady" (some mature content)
read with caution: "Reave the Just" (sexual content), "In the Season of the Dressing of the Wells" (sexual content, violence, strange religious content), "The Halfling House"
skip: "A Long Night's Vigil at the Temple," "The Dragon of Tollin," "The Decoy Duck" (sexual content), "The Naga," "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies," "Down the River Road" (seriously. do not read this one. ever.)
Would *not* hand to a child who enjoyed LOTR. Maybe worth it for a teen or adult who can weed through the awful bits. Not really in honor of Tolkien (except a few of the "worth reading" stories); frankly, I think he'd be horrified by most of it.
Thoughts on my favorite stories in the collection:
- The Fellowship of the Dragon: I really enjoyed this one, especially how most of the characters were women. Realized later it's by McKillip (I love her The Forgotten Beasts of Eld). I would've loved for it to be longer.
- Death and the Lady: This reminded me of Tam Lin. I liked it.
- Silver or Gold: Ahhhh, my favorite story in this book, possibly ever. The characters are memorable and I love the slow, soft romance. Plus the magic system! And the worldbuilding!
---
read 12/22/2017
reread 4/1/2019