Legends Books

“ A dream team . . . Legends is the rarest of the rare—an entire collection of original short novels by top fantasy writers.” — USA Today Acclaimed writer and editor Robert Silverberg gathered eleven of the finest writers in fantasy to contribute to this collection of short novels. Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series: from Stephen King’s opening piece set in his popular Gunslinger universe to Robert Jordan’s early look at his famed Wheel of Time saga, these stories are exceptionally well written and universally well told. Features short stories set in the worlds of . . . Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth Orson Scott Card’s Tales of Alvin Maker Robert Silverberg’s Majipoor Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Tad Williams’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Anne McCaffrey’s Pern Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time “There’s enough color, vitality and bravura displays of mythmaking in this rich sampler to sate faithful fans and nurture new readers on the stuff of legends still being created.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review “What is so noteworthy about this collection is the fact that all the selections are first rate.” — Booklist “An enjoyable sampler of the best high fantasy available today.” — San Francisco Chronicle

Fantasy fans, rejoice! Seven years after writer and editor Robert Silverberg made publishing history with Legends , his acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, the long-awaited second volume is here. Legends II picks up where its illustrious predecessor left off. All of the bestselling writers represented in Legends II return to the special universe of the imagination that its author has made famous throughout the world. Whether set before or after events already recounted elsewhere, whether featuring beloved characters or compelling new creations, these masterful short novels are both mesmerizing stand-alones—perfect introductions to the work of their authors—and indispensable additions to the epics on which they are based. Beyond any doubt, Legends II is the fantasy event of the season. ROBIN HOBB returns to the Realm of the Elderlings with “Homecoming,” a powerful tale in which exiles sent to colonize the Cursed Shores find themselves sinking into an intoxicating but deadly dream . . . or is it a memory? GEORGE R. R. MARTIN continues the adventures of Dunk, a young hedge knight, and his unusual squire, Egg, in “The Sworn Sword,” set a generation before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire. ORSON SCOTT CARD tells a tale of Alvin Maker and the mighty Mississippi, featuring a couple of ne’er-do-wells named Jim Bowie and Abe Lincoln, in “The Yazoo Queen.” DIANE GABALDON turns to an important character from her Outlander saga—Lord John Grey—in “Lord John and the Succubus,” a supernatural thriller set in the early days of the Seven Years War. ROBERT SILVERBERG spins an enthralling tale of Majipoor’s early history—and remote future—as seen through the eyes of a dilettantish poet who discovers an unexpected destiny in “The Book of Changes.” TAD WILLIAMS explores the strange afterlife of Orlando Gardiner, from his Otherland saga, in “The Happiest Dead Boy in the World.” ANNE McCAFFREY shines a light into the most mysterious and wondrous of all places on Pern in the heartwarming “Beyond Between.” RAYMOND E. FEIST turns from the great battles of the Riftwar to the story of one soldier, a young man about to embark on the ride of his life, in “The Messenger.” ELIZABETH HAYDON tells of the destruction of Serendair and the fate of its last defenders in “Threshold,” set at the end of the Third Age of her Symphony of Ages series. NEIL GAIMAN gives us a glimpse into what befalls the man called Shadow after the events of his Hugo Award–winning novel American Gods in “The Monarch of the Glen.” TERRY BROOKS adds an exciting epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara in “Indomitable,” the tale of Jair Ohmsford’s desperate quest to complete the destruction of the evil Ildatch . . . armed only with the magic of illusion. From the Hardcover edition.

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."