I Heart Tolkien

If I ever had chance to wonder what my ultimate favorite highly specific genre is, this collection of short stories cinched it for me. The collection is called After the King edited by Martin H. Greenberg, and is a collection of stories written in honor of J.R.R. Tolkien.

This collection of stories is mostly written in the style of high fantasy and the vast majority of these stories manage to convey a huge sense of a world in just a few pages.  As short as they were almost every story in this book instantly took me to far off places and looking up from the pages was almost heartbreaking in the realization that the mundane world was still here.  It's this type of story telling that made me fall in love with reading in the first place.  The ability to take a reader somewhere, anywhere else and let them inhabit these other places and people for a short while is a true gift.  High fantasy is my most favorite of all the genre's, as much as I love to read and explore other types of books, when I am in need of a for sure fix, high fantasy it is, it rarely disappoints and always gives me the escape I look for when I am reading.  This collection stands out for several reasons.  The first reason is that most of the stories are written in the style of Tolkien.  I always found him to be less of a linear beginning to end person and more of a telling a story that's a piece of a larger story that takes place in a bigger universe.  I always felt that this style gave one many options, to be able to tell small personal stories and still have a sweeping epic over all tale.  Many of the stories in this collection give you that same feel.  The second reason is that every story in this book is good, true I enjoyed some more then others, but that's like saying I like dark chocolate sea salt carmals better than coconut truffles, I still love them both, I just have a slight preference for one over the other. Anyways all of the stories are very well written and I would pick up a book by any of these authors (many of which I already have).  I will tell you about of a few of my favorites, just to give you an idea.

A Long Nights Vigil at the Temple by Robert Silverbert-This story kind of blew my mind.  The author actually figured out a way to make aliens high fantasy.  I know, I know it's crazy I tell you, but seriously the care that went into crafting this tale was apparent and the result a work of art that makes one stop and think of how people view religion, stories, myths, fables, prophecies, strangers, etc. So much in so short a story!

The Dragon of Tollin by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough-This tale of inevitability, combined with some amazing verbiage that paints spectacular descriptions of a world that has been destroyed is just lovely.  The ability to convey a whole history through something as simple as a conversation between two strangers is amazing, and of course there is a dragon, which makes this essential fantasy reading. This haunting tale stuck with me for days after I had read it.

The Halfling House by Dennis L. McKiernan-I loved this story right off the bat.  It has a great sense of humor about it and gives homage to every fantasy character you that owes it's existence to the stories of Tolkien.  There are halfings, hobbits, warrows, pixies, leprechauns, gnomes, elves, dwarfs and every other creature you could possibly imagine.  Even better the story itself gives nods to the classic stories.  You can tell that the author has a real love for the stories that proceeded him.

Faith by Poul and Karen Anderson-This is the kind of story nine year old me would have read over and over and over.  It loses no magic now that I am an adult, but growing up I loved stories where kids around my age were the hero's.  This story has the potential to get very dark, but the ending is uplifting and hopeful and just everything you want it to be.  The goblins were terrifying, the kids had courage and the adults were just there to ensure the perfect ending, loved it.

Nine Threads of Gold by Andre Norton-This tale from a master of story telling was probably the most Tolkien like to me.  It was an origin tale, the start of a strong and powerful fellowship that you knew would go on to have many adventures. This story really felt like it was pulled from a longer saga and as great a story as it was on its own, feels like it would fit right into a greater tale.  These kind of stories remind me of the old sagas like Beowulf where the whole was made up of smaller stories.  Incredible.

Ok I could probably write something awesome about every story, but I really want you all to go pick this up and read it.  If you like fantasy in any way, shape or form than you really need this on your shelf.  I can already tell I am going to go back and pick this up and read my favorites over and over again any time I need an escape from the big bad world. I give it 8 out of 10 One Rings.  Happy Reading Everyone!