The Very Best of Tad Williams

(Paperback)

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Description

Previously collected in multi-author anthologies and limited hardcover editions, these superlative tales of dragons, super-soldiers, wizards, cyberpunks, heroes, and fools, are now available together for the first time in paperback. Showcasing the exhilarating breadth of Williams' imagination, these stories hearken to the tales of such classic fantasists as J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Ray Bradbury, and Peter S. Beagle.

Reviews

[STARRED REVIEW] "This marvelous short fiction retrospective testifies to the breadth of Williams's creativity. All but one of these 17 otherworldly tales have appeared in magazines or anthologies, but fans will welcome the chance to have them all in one place. Several of the earlier pieces are particularly charming, including "The Old Scale Game," with its thoroughly modern monsters, and "Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air", a chortling version of the book of Genesis. Williams effectively portrays poignant human regrets and longings in "Three Duets for Virgin and Nosehorn," a miniature masterpiece, and explores the paradoxes of religious belief in "The Stranger's Hands" and "And Ministers of Grace." "A Stark and Wormy Knight," a linguistic tour de force, shows without one misplaced word just how clever dragons can be. Williams's sensitivity to atmosphere and trademark attention to telling detail shine through most of the selections in this varied collection of little gems." --Publishers Weekly "Throughout this collection Williams ably demonstrates that he is a jack of all trades -- and their master as well." --Interzone "Obviously fans of Tad Williams will enjoy this, but then anyone with a sense of humour, a love of the unknown and anyone that enjoys a good tale should benefit from these stories." --Fantasy Book Review "An essential addition to the bookshelf for fans of Tad Williams and also a great opportunity for new readers to sample the breadth of his storytelling prowess." --SF Signal "Obviously, Williams' many fans will eat this up. However, those who have been thinking about reading some of his work but have been hesitating will find this book a great indoctrination..." --January Magazine "Of the far too many authors cramming the fantasy field with seemingly endless series, only a few are genuinely worthy of our time. Very Best of Tad Williams proves that he is among this select company, and may also cause some to drastically re-evaluate the talents of this prolific and popular author, and discover his other equally satisfying works." --Bookgasm "Williams does a masterful job at writing epic storylines. So I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. And it was great." --Bookstooge "well written and fun" --Drunken Dragon "For readers unfamiliar with Tad Williams' writing, this may be the perfect springboard, as opposed to launching into epic fantasies, or even series of any sort. One of the more surprising books I've had the pleasure of reading this year, and I say that in spite of the fact that I was already a huge fan of Williams' work." --The Cover Contessa

Author Bio

Tad Williams is a bestselling fantasy author whose works include Tailchaser's Song; The War of the Flowers; Caliban's Hour; and series novels including Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; and Otherland. He is also the author of the comic miniseries, Next published by DC Comics. He lives in Soquel, California.