SFRevu Review

Fellowship Fantastic by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes (Editors)
Review by Drew Bittner
DAW Paperback ISBN/ITEM#: 9780756404659
Date: 02 January 2008 List Price $7.99 Amazon US / Amazon UK / Show Official Info /

Heroic fiction, and especially fantasy, often have at their heart a strong, enduring friendship between two or more lead characters. Sometimes these are small teams of heroes, other times it's a simple partnership. Frequently it's the strength of that friendship--and whether it fails--that gives stories their dramatic weight.

In Fellowship Fantastic, editors Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes offer 13 stories that explore the dynamic of fellowships from different angles. Contributors including Alan Dean Foster, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Fiona Patton, Jody Lynn Nye and more all bring their writing talents to bear on those peculiar conjunctions of fantasy and friendship.

In "Almost Brothers" by Paul Genesse, Finn and Owen struggle to escape slave traders and return to their home. They face overwhelming odds but learn that friendship can survive in the strangest places
"Trophy Wives" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman explores the partnership between two women, who realize how much they need each other as they use their rare gifts to free others
In "Overcast" by Alan Dean Foster, Eric finds that the most unexpected things can be possessive... even jealous
Steven Schend's "Concerning a Gambit of Fraternity" offers up Oscar and Sam, two mismatched wizards joining the latest round a game where the stakes are reality itself
S. Andrew Swann takes on a classic friendship, as two sleuths plumb a fantastic mystery in Victorian England in "The Enigma of the Serbian Scientist"
and more!

This collection goes from the nearly-whimsical (Foster) to the very serious (Hoffman) without missing a beat. It's hard to do justice in a review to 13 stories--only a few are reflected in the brief descriptions above--but Greenberg and Hughes have assembled a very nice collection of stories about friendship, magic and more.

And the great thing about anthologies is, you're very likely to find a handful of stories that make the book more than worth the price... which is the case herein.

Recommended.

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