Sword And Sorceress Xvii [Paperback]

1) "Memories of the Sea" by Dave Coleman-Reese -- A storyteller, who can hear the stories of the dead via pearls, translates what they tell her of people's past lives to a bar full of sailors. Another good first-time S&S story/author.
2) Inspired by Hercules and the Amazons, a princess petitions the Amazons for "Free Passage" (by Mary Catelli) to an island with a curse-breaking herb.
3) "The Conjuror's Light" by Lisa Campos -- A conjuror is commanded by her king to find the mythical Warblade. One of the longest stories here, but a very good S&S debut by Campos.
4) Based on an article T. Borregaard read on historical warfare, "My Sister's Song" tells of a warrior's plan to stop an invading Roman squadron, without using weapons. An interesting story, but not very surprising, since their method is revealed within the first couple pages.
5) "The Summons" by Bunnie Bessell -- A bodyguard is summoned to the Temple for another task: to kill the prince she's been protecting. One of my favorites.
6) "Luz" by Patricia Duffy Novak -- An outcast tries to intercept a child slavery ring, and in doing so, redeems herself in the eyes of the Goddess. It's hard to understand Luz's devotion to a community that treats her so poorly, yet everything is explained by the end.
7) "Caelqua's Spring" by Vera Nazarian -- A ghostlike water entity returns to find her brother. I'm not sure I understood this one at all.
8) "Deep As Rivers" by Cynthia McQuillin -- A female troll stumbles upon a dying elf and seeks the help of a witch, only to suffer from what the elf suffers (a broken heart) when she falls for him.
9) "Weapons at War" by Charles Laing -- A warrior is assisted (though reluctantly) in battle by her temperamental enchanted sword, as well as by her other talking weapons. Brief story, with a good moral.
10) "Hell Hath No Fury...." by Lee Martindale -- A bard is summoned to perform for the demonbred baroness and learns of her parentage.
11) "An Exchange of Favors" by Dorothy Heydt -- A young woman is asked for a favor by a god (Mercury).
12) "Price of the Sword" by Kim Fryer -- A witch is approached by a soldier to remove a curse from her bloodthirsty sword.
13) "Demon Calling" by ElizaBeth Gilligan -- After her mistress abandons her, a young woman seeks shelter from a dangerous stranger and finds the answer to her mistresses question: What are you?
14) "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" by Deborah Wheeler -- A witch is imprisoned for her ability to manipulate metals.
15) "The Haunting of Princess Elizabeth" by Carrie Vaughn -- Three ghosts protect Elizabeth I on her way to the throne as Queen of England. Enjoyable.
16) "Shadow Soul" by Laura J. Underwood -- A mage tracks down a shadow demon in order to save the soul of a bride.
17) "Memories Traced in Snow" by Dave Smeds -- A scholar helps her cousin find the cause of his mysteriously stolen memories.
18) "Valkyrie" by Jenn Reese -- A Norse woman mourns the sudden loss of her son. Good twist at the end.
19) A warrior-turn-slave offers to engage in a "Soul Dance" (by Lisa Silverthorne) to make peace between two warring tribes.
20) "Lady of Flame" by Diana L. Paxson -- During warring times, a Norse wisewoman has visions of a burning goddess in connection with an Irish slavewoman.
21) "The Tears of the Moon" by Cynthia Ward -- A young woman has visions of barbarians invading her village, which turn out to be true. With a bit of unrequited love thrown in, this is a great ending to this anthology.

Sadly, this was the last S&S anthology Bradley had an active hand in before dying in 1999--though she did help prepare a couple others, with the help of Elisabeth Waters, who stepped in as editor for volumes #18-20 and will be replaced by another S&S contributor (and Bradley's sister-in-law): Diana L. Paxson. If you're a fan of this feminist fantasy series, then getting this book--along with the others--is worth it. There're some really good stories in here.

As with all anthologies, there are submissions that appeal to my sense of "good story" more than others. My personal favorite from this one was Carrie Vaughn's "Haunting of Princess Elizabeth."

The series as a whole is very good, although some volumes were stronger than others. I would rate this one as the best of the series, and with MZB's death, it may be the last. Not a certainty; it is possible, I suppose, that the publishers may choose to continue the series with a new editor, possibly MZB's assistant of the last few years. But I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

There are only three stories in this collection that are continuations of the adventures of characters met in previous anthologies: "An Exchange Of Favors", by Dorothy Heydt (the adventures of Cynthia, The Witch of Syracuse); "Shadow Soul", by Laura J. Underwood (Ginny, celtic wisewoman); and "Lady Of Flame", by Diana Paxson (Bera, Norse Voelva). But there are many fine one-shot stories here, and no bad ones. If this is the end of the line for the series, it is going out in fine style. Hopefully, there will be more to come.