Tales from Tethedril

I was impressed by how well I seemed to "know" and "feel" the world of Tethedril after 294 pages; this book evokes a vivid and memorable picture of a unique planet, and for that reason alone it is worth reading. The individual stories are good too! My favorite's were the stories by Christie Golden, Elaine Cunningham, and R.A. Salvatore. The three seemed to be linked, thematically, really exploring the relative nature of morality, good and evil, and really giving some beautiful insight into the life of the saurans. "Family Tree" by Dan Parkinson has a wonderful idea, with the animated forest and its unique inhabitants. And "The Lazy Man" by Dan Parkinson shows that being lazy isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. I loved it! Douglas Niles gives us an interesting new form of magic, Mary H. Herbert tells a fine story of sacrifice that invokes Christianity with its title, and Mary Kirchoff presents us with a gift that appreciates and grows in value as time goes on. Finally, there's Ed Greenwood's tale, which won me back to Ed. I was quite disappointed with his novel SPELLFIRE, and hadn't read anything by Mr. Greenwood since that book, but "The Sword of Dreams" was an enjoyable read. This book is good from cover to cover, and I hope these writers (or others) do more with the world of Tethedril.

Tales from Tethedril is a wonderful creative idea by one of my favorite authors: R.A. Salvatore. The other authors in this book take something simple and full of imagination to a new and exciting level that is a pleasure to read and a page turner. Although most of the stories concentrate on the humans, their brutality and ignorance, their strength of mind and power of heart, all of the stories left me with wanting more. My first experience of Christie Golden, "The Ultimate Weapon," became my favorite story of the book. I urge everyone who knows of, or even doesn't know, these authors to pick it up and have a good read. I have a feeling that everyone will enjoy it.