Very Best of Tad Williams

[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 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