Warriors

By: George R. R. Martin - author/editor, Gardner Dozois - author/editor

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Christina Traister

Length: 31 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories. Since Homer first sang of the wrath of Achilles and the ancient Sumerians set down their tales of Gilgamesh, warriors, soldiers, and fighters have fascinated us; they are a part of every culture, every literary tradition, every genre. All Quiet on the Western Front, From Here to Eternity, and The Red Badge of Courage have become part of our literary canon, taught in classrooms all around the country and the world.

Our contributors make up an all-star lineup of award-winning and best-selling writers, representing a dozen different publishers and as many genres. We asked each of them for the same thing: a story about a warrior. Some chose to write in the genre they’re best known for. Some decided to try something different. You will find warriors of every shape, size, and color here, warriors from every epoch of human history, from yesterday and today and tomorrow, and from worlds that never were. Some of the stories will make you sad, some will make you laugh, and many will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Every story in this volume appears here for the first time. Included are: a long novella from the world of his Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, a new tale of “Lord John” by Diana Gabaldon, an “Emberverse” story by S. M. Stirling, a “Forever Peace” story by Joe Haldeman, and a long tale of humanity at bay by David Weber. Also present are original stories by David Ball, Peter S. Beagle, Lawrence Block, Gardner Dozois, Robin Hobb, Cecelia Holland, Joe R. Lansdale, David Morrell, Naomi Novik, James Rollins, Steven Saylor, Robert Silverberg, Carrie Vaughn, Howard Waldrop, and Tad Williams.

Many of these writers are best sellers. All of them are storytellers of the highest quality. Together they make a volume of unforgettable listening.

©2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 2011 George R.R. Martin

Not the right narrator for the book

I didn't listen to every story in the book, because I was too distracted by the narrator. He was talented, but just not the right person for the book. It is hard to explain exactly what was wrong about his voice, but it was awkward hearing him talk about mature topics. He should limit his narrating to young adult books, and some nonfiction.

I liked some of the stories I listened to. Others were forgettable. I would recommend reading it instead of listening.

Narrative

There are so many stories in this one audio book but only one narrator. I couldn't tell when one story ended and another began. Bad idea.

Intro was the best part of the book.

I loved the introduction! It made me want to try all new genres and to just pick up a book, any book and start to read it, regardless of genre or author. Some of the stories were good, some bizzare, some thought provoking, and some were way out there. I love the premise of the book (stories about Warriors regardless of genre) but some of the stories were nothing I would ever want to read again and I know what authors I would never even consider reading again. The narration was excellent. He sounded like he was talking to you, not reading and especially not overacting his reading.

Interesting collection of stories.

I enjoyed every bit of it. Highly recommended. Dunc and Egg was superb as all the other stories. I now have more fantasy authors to read

Solid audiobook, glad I bought it

What made the experience of listening to Warriors the most enjoyable?

Great variety of different stories in different styles. Cool way to discover new writers one might want to read more of.

Would you recommend Warriors to your friends? Why or why not?

I definitely would recommend this to my friends, especially the ones who love fantasy and science fiction.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I liked to take a break between stories. There is hardly a break between the end of one story and the beginning of the next, though. That I found somewhat annoying because you want the previous story to fade out in your mind before the next one is sprung on you.

Any additional comments?

I really only bought this for G. R. R. Martin's story, but there are some good listens among the others as well.

good and bad.

some great stories and few bad ones, overall worth the credit, I enjoyed most of them.

Entertaining

Would you listen to Warriors again? Why?

Yes. To review some of the Authors I was introduced to in this collection

What did you like best about this story?

Variety with a common theme

What does Patrick Lawlor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ease of listing. Could have been more animated with the charters

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Warriors

Any additional comments?

This is a nice collection of short stories by a variety of authors. Made good for short listening

Clink, Clink, Warrrriors Come Out and Plaaaaay

Only old farts like me will probably get the title, a reference to a classic B Movie called Warriors. Probably the only Warriors not included in this collection would be gang bangers.

It is hard for an anthology to get a high rating as it usually only takes one bad story to bring the whole rating down. If you are looking for that one good story, then this is an excellent collection. Most of these stories are over an hour long. There are twenty stories and the book is over 31 hours long. Some are shorter and the one by Martin is three and a half hours long. I was a little worried when I started the book, as usually anthologies start with one of there best stories, and this started with one of it's weakest stories. I would suggest that after ten minutes you are not enjoying the story, fast forward, there will be some great stories later. I also like this type of collection, as I got to hear from authors I have never heard from before. The Best story was from Lawrence Block and he writes in a genre a rarely read in. He has a new fan now and I will be seeking his writings out.

By the reviews a lot of people got this book for many different authors. I can only speak to my own tastes. I really liked the stories by Lawrence Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Robert Silverberg, Tad Williams and Joe Haldeman. The stories by Novik, Rollins, Ball, and Vaughn are pretty good. Stories by Hobb, Saylor, Weber, Morrell and Martin are okay.

Block's story is the most unique and scary in today's world. Lansdale's story is very funny. Williams and Haldeman's stories are furturistic, with Haldeman revisiting Forever Peace and focusing on sex. Rollins' story is about dog fighting. Martin continues the adventures of the Hedge Knight, which he started in Silverberg's Legend series.

If you like anthologies and Fantasy, then you will love Silverberg's Legend stories.

I first heard the narrator Lawlor, doing Jack Vance's Dying Earth book. He was good in that, as it involved elves, wizards and fairies. Whoever thought his little boy scout voice would be good doing Vikings or any tough guy, needs to find a new career. By reading the reviews you can tell he ruined it for many. I found it distracting and do believe I would have enjoyed reading the book better. The problem being it would have taken me months to read it, audible, even bad audible works so much better for me, especially long works like this.

Table of contents?

Any additional comments?

A table of contents so I can find the story I want to listen to without having to listen to the beginning of every chapter.

Tenuous connection to the term Warriors.

A good collection of talented authors. I had difficulty acertaining a common theme due to Diversity of thought.