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mburnamfink's review against another edition
4.0
Warriors 1 is part of an interesting genre bending project by Martin and Gardner Dozois to create an anthology of original fiction on war with contributions from science fiction, fantasy, and history (I didn't spot any contemporary thrillers on the list, but maybe in part 2.) These are major genre writers here, with tentpole contributions from Joe Haldeman and George R.R. Martin, as well as names you should recognize.
80% of people will probably buy this book because it has another Dunk & Egg story in it. I am sad to say that Martin's contribution is middling at best. Another tourney, another look at Westeros from the bottom, only slightly leavened by the evil and powerful Hand of the King, and stirrings of rebellion. Haldeman's contribution is similarly a thematic retread, with soldiers linked into a 10 person platoon remotely operating nine foot tall active camo robots used as a metaphor to explore the bonds of battle and the wounds of their absence.
The best story, and I think the one that'll stick with me, is by longtime SF master Robert Silverberg, with the remnants of a large army guarding a barren frontier, deciding whether or not to carry on with a purposeless mission. It's stark, thoughtful, and eerie, and I think the story the best manages to rise above the collection.
80% of people will probably buy this book because it has another Dunk & Egg story in it. I am sad to say that Martin's contribution is middling at best. Another tourney, another look at Westeros from the bottom, only slightly leavened by the evil and powerful Hand of the King, and stirrings of rebellion. Haldeman's contribution is similarly a thematic retread, with soldiers linked into a 10 person platoon remotely operating nine foot tall active camo robots used as a metaphor to explore the bonds of battle and the wounds of their absence.
The best story, and I think the one that'll stick with me, is by longtime SF master Robert Silverberg, with the remnants of a large army guarding a barren frontier, deciding whether or not to carry on with a purposeless mission. It's stark, thoughtful, and eerie, and I think the story the best manages to rise above the collection.
emdash8212's review against another edition
4.0
A well-selected mix of sci-fi and fantasy stories that tended to be way more character-driven than I associate with normal sci-fi. Features a story by Martin himself that's set in his Game of Thrones universe, but before the action of the series.
saphirablue's review
4.0
There are stories I like more than others but all in all I like it.
Forever Bound by Joe Haldeman
This story is placed before the events of "Forever Peace" and is very spoilerish for it. I would recommend reading "Forever Peace" before reading this story.
In the story we learn how Julian Class was drafted and what happend in the first weeks/months after he's been jacked. I liked this story very much. We get more backstory on Julian and how the jacking works and so on.
The Eagel and the Rabbit by Steven Saylor
This story pushed so many buttons. It deals with trust, slavery, betrayal, identity and so many more things. I fell in love with Hanso and Lino (the main characters) and want to know what happens to them after they managed to escape.
And Ministers of Grace by Tad Williams
Well, I didn't like this story very much. It's written from the POV of an religious assassin. That's not something I want to read about in my free time. I found the world building, the sci-fi aspect interesting and the enhancements Kane has very interesting but the plot...
The King of Norway by Cecelia Holland
This story was okay. I'm not quite fond of Vikings and the characters too didn't catch me but the plot was okay and so on.
Defenders of the Frontier by Robert Silverberg
Oh, this story is food for thought! What if you defend a remote outpost for 20 or so years and it's been ages since you last heard from your superiors and the capital city? Do you stay and wait for orders that might never come? Or do you leave the post and try to get back home? Very interesting.
The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin
It's an interesting story but I think I would need to know one or more books by Martin in order to truly understand this story. There are so many reference to battles and knights and bloodlines. The characters are also named with their names in the third or more generation and all are referenced during the story and so on - I couldn't keep up. But, I really liked Dunk and Egg. Especially Egg.
Forever Bound by Joe Haldeman
This story is placed before the events of "Forever Peace" and is very spoilerish for it. I would recommend reading "Forever Peace" before reading this story.
In the story we learn how Julian Class was drafted and what happend in the first weeks/months after he's been jacked. I liked this story very much. We get more backstory on Julian and how the jacking works and so on.
The Eagel and the Rabbit by Steven Saylor
This story pushed so many buttons. It deals with trust, slavery, betrayal, identity and so many more things. I fell in love with Hanso and Lino (the main characters) and want to know what happens to them after they managed to escape.
And Ministers of Grace by Tad Williams
Well, I didn't like this story very much. It's written from the POV of an religious assassin. That's not something I want to read about in my free time. I found the world building, the sci-fi aspect interesting and the enhancements Kane has very interesting but the plot...
The King of Norway by Cecelia Holland
This story was okay. I'm not quite fond of Vikings and the characters too didn't catch me but the plot was okay and so on.
Defenders of the Frontier by Robert Silverberg
Oh, this story is food for thought! What if you defend a remote outpost for 20 or so years and it's been ages since you last heard from your superiors and the capital city? Do you stay and wait for orders that might never come? Or do you leave the post and try to get back home? Very interesting.
The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin
It's an interesting story but I think I would need to know one or more books by Martin in order to truly understand this story. There are so many reference to battles and knights and bloodlines. The characters are also named with their names in the third or more generation and all are referenced during the story and so on - I couldn't keep up. But, I really liked Dunk and Egg. Especially Egg.
mpeteuil's review
3.0
Based on average rating for all the stories: 3.45 / 5.0
Overall it was a mix of good and ok for me, but I particularly liked Peter Beagle's story Dirae.
The King of Norway - 4
Forever Bound - 3
The Triumph - 4
Clean Slate - 2
And Ministers of Grace - 3
Soldierin' - 2.5
Dirae - 5
The Custom of the Army - 2
Seven Years from Home - 4
The Eagle and the Rabbit - 4
The Pit - 4
Out of the Dark - 4.5
The Girls from Avenger - 4
Ancient Ways - 3
Ninieslando - 3
Recidivist - 2.5
My Name is Legion - 3
Defenders of the Frontier - 2
The Scroll - 4.5
The Mystery Knight: A Tale of the Seven Kingdoms - 5
Overall it was a mix of good and ok for me, but I particularly liked Peter Beagle's story Dirae.
The King of Norway - 4
Forever Bound - 3
The Triumph - 4
Clean Slate - 2
And Ministers of Grace - 3
Soldierin' - 2.5
Dirae - 5
The Custom of the Army - 2
Seven Years from Home - 4
The Eagle and the Rabbit - 4
The Pit - 4
Out of the Dark - 4.5
The Girls from Avenger - 4
Ancient Ways - 3
Ninieslando - 3
Recidivist - 2.5
My Name is Legion - 3
Defenders of the Frontier - 2
The Scroll - 4.5
The Mystery Knight: A Tale of the Seven Kingdoms - 5
leons1701's review
4.0
An excellent collection (as all the Martin/Dozois collections have been). Weakest story in the book is probably either the novella version of Weber's "Out of the Dark" or "Neineslando" by Waldrop, both of those have their fans (and are not terrible in the slightest (and the impact of the Weber was probably weakened because I've read the novel version several times)). Strongest is almost certainly "The Pit" from James Rollins, which starts out unexpected and keeps going in different directions than you might expect. Sure, it's blatantly manipulative, but it WILL get you right in the feels. Weirdest is easily "Dirae" by Peter S. Beagle, worth powering through the unconventional start to get to the payoff. And it would be unfair to not mention the most amusing, "Soldierin' " by Joe R. Lansdale. All in all, a worthy read with a number of different takes on war and those that fight it.
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