New epic fantasy in the grand tradition-including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin!

Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction-and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure.

Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters-many of them set in their authors’ best-loved worlds. Join today’s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel.

FEATURING SIXTEEN ALL-NEW STORIES:

The Best Man Wins by K. J. Parker

Her Father’s Sword by Robin Hobb

The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu

The Sword of Destiny by Matthew Hughes

‘I Am a Handsome Man,’ Said Apollo Crow by Kate Elliott

The Triumph of Virtue by Walter Jon Williams

The Mocking Tower by Daniel Abraham

Hrunting by C. J. Cherryh

A Long, Cold Trail by Garth Nix

When I Was a Highwayman by Ellen Kushner

The Smoke of Gold Is Glory by Scott Lynch

The Colgrid Conundrum by Rich Larson

The King’s Evil by Elizabeth Bear

Waterfalling by Lavie Tidhar

The Sword Tyraste by Cecelia Holland

The Sons of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin

And an introduction by Gardner Dozois

When fine writer and expert editor [Gardner] Dozois beckons, authors deliver-and this surely will be one of the year’s essential anthologies. -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)