Greyhaven

by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Paul Edwin Zimmer

Book Overview

DAW Books paperback original (1983). Includes the stories: "They Come and Go" by Joel Hagen; "Cat Tale" by Vicki Ann Heydron; "Bedtime Story" by Anodea Judith; "Wrong Number" by James Ian Elliot; "The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879978155
• ISBN13: 9780879978150
• Release Date: April 1983
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A book that sprang from a chance idea...

This anthology originated one day when Marion Bradley Zimmer was with her agent, who was discussing an anthology with another client. The thought ocurred to her that she could put together a complete anthology just from the folks who regularly got together at Greyhaven for Sunday tea. The idea was greeted with a check for the advance, and the rest is history. I was invited to submit a story. Not being a professional writer at the time I was dubious at the prospects. However, I wrote and submitted 'Wrong Number' under a pseudonym "James Ian Elliot". I was surprised and delighted when Ms Zimmer, a critical author who was not known for handing out gratuitous compliments, wrote a glowing comment that was longer than the story itself. This is a delightful collection of works by some of the most creative people I've ever had the priviledge to know. James Ian Elliot, pseud. John Chalinder

Smorgasbord: 2 essays, 14 fantasies, 2 SF, + short poetry

I've organized my comments by author rather than in order of presentation. The essays are all right, but aren't of particular interest to me; I've included them for completeness. The stories are a mix of styles and themes, ranging from creepy to hilarious. The poetry involves some in-jokes at the expense of some contributors to this anthology. :)Barnes, Adrienne Martine "Wildwood" - Tale of a girl caught between the magic of the Wildwood and the ritual magic of her father's people. The world shown here has no depth (forest people good, logging/stripmining city folk bad), and the buildup to the ending is *very* rushed.Bradley, Marion Zimmer "Greyhaven: Writers at Work" - Essay, discussing the Greyhaven circle (Bradley's immediate family and friends).Bradley, Marion Zimmer "The Bardic Revel" - Essay, describing the local bardic revel (amateur night, you might call it).Bradley, Marion Zimmer "The Incompetent Magician" - Also appears in the collection _Lythande_ (see my review). Very good story, as are all Lythande's adventures.Cador, Caradoc A. "The Ring" - Fiachra is the only fisherman in the village who walks the beach for pleasure, so it is he who finds the dead man, washed ashore wearing a ring decorated with roses. His mother calls it bad luck, and won't let him give it to his sister for her handfasting. Soon he discovers one of its properties: it grants visions of the Uttermost West, where no man born of woman may come living. But it does not do to dwell in dreams too much, and forget to live.Cook, Robert "The Woodcarver's Son" - The unicorns are hungry, so the wizard attempts to arrange matters so that a woodcarver's son, out of love, might provide them with the sustenance they need.de Cles, Jon "Cantabile" - The Beast Who Wept was an experiment, the product of a mind in chains, an arrow shot into the air that came to rest in favorable conditions. So it is that the Baron's daughter finds a small stranger in her father's rooftop garden, a Beast who hasn't lived long enough to learn human speech. Told from the Beast's inarticulate perspective, this is the story of a lifetime measured in weeks, but a full life for all that. Very good story.Elliot, James Ian "Wrong Number" - A 1-page story of a wrong number with dramatic results.Garrett, Randall "Just Another Vampire Story" - The narrator has just picked up a young man in a bar who affects to be a vampire, giving logical reasons for most of the trappings of myth. How much of it is a pose, if any?Hagen, Joel "They Come and Go" - A creepy 2-page story, told by a kid who helps the *things* that sometimes appear in his house.Heydron, Vicki Ann "Cat Tale" - Kathy Christopher is spending the evening alone in her apartment, summoning the courage to confront her boss about updating the antiquated system *he* designed but *she* has to maintain. Her cat finally distracts her, harassing a small creature cornered near the balcony - a sprite-like creature with wings! She can barely believe in it, even after i