The best part of Warriors of Blood and Dream is Dorian Valliejo’s cool cover. This anthology from 1995 includes Zen encounters with aliens, wrestlings with shapeshifters, magic and battles in twentieth-century China, trips from exercise rooms into other dimensions, and encounters with mystical masters. So, in effect, there’s something here for everybody interested in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Jujitsu, Kendo Aikido, T’ai Chi, and other martial arts.
My favorite story in Warriors of Blood and Dream is Joe R. Lansdale’s compelling “Master of Misery.” You can’t get more noirish than this!
If you’re looking for stories with plenty of battles, combat, one-on-one fights, and acrobatic engagements, Warriors of Blood and Dream delivers 15 perilous tales. GRADE: B-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- 1 · Introduction · Roger Zelazny · in
- 11 · Master of Misery · Joe R. Lansdale · nv *
- 44 · Eye of the Falcon · Gerald Hausman · ss *
- 61 · Listen · Joel Richards · ss *
- 75 · True Grits · Jack C. Haldeman, II · ss *
- 86 · Broadway Johnny · Walter Jon Williams · na *
- 169 · The Seventh Martial Art · Jane Lindskold · ss *
- 182 · Fearless · Dave Smeds · nv *
- 212 · Easy Living · Richard A. Lupoff · nv *
- 240 · Blood Duty · Michael A. Stackpole · ss *
- 245 · Doing the Angry Centipede · Karen Haber · ss *
- 259 · Guardian Angel · Victor Milán · nv *
- 286 · Shapeshifter Finals · Jeffrey A. Carver · nv *
- 314 · Heart of the Moment · Larry Segriff · ss *
- 330 · Sand Man · Steven Barnes · na *
- 420 · A Small Circle · Kazuaki Tanahashi · aw *
That is a cool cover. And you can’t go wrong with Joe Lansdale.
Jeff, the Lansdale story has a lot of impact.