Female warriors, enchantresses, shapechangers, and other daring women populate a collection of short stories by Mercedes Lackey, Diana L. Paxson, and other top authors in the fantasy genre

From Vera Nazarian's exploration of the soul of a queen's executioner (``A Thing of Love'') to Diane Burrell's chilling tale of a young girl's birthright (``Winter's Daughter''), this collection of 25 fantasies featuring female protagonists continues to offer a wide variety of styles and conceits within an ever-expanding genre. Including works by veteran contributors such as Diane L. Paxson and Mercedes Lackey as well as several newcomers, this volume belongs in most fantasy collections. Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information.

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Although these 25 original stories are studded with moments of intense drama, this collection is a shallow one and won't win fans to the fantasy genre. Each tale has a strong central female character, like the sorceress who pays for the experience of love by cutting out her own heart in Rowena A. Bathgate's ``Heart of the Matter.'' In Vera Nazarian's ``A Thing of Love,'' a public executioner uses her special gifts to perform her grisly duties with a compassion unsuspected by the crowds who come to gawk. A crafty ``knife-wielder'' and her companion, an eccentric old crone, outwit both the good guys and the bad guys as they prevent a small kingdom from being overrun by barbarians in Stephen L. Burns's ``The Bridge over Darikill Fel.'' Deborah Wheeler's heroine wrestles wolves; Gary Jonas's healer learns that not all injuries can be cured; Nancy Jane Moore offers the feisty lass who killed the dragon that ate St. George for lunch (after a swift kick to the dragon's testicles, she rams the sword into its neck); and Laurell K. Hamilton describes a deadly battle of revenge between an earth-witch and a sorceress. Bradley wrote The Mists of Avalon. (Dec.) Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information.