The Way of the Wizard

Anthologist extraordinaire Adams (Federations) once again strikes gold with 33 original and reprinted tales of wizardry in a wide variety of settings, from the medieval (Mike Resnick's "Winter Solstice") to the modern (Jeremiah Tolbert's "One-Click Banishment"). George R.R. Martin effortlessly creates a convincing mythic world in "In the Lost Lands," wherein a knight tries to discourage his lady's interest in shape-shifting. Resnick's contribution movingly depicts Merlin suffering dementia-like effects from living backwards in time. A peasant endures numerous trials at the hands of a wizard king in Susanna Clarke's humorous "John Uskglass and the Cambrian Charcoal Burner," while Wendy N. Wagner's "The Secret of Calling Rabbits" is a melancholy and deeply affecting account of the last days of the last dwarf. Adams just keeps getting better and this anthology is no exception. (Mar.)