- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; paperback / softback edition (16 Mar 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857989899
- ISBN-13: 978-1857989892
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 3.6 x 17.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 377,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Trade in Time and the Gods Six Story Anthology (Featuring A Dreamer's Tales, The Gods of Pegana, Time and the Gods, The Book of Wonder, The Sword of Welleran and The Last Book of Wonder) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £5.30, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Time and the Gods collects in one volume the short stories of Lord Dunsany, some of the most influential fantasies ever written, affecting. Among others, the works of James Branc Cabell, HP Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, Michael Swanwick and Jack Vance. In these stories we find out what lies beyond the edge of the world and what happened to the jeweller Thangobrind there; champions return from beyond the grave to save a city lost in its dreams and a young warrior goes up against the sorcerer who inhabits the Fortress Unvanquishable Save for the sword Sacnoth. Dunsany's stories have the jewelled perfection of dreams and the sly malicious wit of after dinner conversation; his surreal imagination is as capable of sending a pirate ship trekking across the Sahara as it is of having a man sell his soul for three deadly jokes. These are stories in which time is the enemy and the gods as much victims of it as humanity, in which the tragedy of dreamers is that eventually they must wake. This is a definitive collection of work which has been unavailable for many years; it is one of the essential books in any fantasy collection. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
Of all the weavers of magic, there is none like Lord Dunsany. During his long lifetime - he died at the age of eighty - he wrote more than sixty books: novels like The King of Elfland's Daughter, plays, poetry collections, memoirs, essays and, most memorably, innumerable exotic and fantastical short stories. In this definitive new collection are the very best of Dunsany's extraordinarily evocative and joyous tales of Faerie, of dreamworlds and of magic: some of the loveliest fantasies in the English language, including the complete contents of Time and the Gods, The Book of Wonder, The Sword of Welleran and The Last Book of Wonder.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lord Dunsany is one of those writers who genuinely deserves the description "master of his art". Without a shadow of a doubt, he was one of the great workers in the field of the fantastic, as shown by the praises heaped on his work by fellow authors ever since (from W. B. Yeats, Lovecraft and Arthur C. Clarke to Dave Duncan, Neil Gaiman, David Drake etc. today). Yeats, who knew him - his home was at 12th century Dunsany Castle in Meath, Ireland, - even published a Dunsany collection ! Many have been inspired by him but none have ever matched his unique style - his use of language is wonderful. In his day, the 18th Baron of Dunsany was prolific (short stories, novels, plays, essays, poetry, autobiography ...) and popular but with the vagaries of publishing, has often been hard to find in recent times. Today, however, several of his works are freshly in print.
This volume, which collects six of the outstanding early books of Dunsany short stories, is a treasure (the only pity is that a hardback version isn't available for the long term, because this is a real keeper). The stories are beautifully written, the imagery wonderful; there are truly amazing scenes, awe-inspiring, mythical, humourous or just plain bizarre. In "The Gods of Pegana" is one of the tiny number of successful artificial mythologies, which leads into "Time and the Gods". "The Sword of Welleran" is another great selection, including the story of the title, "The Fall of Babbulkund" and the first class "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth". Each of the other collections also has its stars, including gems like "Idle Days on the Yann", "Carcassonne", "The Hoard of the Gibbelins" and "The Exiles' Club".
I could go on but there really is only one answer - buy this book. Afterwards, try "The King of Elfland's Daughter" and "The Charwoman's Shadow" for more brilliance. And keep your eyes peeled for hardcover originals or reprints, maybe even with the outstanding illustrations by Sidney Sime.
For more on Dunsany, try the many websites, check your library, or, if in Ireland, visit Dunsany Castle, where you can view Lord Dunsany's library and talk with his family.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I would encourage you to read this book if you like fantasy at all. These stories are not to everyone's taste but for me they conjure up such a wistful loveliness or such an exotic richness of locations and strange dooms that I could not forgive myself if I did not draw them to your attention. Buy this book and prepare to be astounded.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
History has not been kind to this author, spectacularly successful in his own lifetime (his plays in particular being well received)he is now, if not exactly forgotten, not seen as a major literary figure.Chiefly he seems to be rememebered for the authors who he inspired, H P Lovecraft, for example, was a great admirer of Dunsany.
This is unfair, in my opinion, Dunsany was a very original and prolific writer and the short story form suited his style perfectly. The early works, included in this excellent anthology, may seem slight, the tales from "The Gods Of Pegana" are startlingly short, but even these are perfect blends of humour and fantasy.
The later, longer stories form "The Sword Of Welleran" are brilliant examples of the art of constructing short stories. For me, very few authors in this form equal Dunsany's skill...perhaps H G Wells and T H White could compare, I can honestly think of no other examples.
Characterisation and dialogue are not Dunsany's strengths, his longer works like "The King Of Elfland's Daughter" show this, but his ideas and plotting and evocative descriptions of place are all second to none. In these short stories, these qualities are richly shown.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A fascinating collection of ideas (rather than a story)
(NOTE: This review relates only to Time & The Gods by Lord Dunsany [ISBN-10: 1587157195, Wildside Press 2002], and may not relate to other volumes where it may appear)... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Graeme
A lot of dreams here...
The least one can say about Lord Dunsany is that he was the founder of fantasy literature. The prose is a golden rhapsody of wonder and delight. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2002
Bible without the religion
This is a good book, often well-written, but boring boring boring. It reads like some Bible without religion. Very dated. As a modern reader you don't have to read this.
Published on 16 Feb 2001 by borand@spray.se
Dated, boring and heavy going
If you like the sort of book that takes things such as time and fear and makes them into people or creatures, then this is for you. It is a fantasy version of Pilgrim's Progress. Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2000
Just like real myths & legends - true fantasy - try it !
Do you enjoy the old myths and legends ? Do you appreciate good fantasy (and not the mass-produced commercial stuff or the bad Tolkien-wannabes) ? Read more
Published on 3 April 2000
The ultimate Dunsany collection - don't miss this !!
Lord Dunsany was a great writer, with a wonderful style; his books breath atmosp here and magic. He was very successful in the earlier half of the century and wrote highly-rated... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2000
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