Legends II: Volume I

New Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy

By: Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm, Alyssa Bresnahan

Fantasy fans, rejoice! Seven years after writer and editor Robert Silverberg made publishing history with Legends, his acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, the long-awaited second volume is here. Legends II picks up where its illustrious predecessor left off.

Each of the best-selling writers represented in Legends II return to the special universe of the imagination that its author has made famous throughout the world. Whether set before or after events already recounted elsewhere, whether featuring beloved characters or compelling new creations, these masterful short novels are both mesmerizing stand-alones (perfect introductions to the work of their authors) and indispensable additions to the epics on which they are based.

George R.R. Martin continues the adventures of Dunk, a young hedge knight, and his unusual squire, Egg, in "The Sworn Sword", set a generation before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Anne McCaffrey shines a light into the most mysterious and wondrous of all places on Pern in the heartwarming "Beyond Between".

A Song of Ice and Fire: The Sworn Sword ©2004 George R.R. Martin; Pern: Beyond Between ©2004 Anne McCaffrey; (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Warmly recorded escapism for fans of fantasy." (AudioFile)

Both storys are good

I downloaded this book for the Anne McCaffrey story she is one of favorite authors. I found both storys good. The Anne McCaffery story 'Beyond Between' explains what happens to Dragon riders who get stuck in between. It was very intertaining and inlightning but way too short.

The very best! thankful for a happy ending!

Loved this little side ending! It looks like dragon riders should not ride dragons they did not impress!

loved both

G.R.R. Martin was a continuing of another short story of his and I loved that.
and as a life long fan of Anne Mccaffrey and Pern - the story brought me to tears.
highly recommended!

Too short but good

Again, I don’t understand why these “Legends” and “Legends II” anthologies were broken up into so many different pieces. This volume has two stories in it, both of which are “bonus content” to add to much longer stories bay each author.

The first story in this recording is a story in George R R Martin’s Seven Kingdoms world, but set long before ASOIAF. It’s a second story about Dunk and Egg, whose first story was in the first collection of Legends. It’s a fun story, fleshing out more of this earlier time in the world. Graeme Malcolm is an excellent narrator for the story. 5 Stars for his narration and this story.

The second story is a behind the scenes expansion about Moreta, a heroine of the past, as seen from the perspective of McCaffrey’s first published works (Dragonflight etc). The story is charming, if not earth- (or Pern-) shattering. Ms Bresnahan is a good narrator for the book, though not as stellar as Mr Malcom.

Fans of both franchises will want to read these stories for sure. The Sworn Sword is probably a good introduction to GRR Martin. The Pern story is for fans only, I’d say. Worth the sale price, probably, though I still wish they’d included more stories in one volume of the audio edition.

Martin Is Flawless and McCaffrey Gets It Done

Martin's continuing story of Dunk and Egg is very well done. I wish that I had more and this one has pushed me into trying some other works by Martin. I can't wait for the next volume of Song of Fire and Ice. The performance from Malcolm is a huge step up from the first Legends and the story is fantastic.
I enjoyed McCaffrey's story but it is just not my type of story. It is well done but I could have lived without it.