This book, Wizard and the War Machine is written by Gerrold and Niven, with Cybord and Wizards - it is fantastic and we want more, Elizabeth Hall Boyer wrote The Wizard and the Warlord which is also a fantastic book but bears no relation to the above reviews, with E H Boyer think Norse Gods, action and reality, you know the type that can make you feel the cold and waves of the sea, as if your there.

I really liked this book, and it's predecessor, the Cyborg and the Sorceror. I wish that the author would write more on Slant and his adventures. The book kind of leaves you hanging at the end. (I am currently looking for another copy,as it is now out of print)

I really loved this novel, From cyborg to wizard! What a concept! I loved it! Look out Terminator. :) Wish there was a series..

This collection of stories is worthy of Bruce Coville's name on the cover. I loved all of the stories, especially "The Fourth Wish." I recommend it to anyone that loves fantasy and magic, like I do! As usual, Bruce Coville has outdone himself.

I absolutly fell in love with this book. The only story I didn't like was "Winwood Rose" and that was only because it made me too sad. "The Fourth Wish" was both thought provoking and thoughtful. And when I need hope I read "Visions," "The Wonderworm," or "Phoenix Farm." Bruce Coville's own stories, "Wizard's Boy" and "Watch Out!" are very cool. It makes you think. I adore this book.

I'm not a big sci-fi buff. I mean I LOVE sci-fi, but not the HEAVY stuff. I may get there one day, but for now, the "Ender series" is more or less the most "hardcore" science-fiction books I've read.
Now, this said, it maybe explains why my most favorite theme is time-travel/parallel universes.
Too bad it's one of those less written-about sub-genres in science-fiction.

Anyhow, I think it was almost 10 years ago (I think I was about 16) when I picked an issue of "Amazing Stories", and fell in love with a certain short story there. It was called "The Drifter", written by Lawrence Watt-Evans; A beautiful, parallel-universe short story. It was the best short sci-fi story I ever read. (Again, I never read those "heavy" Asimov stories and the likes..). I liked it a lot, put the magazine away someplace, and didn't give it much thought for a few years.

A few months ago, I found the magazine and read the story. And it rekindled my love for it. But now - I've got Amazon. I logged in and searched for Lawrence Watt-Evans items.

And among various novels he's written, I've found this book - a collection of short stories. One of which is the Drifter!!! Wow... Moreover, there are a couple of stories here that actually won the Hugo award!
I had to have this book!

I got it, I read it, and I enjoyed. All the stories were just right for my love of "soft core" science-fiction and fantasy. Twenty of them.

I enjoyed most of the stories very much. There were a couple of very bad stories as well (Luckily they were very short), that the author himself describe as his early, premature, work.

In short, I can recommend this book. If you want to remember the stories that got you hooked on it as a kid. If you love short, science fiction and fantasy stories, dealing with different aspects not always touched by other writers, time-travel, parallel-worlds, and other cool stuff - buy this book!

This is perhaps the best collection I've ever read of short stories on time travel and alternate universes -- all by the same author. In my opinion, some of the tales are as good as anything written by Ray Bradbury.

Watt-Evens is a brilliant fantasy writer, and here at last is his masterpiece, all collected in one place. This four book series is rightly help up in the first rant of epic fantasy with Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. The story is more in line with Moorcock's Elric series, dealing as it does with the doings of Gods and demonic blades, but Watt-Evens' work is far superior to Moorecock's. Watt-Evens' three dimensional characters have realistic reactions to their bizarre circumstances, and his world is fleshed and surprise filled. Each book is worthy of five stars and the whole series is almost to good to be true. Recommended to any fantasy fan.

24 of the best sci-fi and fantasy tales ever written about the Big Apple, edited and compiled by the award-winning Lawrence Watt-Evans. From invasions by aliens and long-forgotten gods to city survivors and babies on the fast track, how can even Newer York encompass it all? Lawrence Watt-Evans tries and succeeds. A great book!

I enjoyed this collection of two short stories. The first story was well detailed with many theatre references. The second story was alot of fun. The characters were a bit stereotyped, but individual enough to be interesting. The story had some nice turns in the plot. Very entertaining.

This is the second of four books in the "Lords of Dus" series. A very under-appreciated fantasy series, in my opinion. While these books are neither as intricate nor as well written as many of the big names in fantasy, ("Lord of the Rings" for example) they are well thought out and very original stories with very memorable characters. Entertaining enough to be read several times, but straight-forward enough to be a reasonably quick read.

In this book, the main character, Garth the overman, is sent by the Forgotten King to steal whatever he finds on each of the Seven Altars of the Dark Gods in the city of Dusarra.

If you've never read the other books in this series, I recommend that you pick up "Lure of the Basilisk" first. But if you've read that one already, then I definitely recommend that you pick up this one as well. I consider this to be the best book in the series because it has a very straight forward story, but it is handled extremely well and moves at just the right pace. This book is never boring for a second.

I have read Lawrence Watt-Evans' entire world of Esthar series and enjoyed the majority of the books in that series. Based on my experience with the Ethshar series, I decided to give the "Lords of Dus" series a try and having completed the first book I can say the following: The storyline is an entertaining but fairly stock fantasy plot, a hero's quest for glory. The protagonist is well fleshed out, likeable yet pragmatic and complete with personality flaws that make him believable. The world setting is vivid and described well enough, but it would have been nice to have a bit more of the history revealed, explaining the current state of events. For the majority of the book, the plotting was good and moved along at the right clip, only bogging down in a couple of sections. Characters development outside of the protagonist did come across as weak with the majority of the other characters in the story seemingly designed to be disposable. Perhaps this was done intentionally as a way to emphasize the aloofness that a member the main character's race feels towards mere men, but it would still have been nice to have some of the other characters built up a bit. Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to picking up the remaining books in the series.

Take an overmna, mix in mages, fantastic beasts, a quest, wise women of ordunin, and high adventure and you have some gr8 stuff.
Too bad he doesn't write more of this series.
Great interesting stuff that doesn't try and copy tolkien.
very d&d

Watt-Evens is an excellent, if overlooked sci-fi/fantasy writer, and I have been a fan almost as long as he's been writing. This book, the first of the Lords Of Dus or Garth series was the first he published, Dus is his best work, and this is the best of Dus. I can still remember the amazement I felt reading Watt-Evens' book, one of those rare fantasy novels that seems surrounded by a very real and fleshed out world. The main character, acting out of neither good nor noble compunctions is however, a good 'man', which gives hint to the complexity with which Watt-Evens draws his characters and spins his plots. Nothing is as it seems in a Watt-Evens story, and surprise lurks around every corner, and The Lure Of The Basilisk is no exception. I especially enjoyed Garth's practical matter of fact take on everything, truly a convincing character. Shang, The Baron and even The King In Yellow are also fascinating, well drawn characters with complex motivations and realistic reactions. But oh, Garth's poor feet!

Watt-Evans, in With a Single Spell, has addressed a problem that's haunted role-playing gamers since the first edition of AD&D: what can a wizard do with only one spell?

Tobas, the main character of Single Spell, has more troubles than the average AD&D character, even. As an apprentice wizard, he only managed to learn one spell before his master died - and that one lights fires. An orphan, he has nowhere to go, and he can't make a living doing what a flint can do almost as well as he can. So, despite his strong disinclination for travel, Tobas just has to adventure - he fights a dragon, saves a princess, learns magical secrets, all while hoping that soon he'll be able to settle down.

Although the plot isn't especially original and many of the characters are basically stock, Watt-Evans has done a fine job with the book; he's made it a very light, sunny romp through a world any reader of fantasy or player of RPGs will recognize. With a Single Spell is ideal reading for fans of Robert Aspirin, invalids in need of soothing distraction, and those who remember playing a first-level mage all too well.

I love this book. It epitomizes some of the characteristics that make Lawrence Watt-Evans' books great. This story presents unorthodox fantasy elements with a seemingly improbably plot and weaves it together masterfully. An aprentice who knows a single spell and is expected to kill a dragon???? As crazy as it sounds, it is an immensely entertaining story with colorful characters, good dialogue, and creative writing. Given it is a light fantasy read, but many of his earlier books should be treated as such. Relax, kick up your feet, and read it in one sitting, enjoying it for what it is.......great fantasy.

This book is, perhaps, the best example of what makes the Ethshar series tick: there is a problem and the character or characters work towards resolving it.

It sounds simplistic when put that way, and it IS a very simple concept, but what makes Watt-Evans books in this series stand out is the relentlessly logical and believable way that the problems are addressed.

With a Single Spell is a charming story about an apprentice wizard who has the misfortune of losing his teacher after only learning a single spell (a simple fire conjuration). You can't get any simpler than that. And yet, the book takes off from that starting point and leads us through some truly marvelous terrain, including a dragon hunt and a very, very mysterious castle that seems to have crashed (!) into the ground.

It is a very fun and inventive story that, while not being exactly Tolstoy in depth, is utterly enjoyable to read.

This novel is the first of the Ethshar series, though these novels can be read in any order, and takes place as a several centuries' long war is coming to a close. Lost behind enemy lines and with enemy scouts in hot pursuit, the protagonist, Valder, stumbles across the hut of an ancient hermit, who happens to be a wizard, and happens not to be too pleased with the sudden loss of his privacy. He is even less pleased, when in the confrontation with Valder's pursuers that follows, his home and most of his possessions are destroyed. The novel revolves around the consequences of what follows -- the wizard enchants Valder's sword with all the spells he has the supplies to perform as a way of appeasing the soldier and sending him on his way. However, in the dark and with his life turned upside down, he makes a mistake. The novel then follows Valder as he figures out exactly what has been done to his sword, and what the consequences of that enchantment means.
This is not heroic or epic fiction: Watt-Evans writes in a gently mocking way about likable and well-drawn characters just trying to get by. He treats the magic of his world familiarly, but it lacks nothing for not being mysterious. In fact, the qualities that make his books fun to read are traceable to this lack of wonder: the down-to-earth magic creates down-to-earth problems which his characters must then resolve.
An appealing, enjoyable book with a twisted take on a classic fantasy motif, that you might even end up rereading several times over the years. However, don't go into this book expecting an epic journey through another person's imagination, filled with thrilling intrigue, tragic deaths, shocking betrayals, and great voyages. You'll be disappointed.

The Misenchanted Sword is an excellent book. The plot twists and turns. The innocent bystander Valder's reactions and thoughts are believable as Wirikidor the sword drags him into its magic. There is even a happy ending.

But for all the qualities which make the book a great read, it lacks the scope in subject matter and eloquence of language found in books like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I may be able to relate what happens in The Misenchanted Sword, but I doubt I would be able to quote it spontaneously the way I could quote certain lines from Tolkien.

Overall, the book is worth the effort to find and read. I look forward to reading other books from Mr. Watt-Evans.

This is not a fantasy in the traditional sense. If you are looking for Tolkien or some other form of High Fantasy then you are looking at the wrong book. On the other hand, this book is an excellent example how light fantasy can still be a very enjoyable read.

This books traces the life of Valder, a scout in the army of the Gods who are an in Eons old war with the Northerners supported by the Demons. Through a series of ironic twists Valder becomes the proud owner of a magic sword that gives him near immortality and invulnerability. There are some problems of course, a mad wizard, an aging process which continues long after death should have came and outliving ones descendants.

This is a fun, humorous and well-written book. This novel is frequently out of print but it is in my opinion well worth the search to find it.