Reave the Just and Other Tales

Stephen R. Donaldson is, in my opinion, certainly the greatest fantasy writer ever to set pen to paper. I feel a little guilty saying this, because of course I love Tolkien. But Donaldon's works are deeper, more moving, and - despite often being harsh and burtal in spots - more positive and optimistic. Where Tolkien revels in the glory days of the past, Donaldson looks to the future.I enjoyed the short stories in Reave the Just because they are thematically and stylistically closest to his early works, mainly the Thomas Covenant books which I still think are by far his best. If you liked Covenant, these give you a sort of condensed shot of many of the things that make his earlier novels appealing. From the fool who falls in love with a lady and looks to the legendary Reave the Just to save him - only to find out that Reave's power is rather unusual and in the end he has to save himself; to the man who is cursed by a genie to have all the people close to him die horribly, this is classic Donaldson, but with a cleaner style honed by experience. I also liked the variety; the stories in this collection are not cookie-cutter fantasy but explorations of a variety of different themes and ideas, approached in different ways with real imagination.Also worthy of note, what made the Gap and Covenant series hard to read for many people was not so much the violence, which could be frequent and graphic, but the rape - which was neither, but obviously could still be rather difficult to tackle. There is no sex of any kind in any of these stories, which should make them much more accessible. While I "enjoyed" his most recent Gap series, in many ways those books reached a level of brutality I can't deal with repeatedly. These stories have backed off to being more typical fantasy fare with the Donaldson trademarks of un-heroic, often disadvantaged characters trying somehow to come to terms with difficult situations or tortured existances. Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir to Elendil they most certainly are not.I enjoyed this book quite a bit and highly reccomend it.

There is assured genius in this volume although sadly tempered in the latter stories by overly verbose accounts of the primary actor’s observations and feelings; I found myself scanning forward to the action.

Lots to like in this classic. Only complaint is that the period language gets a touch heavy at times. Recommended for anyone interested in a good read and a dip into fantasy fictions roots.

Donaldson never fails to deliver. This is a collection of stories that aren't really connected by characters or events, but feel somewhat connected by story type and the way they are told. Each one is a gem. No one crafts heroes like Donaldson, and few authors have his insightfulness into the working of the worlds and characters they create.

Eight short stories from a master of modern fantasy. A few, such as "Reave the Just" and "The Djinn who Watches Over the Accursed," are up there with his best stuff. The rest are good but not great.

I'm enjoying this book. I've read all the Thomas covenant books. This one hasn't required such intense use of my dictionary, and several of the stories were entertaining and creative. I particularly enjoyed "Penance".

Great collection of short fantasy stories. Intricate characters, complex motivations.

i love everything Stephen r Donaldson writes!!! I loved every story in this collection and have read them all several times. this should appeal to all fantasy readers.

Most of these tales are engaging and focused, with a definite point to make. If the martial-arts one is rather laboured and contrived, and the vampire one excessively hand-wringing, still none are without interest, and unlike the "Daughter of Regals" collection each is different unto the next. The Reave tales in particular are forthright and challenging. Donaldson has never been one to tell a story just for the sake of it, and you come away from these stories with a clear impression that Something Has Been Said, usually about responsibility and moral courage.

I don't normally like short stories, but this book is fantastic. All the stories are very readable and all contain clever twist and turns.Each time I thought the next story would not be as good as the one just read, each time I was proven wrong.

I bought this as a present for my husband,as he is a big fan of Stephen Donaldson.

I buy a lot of these because they are so good

I bought the product to build my Stephen Donaldson collection. I was very please with the book and have read it avidly.I would highly recommend using Amazon as a company and I will use them again