Songs of the Dying Earth, by various.
I read Jack Vance’s Dying Earth collection a year or two ago (http://marcusgipps.livejournal.com/61958.html), and thought it was patchy at best. I could see why it was revered, and the language was wonderful, but I had issues with some of the implementation. It was OK, but it didn’t become my favourite book overnight. So when Subterranean Press, who put out some utterly gorgeous editions and who take too much of my money, announced this collection of short stories based on Vance’s work, I didn’t jump at it. Even the presence of Neil Gaiman and Tad Williams, two of my favourite SF authors, didn’t convince me. However, when Harpercollins published a standard Hardback edition in the UK, and then offered me a free signed copy (signed by the editor, George RR Martin), I figured it was worth having. It then sat on my pile of unread books for a ear, until I decided it was really really time to give it a go. Also, for some reason the idea of short stories was hugely appealing to me, even though it meant lugging a seriously hefty tome around in my bag.
I’m not going to talk about all of the stories, because frankly I can’t be bothered. Also, there was a slight tendency for them all to merge in my memory quite soon after reading, if I’m honest, which I suppose says something about the strength of Vance’s setting and style. That said, nothing here was dreadful by any means. Some of the stories used Vance’s actual characters and locations, some struck off into new ground, but by-and-by they worked well. Some better than others, unsurprisingly - well, it’s an anthology, of course there’s going to be variation - but this was obviously edited very carefully. Probably not worth reading if you know nothing about the original books, but then I’m not even sure about that, now I think about it. If you like some of the authors involved, and you want a nice variety of short stories, this is well worth a go.
I read a signed hardback, but the paperback is out now, ISBN: 9780007277483