One of the characteristics of a good anthology is that even though you may have picked it up because it features one or two of your favorite authors, you ended up with a list of some new faves. Heroes of the Realm: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, gathers stories from authors of the Realm Makers network.
I wanted to read Heroes of the Realm because some of my favorite sci-fi authors are featured. The book includes stories from Steve Rzasa, Paul Regnier, and Kerry Nietz, whose novels I have read and enjoyed. Regnier's and Nietz's stories include characters from some of their successful series of novels, so fans will really enjoy these worthy additions to those fictional universes. (If the other authors' stories are related to their other works, I haven't read them.) Nietz's "Hard's Watcher" is a great slice-of-life story of his memorable HardCandy character.
Most of the other authors were unknown to me, but across the board made some quality contributions. In particular, I'd love to read more from Teisha J. Priest, whose story "The Librarian Who Would Be King" is a fun space opera in miniature. I admit that my tastes lean very much toward the sci-fi side of the sci-fi and fantasy genre, and I was a little disappointed in the slight lean toward fantasy in this collection. The fantasy stories are good, but the sci-fi stories are better.
Whatever your tastes, get a taste of the stories in Heroes of the Realm. Revisit some favorite authors and read some new ones. All-in-all, it's a solid collection.
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