A Modest Gallimaufry of Brief Tales
(2013)(The first book in the Platter of Surprises series)
A collection of stories by Ed Greenwood
Five little tales that will come as something of a surprise to those of you who know me only as the creator of the Forgotten Realms and have never run across my writing in other genres.
Oh, yes. I write mysteries, romances, horror, SF, and a lot of fantasy that isn't set in the Realms. Here's a mixed bag of some examples of this "other stuff," just for fun.
As it happens, that's what writing and reading are really all about for me; if I'm scribing or perusing anything other than an instruction manual, I want to have fun.
So let's dig into five little excursions into fancy of various sorts, that haven't been published anywhere else before now. They were all fun for me to write, and I hope, if you curl up with them in a chair that has a table within easy reach that bears a mug of something warm, the time spent with them will be fun for you, too.
We start off with a brief whiff of terror. "The Ostrond File" takes us to a busy police station, and a day that's not going well for Captain Austin Greylake, and is about to get a lot worse.
Then we delve into sinister doings in an intrepid narrator's old hometown, in "A Nice Silky Merlot." Get out into the fresh country air, and smell the whiff of old corruption, and lurking menace . . .
Then, because I can never resist turning and galloping into the faerie lands of crumbling castles and unicorns glimpsed from afar, knights in shining armor and wizards dabbling in magic that almost always gets them into trouble, it's fantasy time. And in a nod to the Rule of Three, we have a trio of fantasies. All of them lighthearted, but not otherwise related. Why? Well, I like writing lighthearted fantasies, that's why.
In "The Wizard Who Was Everywhere," Torntamae Ravensblade and her Huljack, who is Swordcaptain of the Watch, try to solve a mystery, and are reminded what a pain magic can be when you're trying to investigate . . . well, just about anything.
In "Walking The King's Skull," Sir Blades Farfluke, Lord Investigator and Dragonmaster Royal of the Realm, gets summoned to the Palace. At once. And that's never a good thing.
And in "The King's Very Long Day," the King of all Flornfloryn has a day that's not much better than the one Captain Greylake enjoys in the first story. Just to drive home the point that we all have troubles: what sort of a life we have (or to put it less grandly, how much fun we have along the way) is in large part determined by how we deal with the problems and troubles life throws at us.
Whoops, I seem to have begun philosophizing, and that must mean it's time to stop yammering and let the stories speak for themselves. So without further ado . . .
I hope you enjoy the platter!
Genre: Fantasy
Oh, yes. I write mysteries, romances, horror, SF, and a lot of fantasy that isn't set in the Realms. Here's a mixed bag of some examples of this "other stuff," just for fun.
As it happens, that's what writing and reading are really all about for me; if I'm scribing or perusing anything other than an instruction manual, I want to have fun.
So let's dig into five little excursions into fancy of various sorts, that haven't been published anywhere else before now. They were all fun for me to write, and I hope, if you curl up with them in a chair that has a table within easy reach that bears a mug of something warm, the time spent with them will be fun for you, too.
We start off with a brief whiff of terror. "The Ostrond File" takes us to a busy police station, and a day that's not going well for Captain Austin Greylake, and is about to get a lot worse.
Then we delve into sinister doings in an intrepid narrator's old hometown, in "A Nice Silky Merlot." Get out into the fresh country air, and smell the whiff of old corruption, and lurking menace . . .
Then, because I can never resist turning and galloping into the faerie lands of crumbling castles and unicorns glimpsed from afar, knights in shining armor and wizards dabbling in magic that almost always gets them into trouble, it's fantasy time. And in a nod to the Rule of Three, we have a trio of fantasies. All of them lighthearted, but not otherwise related. Why? Well, I like writing lighthearted fantasies, that's why.
In "The Wizard Who Was Everywhere," Torntamae Ravensblade and her Huljack, who is Swordcaptain of the Watch, try to solve a mystery, and are reminded what a pain magic can be when you're trying to investigate . . . well, just about anything.
In "Walking The King's Skull," Sir Blades Farfluke, Lord Investigator and Dragonmaster Royal of the Realm, gets summoned to the Palace. At once. And that's never a good thing.
And in "The King's Very Long Day," the King of all Flornfloryn has a day that's not much better than the one Captain Greylake enjoys in the first story. Just to drive home the point that we all have troubles: what sort of a life we have (or to put it less grandly, how much fun we have along the way) is in large part determined by how we deal with the problems and troubles life throws at us.
Whoops, I seem to have begun philosophizing, and that must mean it's time to stop yammering and let the stories speak for themselves. So without further ado . . .
I hope you enjoy the platter!
Genre: Fantasy
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