Rogues

By: Neil Gaiman - contributor, George R. R. Martin - editor, Gillian Flynn - contributor, Gardner Dozois - editor

Narrated by: Janis Ian, Gwendoline Christie, Roy Dotrice, Ron Donachie, W. Morgan Sheppard, Molly Quinn, Rupert Degas, Iain Glen, Various

A thrilling collection of 21 original stories by an all-star list of contributors - including a new A Game of Thrones story by George R. R. Martin!

If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from number-one New York Times best-selling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.

Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart - and yet leave you all the richer for it.

INTRODUCTION: EVERYBODY LOVES A ROGUE, read by George R. R. Martin
TOUGH TIMES ALL OVER, read by Gwendoline Christie
WHAT DO YOU DO?, read by Julia Whelan
THE INN OF THE SEVEN BLESSINGS, read by Roy Dotrice
BENT TWIG, read by Phil Gigante
TAWNY PETTICOATS, read by Ron Donachie
PROVENANCE, read by W. Morgan Sheppard
ROARING TWENTIES, read by Janis Ian
A YEAR AND A DAY IN OLD THERADANE, read by Gwendoline Christie
BAD BRASS, read by Gil Bellows
HEAVY METAL, read by Scott Brick
THE MEANING OF LOVE, read by Conleth Hill
A BETTER WAY TO DIE, read by Roy Dotrice
ILL SEEN IN TYRE, read by Gethin Anthony
A CARGO OF IVORIES, read by Ron Donachie
DIAMONDS FROM TEQUILA, read by David Greenlee
THE CARAVAN TO NOWHERE, read by W. Morgan Sheppard
THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF THE DEAD WIVES, read by Harriet Walter
HOW THE MARQUIS GOT HIS COAT BACK, read by Roy Dotrice
NOW SHOWING, read by Molly Quinn
THE LIGHTNING TREE, read by Rupert Degas
THE ROGUE PRINCE, read by Iain Glen.

©2014 Random House (P)2014 Random House Audio

A must have collection.

Not only a fun and captivating experience, it's a great introduction to writers who I had yet to read.

An Excellent Fantasy/sci fi Anthology

Rogues is an excellent sci fi/fantasy anthology, exquisitely performed. My favorite tales were The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss, Tough Times All Over by Joe Abercrombie, A Year and A Day In Old Theradan by Scott Lynch, and The Rogue Prince by George RR Martin. All the other stories were quality as well. Rogues is a great anthology I highly recommend!

Highly mixed bag and some odd anthology choices

There are some great things in here. The Gillian Flynn piece is spectacular, beautifully characterized, twisty, and leaves you wondering who the bigger rogue was. Joe Lansdale was typically stellar. The Gaiman story was mid-range Gaiman, worth a listen, fun. And as someone who actually deeply disliked The Name of the Wind, I really enjoyed the Rothfuss piece (I guess it’s the main character of his novels that I just can’t stand).

Then we have A Better Way to Die, which seems to have ambled over from a different anthology, perhaps one devoted to impenetrable and dull stories where no roguishness can be detected. I remember it as a confusing drone with potentially interesting world-building spoiled by keeping the workings and words used not even slightly clarified. And the final Martin piece… I’m not sure an editor would have included this if the editor hadn’t written it. A nonstop drone of names and stories that start to get interesting and are then cast aside leaving you wonder why they were brought up at all. I guess it’s for completists, the same type of people who snap up the increasingly thin notes Christopher Tolkien lives off of. The only real roguishness I could find interesting in it was Martin’s own jamming it into the collection.

Some good, some bad

Most of the stories are great, but others seemed to drag on forever and were hard to get into. Overall, worth the credit because there are so many stories.

Great way to pass the time when driving

I enjoyed pretty much all the stories, but a few narrators were not the most enjoyable. Roy Dotrice's sharp "S" sounds were a bit shrieking in my speakers

Nice collection!

An interesting introduction to many great writers & well worth a listen! Also, with so many stories, a great bang for your buck.

Good and Meh

Some of the stories and the narration aren't so great but there are some absolutely fantastic ones as well. I enjoyed it enough that I actually bought a hard copy for my library.

An All-Star writers collection filled with Gems

George RR Martin seems to have contributed to this collection in many ways, but his writing is likely the least. His story isn't, in my opinion, the worst but it definitely isn't the best in this collection. That's not to say anything against George RR Martin. But rather to highlight just how good many of these stories are. There is no restriction on setting so each story will take you on a vastly different journey if you find yourself not enjoying one, the mood and tempo and setting of the next story may suit you better and because they're all short stories you won't suffer for long, if at all. Many of these stories are fantastic my favorites being a tie between "Now Showing" and The Lightning Tree". two fantastic short stories near the end of this collection. There's something in here for everyone and I enjoyed every minute. I will likely play it again.

Worth grabbing just to learn about Bast

Any additional comments?

Bought for Bast, read through several interesting stories. Good listen, but not really my style of writing. I don't think I found any new intriguing authors I hadn't read before, but I truly enjoyed the author I wanted to hear coming in.

Ehh...

Quite a few great stories within. Some performances fall a little flat. Please understand, its mostly due to the genre type that I didn't enjoy. At times i felt like fast forwarding to get to the next story but they were well enough to power through them.
There are worse books out there.
Note, the was an Audible "recommendation" for me.