Songs of Love and Death

All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love

By: George R. R. Martin - editor, Gardner Dozois - editor

Narrated by: Phil Gigante, Michael Page, Susan Duerden, Julia Whelan

Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning, best-selling author Neil Gaiman demonstrates why he’s one of the hottest stars in literature today with “The Thing About Cassandra,” a subtle but chilling story of a man who meets an old girlfriend he had never expected to see. International blockbuster best-selling author Diana Gabaldon sends a World War II RAF pilot through a stone circle to the time of her Outlander series in “A Leaf on the Winds of All Hallows.” Torn from all he knows, Jerry MacKenzie determinedly survives hardship and danger, intent on his goal of returning home to his wife and baby — no matter the cost. New York Times best-selling author Jim Butcher presents “Love Hurts,” in which Harry Dresden takes on one of his deadliest adversaries and in the process is forced to confront the secret desires of his own heart.

Just the smallest sampling promises unearthly delights, but look also for stories by New York Times best-selling romance authors Jo Beverley and Mary Jo Putney, and by such legends of the fantasy genre as Peter S. Beagle and Tanith Lee, as well as many other popular and beloved writers, including Marjorie M. Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, and Robin Hobb. This exquisite anthology, crafted by the peerless editing team of George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, is sure to leave you under its spell.

©2010 George R.R. Martin (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Entertaining short stories

Where does Songs of Love and Death rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

SLD is, as most short story collections are, uneven, but overall entertaining. Neil Gaiman's tale is delightful, as is Peter S Beagle's. A few of the others are simply formulaic romance set in not-this-world, but nothing objectionable.

What did you like best about this story?

Neil Gaiman--always a favorite.

Great stories

I am a great fan of a lot of these authors . It was also a good opportunity to listen to other authors and to get involved in their stories. A good variety, so I would suggest others to try out this book.

A list of the stories and a few remarks

I enjoyed some of the stories quite a bit. In fact, the desire to go back and look up the authors of those favorite stories again is my reason for posting this list. I put an X by the ones I liked enough to follow up on later.

The anthology really deserves 5 stars even though I didn't love every single story, because it was a fantastic way to discover new authors, and had a great variety.

The stories in the book "Songs of Love in Death" are the following:

x 1."Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files)
Love Hurts is a short story in the The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It was originally published in the Songs of Love and Death anthology, and later also included in Side Jobs. It takes place between Turn Coat and Changes

x 2."The Marrying Maid" by Jo Beverley
Rob Loxsleigh has been searching for his "marrying maid" all his adult life and has only days left to find her before Oberon, Lord of Faery, can claim a terrible victory over his family and his line. At last she's there, before his eyes in St. James's Park, but Martha Darby wants nothing to do with a London rake in his satin and lace.

3."Rooftops" by Carrie Vaughn
A young playwright falls in love with a super hero

x 4."Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover
Connie, a former victim of abuse, moves into a haunted house and doesn't seem fazed by the angry ghost that resides there.

x 5."Demon Lover" by Cecelia Holland
Fioretta is a disfigured girl who has lived an unappreciated life. One day she transformed into a great beauty and taken away to a wizards castle. But it has a terrible cost.

6."The Wayfarer's Advice" by Melinda M. Snodgrass (Imperials)

x 7."Blue Boots" by Robin Hobb
A servant girl moves to a new village and falls for a minstrel while wearing her blue boots, the last reminder of her life with her father, who recently passed. But she isn't sure she can trust him.

8."The Thing About Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman

9."After the Blood" by Marjorie M. Liu

10."You and You Alone" by Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Legacy)
This one was a little too dramatic for me, but to each their own. It was basically a man looking back on his life and regretting and yet not regretting a royal love triangle.

x 11."His Wolf" by Lisa Tuttle
This was my favorite story in the whole anthology. Its about a woman who is just beginning to get involved with a man who is at a crossroads in his life. He is very dedicated to his pet wolf. When he dies, the wolf finds her and becomes her companion from that day on. I don't want to say anymore and ruin it.

x 12."Courting Trouble" by Linnea Sinclair
Definitely a science fiction story, this is about a woman having to rely on an old friend who once burned her to save her spaceship and its cargo.

13."The Demon Dancer" by Mary Jo Putney

14."Under/Above the Water" by Tanith Lee

15."Kashkia" by Peter S. Beagle

x 16."Man in the Mirror" by Yasmine Galenorn
A spirit is caught in a mirror, and yearns to be free. He finds a woman whom he thinks can free him, but her cat is keeping him at bay.

17."A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander)

Mixed bag

None of the stories are amazing. A couple were unlistenable to me. My wife listened to the same book and had similar reactions. If you are an audible junkie (like me), the book is long enough that even skipping some stories it is ok. A decent use of a credit.

Eclectic mix

What did you like best about Songs of Love and Death? What did you like least?

This was definetely an eclectic mix of stories that I would not have normally bought on my own except that I was looking for one author in particular "Diana Gabaldon". The narration was good, except with it being mostly the same people sometimes you forget what story you're listening to and have to take a min and re-acclamate yourself. Overall it opened me up to genres and authors that I normally would not have tried.

Love to love these stories

Good collection of stories. A lot there for sci fi or fantasy lovers. Well worth the listen.

Not worth the money.

I found some of the stories offensive to women. I found I did a lot of eye rolling.

Good short listens...nice variety

Where does Songs of Love and Death rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm a George R R Martin and Outlander fan...these stories were a good extension of that type of story with an introduction to more variety

What did you like best about this story?

Short stories and variety

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Lord John

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

WOULDN'T GET...BORING

Would you try another book from the authors and/or the narrators?

NARRATORS, YES The narators did a good job, but the storylines just were not well written for my taste

Has Songs of Love and Death turned you off from other books in this genre?

NO

Which scene was your favorite?

the carriage ride info

What character would you cut from Songs of Love and Death?

none in particular Was just boring to me

Well

Some stories better than others, read author's work will enjoy better. Diana G explains lots.