Rating: 
Summary: Must read for Stephen King fans!
Review: There are two stories contained within this book that I consider absolute must-reads, and worth the price of the book on their own.The first is "The Little Sisters of Eluria", which is a Stephen King Dark Tower-based story. I've read the DT books three times each; they're easily my favorite King works, and like many fans, I'm going nuts waiting for the next book. This short story flew completely under my radar, until I accidentally happened across a reference to it on some random site. It's about Roland of Gilead, pre-The Gunslinger. The second is "Dragonfly", and it is set as in the Earthsea trilogy, which I belive won the Nebula award. This story, and the original trilogy, along with the book IV "Tehanu" which came later, are similar to Harry Potter stories, i.e., about magic & easy reading, but they are much more dark and mature than the Potter books.
Rating: 
Summary: More from the best
Review: ^Legends^ presents original stories from the best writers of fantasy literature. George R.R. Martin's "A Hedge Knight" is a must read for anyone who enjoys his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series (which should be everyone). Orson Scott Card's "A Grinning Man" is a gem that surely will put a smile on your face. It should be a law: Writers this gifted need to publish a new novella every year.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Prequel chapter
Review: If you are craving a new story in the Wheel of Time, try this one. It is a great look into the past of Moiraine and Lan. It is something that was hinted at in the main novels, but it certain expands on the readers knowledge of their relationship. Lan for much of the series is stone cold and he is hard to relate to, much like Rand 7-10. Lan is much like the boy Rand used to be, except a warrior. It has to be read after 4 or 5, or it won't be as thoroughly enjoyed (thats for newbies). The great thing is Robert Jordan expressed an interest to do another such novella if the opportunity arose. Little stories can be found in "The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time" til the next book comes out.
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Summary: As Amazon predicted, I indeed loved this.
Review: I read Legends in one piece, so please bear with me reviewing here. Legends (and Far Horizons) as well, were a brilliant move. Short stories about the worlds you know and love, in one book with yet unexplored worlds... it's awesome, both from the fan's and the publisher's point of view. The quality of the stories was high. King's story was beautiful and enchanting, I am not a great fan of Pratchett, though, Feist and Goodkind's stories were entertaining enough, if not a little predictable. I felt myself also highly attracted to Williams' story for some reason. And I havent even read the series. Still gotta find the first book somewhere. :)
Jordan's story, as a WOT fan, was nice enough. It was nice to be back in the WOT world again (this was during the wait for book 9). For me, it grabbed hold and didnt let go. Although I agree that it might be a little vague and incomprehensible for the people who are not familiar with the Wheel of Time.
The big thing about Legends though, has got to be the Hedge Knight. It got me to reading Martin's work, and it had got me to favoring Martin above Jordan as soon as I was done with the series. Legends did what it was made for - introduce fans into worlds they havent explored yet, and show them a little bit more of the worlds they know and love. So yes, Legends was brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: IN REFERENCE TO ROBERT JORDAN'S CONTRIBUTION ONLY
Review: I have read works by Williams, King, Martin, and Goodkind, but I didn't bother to read any of their short works. Robert Jordan starts off the book with his prequel, NEW SPRING, based on his Wheel of Time series. I've heard that Robert Jordan isn't much of a short story writer, which makes sense, because you never hear about his short stories. So don't expect too much out of this novella. It is far from excellent, but I'll disagree with anyone who says that it's pointless. In New Spring, RJ describes to us--in greater detail than in the Great Hunt--how Moiraine and Lan met. Ever the consistent writer, RJ makes a point of remembering to include the part where Lan tosses Moiraine into the lake--one of my favorite parts in the series. After they finally team up, they start searching the Borderlands for the Dragon Reborn--a bit of history that the other WoT books NEVER mention, at least not in any great detail. While reading the second half, I couldn't help but notice how RJ had managed to weave some symbolism through his work. Think along the lines of Moses. For those of you who don't think there's symbolism in the WoT series, e-mail me and I'll enlighten you. But as big a WoT fan that I am, I sincerely wish that RJ would have passed up on the offer of being included in this anthology. The time he used writing this novella could have been used for making his current project--either book 8 or 9--into a MUCH better book. Books 8 and 9 weren't all that good, but 10 looks promising. The prequel could have waited until AFTER the series was finished. To sum things up, this is a good RJ novella-effort. BUT IF YOU'VE NEVER READ ROBERT JORDAN, DON'T JUDGE HIM--OR ANY OTHER AUTHOR IN THIS ANTHOLOGY--BY THE NOVELLA. Read EYE OF THE WORLD or the first book in that author's series.
Rating:
Summary: Good Stories, One Fantastic Standout
Review: I wasn't a fan of fantasy. Then, my cousin sent me this book and said: "Read 'The Hedge Knight'". Well now I'm hooked on George R.R. Martin. This story grabs and never lets go. All the characters pull you in to their little personal plights. I even found myself feeling sorry for the ones I hated. After you read "The Hedge Knight", run out and get the "Song of Ice and Fire" series ... CAPTIVATING.
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Summary: Wonderful Sampler of Great Fantasy Writing
Review: This is a collection of eleven novellas or short stories, written by some of today's best writers of fantasy or speculative fiction. Each story is set in the universe created by the author for a series of novels he or she has written or is writing. Some of these series I knew well, and the story from "Legends" was a wonderful addition to a "world" I already knew well. I had read none of the stories in other series represented here, and I was still able to enjoy the story (and be tempted to dive into the series!). Other reviewers have summarized the eleven stories in "Legends" and I will not be redundant. Instead, I will comment on four that, amongst this treasure trove, stood out for me. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is part of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series which is distinctly different in content (but not tone or quality) from much of his other writing. In "The Little Sisters of Eluria", the hero, Roland of Gilead, or "The Gunslinger", wanders into an abandoned town in a post-apocalyptic world, and ends up encountering mutants, vampiresses, and singing insect-doctors who heal AND devour their patients. This is a creepy love story that cannot be put down. "The Sea and Little Fishes" is part of a series I have not read. It is the story of a witchcraft contest that is won by the only non-participating witch. I smiled from the first page to the last, and chuckled numerous times. This story is just plain fun. "The Hedge Knight" is part of George R. R. Martin's masterful "Song of Ice and Fire" series, but actually takes place several generations before the first book in that series, "A Game of Thrones". Without knowing the series, "The Hedge Knight" would be a good adventure story with a tragic twist blended into a triumph of honor over evil. If you know the series, the implications of what happens in this little story are mind-boggling, as they reshape the entire political future of The Seven Kingdoms of Martin's series. "The Wood Boy" is a beautifully written and tragic first-love story from Raymond Feist's "Krondor" series. I have read and re-read this book. After the first reading, there was only one story, "The Grinning Man", that I did not want to re-read. However, when I read the book for the third time, I read all eleven again.
Rating:
Summary: Le Guin Drags It Down
Review: I loved this book, glancing into more stories of some series' I have gobbled up. But I'm sorry, I find Le Guin's writing a bunch of drivel. The plot just seems to be floating around with no purpose, and I couldn't get involved with the bland characters at all. Worth a read, though.
Rating:
Summary: Worth every penny.
Review: I found this book by accident when it first came out, and now, a few years later, I still re-read it quite often. I'll keep this short and sweet: This book introduced me to Tad Williams. I have now read a ton of his books. His short story "The Burning Man" was incredible. I've always been a huge Robert Jordan fan. "New Spring" is another fantastic addition to his masterpiece, The Wheel of Time. (For a detailed review of this story, check out my article at http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/New_Spring) "Grinning Man", "The Hedge Knight", and "The Woood Boy" are also great stories within this book. If you're looking for a wonderful collection of stories from today's best fantasy writers, this is THE book to have.
Rating:
Summary: If you can't finish a story in 3 volumes...
Review: The book proves that writers of fantasy sagas are entirely out of their depth when limited to less than 100 pages. The one stirling exception is George RR Martin's "The Hedge Knight" - what a fantastic writer to be able to write something like that as well as the compelling multi-volume "Song of Fire and Ice"! Anne McCaffrey is a distant second in this compilation..forget about Robert Jordan. If you can finish "The Hedge Knight" while standing in the book store, that's all you want from this book!
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