Songs of Love & Death Edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

I’ll admit that the primary reason I wanted this book was because it contains a story by one of my all-time favorite authors – Diana Gabaldon. The story, A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, promised to solve the mysterious disappearance of Roger’s father. I was also intrigued by the allure of George R. R. Martin as an editor. Unfortunately, he does not have a short story in the collection. You also have to admit that the title of this collection of short stories is snappy, as well as the premise of the book. It contains stories from a wide range of authors that are fantasy, science fiction and/or romance with star-crossed love as a premise. Some endings are happy, some are sad, but all are intriguing.


I was more than a little excited to receive this novel for Christmas from my best friend Jenn. I quickly flipped it open, only to discover that Gabaldon’s story was last. I then proceeded to read it, and then start the book from page 1, and read the story again at the end.

There are too many great stories in this book and not enough time to give them all a proper review. I can say thought that the stories were awesome and gave me many new writers to add to my “to read” list. The stories ranged from ill-fated love in space, to stories that were more enchanted fairy tale. I loved each one for its uniqueness. I had never read any of Jim Butcher’s Dresden file books, but he had a fantastic story in this collection. Consider me signed up to check out his books!

Sadly, one of the weaker stories in the collection was actually Gabaldon’s story. It felt like it was a chapter from An Echo in the Bone. If I was going into this story and had no idea who these characters were and the background behind it, I would have been very, very confused. Even being a fan, I finished the story slightly confused and like with all Gabaldon books, wanting more!! The story did answer my question of what happened to Roger’s father, but I want to know what happened to Roger! Hopefully we’ll get more clarification in Gabaldon’s next novel.

Overall, this book is excellent. I am a lover of short stories, romance, and fantasy so this book was right up my alley. If you like your stories to be on the unexpected side are a fan of Gabaldon, Martin, Butcher or shows such as Game of Thrones, or Once Upon a Time, this book is for you!

Book Source: This was a Christmas gift from my best friend Jenn