A collection of stories published in 1979 and intended to challenge the assumptions about the role of women in high fantasy/sword and sorcery fiction of the time, although the definition of 'Amazon' seems quite flexible, ranging as it does from sorcerous women who sacrifice their powers for a man's love, even a man who seems completely disinterested to begin with, to then-contemporary women vigilantes dishing out retribution on men who commit crimes against women.

The book includes stories by well-known writers such as C J Cherryh, Andre Norton and Elizabeth A Lynn. I found it rather uneven - one of the stories features such a lot of backstory it is pulled down by the weight - Wolves of Nakesht which apparently the writer intended to turn into a novel or series and would perhaps have been better served by presenting a story earlier in the apparently long history of the main character. Others, such as Morrien's Bitch, were clunkily written in places. But there were also some interesting tales such as Agbewe's Sword, set in Abomey, an African county where there is a women's army as well as a men's army, and Falcon Blood, a Witch World backstory tale by Andre Norton in which we discover the reason for the antipathy towards women by the Falconers. That had a Sulcar sailor as the female protagonist and her stalwart nature has finally made some inroads on the Falconer character's prejudices by the end.

I particularly enjoyed Bones for Dulath by Morgan Lindholm (Robin Hobb) set in her Ki/Vandien series which I rate above her Hobb-penned fiction, and Lynn's The Woman Who Loved the Moon a tale with an Asian setting where the character of the title discovers the perils familiar to anyone who has read Western set stories of visits to fairyland. A beautiful lyrically told story. Despite some weaker elements in the collection, stories like this elevate the rating to 4 stars. ( )

This collection of 13 fantasy stories centered on female heroes was groundbreaking in 1979 when it was published. I loved it when I discovered it in my teens--pre-Buffy, there were few stories of adventure with strong female heroines. This held up well. Indeed, the only story I didn't enjoy at all was the one with the most celebrated names--a piece of juvenalia by Emily Bronte edited by Joanna Russ. Russ is even one of the names featured on the cover, but she only contributes a precis of the story between excerpts of this Tolkenesque epic poem. The book also included stories Andre Norton and C.J. Cherryh. I've heard great things about both authors, who I haven't read outside the stories in this anthology--I'm afraid I found neither standouts. But enough stories did stand out to earn a fairly high rating:

Janet Fox, "Morrien's Bitch" - The central female wasn't likable, but she sure was interesting--more anti-hero than heroine.

Charles R. Saunders, "Agbewe's Sword" - I found Dossouye among the most likable characters in the book. And it was refreshing to read a fantasy based on an African culture rather than the usual faux European fantasy setting. Based enough on the real African civilization of Dohomey and its Amazons to be the one work of historical fiction in the book. Dossouye would also appear in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress, a series of anthologies that came closest to being Amazons! successor. All the more reason I found myself rather irked by Salmonson's rather condescending introduction to the story, which noted Saunders was the "token male" author in the anthology.

Tanith Lee, "Northern Chess" - Lee, author of several works of fantasy and science fiction who boasts a gorgeous style was a favorite author of mine before I ever owned this anthology--and she didn't disappoint here. I loved this story of a lady knight.

Elizabeth A. Lynn, "The Woman Who Loved the Moon" - the story closed the anthology, and it was a memorable finish. I loved the stories fairy tale quality. ( )

Gute Zusammenstellung, ärgerlich allein die schlampige Lektorierung durch den Bastei-Verlag, die selbst bei den Titeln von zwei Geschichten nicht funktionierte. ( )

Re-reading this story in 2009 from an entirely different life perspective, I find that most of the stories have held up remarkably well. Ms. Salmonson chose wisely for the most part. The introductions are a tad heavy-handed, but we can skip those easily. ( )