A Stark and Wormy Knight

Best known for his epic fantasies, Williams offers 11 short stories that demonstrate his versatility with relative brevity. The title story allows Williams to indulge in his humorous side as he looks at the ongoing battle between dragon and knight from the dragon’s point of view. Similarly, the comic book script for “Bad Guy Factory” turns the tables by describing a training academy for cannon-fodder henchmen. “The Tenth Muse” is a solid space opera story, and “Ants” is a horror tale reminiscent of Poe as a man tries to cover up a murder committed in the heat of passion. Readers only familiar with Williams’s lengthy sagas will find a pleasant surprise in his ability to handle short work in different genres, while new readers can give him a try without committing to an epic series. Agent: Matt Bialer, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (July)