A first rate anthology for those wishing to catch up on Fantasy before Lord of the Rings....Morris, Lovecraft, Hodgson, Eddison etc.... Eighteen famous names. ( )

The title might mislead one to believe that the authors presented are all contemporary: they are not. They are "young" by comparison with the ages-old myth-makers and tale-tellers of antiquity (though as of 1969, when this was published, several of the authors were contemporary). Almost every one of the tales in this charming little book is well worth reading. When one is skimming the very cream of over a century, it is hard to go too far wrong; even so, a few of the stories herein (including editor Lin Carter's self-indulgent inclusion of not one but two of his own) are, though good enough reading, plebian compared with the rest. But the samples from Dunsany, Morris, Cabell, Eddison, Vance, Lewis, and Tolkien more than make up for the rest. In particular, this is a fine box of chocolates to give to a literate reader not already well familiar with modern "adult fantasy"; it is hard to imagine such a reader tasting these bon-bons and not craving more.

The first of Carter's compilations in what is the greatest series of fantasy masterpieces ever united under one colophon. ( )