For over thirty years, DAW Books have been releasing some of the best science fiction and fantasy books in the field, a tradition of consistency and excellence that has given them a well-deserved reputation. To celebrate their thirty years in business, and to honor the memory of their founder, Donald A. Wollheim (DAW, get it?), DAW decided to release a pair of anthologies containing new stories by some of the best and most prominent authors to work with the company over the years.

For the longest time, I was torn on how exactly to look at this book. I could talk about the history of DAW, but there’s a very nice essay in the beginning of both collections which goes into the full story: How Donald Wollheim, long-time editor for Ace Books back in the ’50s and ’60s decided to risk his career and his savings to start a publishing company of his own, aided by his wife Elsie and daughter Betsy, and how they managed to keep the dream alive long enough for it to become a full-blown realization. How DAW survived the losses of Elsie and Donald, and managed to keep plugging away nonetheless, thanks to Betsy, and Shiela Gilbert (who joined in 1985), and how even today, it remains a tight family-run company, twenlve hundred books and thirty years later. No, the personal recollections of Betsy and Shiela tell the story far better than I can, and even provide some nice insight into the publishing world as it was, and as it is.

So what, then? Do I approach this like I would any other anthology? That hardly seems fair, given that this is something special, a birthday party and anniversary celebration rolled into one. You don’t treat your parents’ thirtieth anniversary like some weekend party thrown by a buddy, and you don’t treat a bunch of old friends the same way you might talk to a group of relative strangers. Most anthologies are either invite-only (which means a small, select group known to the editor) or come out of open submissions (which is roughly equivalent to casting a play or movie: for everyone you know, there’s a few strangers or newcomers). The DAW anthologies are more like family reunions, because every single contributing author is part of the farflung DAW family.

Okay, so what we have is a family reunion/anniversary/birthday get-together. That much is settled. There are no real overarcing themes to connect the stories; rather, every author was left to their own devices to turn in what they thought would best represent not only their own work, but also DAW Books in general. The eighteen fantasy authors are presented in chronological order according to when they first signed with DAW. Fittingly, the first story is by Grandmaster Andre Norton, whose Spell of the Witch World was the first book ever published by DAW.

The list of authors who’ve followed that beginning is like a Who’s Who of the field: Michael Shae, Tanith Lee, Christopher Stasheff, Jennifer Roberson, Mercedes Lackey, Mickey Zucker Reichart, Tanya Huff, Melanie Rawn, Deborah J. Ross, Larry Dixon, Irene Radford, Marjorie B. Kellogg, Jane Fancher, Michelle West, Fiona Patton, Kristen Brittain, and Lynn Abbey. Not too shabby. Go to any bookstore, look in the SF/Fantasy section, and you’ll see a fair amount by these authors. Jennifer Roberson’s Chronicles of the Cheysuli and Sword Dancer series are popular and long-running. Mercedes Lackey takes up most of a shelf all by herself with the Valdemar books and assorted spin-offs and separate series. Mickey Zucker Reichart tends to put out fat volumes of her Renshai series every few years, while Tanya Huff has produced fantasy, science fiction, and urban fantasy/horror with equal skill. I could go on, but for the most part, these authors’ careers speak for themselves. DAW is in the business of producing quality, and they’ve certainly discovered or encouraged their fair share of standouts in the field.

I didn’t read every story in the 30th Anniversary collection. Honestly, I’m not sure who could. Eighteen stories, in 420 pages, written by eighteen different authors? Rather, let’s accept that there’s something for everyone, representing a wide variety of tastes and styles. Some of these authors don’t appeal to me anymore, some never did, and some are only now growing on me. But there are a few for whom I’ll always be there.

Of the stories, I’d have to say that Mercedes Lackey’s After Midnight is the most whimsical and tongue-in-cheek. Rather than give us a serious short story, she turns in a hilarious, self-aware tale of The Author Tormented By Her Characters. Let’s just say it’s payback for the horrible fates, crushed feet, immolated heroes, lovelorn lasses, angsting anti-heroes, bad accents, reincarnated rogues, and unselfishly sacrificed lives. For those who’ve read Lackey’s Valdemar books in specific, they’ll understand where the characters might have … issues. So what’s an author to do, especially having written herself into the story? That, my friends, would be telling.

Mickey Zucker Reichart’s claim to fame: Her parents were rocket scientists, and she -has- performed brain surgery. She’s also written numerous novels. For her contribution to this collection, she revisits the infamous rogue Nightfall (from the standalone Legend of Nightfall) in “Nightfall’s Promise”. In a world where rare people are blessed (or cursed) with natal talents (anything from controlling mass and density to creating fire to telepathy and so on), there’s both danger and promise in using said talents. There’s also a nasty trend for people to kill said talented and ritually steal their talents. And when Nightfall is forced to pay back a favor, he’s drawn into a deadly mystery involving a young boy whose talent could spell end the for Nightfall’s career … and life.

Larry Dixon, Mercedes Lackey’s husband and writing partner, turns in a story of his own, “A Perfect Day In Valdemar”. It’s notable that this is one of his very few solo efforts; most of his writing has been in collaborating with Mercedes, and he’s better known as an illustrator in many circles. But with this story, he proves that he can stand on his own, as he tells the story of sacrifice and bonding on the battlefront. A man and a gryphon have both been grievously wounded in battle, and as they recover in the Healer’s tent, they learn a lot about each other. When they’re called on to make a profound sacrifice, who will be up for the challenge? This is a tale that rings on a personal level, its strength resting on the characterization and depth of the protagonists. And, in some ways, it’s assured me that Larry really can hold up his end of the writing, something that I admit I doubted once upon a time. Now I’m looking forward to the day when he write a solo novel, just to see what he can do.

Tanya Huff is another author I’ve followed for quite some time. I’ve not yet decided what field she works in best: Her urban fantasy novels have always had a distinctive flair to them, especially her Keeper series, but her fantasy books (such as the Quarters series) and science fiction (Valor’s Choice, for instance) are equally entertaining. She has a talent for short stories, and for humor, as seen with “We Two May Meet.” When the world’s foremost wizard is magically split in two, each half containing all the powers but gravitating towards an opposite extreme of personality, the two will have to work together if they want to protect the world. But are they protecting it from outside forces … or each other? Never before has psychoanalysis been so vital, or a sub-basement portal to Hell been so dangerous. This is a genuinely enjoyable story, and a standout even for this book.

There’s a lot more. Jennifer Roberson’s “Ending and Beginning” offers a tantalizing look at her next big series, Karavans. Andre Norton’s “Sow’s Ear – Silk Purse” shows that she’s still a writer to be reckoned with. And Lynn Abbey’s “It’s About Squirrels” is a humorous look at South Florida, pallbearer squirrels, surge protectors, serial suicide, and brownies (of the faerie and stupid variety).

So what’s the verdict? This is one family reunion that you shouldn’t miss. There really is something for everyone in here, with so many authors representing such a wide spectrum of the fantasy world. It -is- interesting, as a sidenote, that of the eighteen authors, only three are male. Does this mean women make better fantasy authors, or that DAW is more opening to female authories, or that they’re just more successful? Who knows, but it’s an interesting little thing to consider.

I highly recommend the DAW 30th Anniversary collection. It and its Science Fiction brother look great on the shelf, and you get quite a lot for your money. Special credit goes to the lovely, yet simplistic cover design (by G-Force Design) which captures the eclectic essence of both volumes without being distracting.