Best of
Short-Story-Collection

1986

Howard Who?


Howard Waldrop - 1986
    R. Martin The first paperback (and twentieth anniversary) edition of a landmark debut collection. Howard Waldrop's encyclopedic knowledge of superheroes, baseball players, world wars, long-dead film stars, Mexican wrestlers, pulp serials, fairy tales, and extinct species is put to good use in these sophisticated re-combinations of our pop-culture dreams.Contents:The Ugly Chickens (1980)Der Untergang des Abendlandesmenschen (1976)Ike at the Mike (1982)Dr. Hudson's Secret Gorilla (1977)"...The World as We Know't." (1982)Green Brother (1982)Mary Margaret Road-Grader (1976)Save a Place in the Lifeboat for Me (1976)Horror, We Got (1979)Man-Mountain Gentian (1983)God's Hooks! (1982)Heirs of the Perisphere (1985)

Tales of Suspense


Edgar Allan Poe - 1986
    Valdemar --Hop-frog --The tell-tale heart --The imp of the perverse --Metzengerstein --The black cat --The masque of the red death.

Submerged Valley & Other Stories


Manoj Das - 1986
    Seventeen Stories from one of modern India's best-loved writers, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award.

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection


Gardner DozoisGeorge R.R. Martin - 1986
    R. Martin441 • Flying Saucer Rock & Roll • (1985) • novelette by Howard Waldrop459 • A Spanish Lesson • (1985) • novelette by Lucius Shepard486 • Roadside Rescue • (1985) • shortstory by Pat Cadigan494 • Paper Dragons • (1985) • novelette by James P. Blaylock510 • Magazine Section • (1985) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty522 • The War at Home • (1985) • shortstory by Lewis Shiner526 • Rockabye Baby • (1985) • novelette by S. C. Sykes551 • Green Mars • (1985) • novella by Kim Stanley Robinson620 • Honorable Mentions: 1985 • essay by Gardner Dozois

Tales of Terror: 58 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense


Alfred HitchcockJack Ritchie - 1986
    These suspenseful stories all appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and in the words of Hitch himself, they "are guaranteed to chill and unnerve." Bill Pronzini contributes "The Arrowmont Prison Riddle," Margaret B. Maron has "A Very Special Talent," Barry M. Malzberg offers "A Home Away from Home," and Patricia Matthews chronicles "The Fall of Dr. Scourby." Meet a girl who stalks Jack the Ripper, a clairvoyant writer of newspaper obituaries, a homicidal partygoer in a sanatorium, and a police detective who lives vicariously through the exploits of one of his most notorious suspects: they all populate these frightening pages. Caution: not recommended for late-night reading--except for the very brave CONTENTSKilled by Kindness ..... Nedra TyreJust a Minor Offense ..... John F. SuterA Home Away From Home ..... Robert BlochDeath of a Derelict ..... Joseph Payne BrennanThe Arrowmont Prison Riddle ..... Bill PronziniThe Dettweiler Solution ..... Lawrence BlockThe Whitechapel Wantons ..... Vincent McConnorCora's Raid ..... Isak RomunLife or Breath ..... Nelson deMilleA Private Little War ..... William BrittainHave You Ever Seen This Woman? ..... John LutzJoe Cutter's Game ..... Brian GarfieldA Cabin in the Woods ..... John CoyneThe Long Arm of El Jefe ..... Edward WellenKid Cardula ..... Jack RitchieCareer Man ..... James HoldingThe Perfidy of Professor Blake ..... Libby MacCallSea Change ..... Henry SlesarThe Blue Tambourine ..... Donald OlsonGraveyard Shift ..... William P. McGivernA Bottle of Wine ..... Borden DealMan Bites Dog ..... Donald HonigNever Trust an Ancestor ..... Michael ZuroyAnother War ..... Edward D. HochSparrow on a String ..... Alice Scanlan ReachThe Missing Tattoo ..... Clayton MatthewsThe Fall of Dr. Scourby ..... Patricia MatthewsThe Loose End ..... Stephen WasylykThat So-called Laugh ..... Frank SiskA Very Special Talent ..... Margaret B. MaronThe Joker ..... Betty Ren WrightThe Very Hard Sell ..... Helen NielsenThe Tin Ear ..... Ron GoulartThe Time Before the Crime ..... Charlotte EdwardsAfter the Unfortunate Accident ..... Barry N. MalzbergThe Grateful Thief ..... Patrick O'KeeffeThe Inspiration ..... Talmage PowellDeath is a Lonely Lover ..... Robert ColbyThe Witness was a Lady ..... Fletcher FloraScheme for Destruction ..... Pauline C. SmithTo the Manner Born ..... Mary BraundBlack Disaster ..... Richard O. LewisThe Marrow of Justice ..... Hal EllsonInnocent Witness ..... Irving SchifferWe're Really Not That Kind of People ..... Samuel W. TaylorPocket Evidence ..... Harold Q. MasurThe Death Desk ..... S.S. RaffertyA Left-handed Profession ..... Al NussbaumSecond Spring ..... Theodore MathiesonBank Night ..... Arthur PorgesThe Contagious Killer ..... Bryce WaltonBad Actor ..... Gary BrandnerFree Advice, Incorporated ..... Michael BrettThe Real Criminal ..... James M. GilmoreThe Hard Sell ..... William DolanThe Prosperous Judds ..... Bob BristowThe Dead Indian ..... Robert W. AlexanderThe China Cottage ..... August Derleth