No longer confined to the image of a hexing old crone, witches can be kindly healers and protectors, tough modern urban heroines, holders of forbidden knowledge, sweetly domestic spellcasters, darkly domineering, sexy enchantresses, ancient sorceresses, modern Wiccans, empowered or persecuted, possessors of supernatural abilities that can be used for good or evil—or perhaps only perceived as such. Welcome to the world of witchery in many guises: wicked, wild, and wonderful. Includes two original, never-published stories.ContentsThe Cold Blacksmith • (2006) • shortstory by Elizabeth BearThe Ground Whereon She Stands • (2011) • shortfiction by Leah BobetThe Witch’s Headstone • (2007) • novelette by Neil GaimanLessons with Miss Gray • (2006) • novelette by Theodora GossThe Only Way to Fly • (1995) • shortstory by Nancy HolderBasement Magic • (2003) • novelette by Ellen KlagesNightside • [Diana Tregarde] • (1989) • shortstory by Mercedes LackeyApril in Paris • (1962) • shortstory by Ursula K. Le GuinThe Goosle • (2008) • shortstory by Margo LanaganMirage and Magia • (1982) • shortstory by Tanith LeePoor Little Saturday • (1956) • shortstory by Madeleine L'EngleCatskin • (2003) • shortstory by Kelly LinkBloodlines • shortfiction by Silvia Moreno-GarciaThe Way Wind • (1995) • novelette by Andre NortonSkin Deep • (2008) • novelette by Richard ParksIll Met in Ulthar • shortfiction by Tim Pratt [as by T. A. Pratt ]Marlboros & Magic • shortfiction by Linda RobertsonWalpurgis Afternoon • (2005) • novelette by Delia ShermanThe World Is Cruel, My Daughter • (2011) • shortstory by Cory SkerryThe Robbery • (1995) • shortstory by Cynthia WardAfterward • (1999) • shortstory by Don WebbMagic Carpets • (1995) • shortstory by Leslie WhatBoris Chernevsky's Hands • (1982) • shortstory by Jane Yolen

    E. Modesitt, Jr. He began publishing as a short story writer in the SF magazines in the 1970s, mostly in Analog. Some of the earliest stories are kernels for his early SF novels, others display the wide range of his talents and interests, from satire to military adventure. This collection includes selections of stories from his entire career, as well as three new stories that have never been published before: “Black Ordermage,” set in the world of Modesitt’s bestselling Recluce series; “Beyond the Obvious Wind,” set in his Corean Chronicles universe; and “Always Outside the Lines,” which is related to the Ghosts of Columbia books.

    Young heroes and heroines battle evils with the help of supernatural or super-technological powers, each individual story perfectly balancing historical and fantastical elements. Throw in epic romances that transcend time, and this trendy, engrossing anthology is sure to become another hit for the fast-growing Steampunk genre!This collection features some of the hottest writers in the teen genre, including: Ann Aguirre, Jaclyn Dolamore, Tessa Gratton, Frewin Jones, Caitlin Kittredge, Adrienne Kress, Lesley Livingston, Dru Pagliassotti, Dia Reeves, Michael Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Tiffany Trent, and Kiersten White.

    The bestselling Sword and Sorceress series continues with this exciting 20th edition of all-new stories. It's all here: hard-hitting action, spellbinding magic, butt-kicking heroines... and some of the most popular names in fantasy today.

    Readers only familiar with such masterpieces as The Dragonbone Chair and Talchaser’s Song will be delighted to discover that in his short fiction, Williams has been able to explore myriad new possibilities and adventures.Previously collected in multiauthor anthologies and limited hardcover editions, these superlative talks of dragons, super-soldiers, wizards, cyberpunks, heroes, and fools are now available together for the first time in an affordable trade paperback edition. These stories showcase the exhilarating breadth of Williams’ imagination, in stories hearkening to the tales of such classic fantasists as J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Ray Bradbury, and Peter S. Beagle. Included is an original tale written specifically for this volume.The Very Best of Tad Williams is a true delight to those who have imagined themselves in fantastic worlds beyond the everyday and mundane.TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Old Scale GameThe Storm DoorThe Stranger’s HandsChild of an AncientCityThe Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland StoryThree Duets for Virgin and NosehornDiary of a DragonNot with a Whimper, EitherSome Thoughts Re: Dark DestroyerZ is for...Monsieur Vergalant’s CanardThe Stuff that Dreams are Made OfFish Between FriendsEvery Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the AirA Stark and Wormy KnightBlack SunshineAnd Ministers of Grace

    and the overstressed crew prepares for a direct assault by a deadly insectoid race. But the pressures of combat and close quarters have taken their toll, threatening to turn the crew to the enemy's prime advantage.

    Cimmeria poem1 The Phoenix on the Sword 19322 The Frost-Giant's Daughter 19763 The God in the Bowl 19524 The Tower of the Elephant 19335 The Scarlet Citadel 19336 Queen of the Black Coast 19347 Black Colossus 19338 Iron Shadows in the Moon 19349 Xuthal of the Dusk 193310 The Pool of the Black One 193311 Rogues in the House 193412 The Vale of Lost Women 196713 The Devil in Iron 1934

    Howard Phillips Lovecraft may have been a writer for only a short time, but the creations he left behind after his death in 1937 have shaped modern horror more than any other author in the last two centuries: the shambling god Cthulhu, and the other deities of the Elder Things, the Outer Gods, and the Great Old Ones, and Herbert West, Reanimator, a doctor who unlocked the secrets of life and death at a terrible cost. In Lovecraft Unbound, more than twenty of today's most prominent writers of literature and dark fantasy tell stories set in or inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft. 9 • Introduction (Lovecraft Unbound) • essay by Ellen Datlow 11 • The Crevasse • short story by Dale Bailey and Nathan Ballingrud 31 • The Office of Doom • [Dust Devil] • short story by Richard Bowes 43 • Sincerely, Petrified • short fiction by Anna Tambour 73 • The Din of Celestial Birds • (1997) • short story by Brian Evenson 85 • The Tenderness of Jackals • short fiction by Amanda Downum 99 • Sight Unseen • short fiction by Joel Lane 113 • Cold Water Survival • short story by Holly Phillips 139 • Come Lurk With Me and Be My Love • short fiction by William Browning Spencer 161 • Houses Under the Sea • (2006) • novelette by Caitlín R. Kiernan 195 • Machines of Concrete Light and Dark • short story by Michael Cisco 213 • Leng • short fiction by Marc Laidlaw 239 • In the Black Mill • (1997) • short story by Michael Chabon 267 • One Day, Soon • short fiction by Lavie Tidhar 277 • Commencement • (2001) • novelette by Joyce Carol Oates 305 • Vernon, Driving • short fiction by Simon Kurt Unsworth 315 • The Recruiter • short fiction by Michael Shea 331 • Marya Nox • short fiction by Gemma Files 347 • Mongoose • [Boojum] • novelette by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette 375 • Catch Hell • short fiction by Laird Barron 413 • That of Which We Speak When We Speak of the Unspeakable • short fiction by Nick Mamatas

    This reprint anthology showcases the best Holmes short fiction from the last 25 years, featuring stories by such visionaries as Stephen King, Neil Gaimen, Laura King, and many others.

    Feist's Riftwar Saga is the setting of the tale of "The Wood Boy."

    Challenges and delights await readers in this all-original collection of imaginative dragon tales tales by such top talents as Alan Dean Foster, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Esther Friesner, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Robert Sheckley, and others.

    Each story offers a new perspective on events readers have speculated about for years. For new readers, it offers an introduction to the characters Romantic Times calls "two of the most memorable heroes in fantasy." Professional and amateur art provided by Flewelling's fans accompany Glimpses' stories, as she honors the dedication and devotion her fans have given her over the years. "Glimpses is full of treasures like Lynn Flewelling's deceptively easy and addictive storytelling, her vivid and engaging characters, and the amazing and heartfelt illustrations. This book is a must have for fans of Lynn's Nightrunner books, and if you haven't started the series yet, then Glimpses will leave you eager to discover more about Seregil and Alec, their adventures and the unique and fantastical world that the pair inhabit." -Suzanne McLeod, Spellcrackers.com series "It's hard to imagine a lovelier gift to fans than this exquisite collection of gorgeously illustrated short stories. Flewelling indulges her loyal readers with these graceful glimpses 'between the lines' of the long-running and immensely popular Nightrunner series." -Josh Lanyon, Adrien English Mysteries and the Holmes & Moriarity Mysteries "An unmissable short story collection from Flewelling. Set in the Nightrunner universe Glimpses captures Flewelling's characters at formative moments in their various timelines. Some of the stories fill in details that I've been waiting on for years..." -T.A. Moore, The Even Series "Glimpses is a terrific collection, lovingly illustrated, a gift to all of us who love the Nightrunners. This rocks." -Patricia Briggs, Mercy Thompson Series

    1 Flight (Samaria) To be chosen as the lover of an angel is the highest honor in Samaria, but narrator Salome knows the hidden dangers of such a life and tries to warn her niece Sheba.2 Blood (Heart of Gold) As a gold-skinned gulden man, Kerk values race and pride above all, until he meets blue-skinned Jalcie and his decades-past well-missed runaway mother.3 Gold (Summers in Castle Auburn) On the eve of war, royal guard Orlain escorts his beloved Princess Zara, narrator to seductive elvish Alora, that lures her away.4 Flame (Twelve Houses) Roaming Mystic Senneth rescues a town from burning but a rogue fire power forces her into captivity.

    A familiar youngster from the world of The Last Unicorn is gifted in magic but terrible at spell-casting. A seemingly incorruptible judge meets his match in a mysterious thief who steals his heart. Two old friends discover that the Overneath goes anywhere, including locations better left unvisited.Lyrical, witty, and insightful, The Overneath is Peter S. Beagle's much-anticipated return to the short form. In these uniquely beautiful and wholly original tales, with new and uncollected work, Beagle once again proves himself a master of the imagination.

    Recommended reading lists and selected poetry complete the volume.Contents: * Summation 1988: Fantasy by Terri Windling * Summation 1988: Horror by Ellen Datlow * Horror and Fantasy on the Screen by Edward Bryant * Obituaries * Death is Different by Lisa Goldstein * The Tale of the Rose and the Nightingale (And What Came of It) by Gene Wolfe * It Was the Heat by Pat Cadigan * The Cutter by Edward Bryant * The Freezer Jesus by John DuFresne * Voices of the Kill by Thomas M. Disch * Secretly by Ruth Roston * The Devil's Rose by Tanith Lee * Wempires by Daniel Pinkwater * Scatter My Ashes by Greg Egan * Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh by Ian McDonald * Shoo Fly by Richard Matheson * The Thing Itself by Michael Blumlein * The Soft Whisper of Midnight Snow by Charles de Lint * Roman Games by Ann Gay * The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn by Patricia C. Wrede * The Book and Its Contents by Robert Kelly * The Great God Pan by M. John Harrison * Lost Bodies by Ian Watson * Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds by Dan Simmons * Preflash by John M. Ford * Life of Buddha by Lucius Shepard * Appointment With Eddie by Charles Beaumont * Fragments of Papyrus from the Temple of the Older Gods by William Kotzwinkle * Spillage by Nancy Kress * Snowman by Charles L. Grant * The Scar by Dennis Etchison * Laiken Langstrand by Gwyneth Jones * The Last Poem About the Snow Queen and Pinocchio by Sandra M. Gilbert * Game in the Pope's Head by Gene Wolfe * Playing the Game by Ramsey Campbell * Faces by F. Paul Wilson * Snowfall by Jessie Thompson * Seal-Self by Sara Maitland * No Hearts, No Flowers by Barry N. Malzberg * The Boy Who Drew Unicorns by Jane Yolen * The Darling by Scott Bradfield * Night They Missed the Horror Show by Joe R. Lansdale * Your Story by Rick DeMarinis * Winter Solstice - Camelot Station by John M. Ford * The Boy Who Hooked the Sun by Gene Wolfe * Clem's Dream by Joan Aiken * Love In Vain by Lewis Shiner * In the Darkened Hours by Bruce Boston * A Golden Net for Silver Fishes by Ru Emerson * Dancing Among Ghosts by Jim Aikin * Honorable Mentions: 1988