The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love — and perhaps Polly herself — will be lost.

    The collection contains some of Ellison's best stories from earlier collections and is judged by some to be his most consistently high quality collection of short fiction. The theme of the collection can be loosely defined as God, or Gods. Sometimes they're dead or dying, some of them are as brand-new as today's technology. Unlike some of Ellison's collections, the introductory notes to each story can be as short as a phrase and rarely run more than a sentence or two. One story took a Locus Poll Award, the two final ones both garnered Hugo Awards and Locus Poll awards, and the final one also received a Jupiter Award from the Instructors of Science Fiction in Higher Education (discontinued in 1979). When the collection was published in Britain, it won the 1979 British Science Fiction Award for Short Fiction.His stories will rivet you to the floor and change your heartbeat...as unforgettable a chamber of horror, fantasy and reality as you'll ever experience.-Gallery "Brutally and flamboyantly shocking, frequently brilliant, and always irresistibly mesmerizing."-Richmond Times-Dispatch

    Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series. Stephen King tells a tale of Roland, the Gunslinger, in the world of The Dark Tower, in "The Little Sisters of Eluria."Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, of a magical contest and the witch Granny Weatherwax, in "The Sea and Little Fishes"Terry Goodkind tells of the origin of the Border between realms in the world of The Sword of Truth, in "Debt of Bones."Orson Scott Card spins a yarn of Alvin and his apprentice from the Tales of Alvin Maker, in "Grinning Man."Robert Silverberg returns to Majipoor and to Lord Valentine's adventure in an ancient tomb, in "the Seventh Shrine."Ursual K. Le Guin adds a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portraying a woman who wants to learn magic, in "Dragonfly."Tad Williams tells a dark and enthralling story of a great and haunted castle in the age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, in "The Burning Man."George R.R. Martin sets his piece a generation before his epic, A Song of Ice and Fire, in the adventure of "The Hedge Knight."Ann McCaffrey, the poet of Pern, returns once again to her world of romance and adventure in "Runner of Pern."Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga is the setting of the tale of "The Wood Boy."Robert Jordan, in "New Spring," tells of crucial events in the years leading up to The Wheel of Time, of the meeting of Lan and Moiraine and the beginning of the search for the child who must grow to lead in the Last Battle.

    It gathers together sixteen original stories by some of today's finest writers of fantasy and science fiction. Together, they have won virtually every major prize -- from the National Book Award to the World Fantasy Award to the Newbery Medal -- and have made best-seller lists worldwide. These authors, including Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain), Diana Wynne Jones (The Merlin Conspiracy), Garth Nix (The Abhorsen Trilogy), Patricia A. McKillip (Ombria in Shadow), Meredith Ann Pierce (The Darkangel Trilogy), and Nancy Farmer (The House of the Scorpion), each with his or her own inimitable style, tell stories that will entertain, provoke, startle, amuse, and resonate long after the last page has been turned.The writers featured in Firebirds all share a connection to Firebird Books, an imprint that is dedicated to publishing the best fantasy and science fiction for teenage and adult readers.

    But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.

    These stories feature clockwork hearts, lascivious queens, paper men, island circuses, and a flooded world.• On the island of Skye, an antlered girl and a tiger-tailed boy resolve never to be friends – but can they resist their unique connection?• In an alternative 19th-century Paris, a love triangle emerges between a man, a woman, and a coin-operated boy.• A teenager deals with his sister’s death by escaping from their tiny Scottish island – but will she let him leave?• In 1920s New Orleans, a young girl comes of age in her mother’s brothel.Some of these stories are radical retellings of classic tales, some are modern-day fables, but all explore substitutions for love.

    Whether through the falsified historical record of the uniquely weird Swedish creature known as the “Pyret” or the title story, “Jagannath,” about a biological ark in the far future, Tidbeck’s unique imagination will enthrall, amuse, and unsettle you. How else to describe a collection that includes “Cloudberry Jam,” a story that opens with the line “I made you in a tin can”? Marvels, quirky character studies, and outright surreal monstrosities await you in what is likely to be one of the most talked-about short story collections of the year.Tidbeck is a rising star in her native country, having published a collection there in Swedish, won a prestigious literary grant, and just sold her first novel to Sweden’s largest publisher. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Writer’s Workshop at the University of California, San Diego, in 2010, her publication history includes Weird Tales, Shimmer Magazine, Unstuck Annual and the anthology Odd.

    Here for the first time are his short stories and other short form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press,; to the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas,all of it shot through with his inimitable brand of humour.With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.

    And mermaids are on display at the local aquarium.The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is a collection of twelve haunting stories; modern fairy tales brimming with magic, outsiders and lost souls.

    Selected by a vote of the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), these 26 reprints represent the best, most important, and most influential stories and authors in the field. The contributors are a Who's Who of classic SF, with every Golden Age giant included: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Other contributors are less well known outside the core SF readership. Three of the contributors are famous for one story--but what stories!--Tom Godwin's pivotal hard-SF tale, "The Cold Equations"; Jerome Bixby's "It's a Good Life" (made only more infamous by the chilling Twilight Zone adaptation); and Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" (brought to mainstream fame by the movie adaptation, Charly). The collection has some minor but frustrating flaws. There are no contributor biographies, which is bad enough when the author is a giant; but it's especially sad for contributors who have become unjustly obscure. Each story's original publication date is in small print at the bottom of the first page. And neither this fine print nor the copyright page identifies the magazines in which the stories first appeared. Prefaced by editor Robert Silverberg's introduction, which describes SFWA and details the selection process, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964 is a wonderful book for the budding SF fan. Experienced SF readers should compare the table of contents to their library before making a purchase decision. Fans who contemplate giving this book to non-SF readers should bear in mind that, while several of the collected stories can measure up to classic mainstream literary stories, the less literarily-acceptable stories are weighted toward the front of the collection; adult mainstream-literature fans may not get very far into The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume One, 1929-1964. --Cynthia Ward· Introduction · Robert Silverberg · in · A Martian Odyssey [Tweel] · Stanley G. Weinbaum · nv Wonder Stories Jul ’34 · Twilight [as by Don A. Stuart; Dying Earth] · John W. Campbell, Jr. · ss Astounding Nov ’34 · Helen O’Loy · Lester del Rey · ss Astounding Dec ’38 · The Roads Must Roll · Robert A. Heinlein · nv Astounding Jun ’40 · Microcosmic God · Theodore Sturgeon · nv Astounding Apr ’41 · Nightfall · Isaac Asimov · nv Astounding Sep ’41 · The Weapon Shop [Isher] · A. E. van Vogt · nv Astounding Dec ’42 · Mimsy Were the Borogoves · Lewis Padgett · nv Astounding Feb ’43 · Huddling Place [City (Websters)] · Clifford D. Simak · ss Astounding Jul ’44 · Arena · Fredric Brown · nv Astounding Jun ’44 · First Contact · Murray Leinster · nv Astounding May ’45 · That Only a Mother · Judith Merril · ss Astounding Jun ’48 · Scanners Live in Vain · Cordwainer Smith · nv Fantasy Book #6 ’50 · Mars Is Heaven! · Ray Bradbury · ss Planet Stories Fll ’48 · The Little Black Bag · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Astounding Jul ’50 · Born of Man and Woman · Richard Matheson · vi F&SF Sum ’50 · Coming Attraction · Fritz Leiber · ss Galaxy Nov ’50 · The Quest for Saint Aquin · Anthony Boucher · ss New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy, Holt, 1951; F&SF Jan ’59 · Surface Tension [Lavon] · James Blish · nv Galaxy Aug ’52 · The Nine Billion Names of God · Arthur C. Clarke · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #1, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953 · It’s a Good Life · Jerome Bixby · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #2, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953 · The Cold Equations · Tom Godwin · nv Astounding Aug ’54 · Fondly Fahrenheit · Alfred Bester · nv F&SF Aug ’54 · The Country of the Kind · Damon Knight · ss F&SF Feb ’56 · Flowers for Algernon · Daniel Keyes · nv F&SF Apr ’59 · A Rose for Ecclesiastes · Roger Zelazny · nv F&SF Nov ’63

    When light destroys shadows, darkness does not gain in density elsewhere. When shadows steal over earth and across the sky, darkness is not diluted. Featuring an Introduction by Aliette De Bodard, Conservation of Shadows features a selection of short stories from Yoon Ha Lee.Content"Ghostweight" (2011)"The Shadow Postulates" (2007)"The Bones of Giants" (2009)"Between Two Dragons" (2010)"Swanwatch" (2009)"Effigy Nights" (2013)"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" (2010)"Iseul's Lexicon" (2013)"Counting the Shapes" (2001)"Blue Ink" (2008)"The Battle of Candle Arc" (2012) "A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel" (2011)"The Unstrung Zither" (2009) "The Black Abacus" (2002)"The Book of Locked Doors" (2012)"Conservation of Shadows" (2012)

    WeinO for a Fiery Gloom and Thee • (1998) • short story by Brian StablefordPersephone or, Why the Winters Seem to Be Getting Longer • (1998) • short fiction by Wendy FroudPrivate Words • (1998) • novelette by Mark W. TiedemannTaking Loup • (1998) • short story by Bruce GlasscoTastings • (1998) • short story by Neil GaimanThe Eye of the Storm • (1998) • novelette by Kelley EskridgeThe Faerie Cony-Catcher • (1998) • short story by Delia ShermanThe House of Nine Doors • (1998) • short story by Ellen KushnerThe Light That Passes Through You • (1998) • short story by Conrad WilliamsThe Sweet of Bitter Bark and Burning Clove • (1998) • novelette by Doris EganWolfed • (1998) • short story by Tanith Lee

    With rich and vibrant worldbuilding, readers are transported to antiquated realms to witness noble sacrifices and astonishing wonders. Gathering a comprehensive survey of beloved stories from the genre, this compilation includes stories by such luminaries as George R.R. Martin, Melanie Rawn, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robin Hobb, and Tad Williams, with a foreword by author Brent Weeks. Inspiring and larger-than-life, these tales offer timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil and express mankind's greatest hopes and fears.Stories:01 - Robin Hobb, Homecoming02 - Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word of Unbinding03 - Tad Williams, The Burning Man04 - Aliette de Bodard, As the Wheel Turns05 - Paolo Bacigalupi, The Alchemist06 - Orson Scott Card, Sandmagic07 - Patrick Rothfuss, The Road to Levinshir08 - Brandon Sanderson, Rysn09 - Michael Moorcock, While the Gods Laugh10 - Melanie Rawn, Mother of All Russiya11 - Kate Elliott, Riding the Shore of the River of Death12 - Mary Robinette Kowal, The Bound Man13 - N.K. Jemisin, The Narcomancer14 - Carrie Vaughn, Strife Lingers in Memory15 - Trudi Canavan, The Mad Apprentice16 - Juliet Marillier, Otherling17 - George R.R. Martin, The Mystery Knight

    She was hoping the girl would not ask.Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'.

    These are the stories told to warn children, entertain adults and beguile all. Contents:BluebeardThe Living BookThe Jacaranda WifeRed SkeinThe Chrysanthemum BrideFrozenThe Hummingbird HeartWordsThe Little Match GirlThe Juniper TreeSkinThe Bone MotherThe Dead Ones Don’t Hurt YouLight As Mist, Heavy As HopeDresses, ThreeThe Girl With No HandsCover design by Lisa L. Hannett