WITH SWORD AND SHIELD, SPELL AND CURSE...Even at the risk of losing her one true love, a young mage must put aside all she holds dear to achieve a higher goal...A benevolent shape-changer is all that stands between her village and the bloody ravages of a werewolf...With a gift granted by the birds themselves, an unhappy young woman may find the means to escape her life of servitude...A young healer never realizes her true Gift until she must heal herself...Travel with Diana Paxson, Jo Clayton, Deborah Wheeler, and their fellow tale-weavers to lands where bold, heroic, women wizards and warriors are not afraid to take on challenges too often considered the sole province of men, in 22 original stories of shape-shifters, dream-questers and other women of power.

    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

    sword bearers called to a greater war...these are just some of the elements brought together in this latest sorcerous brew of spellbinding excitement and adventure, specially concocted under the direction of the Wise Woman of Darkover herself, Marion Zimmer Bradley.So heed this latest call to arms, and prepare to march to magical wars with such powerful spell casters and sword swingers as Jennifer Roberson, Charles de Lint, Diana Paxson, Richard Corwin, and their comrades in creation of wonderful worlds replete with myth and menace, where courageous women test their talents against the deadliest and most diabolical of foes.Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series has always featured the best in contemporary women's fantasy, and this outstanding new volume carries on the tradition! These original stories of brave, talented, and heroic women will take readers through enchanted realms of the imagination into danger both physical and mystical, where the only way to survive is through the power of sword and spell. Introduction · Marion Zimmer BradleyA Tale of Heroes [Vows and Honor] · Mercedes LackeyThe Woodland of Zarad-Thra · Robin Wayne BaileyThe Weeping Oak [Angharad] · Charles de LintGullrider · Dave SmedsBlood Dancer · Diana L. PaxsonKayli's Fire · Paula Helm MurrayThe Ring of Lifari · Josepha ShermanRite of Passage · Jennifer RobersonThe Eyes of the Gods · Richard CorwinFate and the Dreamer · Millea KeninThe Noonday Witch [Cynthia] · Dorothy J. HeydtRedeemer's Riddle · Stephen L. BurnsThe Tree-Wife of Arketh · Syn FergusonSpell of Binding · Richard CornellStorm God · Deborah WheelerDie Like a Man · L.D. WoeltjenDeath and the Ugly Woman · Bruce D. ArthursBloodstones · Deborah M. Vogel

    But the power of an Adept was always bound to a Secret, and whoever discovered this sorcerer's Secret could steal away the Blue Star power, leaving the Adept defenseless, fit only for death.And Lythande's secret was perhaps the most dangerous of all, setting the mage apart from all humanity, forcing Lythande to war against spell beast, sorcerer, thief, swordsman, and the magic of the gods themselves.…As an added bonus, Lythande includes a special guest appearance by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Vonda N. McIntyre.Contents:The Secret of the Blue Star • (1979) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Incompetent Magician • (1983) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleySomebody Else's Magic • (1984) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleySea Wrack • (1985) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Wandering Lute • (1986) • novelette by Marion Zimmer BradleyLooking for Satan • (1981) • novella by Vonda N. McIntyre

    the Black Company ... Majipoor. For years, these have been some of the names that have captured the hearts of generations of readers and embodied the sword and sorcery genre. And now some of the most beloved and bestselling fantasy writers working today deliver stunning all-new sword and sorcery stories in an anthology of small stakes but high action, grim humor mixed with gritty violence, fierce monsters and fabulous treasures, and, of course, swordplay. Don't miss the adventure of the decade!Contents:- Introduction: Check Your Dark Lord at the Door by Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan- Goats of Glory by Steven Erikson- Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company by Glen Cook- Bloodsport by Gene Wolfe- The Singing Spear by James Enge- A Wizard in Wiscezan by C.J. Cherryh- A Rich Full Week by K.J. Parker- A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet by Garth Nix- Red Pearls: An Elric Story by Michael Moorcock- The Deification of Dal Bamore: A Tale from Echo City by Tim Lebbon- Dark Times at the Midnight Market by Robert Silverberg- The Undefiled by Greg Keyes- Hew the Tintmaster by Michael Shea- In the Stacks by Scott Lynch- Two Lions, a Witch, and the War-Robe by Tanith Lee- The Sea Troll's Daughter by Caitlín R. Kiernan- Thieves of Daring by Bill Willingham- The Fool Jobs by Joe Abercrombie

    OverstreetValley of the Shadow · Jennifer RobersonThe Song and the Flute [Cynthia] · Dorothy J. HeydtJourneytime · Dana Kramer-RollsOrpheus · Mary Frances ZambrenoScarlet Eyes · Millea KeninThe River of Tears · Anodea JudithFresh Blood · Polly B. JohnsonThe Mist on the Moor · Diana L. PaxsonBargains · Elizabeth MoonA Woman’s Privilege · Elisabeth WatersTalla · J. Edwin AndrewsTupilak · Terry TafoyaSword Sworn [Vows and Honor] · Mercedes LackeyA Tale from Hendry’s Mill · Melissa CarpenterS.A.R. · Patricia B. CironeMore’s the Pity · L.D. WoeltjenMarwe’s Forest · Charles R. SaundersThe Hunters · Mavis J. Andrews

    Here you will venture forth with priestesses and assassins. Here be unicorns and mythical beasts of darkness.Here is adventure!Fifteen original tales by such writers as C.J. Cherryh, Diana Paxson, Phyllis Ann Karr, Charles Saunders, Jennifer Roberson, and more, selected and introduced by the Wise Woman of Darkover, Marion Zimmer Bradley herself.Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series has always featured the best in contemporary women's fantasy, and this outstanding new volume carries on the tradition! These original stories of brave, talented, and heroic women will take readers through enchanted realms of the imagination into danger both physical and mystical, where the only way to survive is through the power of sword and spell.Introduction · Marion Zimmer BradleyA Night at Two Inns · Phyllis Ann KarrThe Red Guild · Rachel PollackShadow Wood · Diana L. PaxsonUnicorn's Blood · Bruce D. ArthursThe Unshadowed Land · C.J. CherryhShimenege's Mask · Charles R. SaundersThe Black Tower · Stephen L. BurnsThe Lady and the Tiger · Jennifer RobersonFireweb · Deborah WheelerCold Blows the Wind [Angharad] · Charles de LintSword of the Mother · Dana Kramer RollsHunger · Russ GarrisonOn First Looking into Bradley's Guidelines, or Stories I Don't Want to Read Either · Elizabeth ThompsonThe Chosen Maiden · Raul ReyesRed Pearls · Richard CorwinWound on the Moon · Vera Nazarian

    A woman who can change into a leopard is pursued by a hunter who is more than human. Occult detective Diana Tregarde trails a very unusual vampire. Four SKitty stories, and more!ContentsIntroduction --Werehunter --SKitty --A tail of two SKitties --SCat --A better mousetrap --The last of the season --Satanic, Versus --Nightside --Wet wings --Stolen silver --Roadkill --Operation Desert Fox --Grey --Grey's ghost.

    In the kingdom of Crotheny, two young girls are playing in the tangled gardens of the sacred city of the dead when they stumble upon the unknown crypt of a legendary ancestral queen.

    1979 ACE mass market paperback,2nd impression, no ISBN. Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey. A fantasy anthology with a twist. All different stories from different authors, all in the same town.

    are you?Once upon a time, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord and Shaped the world to their will. But Satoris, the youngest among them, was deemed too generous in his gifts to the race of Men, and so began the Shapers' War, which Sundered the world. Now six of the Shapers lay to one end of a vast ocean, and Satoris to the other, reviled by even the race of Men.Satoris sits in his Darkhaven, surrounded by his allies. Chief among them is Tanaros Blacksword, immortal Commander General of his army. Once a mortal man who was betrayed by King and Wife, Tanaros fled to Darkhaven a thousand years ago, and in Satoris's service has redeemed his honor-but left his humanity behind.Now there is a new prophecy that tells of Satoris's destruction and the redemption of the world. To thwart it, Satoris sends Tanaros to capture the Lady of the Ellylon, the beautiful Cerelinde, to prevent her alliance with the last High King of Men.But Tanaros discovers that not all of his heart has been lost--his feelings for Cerelinde could doom Satoris, but save the race of Men...

    Enter a world of mystics and unicorns, angels and kings -- all realized with the same dazzling style and imagination that has made Stephen R. Donaldson a modern master of the fantasy genre.Daughter of Regals is a fantasy novella concerning a unique royal line and an unusual conception of magic.The Conqueror Worm is a deliciously creepy "horror" piece in which havoc is wreaked by one lowly centipede.Ser Visal's Tale begins as a simple story told over several flagons of wine at the local inn, this novella ends with a surprising twist.Gilden-Fire is the famous chapter about Korik of the Bloodguard and his mission to Seareach that was part of the original manuscript of The Illearth War, but omitted from the published version.

    This new collection (an expansion of the limited-release Bibliomancy, which won the World Fantasy Award in 2005) showcases a wildly inventive author at the height of her powers. Included in this collection are "The Least Trumps," in which a lonely women reaches out to the world through symbols, tattooing, and the Tarot, and "Pavane for a Prince of the Air," where neo-pagan rituals bring a recently departed soul to something very different than eternal rest. Written in the author's characteristic poetic prose and rich with the details of traumatic lives that are luminously transformed, Saffron and Brimstone is a worthy addition to an outstanding career.* Elizabeth Hand's work has been selected as a Washington Post Notable Book and a New York Times Notable Book, and she has been awarded a Nebula Award and two World Fantasy Awards.

    Here is a society as complex and troubled as any on our world, peopled with unforgettable characters struggling to become fully human. For the disgraced revolutionary Abberkam, the callow "space brat" Solly, the haughty soldier Teyeo, and the Ekumen historian and Hainish exile Havzhiva, freedom and duty both begin in the heart, and success as well as failure has its costs.CONTENT Betrayals Forgiveness Day A Man of the People A Woman's Liberation Notes on Werel and YeoweIn this stunning collection of four intimately interconnected novellas, Ursula K. Le Guin returns to the great themes that have made her one of America's most honored and respected authors.

    Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time.Each tale features a new introduction from the author, filled with insight and anecdote offering the reader a deeper exploration into this absorbing fictional world. This is a must read for any Rivers of London fan.Join Peter, Nightingale, Abigail, Agent Reynolds and Tobias Winter for a series of perfectly portioned tales. Discover what’s haunting a lonely motorway service station, who still wanders the shelves of a popular London bookshop, and what exactly happened to the River Lugg… With an introduction from internationally bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris.This collection includes:The Home Crowd AdvantageThe DomesticThe CockpitThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance GrannyKing of The RatsA Rare Book of Cunning DeviceA Dedicated Follower of FashionFavourite UncleVanessa Sommer’s Other Christmas ListThree Rivers, Two Husbands and a BabyMoments One-Three