Prime Evil: New Stories by the Masters of Modern Horror

    Here are gathered the best of their chilling, thrilling, upsetting, and unsettling experiments with our sexual psyches. And rest assured, flesh will tingle--but whether from horror or pleasure or a bit of both, we'll leave you to judge.From its opening pages, with King's blackly humorous portrait of a very, very mad housewife to its conclusion, where we find Barker's wholly shocking tale of a deadly quest into the heart of passion, I Shudder at Your Touch brings you a host of kinky, perverse, bizarre and creepy figures. You'll find a cricket-playing vampire, a sleek sea creature likely to give mermaids a bad name, a strangely seductive handyman who's equally adept at knocking down apartment walls and female inhibitions, and a plastic religious statue offering X-rated enlightenment from its perch atop the family TV.I Shudder at Your Touch features 22 daring writers who prefer to go too far, writers whose every tale will have you fighting back a scream...and a cry of delight.Contents:The revelations of 'Becka Paulson / Stephen King --Sea lovers / Valerie Martin --Psychopomp / Haydn Middleton --A glowing future / Ruth Rendell --The tiger returns to the mountain / T.L. Parkinson --Consanguinity / Ronald Duncan --Keeping house / Michael Blumlein --The Villa Desiree / May Sinclair --Cleave the vampire, or, a gothic pastorale / Patrick McGrath --The swords / Robert Aickman --Salon Satin / Carolyn Banks --How love came to Professor Guildea / Robert Hichens --Wings / Harriet Zinnes --The Basilisk / R. Murray Gilchrist --A quarter past you / Jonathan Carroll --The master builder / Christopher Fowler --Festival / Eric McCormack --Ladies in waiting / Huch B. Cave --Death and the single girl / Thomas M. Disch --Master / Angela Carter --The conqueror worm / Stephen R. Donaldson --Jacqueline Ess: her will and testament / Clive Barker

    Martin, Charlaine Harris, Chuck Palahniuk, Neil Gaiman, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe R. Lansdale, Angela Carter, David J. Schow, Kathe Koja, Bentley Little, and more. Skipp provides fascinating insight and details, through two nonfiction essays, into the history and presence of shape shifting in popular culture.  Resources at the end of the book include lists of the genre's best long-form fiction, as well as movies, websites, and writers.

    Like a slow, insidious virus they spread from house to house, building to building, from graveyard to bedroom and cellar to boardroom. They are ancient and deathless, sun-shy and bloodthirsty. For millennia their vile compulsion kept them in the darkest corners of the human imagination. But the dark-hearted hoardes are conquerers now, and those who survive are forced to liveUNDER THE FANGIn this unparalleled feast for the imagination, America's premier horror writers have created a world of vampirism run amok. From Moscow to Tokyo, New York to Los Angeles, vampire kingdoms rise and fall; their unholy religions, fiendish science and depraved entertainments hold ghastly sway. Come share this terrifying vision of a future...Their time never passes. Their time is now...Contains:The Miracle Mile - Robert R. McCammonDancing Nitely - Nancy A. CollinsStoker's Mistress - Clint CollinsDoes the Blood Line Run on Time? - Sidney Williams and Robert PetittRed Eve - Al SarrantonioWe are Dead Together - Charles de LintCalm Sea and Prosperous Voyage - Chet WilliamsonAdvocates - Suzy McKee Charnas and Chelsea Quinn YarbroSpecial - Richard LaymonHerrenrasse - J.N. WilliamsonDuty - Ed GormanMidnight Sun - Brian HodgeA Bloodsucker - David N. Meyer IIIProdigal Sun - Thomas F. MonteleoneThere are No Nightclubs in East Palo Alto - Clifford V. BrooksJuice - Lisa W. CantrellBehind Enemy Lines - Dan Perez

    As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created.

    He also liked to write about psychotic and psychopathic killers. This solid anthology, put out by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and completed after Bloch's death, honors his legacy with 22 tales about murderers and crazies of various stripes. A good many of the stories, most memorably Esther Friesner's "Lonelyhearts," have Blochian twists at the end. The weakest of the bunch have no other flaw than predictability, and the strongest, such as Ed Gorman's powerful "Out There in the Darkness" are classics of traditional storytelling. You'll find excellent stories here by Denise M. Bruchman, Del Stone Jr., Edo van Belkom, Gary A. Braunbeck, and others. Stephen King contributes a little gem of a tale in which the narrator finds himself in an autopsy room: "It fits. It fits everything with a horrid prophylactic snugness. The dark. The rubbery smell.... Dear God, I'm in a body bag." Note: the two previous HWA anthologies are Under the Fang, edited by Robert R. McCammon, and Peter Straub's Ghosts, edited by Peter Straub. --Fiona WebsterContents:Autopsy Room Four by Stephen KingHaunted by Charles GrantOut There in the Darkness by Ed GormanPlease Help Me by Richard Christian MathesonThe Lesser of Two Evils by Denise M. BruchmanPoint of Intersection by Dominick CancillaDoctor, Lawyer, Kansas City Chief by Brent MonahanGrandpa's Head by Lawrence Watt-EvansLonelyhearts by Esther M. FriesnerLighting the Corpses by Del Stone Jr.Echoes by Cindie GeddesLifeline by Yvonne NavarroBlameless by David Niall WilsonDeep Down There by Clark PerryKnacker Man by Richard ParksSo You Wanna Be a Hitman by Gary JonasThe Rug by Edo van BelkomInterview with a Psycho by Billie Sue MosimanIcewall by William D. GaglianiA Southern Night by Jane YolenThe Forgiven by Stephen M. RaineySafe by Gary A. Braunbeck

    Its name: BIZARRO. For years, readers have been asking for a category of fiction dedicated to the weird, crazy, cult side of storytelling that has become a staple in the film industry (with directors such as David Lynch, Takashi Miike, Tim Burton, and even Lloyd Kaufman) but has been largely ignored in the literary world, until now. The Bizarro Starter Kit features short novels and story collections by ten of the leading authors in the bizarro genre: Ray Fracalossy, Jeremy C. Shipp, Jordan Krall, Mykle Hansen, Andersen Prunty, Eckhard Gerdes, Bradley Sands, Steve Aylett, Christian TeBordo, and Tony Rauch.

    A collection of truly gripping stories, with contributions from leading horror writers dedicated to the popular contemporary sub-genre of "body horror," which revolves around disease and mutation, whether self-inflicted or otherwise.

    Assembles a collection of original science fiction stories that explore the idea of endangered species--interpreted in some cases to include the human race--by award-winning science fiction authors, including Ted Chiang.

    Some of the genre's greatest writers contemplate the planet-moving encounters between humans and aliens while pondering the eternal question--what kind of relationship are humans really looking for?

    Selected by Salman Rushdie and Elizabeth West, these novel excerpts, stories, and memoirs illuminate wonderful writing by authors often overlooked in the West. Chronologically arranged to reveal the development of Indian literature in English, this volume includes works by Jawaharlal Nehru, Nayantara Sahgal, Saadat Hasan Manto, G.V. Desani, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Kamala Markandaya, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, Ved Mehta, Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Satyajit Ray, Salman Rushdie, Padma Perera, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Rohinton Mistry, Bapsi Sidhwa, I. Allan Sealy, Shashi Tharoor, Sara Suleri, Firdaus Kanga, Anjana Appachana, Amit Chaudhuri, Amitav Ghosh, Githa Hariharan, Gita Mehta, Vikram Seth, Vikram Chandra, Ardashir Vakil, Mukul Kesavan, Arundhati Roy, and Kiran Desai.

    David J. Schow ... Thomas Tessier... F. Paul Wilson... Richard Christian Matheson ... Nancy A. Collins... Graham Masterton ... Pay Garton ... Rex Miller ... and ten other stars of today's shock fiction know what metalheads and moralists, punksters and preachers have known all along. Rock and roll. With its hot licks and raw glitter, has a dark side too - where the party stops and the terror begins.Put on your headphones. Open this electrifying book. Rock to the world of horror where martyred musical super-legends return from the dead at 120 decibels... where radio stations sponsor ghastly giveaways that no living soul could want ... where other-earthly pirates bootleg not records, but human souls... where people are strange ... and the devil rocks all night.THE NEW SOUND OF HORRORCONTENTSStephen King - You Know They've Got a Hell Of A BandF. Paul Wilson - Bob Dylan, Troy Jonson, and The Speed QueenDavid J. Schow - OdeedNancy A. Collins - Vargr RuleRonald Kelly - Blood Suede ShoesDon D'Ammassa - The Dead Beat SocietyGraham Masterton - Voodoo ChildPaul Dale Anderson - Rites Of SpringMichael E. Garrett - Dedicated To The One I LoatheBrian J. Hodge - RequiemR. Patrick Gates - Heavy MetalRex Miller - BunkyBill Mumy & Peter David - The Black '59Richard Christian Matheson - GroupiesMichael Newton - ReunionMark Verheiden - BootlegRay Garton - Weird GigJohn L. Byrne - Hide In Plain SightThomas Tessier - Addicted To loveJohn Shirley - Flaming Telepaths

    Here are thirteen memorable stories by renowned science fiction writers, telling what things might be like if... Elvis Presley weren't the "King" but the President of the United States ("Ike at the Mike" by Howard Waldrop)... The Black Death had killed the entire population of Europe in the fourteenth century ("Lion Time in Timbuctoo" by Robert Silverberg)... John F. Kennedy had survived the 1963 shooting in Dallas ("The Winterberry" by Nicholas A. DiChario). Included, too, is fascinating short fiction by Mike Resnick, Susan Shwartz, Larry Niven, Pamela Sargent, Fritz Leiber, Greg Bear, Barry N. Malzberg, Harry Turtledove, Gregory Benford and Kim Stanley Robinson. After reading these stories - some of the most compelling examples of alternate history anywhere - your mind will keep spinning the question "What If...?"

    Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and thirteen other fine writers to create stories unlike any they've written before. Tales to make readers shiver with fear, jump at noises in the night, keep the lights on. These twenty nightmares, brought together by two renowned editors of the dark fantastic, are delightful visions sure to send shivers down the spines of horror readers.

    Collection of fantasy stories set against a common backdrop. First in series, followed by Magic in Ithkar 2, Magic in Ithkar 3, and Magic in Ithkar 4. Contents: Prologue, essay by Robert Adams; The Goblinry of Ais, by Lin Carter; To Take a Thief, by C. J. Cherryh; Jezeri and Her Beast Go to the Fair and Find More Excitement Than They Want, by Jo Clayton; Fletcher Found, by Morgan Llywelyn; Well Met in Ithkar, by Patricia Mathews; Esmene's Eyes, by Ardath Mayhar; Swamp Dweller, by Andre Norton; Qazia and a Ferret-Fetch, by Judith Sampson; For Lovers Only, by Roger C. Schlobin; Dragon's Horn, by J. W. Schutz; Homecoming, by Susan Shwartz; The Prince Out of the Past, by Nancy Springer; Cold Spell, by Elisabeth Waters; Biographical Notes.