Search Worlds Without End

Tales As Deep As Legend And As New As Dawn

Acclaimed editor David G. Hartwell has gathered a harvest of shimmering beauty and powerful writing in this inaugural volume of the very best fantasy from the last year. Established masters rub elbows with rising stars in this outstanding collection of short stories rich with imagined lands and finely etched, unforgettable characters.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (2001) - essay by Kathryn Cramer and David G. Hartwell
• Everything Changes - (2000) - shortstory by John Sullivan
• A Troll Story: Lessons in What Matters, No. 1 - (2000) - shortstory by Nicola Griffith
• The Face of Sekt - novelette by Storm Constantine
• Chanterelle - (2000) - novelette by Brian Stableford
• Path of the Dragon - (2000) - novella by George R. R. Martin
• The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O - (2000) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick
• Ebb Tide - (2000) - shortstory by Sarah Singleton
• The Hunger of the Leaves - (2000) - shortstory by Joel Lane
• Greedy Choke Puppy - (2000) - shortstory by Nalo Hopkinson
• The Golem - (2000) - shortstory by Naomi Kritzer
• The Devil Disinvests - (2000) - shortstory by Scott Bradfield
• A Serpent in Eden - (2000) - shortstory by Simon Brown and Alison Tokley
• Wrong Dreaming - (2000) - shortstory by Kain Massin
• Mom and Dad at the Home Front - (2000) - shortstory by Sherwood Smith
• The Fey - (2000) - shortstory by Renee Bennett
• Golden Bell, Seven, and the Marquis of Zeng - (2000) - novelette by Richard Parks
• Making a Noise in This World - (2000) - novelette by Charles de Lint
• Magic, Maples, and Maryanne - (2000) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• The Prophecies at Newfane Asylum - (2000) - shortstory by Don Webb
• The Window - (2000) - shortstory by Zoran Živkovic
• And Still She Sleeps - (2000) - novelette by Greg Costikyan
• The Walking Sticks - (2000) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• Hey, Hey, Something, Something - (2000) - shortstory by Jan Lars Jensen
• The Saltimbanques - (2000) - novelette by Terry Dowling
• Debt of Bones - (1998) - novella by Terry Goodkind

Undreamed-Of Wonders From The Farthest Reaches Of Imagination

In this second volume of the previous year's finest short fantastic fiction, acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell showcases new works by stellar literary artists -- acknowledged masters of the genre and exceptionally talented newcomers alike. Astonishing worlds come alive in these pages -- realms of strange creatures and remarkable sorceries, as well as twisted shadow versions of our inhabited earthly plain. A bold and breathtaking compendium of tales -- including a new Earthsea story from the incomparable Ursula K. Le Guin -- Years's Best Fantasy 2 is the state-of-the-art of a unique and winning genre, offering unforgettable excursions into new realities wondrous, bizarre, enchanting... and terrifying.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Kathryn Cramer and David G. Hartwell
• The Finder - (2001) - novella by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Senator Bilbo - (2001) - shortstory by Andy Duncan
• Big City Littles - (2000) - shortstory by Charles de Lint
• What the Tyger Told Her - (2001) - shortstory by Kage Baker
• In the Shadow of Her Wings - (2001) - shortstory by Ashok K. Banker
• The Heart of the Hill - (2001) - shortstory by Diana L. Paxson and Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Queen - (2001) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• The Black Heart - (2001) - shortstory by Patrick O'Leary
• On The Wall - (2001) - shortstory by Jo Walton
• Hell Is the Absence of God - (2001) - novelette by Ted Chiang
• The Man Who Stole the Moon - (2001) - novelette by Tanith Lee
• Firebird - (2001) - novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson
• My Case for Retributive Action - (2001) - novelette by Thomas Ligotti
• The Shadow - (2001) - shortstory by Thomas M. Disch
• Stitchery - (2001) - shortstory by Devon Monk
• To Others We Know Not of - (2001) - shortstory by Kate Riedel
• The Lady of the Winds - (2001) - novelette by Poul Anderson
• His Own Back Yard - (2001) - novelette by James P. Blaylock
• A Place to Begin - (2001) - shortstory by Richard Parks
• Nucleon - (2001) - shortstory by David D. Levine
• My Stolen Sabre - (2001) - shortstory by Uncle River
• Apologue - (2001) - shortstory by James Morrow

The door to fantastic worlds, skewed realities, and breathtaking other realms is opened wide to you once more in this third anthology of the finest short fantasy fiction to emerge over the past year, compiled by acclaimed editor David G. Hartwell. Rarely has a more magnificent collection of tales been contained between book covers -- phenomenal visions of the impossible-made-possible by some of the field's most accomplished literary artists and stellar talents on the rise. Year's Best Fantasy 3 is a heady brew of magic and wonder, strange journeys and epic quests, boldly concocted by the likes of Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Swanwick, Tanith Lee, and others. Step into a dimension beyond the limits of ordinary imagination... and be amazed!.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Her Father's Eyes - (2002) - shortstory by Kage Baker
• Wants Master - (2002) - shortstory by Patricia S. Bowne
• October in the Chair - (2002) - shortstory by Neil Gaiman
• Greaves, This is Serious - (2002) - shortstory by William Mingin
• Shift - (2002) - shortstory by Nalo Hopkinson
• A Book, by its Cover - (2002) - shortstory by P. D. Cacek
• Somewhere in My Mind There Is a Painting Box - (2002) - novelette by Charles de Lint
• The Pyramid of Amirah - (2002) - shortstory by James Patrick Kelly
• Our Friend Electricity - (2002) - novelette by Ron Wolfe
• Social Dreaming of the Frin - (2002) - shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Five British Dinosaurs - (2002) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick
• The Green Word - (2002) - novelette by Jeffrey Ford
• The Comedian - (1997) - shortstory by Stepan Chapman
• The Pagodas of Ciboure - (2002) - novelette by M. Shayne Bell
• From the Cradle - (2002) - novelette by Gene Wolfe
• Sam - (2002) - shortstory by Donald Barr
• Persian Eyes - (2002) - novelette by Tanith Lee
• Travel Agency - (2002) - shortstory by Ellen Klages
• A Fable of Savior and Reptile - (2002) - shortstory by Steven Popkes
• Comrade Grandmother - (2002) - shortstory by Naomi Kritzer
• Familiar - (2002) - shortstory by China Miéville
• Honeydark - (2002) - shortstory by Liz Williams
• A Prayer for Captain La Hire - (2002) - shortstory by Patrice Sarath
• Origin of the Species - (2002) - shortstory by James Van Pelt
• Tread Softly - (2002) - shortstory by Brian Stableford
• How It Ended - (2002) - shortstory by Darrell Schweitzer
• Cecil Rhodes in Hell - (2002) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick
• Hide and Seek - (2002) - shortstory by Nicholas Royle
• Death in Love - (2002) - novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson

There is magic in our world... and in others.

The fertile imagination can cultivate wondrous things, aided by ancient myths and memory, enduring childhood dreams and desires, and the power of cultural archetypes. Once again, award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer reap a magnificent crop of superior fantasy short fiction -- the finest to blossom over the past twelve months. A cornucopia of remarkable tales from some of the field's most acclaimed artists -- Neil Gaiman, Octavia Butler, Tanith Lee, and Michael Swanwick, to name but a few -- as well as stunning new works from emerging young talents, Year's Best Fantasy 4 is a collection as magical as its illustrious predecessors, a feast for every true connoisseur of fantastic literature.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Kathryn Cramer and David G. Hartwell
• King Dragon - (2003) - novelette by Michael Swanwick
• The Big Green Grin - (2003) - shortstory by Gahan Wilson
• The Book of Martha - (2003) - shortstory by Octavia E. Butler
• Wild Thing - (2003) - shortstory by Charles Coleman Finlay
• Closing Time - (2003) - shortstory by Neil Gaiman
• Catskin - (2003) - shortstory by Kelly Link
• Dragon's Gate - (2003) - novelette by Pat Murphy
• One Thing About the Night - (2003) - novelette by Terry Dowling
• Peace on Suburbia - (2003) - shortstory by M. Rickert
• Moonblind - (2003) - shortstory by Tanith Lee
• Professor Berkowitz Stands on the Threshold - (2003) - shortstory by Theodora Goss
• Louder Echo - (2003) - novelette by Brendan Duffy
• The Raptures of the Deep - (2003) - shortstory by Rosaleen Love
• Fable from a Cage - (2003) - shortstory by Tim Pratt
• A Quartet of Mini-Fantasies - (2003) - shortstory by Arthur Porges
• Señor Volto - (2003) - novelette by Lucius Shepard
• Shen's Daughter - (2003) - shortstory by Mary Soon Lee
• Basement Magic - (2003) - novelette by Ellen Klages
• The Tales of Zanthias - (2003) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• Of Soil and Climate - (2003) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• Almost Home - (2003) - novelette by Terry Bisson

Magic lives in remarkable realms -- and in the short fiction of today's top fantasists. In this fifth breathtaking volume of the year's best flights of the fantastic, award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present a dazzling new array of wonders -- stories that break through the time-honored conventions of the genre to carry the reader to astonishing places that only the most ingenious minds could conceive.

In the able hands of Neil Gaiman, Kage Baker, Tim Powers, and others, miracles become tangible and true, impossible creatures roam unfettered, and fairy tales are reshaped, sharpened, and freed from the restrictive bonds of childhood.

Lose yourself in these pages and in these worlds -- and discover the power, the beauty, the unparalleled enchantment of fantasy at its finest.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• The Dragons of Summer Gulch - (2004) - novelette by Robert Reed
• Miss Emily Gray - (2004) - shortstory by Theodora Goss
• The Baum Plan for Financial Independence - (2004) - shortstory by John Kessel
• Lizzy Lou - (2004) - shortstory by Barbara Robson
• The End of the World as We Know It - (2004) - shortstory by Dale Bailey
• Leaving His Cares Behind Him - (2004) - novelette by Kage Baker
• The Problem of Susan - (2004) - shortstory by Neil Gaiman
• Stella's Transformation - (2004) - shortstory by Kim Westwood
• Charlie the Purple Giraffe Was Acting Strangely - (2004) - shortstory by David D. Levine
• Pat Moore - (2004) - novelette by Tim Powers
• Perpetua - (2004) - shortstory by Kit Reed
• Quarry - (2004) - novelette by Peter S. Beagle
• Diva's Bones - (2004) - shortstory by John Meaney
• The Seventh Daughter - (2004) - shortfiction by Bruce McAllister
• Life in Stone - (2004) - shortstory by Tim Pratt
• Many Voices - (2004) - shortstory by M. Rickert
• A Hint of Jasmine - (2004) - novelette by Richard Parks
• Elvenbrood - (2004) - novelette by Tanith Lee
• Beyond the River - (2004) - shortstory by Joel Lane
• Out of the Woods - (2004) - shortstory by Patricia A. McKillip
• The Man from Shemhaza - (2004) - novelette by Steven Brust
• The Smile on the Face - (2004) - shortstory by Nalo Hopkinson
• Death's Door - (2004) - shortstory by Terry Bisson
• Golden City Far - (2004) - novelette by Gene Wolfe

Award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer know fantasy. This engaging anthology series, now in its sixth year, has become mandatory reading for fantasy devotees. Featuring a diverse lineup of best-selling authors and rising stars, Year's Best Fantasy 6 is the definitive guide to the best fantasy stories of 2005.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (2005) - essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Eating Hearts - (2005) - shortstory by Yoon Ha Lee
• The Denial - (2005) - shortstory by Bruce Sterling
• The Fraud - (2005) - novelette by Esther M. Friesner
• Sunbird - (2005) - novelette by Neil Gaiman
• Shard of Glass - (2005) - novelette by Alaya Dawn Johnson
• The Farmer's Cat - (2005) - shortstory by Jeff VanderMeer
• Crab Apple - (2005) - shortstory by Patrick Samphire
• Comber - (2005) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• Walpurgis Afternoon - (2005) - novelette by Delia Sherman
• Monster - (2005) - novelette by Kelly Link
• Robots and Falling Hearts - (2005) - shortstory by Tim Pratt and Greg van Eekhout
• Still Life with Boobs - (2005) - shortstory by Anne Harris
• Heads Down, Thumbs Up - (2005) - shortstory by Gavin J. Grant
• Mom and Mother Theresa - (2005) - shortstory by Candas Jane Dorsey
• Newbie Wrangler - (2005) - shortstory by Timothy J. Anderson
• Being Here - (2005) - shortstory by Claude Lalumière
• The Imago Sequence - (2005) - novella by Laird Barron
• Magic in a Certain Slant of Light - (2005) - shortstory by Deborah Coates
• Single White Farmhouse - (2005) - shortstory by Heather Shaw
• Read It in the Headlines! - (2005) - shortstory by Garth Nix
• Niels Bohr and the Sleeping Dane - (2005) - shortstory by Jonathon Sullivan
• Mortegarde - (2005) - shortstory by Liz Williams
• Inside Job - (2005) - novella by Connie Willis

The legendary editing team of David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer return with the much-anticipated seventh installment of their popular anthology series showcasing the best-selling authors and rising stars of fantasy fiction. This engaging volume collects the essential fantasy stories of 2006, a year of outstanding and original offerings. Representing the breadth of talent in the fantasy genre and collecting each year's most outstanding stories, the Year's Best Fantasy series continues to be the definitive treasury of fantasy fiction.

Table of Contents:

• Build-A-Bear - (2006) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• Pimpf - (2006) - novelette by Charles Stross
• Four Fables - (2006) - shortfiction by Peter S. Beagle
• The Potter's Daughter - (2006) - shortfiction by Martha Wells
• Thin, on the Ground - (2006) - shortfiction by Howard Waldrop
• Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy) - (2006) - novelette by Geoff Ryman
• The Osteomancer's Son - (2006) - shortstory by Greg van Eekhout
• Yours, Etc. - (2006) - shortstory by Gavin J. Grant
• Sea Air - (2006) - shortfiction by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• I'll Give You My Word - (2006) - novelette by Diana Wynne Jones
• Bea and Her Bird Brother - (2006) - shortstory by Gene Wolfe
• The Bonny Boy - (2006) - shortstory by Ian R. MacLeod
• Ghost Mission - (2006) - shortstory by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
• The Christmas Witch - (2006) - novelette by M. Rickert
• The Roaming Forest - (2006) - novelette by Michael Moorcock
• Show Me Yours - (2006) - shortstory by Robert Reed
• The Lepidopterist - (2006) - shortstory by Lucius Shepard
• The Double-Edged Sword - (2006) - shortfiction by Sharon Shinn
• Hallucigenia - (2006) - novella by Laird Barron
• An Episode of Stardust - (2006) - shortstory by Michael Swanwick

The legendary editing team of David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer return with the much-anticipated eighth installment of their popular anthology series showcasing the best-selling authors and rising stars of fantasy fiction. This engaging volume collects the essential fantasy stories of 2007. Representing the breadth of talent in the fantasy genre and collecting each year's most outstanding stories, the Year's Best Fantasy series continues to be the definitive treasury of fantasy fiction.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Kathryn Cramer and David G. Hartwell
• Paper Cuts Scissors - (2007) - novelette by Holly Black
• A Portrait in Ivory - (2007) - shortstory by Michael Moorcock
• The Witch's Headstone - (2007) - novelette by Neil Gaiman
• The Ruby Incomparable - (2007) - shortstory by Kage Baker
• And Such Small Deer - (2007) - novelette by Chris Roberson
• Unpossible - (2007) - shortstory by Daryl Gregory
• Winter's Wife - (2007) - novelette by Elizabeth Hand
• The King of the Djinn - (2008) - shortstory by David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum
• Stilled Life - (2007) - novelette by Pat Cadigan
• Poison - (2007) - shortstory by Bruce McAllister
• Who Slays the Gyant, Wounds the Beast - (2007) - novelette by Mark Chadbourn
• Under the Bottom of the Lake - (2007) - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil's Ninth Question - (2007) - novelette by Andy Duncan
• Don't Ask - (2007) - shortstory by M. Rickert
• The Stranger's Hands - (2007) - shortstory by Tad Williams
• Soul Case - (2007) - shortstory by Nalo Hopkinson
• Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again - (2007) - novelette by Garth Nix
• Debatable Lands - (2007) - shortstory by Liz Williams
• The Forest - (2007) - novelette by Laird Barron
• The Great White Bed - (2007) - shortstory by Don Webb
• Dance of Shadows - (2007) - novelette by Fred Chappell
• Grander Than the Sea - (2007) - novelette by Tim Pratt
• Princess Lucinda and the Hound of the Moon - (2007) - shortstory by Theodora Goss

Twenty-eight doses of wonder. From the distant past to the present day, from Antarctica and Mars to worlds that never were, the tales in this book bring news from nowhere-and everywhere. Fantasy is a mode of storytelling, a method of entertainment, a mode of argument, and a way of seeing. Here, presented by two of the most distinguished anthologists of the day, are twenty-eight stories that see, tell, argue, and entertain.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Shoggoths in Bloom - (2008) - shortstory by Elizabeth Bear
• The Rabbi's Hobby - (2008) - novelette by Peter S. Beagle
• Running the Snake - (2008) - shortstory by Kage Baker
• The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm - (2008) - novelette by Daryl Gregory
• Reader's Guide - (2008) - shortstory by Lisa Goldstein
• The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D. - (2008) - novelette by Al Michaud
• Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake - (2008) - shortstory by Naomi Novik
• A Buyer's Guide to Maps of Antarctica - (2008) - shortstory by Catherynne M. Valente
• From the Clay of His Heart - (2008) - novelette by John Brown
• If Angels Fight - (2008) - novelette by Richard Bowes
• 26 Monkeys & the Abyss - shortstory by Kij Johnson
• Philologos; or, A Murder in Bistrita - (2008) - shortfiction by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald
• The Film-makers of Mars - (2008) - shortstory by Geoff Ryman
• Childrun - (2008) - novelette by Marc Laidlaw
• Queen of the Sunlit Shore - (2008) - shortstory by Liz Williams
• Lady Witherspoon's Solution - (2008) - novelette by James Morrow
• Dearest Cecily - (2008) - shortfiction by Kris Dikeman
• Ringing the Changes in Okotoks, Alberta - (2008) - shortfiction by Randy McCharles
• Caverns of Mystery - (2008) - shortstory by Kage Baker
• Skin Deep - (2008) - novelette by Richard Parks
• King Pelles the Sure - (2008) - shortstory by Peter S. Beagle
• A Guided Tour in the Kingdom of the Dead - (2008) - shortstory by Richard Harland
• Avast, Abaft! - (2008) - shortstory by Howard Waldrop
• Gift from a Spring - (2008) - shortfiction by Delia Sherman
• The First Editions - (2008) - novelette by James Stoddard
• The Olverung - (2008) - shortstory by Stephen Woodworth
• Daltharee - (2008) - shortstory by Jeffrey Ford
• The Forest - (2008) - shortstory by Kim Wilkins