Reception
Calling McKillip an "[e]ndlessly astonishing and impressive fantasist" in a starred review of the collection, Publishers Weekly writes that the author "travels the shadowy twilight realm between worlds and returns with the raw stuff of dreams. ... With a tremendous range ... McKillip charts the wild unknown in all its pathos and danger. Reshaping ancient archetypes to show us hidden aspects of ourselves and the world around us, these modern myths are timely and timeless, retaining the cosmic resonance of folklore while addressing the struggles embodied in achingly realized spirits, gods, and humans who endure tragic flaws and sudden epiphanies". [2]
Jackie Cassada in Library Journal characterizes the contents as "mesmerizing short fiction", noting that "[a]ny collection of McKillip's short stories will be a valuable asset to any library and a joy to her many fans". She observes that "[t]he text of her Guest of Honor speech as WisCon 2004 ... offers valuable insight into themind of the writer". [3]
The collection was also reviewed by Maureen Kincaid Speller in Interzone no. 242, September-October 2012; Gary K. Wolfe in Locus no. 620, September 2012; Faren Miller in Locus no. 621, October 2012; Paul Di Filippo in Barnes & Noble Review, 2012; Chris Kammerud in Strange Horizons, 17 December 2012; and Joe Milicia in The New York Review of Science Fiction, January 2013. [1]
Emma Bull is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Bone Dance and the urban fantasy War for the Oaks. She is also known for a series of anthologies set in Liavek, a shared universe that she created with her husband, Will Shetterly. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, she has been a member of the Minneapolis-based folk/rock bands Cats Laughing and The Flash Girls.
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Cordelia Caroline Sherman, known professionally as Delia Sherman, is an American fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.
Ellen Klages is an American science, science fiction and historical fiction writer who lives in San Francisco. Her novelette "Basement Magic" won the 2005 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. She had previously been nominated for Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell awards. Her first (non-genre) novel, The Green Glass Sea, was published by Viking Children's Books in 2006. It won the 2007 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Portable Childhoods, a collection of her short fiction published by Tachyon Publications, was named a 2008 World Fantasy Award finalist. White Sands, Red Menace, the sequel to The Green Glass Sea, was published in Fall 2008. In 2010, her short story "Singing on a Star" was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. In 2018 her novella Passing Strange was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature.
Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction is an anthology of original science fiction stories edited by Robert Silverberg, first published in hardcover by Avon Eos in May 1999, with a book club edition following from Avon and the Science Fiction Book Club in July of the same year. Paperback and trade paperback editions were issued by Eos/HarperCollins in May 2000 and December 2005, respectively, and an ebook edition by HarperCollins e-books in March 2009. The first British edition was issued in hardcover and trade paperback by Orbit/Little Brown in June 1999, with a paperback edition following from Orbit in July 2000.
The Borderland series of urban fantasy novels and stories were created for teenage readers by author Terri Windling. Most of the series is set in Bordertown, a dystopian city near the border between "the Elflands" and "The World". The series consists of five anthologies and three novels. The series has spawned fan groups, gaming groups, costumed events, and was discussed in The Fence and the River: Culture and Politics at the US-Mexico Border by Claire F. Fox.
Janni Lee Simner is an American author of fantasy and adventure novels and short stories. She writes primarily for young adults as teenagers and upper elementary children.
Harrowing the Dragon is a collection of fantasy short stories by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover and ebook by Ace Books in November 2005, and in trade paperback by the same publisher in November 2006. The first British edition was issued in ebook by Gateway/Orion on December 17, 2015.
Dreams of Distant Shores is a collection of fantasy stories by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in ebook by Tachyon Publications in May 2016, with the trade paperback print edition following from the same publisher in June 2016.
Fool's Run is a science fiction novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Warner Books in April 1987, with a paperback edition issued by Questar/Popular Library in February 1988. The first British edition was published in paperback by Orbit in June 1987, with a hardcover edition following from Macdonald in August of the same year. The novel has also been translated into Italian.
The Bards of Bone Plain is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover and ebook by Ace Books in December 2010, with a book club edition issued simultaneously with the Science Fiction Book Club and a trade paperback edition following December 2011. The first British edition was published in ebook by Gateway/Orion in December 2015.
The Changeling Sea is a fantasy novel for juvenile readers by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Atheneum/Macmillan in October 1988, with a paperback edition issued by Del Rey/Ballantine in December 1989. It was subsequently reissued in paperback and ebook by Firebird/Penguin in April 2003. The first British edition was published in hardcover by Oxford University Press in September 1991, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in December 2015.
Kingfisher is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover and ebook by Ace Books in February 2016. The first British edition was published in ebook by Gateway/Orion in June 2017.
Something Rich and Strange is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip written for Brian Froud's Faerielands series under the inspiration of Froud's fantasy artwork. Its title is derived from a line in Shakespeare's The Tempest. The book was first published in hardcover by Bantam Spectra in November 1994, with a trade paperback edition following from ibooks in October 2005. It was later incorporated into the author's collection Dreams of Distant Shores, issued by Tachyon Publications in ebook and trade paperback in May 2016 and June 2016, respectively.
Moon-Flash is a science fiction novel for juvenile readers by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Atheneum in August 1984, with a paperback edition issued by Berkley Books in October 1985. It was subsequently combined with its sequel The Moon and the Face in an omnibus edition, also titled Moon-Flash, issued in paperback and ebook by Firebird/Penguin in March 2005.
Stepping from the Shadows is a novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Atheneum in 1982, with a paperback edition issued by Berkley Books in August 1984.
The Cygnet and the Firebird is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip, a sequel to her earlier novel The Sorceress and the Cygnet. Despite a mixed reception, it was nominated for the 1994 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. It was first published in hardcover by Ace Books in September 1993, with a paperback following from the same publisher in September 1995. The first British edition was published in paperback by Pan Books in July 1994. It was subsequently combined with The Sorceress and the Cygnet into the omnibus collection Cygnet, issued in trade paperback by Ace Books in March 2007. It has also been translated into French.
The Sorceress and the Cygnet is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Ace Books in May 1991, with a paperback edition following from the same publisher in January 1992. The first British edition was published in hardcover and trade paperback by Pan Books in June 1991, with a standard paperback edition following from the same publisher in May 1992. It was subsequently combined with its sequel The Cygnet and the Firebird into the omnibus collection Cygnet, issued in trade paperback by Ace Books in March 2007.
Nibedita Sen is a queer Bengali-born writer of speculative fiction. She has been a finalist for the Astounding, Nebula, and Hugo Awards.
Red Dust and Dancing Horses: and Other Stories is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories and poems by American writer Beth Cato. It was first published in trade paperback by Fairwood Press and ebook by Baen Books in November 2017.
