Tales From The Borderlands

The story of the diverse communities of Eastern Europe’s borderlands in the centuries prior to World War II “A powerful combination of history and personal memoir . . . A richly contextual, skillfully woven historical study.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Focusing on the former province of Galicia, this book tells the story of Europe’s eastern borderlands, stretching from the Baltic to the Balkans, through the eyes of the diverse communities of migrants who settled there for centuries and were murdered or forcibly removed from the borderlands in the course of World War II and its aftermath. Omer Bartov explores the fates and hopes, dreams and disillusionment of the people who lived there, and, through the stories they told about themselves, reconstructs who they were, where they came from, and where they were heading. It was on the borderlands that the expanding great empires—German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman—overlapped, clashed, and disintegrated. The civilization of these borderlands was a mix of multiple cultures, languages, ethnic groups, religions, and nations that similarly overlapped and clashed. The borderlands became the cradle of modernity. Looking back at it tells us where we came from.

Jillian Guzmán, who is nine years old at the beginning of the book, communicates through drawings rather than speech as she travels with her mother, Angie O'Malley, throughout the borderlands of Arizona and northwestern Mexico. Later she creates survival maps for border crossers and paints murals at the Casa de los Olvidados, a refuge in Sonora run by the traditional healer Juana of God. These darkly funny tales, focusing on Mexican-American, Euro-American, and Mexican characters, feature visionary experiences, ghosts, faith healers, a deer's head that speaks, a dog who channels spirits of the dead--and a young woman whose drawings begin to create realities instead of just reflecting them.

The editors of the acclaimed Borderlands anthology series deliver a new collection of 25 all-original tales of terror by today's acclaimed masters, including Bentley Little, John Farris, and Tom Piccirilli, along with "Stationary Bike," a new novella by Stephen King.

"Le Lazo" is one of the first pieces of Texas or Western literature. It is an enigmatic blend of reportage and imagination reflecting the effects of the Fredonian Rebellion of 1827, the Spanish invasion of Mexico in 1829, and the passage of the Law of 6 April 1830, which triggered the next phase of Anglo rebellion against Mexican authorities in Texas. The Mexican protagonist Antonio enters into conflict with the Creole commander of the presidio at Nacogdoches, Col. Jose de las Piedras. Both men pursue rosary-clutching Clara, who represents the vessel of the new era to come. "El Cachupin" tells of the full-blooded Spaniard, Pepo, and his Creole wife, Jacinta, who had been successfully established in Texas, only to be chased across the Sabine by increasing political hostilities in Mexico. East of the river, a lonely planter (probably a remnant of the pirate Lafitte's band) and his concubine take them in and alter their fate.

One woman's testimonial about the Peron years sheds light on gender hierarchies, the role of women in industry, women as union militants, and the material culture of working class family life in Argentina.

Everyone’s favorite wallaby, Rocko, must survive the zombie outbreak that’s taken over his home of O-Town thanks to their social media addiction! THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, ROCKO! Welcome to the future of O-town where everyone’s cell phone is glued to their hands, Heffer makes a living streaming video games online, and the latest app lets you avoid all contact with everyone else without even looking up from your gadget! But even in the midst of this techno-utopia, there’s something not quite right with Rocko’s fellow citizens as the authorities call for a city-wide lockdown. While Rocko takes the two weeks as a time to chill and unplug from technology, the rest of the town seems to be going mad. When danger comes knocking at his door, the newly zen wallaby will have to choose whether to stay barricaded within his increasingly surrounded home or venture forth into a wasteland filled with mindless versions of his friends and neighbors. Writer Anthony Burch (Borderlands 2) and artist Mattia Di Meo (Adventure Time/Regular Show) send Rocko on a deadly journey to survive the zombie outbreak that’s taken over his hometown! Collects Rocko’s Modern Afterlife #1-5.

It’s hard to believe, but this anthology first appeared 28 years ago. In re-reading the stories in this gathering of the weirdest tales, I am also reminded of how strikingly fresh and original the material remains. As its title implies, Borderlands contains fiction that resides out there on the edge, on the perimeter of what's being done in the field of horror, dark fantasy, and suspense literature. When I solicited material for what I hope will be the first of many volumes, I made it clear I didn't want stories that employed any of the traditional symbols and images of the genre. I wanted writers to expand the envelope, to look beyond the usual metaphors, and bring me something new. Some fresh meat, so to speak. So, dig in! Stories by David B. Silva * Nancy Holder * John DeChancie * Francis J. Matozzo * Bentley Little * Darrel Schweitzer * Michael Green * Poppy Z. Brite * Jeffrey Osier * John Shirley * Lee Moler * Nina Kriki Hoffman * T. E. D. Klein * Chet Williamson * Ed Gorman * Jack Hunter Daves, Jr. * Thomas Tessier * Les Daniels * David B. Silva * Karl Edward Wagner * Elizabeth Massie * Charles L. Grant * G. Wayne Miller * Joe R. Lansdale

Taylor brings an ethnographer’s eye, ear, and many years of experience to this fictional portrait of life along the US/Mexico desert border. In these linked short stories, readers are taken on a wild ride from San Diego to Nogales, into Mexican and Chicano neighborhoods, failed spas and defunct mining towns, rambling Native American reservations and besieged Wildlife Refuges. Along the way they will share the conflicts, calamities, and occasional triumph of an engaging cast of characters. While these tales treat such familiar border themes as drug- and people-smuggling or hybrid and conflicting cultures and identities, they do so with a literary flair that revels in the rich diversity of border life as well as in its ambiguity, ambivalence, irony and often unexpected humor.