The Year S Best Fantasy

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.

Includes "summary of the year in fantasy and horror, a survey of the year's screen fantasy, and a ... listing of honorable mentions."

Join twenty-five masterful authors and talented newcomers with more than 400 pages of the disturbing, unnerving, haunting, and strange. This outstanding annual exploration of the year’s best dark fiction delivers tales of deathly possession, the weirdly surreal, mysterious melancholy, and frighteningly plausible futures. Confront your own humanity and the fears that stir you—from the darkly supernatural and painfully familiar to the disquieting terror of the unknown.

In print and on-line, science fiction and fantasy is thriving as never before. A multitude of astonishingly creative and gifted writers are boldly exploring the mythic past, the paranormal present, and the promises and perils of myriad alternate worlds and futures. There are almost too many new and intriguing stories published every year for any reader to be able to experience them all. So how to make sure you haven’t missed any future classics? Award-winning editor and anthologist Jonathan Strahan has surveyed the expanding universes of modern sf and fantasy to find the brightest stars in today’s dazzling literary firmament. From the latest masterworks by the acknowledged titans of the field to fresh visions from exciting new talents, this outstanding collection is a comprehensive showcase for the current state of the art in both science fiction and fantasy. Anyone who wants to know where the future of imaginative short fiction is going, and treat themselves to dozens of unforgettable stories, will find this year’s edition of Best Science Fiction and Fantasy to be just what they’re looking for!

Award-winning anthologists Jane Yolen and Patrick Nielsen Hayden have combed through a year's worth of books and magazines and websites to find the most outstanding fantasy and science fiction stories of 2004--and collected them into a single volume aimed specifically at teens and young adults. Many of today's most popular authors are represented here, including: * Garth Nix, author of Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, who presents an unforgettable tale of two swords, two daughters, and two endings.... * S. M. Stirling, author of Island in the Sea of Time, sends a likeable young barbarian across the Channel to Alba, for a confrontation with a wizard from faraway Nantucket that will change his life forever... * David Gerrold, creator of "The Trouble with Tribbles," who takes you to a remote countryside surrounded by a mysterious darkness, whose secret has yet to be revealed...

For more than a decade, readers have turned to The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror to find the most rewarding fantastic short stories. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling continue their critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition with another stunning collection of stories. The fiction and poetry here is culled from an exhaustive survey of the field, nearly four dozen stories ranging from fairy tales to gothic horror, from magical realism to dark tales in the Grand Guignol style. Rounding out the volume are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, and a long list of Honorable Mentions, making this an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror. Contents Summation 1999: FantasyTerri Windling Summation 1999: HorrorEllen Datlow Horror and Fantasy in the Media: 1999Edward Bryant Comics: 1999, Seth Johnson Obituaries: 1999, James Frenkel Darkrose and Diamond, Ursula K. Le Guin The Chop Girl, Ian R. MacLeod The Girl Detective, Kelly Link The Transformation, N. Scott Momaday Carabosse, Delia Sherman Harlequin Valentine, Neil Gaiman Toad, Patricia A. McKillip The Dinner Party, Robert Girardi Heat, Steve Rasnic Tem The Wedding at EsperanzaLinnet Taylor Redescending, Ursula K. Le Guin You Don't Have to be Mad . . .Kim Newman The Paper-Thin Garden, Thomas Wharton The Anatomy of a MermaidMary Sharratt The Grammarian's Five DaughtersEleanor Arnason The Tree Is My Hat, Gene Wolfe Welcome, Michael Marshall Smith The Pathos of Genre, Douglas E. Winter Shatsi , Peter Crowther Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love StoryNeil Gaiman What You Make It, Michael Marshall Smith The Parwat Ruby, Delia Sherman Odysseus Old, Geoffrey Brock The Smell of the Deer, Kent Meyers Chorion and the PleiadesSarah Van Arsdale Crosley, Elizabeth Engstrom n0 Naming the Dead, Paul J. McAuley The Stork-Men, Juan Goytisolo The Disappearance of Elaine ColemanSteven Millhauser White, Tim Lebbon Dear Floods of Her Hair, James Sallis Mrs. Santa Decides to Move to FloridaApril Selley Tanuki, Jan Hodgman At Reparata, Jeffrey Ford Skin So Green and Fine, Wendy Wheeler Old Merlin Dancing on the Sands of TimeJane Yolen Sailing the Painted OceanDenise Lee Grandmother, Laurence Snydal Small Song, Gary A. Braunbeck The Emperor's Old BonesGemma Files The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His HorseSusanna Clarke Halloween Street, Steve Rasnic Tem The Kiss, Tia V. Travis The Beast/The Hedge, Bill Lewis Pixel Pixies, Charles de Lint Falling Away, Elizabeth Birmingham Honorable Mentions: 1999

Once again, the year's finest flights of speculative imagination are gathered in one extraordinary volume, compiled by acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell. From some of the most renowned visionaries of contemporary SF -- as well as new writers who are already making an indelible mark -- comes an all-new compendium of unparalleled tales of the possible that will enthrall, astonish, terrify, and elate. Stories of strange worlds and mind-boggling futures, of awesome discoveries and apocalyptic disasters, of universes light years distant and deep within the human consciousness, are collected here as SF's brightest lights shine more radiantly than ever before.