Индейский трикстер, хитрец Койот… змеевласая горгона Медуза, одним взглядом обращавшая людей в камень… Святой Грааль из легенд о короле Артуре… Фрейя, скандинавская богиня любви и красоты… затонувший город Кер-Ис, некогда выстроенный на морском побережье Франции… Рагнарёк, сказание об уничтоженном и возрожденном мире… Аргонавты, плывущие на поиски золотого руна… Логически продолжая свою предыдущую антологию, «За темными лесами», легендарный редактор-составитель Пола Гуран представляет читателям лучшие современные произведения лауреатов престижных премий, авторов бестселлеров, всем известных сказителей – Нила Геймана, Чарльза де Линта, Танит Ли, Питера Страуба, Кэтрин М. Валенте, – а также...

Победитель премии Брема Стокера за лучший сборник! Мрачные и захватывающие, эти двадцать рассказов о привидениях заставят вас дрожать от ужаса! Все истории о призраках написаны в традиционном стиле, но при этом каждый рассказ является уникальным переложением страшных городских легенд со всего мира. Лауреат множественных премий Эллен Датлоу и номинант нескольких премий, автор и редактор Ник Маматас соединили в одну блестящую композицию работы Джеффри Форда, Рэмси Кэмпбелла, Джо Лэнсдейла, Кейтлин Кирнан, Кэтрин Валенте, Кит Рид, Екатерины Седиа и тринадцати других отличных писателей. Вместе они создали непревзойденную по глубине книгу, которая заставит читателей на всю ночь оставить...

You hold in your hands a cornucopia of modern cutting-edge fantasy. The first volume of this extraordinary new annual anthology series of fantastic literature explodes on the scene with works that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the manner in which they cross genre boundaries, that aren’t afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques, and yet seamlessly blend form with meaningful function. The delectable offerings found within these pages come from some of today’s most distinguished contemporary fantasists and brilliant rising newcomers. Whether it’s a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant...

An expedition to an alien planet; Lenin rising from the dead; a superhero so secret he does not exist. In The Apex Book of World SF 2, World Fantasy Award nominated editor Lavie Tidhar brings together a unique collection of stories from around the world. Quiet horror from Cuba and Australia; surrealist fantasy from Russia and epic fantasy from Poland; near-future tales from Mexico and Finland, as well as cyberpunk from South Africa. In this anthology one gets a glimpse of the complex and fascinating world of genre fiction – from all over our world.

Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets—secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. However, this doesn’t sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart—literally! A steampunk novel of romance, political intrigue, and alchemy, The Alchemy of Stone represents a new and intriguing direction by the author of the critically-acclaimed The Secret History of Moscow.

The first short story collection by award-winning author Ekaterina Sedia! One of the more resonant voices to emerge in recent years, this Russian-born author explores the edge between the mundane and fantastical in tales inspired by her homeland as well as worldwide folkloric traditions. With foreword by World Fantasy Award-winner Jeffrey Ford, Moscow But Dreaming showcases singular and lyrical writing that will appeal to fans of slipstream and magical realism, as well as those interested in the uncanny and Russian history.

Kitsune. Werewolves. Crane wives. Selkies. Every culture has stories of such strange creatures—animals turning into humans, humans shapeshifting into animals. Sometimes seductive, sometimes bloodthirsty, but always unpredictable like nature itself, these beings are manifestations of our secret hearts, our desire to belong to both worlds: one tame and civilized, the other unfettered and full of wild impulse. Here are stories that will make you wish you could howl at the moon until your heart bursts with longing or feel yourself shedding your human body as easily as a snake sheds its skin. Be-were the night… it might not kill you, but it will certainly steal you away!

Każde miasto ma swoje sekretne miejsca. Wieki pełne mrocznych historii sprawiły, że stolica Rosji ma takich miejsc wyjątkowo dużo. Współczesność przenika się tu z przeszłością w sposób subtelny i magiczny. Mieszkańcy Moskwy szukając schronienia przed problemami współczesnego życia mogą czasem trafić do niezwykłych miejsc. Wystarczy jeden nieostrożny krok, żeby znaleźć się w mrocznym, baśniowym świecie pełnym magii, płaczących drzew, gadających ptaków, wygnanych wieki temu pogańskich bóstw i baśniowych stworzeń. Tu można usłyszeć najdziwniejsze z opowieści. Trzeba tylko cierpliwie nadstawiać uszu. Ekaterina Sedia napisała książkę niezwykłą o zderzeniu dwóch światów. Kapitalistycznej i...

In a Russia where the Decembrists' rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854, Sasha Trubetskaya wants nothing more than to have a decent debut ball in St. Petersburg. But her aunt's feud with the emperor lands Sasha at university, where she becomes one of its first female students — an experiment, she suspects, designed more to prove female unsuitability for such pursuits than offer them education. The pressure intensifies when Sasha's only friends — Chinese students — start disappearing, and she begins to realize that her new British companion, Jack, has bigger secrets than she can imagine! Sasha and Jack find themselves trying to stop a war brewing...

Remember the werewolves of classic stories and films, those bloodthirsty monsters that transformed under the full moon, reminding us of the terrible nature that lives within all of us? Today's werewolves are much more suave — and even sexy — and they've moved from British moors to New York City lofts, shaved, and got jobs. But as the tales of these writers will show you, they remain no less wild and passionate, and they still tug at the part of our being where a wild animal used to be. Running With the Pack includes stories from Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C.E. Murphy, and they will convince you that despite their gentrification, werewolves remain as fascinating and terrifying as...