The Anniversary of Never

"It was like a black and white film, or someone else’s memory" — "Crow's Nest"

Joel Lane’s award-winning stories have been widely praised, notably by other masters of weird fiction such as M. John Harrison, Graham Joyce, and Ramsey Campbell. His tales also regularly appeared in the “best of” annual anthologies of Ellen Datlow, Karl Edward Wagner, and Stephen Jones. With this posthumous collection, Lane continues his unflinching exploration of the human condition.

“The Anniversary of Never is a group of tales concerned with the theme of the afterlife,” observed Lane, “and the idea that we may enter the afterlife before death, or find parts of it in our world.” These stories of love and death will burrow deep into the reader’s mind and impregnate it with a vision often as bleak as the night is black.

Contents

"Introduction" by Nicholas Royle

"Sight Unseen"

"Crow's Nest"

"All the Shadows"

"Midnight Flight"

"Ashes in the Water" with Mat Joiner

"For Their Own Ends"

"Bitter Angel"

"After the Fire"

"The Annniversary of Never"

"The Messenger"

"For Crying Out Loud"

"All Dead Years"

"Some of the Fell"

"Acknowledgements"

Joel Lane (1963-2013) was born in Exeter, but lived most of his life in Birmingham, where many of his stories are set. In addition to two novels, From Blue to Black (2000) and The Blue Mask (2003), Lane was the author of numerous collections, including the British Fantasy Award-winning The Earth Wire (1994), The Lost District (2006), and The Terrible Changes (2009). Where Furnaces Burn won the World Fantasy Award for best collection in 2013.