Modern Classics of Fantasy

This is the kind of assortment that can hook a reader on short fantasy. Thirty-two good stories--some previously anthologized, some hot off the press ("Beauty and the Opera" by Suzy McKee Charnas appeared in July 1996), and a few once considered classic, but now nearly forgotten (Thomas Burnett Swann is rapidly falling out of sight)--offer entertainment for every taste. Many of the stories ("The Overworld" by Jack Vance, and "The Changeling" by Michael Swanwick) also offer continuation elsewhere as part of a longer work.

Gardner Dozois's emphasis is on magazine fiction. As such, it's an interesting view of the evolution and increasing sophistication of the "pulps"--and their readers. For this reason this would be an excellent text for a course on modern fantasy writing. Stories from Asimov Science Fiction Magazine, which Dozois edits, are prominent among the recent pieces. Providing a brief history of 20th-century fantasy, the introduction seems written with the new reader in mind.

Contents

Walk Like a Mountain • [John the Balladeer] • (1955) • shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman

Scylla's Daughter • [Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser] • (1961) • novella by Fritz Leiber

Paper Dragons • (1985) • novelette by James P. Blaylock

The Golem • (1955) • shortstory by Avram Davidson

Flowers of Edo • (1987) • novelette by Bruce Sterling

Bears Discover Fire • (1990) • shortstory by Terry Bisson

The Changeling's Tale • (1994) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick

Missolonghi 1824 • (1990) • shortstory by John Crowley

Blunderbore • (1990) • shortstory by Esther M. Friesner

Into Gold • (1986) • novelette by Tanith Lee

Space-Time for Springers • [Gummitch the Cat] • (1958) • shortstory by Fritz Leiber

Beauty and the Opéra or the Phantom Beast • (1996) • novelette by Suzy McKee Charnas

The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule • [Griaule] • (1984) • novelette by Lucius Shepard

A Cabin on the Coast • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe

The Sleep of Trees • (1980) • shortstory by Jane Yolen

Trouble with Water • (1939) • shortstory by H. L. Gold

The Gnarly Man • (1939) • novelette by L. Sprague de Camp

Death and the Executioner • [Lord of Light] • (1967) • novelette by Roger Zelazny

The Manor of Roses • [John Stephen] • (1966) • novella by Thomas Burnett Swann

The Overworld • [Dying Earth] • (1965) • novelette by Jack Vance

Extempore • (1956) • shortstory by Damon Knight

God's Hooks! • (1982) • shortstory by Howard Waldrop

Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight • (1987) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Tale of Hauk • (1977) • novelette by Poul Anderson

A Gift of the People • (1988) • shortstory by Robert Sampson

Configuration of the North Shore • (1969) • shortstory by R. A. Lafferty

Two Sadnesses • (1973) • shortstory by George Alec Effinger

Manatee Gal, Won't You Come Out Tonight • [Jack Limekiller] • (1977) • novelette by Avram Davidson (aka Manatee Gal Ain't You Coming Out Tonight)

The Signaller • [Pavane] • (1966) • novelette by Keith Roberts

The Troll • (1935) • shortstory by T. H. White

Death and the Lady • (1992) • novelette by Judith Tarr

Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros • (1995) • novelette by Peter S. Beagle

Preface (Modern Classics of Fantasy) • (1997) • essay by Gardner Dozois

Recommended Reading (Modern Classics of Fantasy) • essay by Gardner Dozois