Synopses & Reviews
In this thrilling collection of original stories some of todays hottest paranormal authors delight, thrill and captivate readers with otherworldly tales of magic and mischief. In Jim Butchers ”Curses” Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs “Fairy Gifts,” a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marrs “Guns for the Dead,” the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Blacks “Noble Rot,” a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.
Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous and fantastical collection is not to be missed!
Review
"This anthology of short fiction affords a superb sampling of urban fantasy, that popular sf/fantasy subgenre defined in the books introduction (which, in all of three pages, is a welcome and helpful, to say nothing of articulate, definition of this subgenre) as a combination of the “often-dark edge of city living with enticing worlds of magic”—with an urban landscape being absolutely crucial to the story. To put it another way (as also expressed in the introduction, that is), “where the story takes place should matter, in some way, to the story.” The headliner piece, by virtue of its placement first in the collections presentation and the name recognition of the author, is “Curses,” by Jim Butcher, creator of the urban-fantasy series Dresden Files. It opens like a noir detective story—“Most of my cases are pretty tame”—but by page 2, we see this is Dresden Files fiction as well. The premise is a riot: the famous curse upon the Chicago Cubs has supernatural origins here. “Priced to Sell,” by Naomi Novik, is also very entertaining. Its about vampires buying real estate in Manhattan. But you will have fun with all 20 stories."--Booklist
Synopsis
Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous and fantastical collection, Naked City, is not to be missed Edited by award-winning editor Ellen Datlow.
In this thrilling collection of original stories some of today's hottest paranormal authors delight, thrill, and captivate readers with otherworldly tales of magic and mischief. In Jim Butcher's Curses Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs' Fairy Gifts, a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr's Guns for the Dead, the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black's Noble Rot, a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.
Contents
Curses, by Jim Butcher
How the Pooka Came to New York City, by Delia Sherman
On the Side, by Richard Bowes
The Duke of Riverside, by Ellen Kushner
Oblivion by Calvin Klein, by Christopher Fowler
Fairy Gifts, by Patricia Briggs
Picking Up the Pieces, by Pat Cadigan
Underbridge, by Peter S. Beagle
Priced to Sell, by Naomi Novik
The Bricks of Gelecek, by Matthew Kressel
Weston Walks, by Kit Reed
The Projected Girl, by Lavie Tidhar
The Way Station, by Nathan Ballingrud
Guns for the Dead, by Melissa Marr
And Go Like This, by John Crowley
Noble Rot, by Holly Black
Daddy Longlegs of the Evening, by Jeffrey Ford
The Skinny Girl, by Lucius Shepard
The Colliers' Venus (1893), by Caitlin R. Kiernan
King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree, by Elizabeth Bear
About the Author
Multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for almost thirty years. She was fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and SCIFICTION and has edited more than fifty anthologies, including the horror half of the long-running The Years Best Fantasy and Horror. She lives in New York. Visit her on the web at www.datlow.com.