The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose)

Book Description

The Gothic tale has been with us for over two hundred years, but this collection is the first to illustrate the continuing strength of this special fictional tradition from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Gothic fiction is generally identified from Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto and the works of Ann Radcliffe, and with heroes and heroines menaced by feudal villains amid crumbling ruins. While the repertoire of claustrophobic settings, gloomy themes, and threatening atmosphere established the Gothic genre, later writers from Poe onwards achieved an ever greater sophistication, and a shift in emphasis from cruelty to decadence. Modern Gothic is distinguished by its imaginative variety of voice, from the chilling depiction of a disordered mind to the sinister suggestion of vampirism. This anthology brings together the work of writers such as Le Fanu, Hawthorne, Hardy, Faulkner, and Borges with their earliest literary forebears, and emphasizes the central role of women writers from Anna Laetitia Aikin to Isabel Allende and Angela Carter. While the Gothic tale shares some characteristics with the ghost story and tales of horror and fantasy, the present volume triumphantly celebrates the distinctive features that define this powerful and unsettling literary form.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Collection of Gothic Tales.......2007-06-06

If there is one book that I would recommend regarding good Gothic fiction, it would be The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose). This book has been my staple since a long time ago. To give you some idea of what you can find in this book, Part I., "Beginnings," contains such classics as "The Vindictive Monk of the Fatal Ring"; the next section, or Part II., "The Nineteenth Century," includes some outstanding stories by the customary Poe and Hawthorne, as well as "Jean-Ah Poquelin" by George Washington Cable and "Bloody Blanche" by Thomas Hardy. The selections from Part III, "The Twentieth Century," contain some outstanding examples like "The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft and the eerie "The Bloody Countess" by Alejandra Pizarnik. There are thirty-seven selections total, with a great introduction by the editor.

Some I've already read elsewhere, but the new ones to me were riveting! Great gothic collection!.......2006-04-02

I wanted to combine a good gothic book with the gothic romance I intended to read and had been on my TBR pile for a while and found this collection at a bookstore. The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales has a large collection stories by authors from times that vary from Georgian period to recent years. Some are dark and sinister, others have a mystery to discover while there are those that have only the gothic atmosphere down pat. There are quite a few popular authors here -- William Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, Angela Carter and Joyce Carol Oates, to name a few. There are also some stories written by "Anonymous." My favorite stories are "The Lady of the House of Love," by Angela Carter, Eden Glasgow's "Jordan's End," and Ray Russell's "Sardonicus." The stories are quite dark and are some of the best in the gothic genre. I've already read some of the stories from the authors I've enjoyed over the years (like Poe and Oates), but the ones I hadn't read made this a very enjoyable read for me. I cannot recommend this unique collection enough.

What gothic really means!.......2004-07-26

Another reviewer said this collection of stories changed their lives. It changed mine as well. It elevated my understanding of gothic literature and art and made me think critically about the popular manifestations of "goth" culture. And the most shocking tale, the one about "Countess Dracula", just happens to be true. But as Angela Carter's wonderful story "The Lady of the House of Love" shows, the gothic legacy has less to do with death and brooding and more to do with a totally different view on the world and living.

Worthwhile Reading.......2003-12-28

This is a very interesting collection of literature. It includes writing from the late 1700s extending to the present. What makes this collection so amazing is that it not only includes stories from Poe, Lovecraft, and Hawthorne, but it also has stories taken from periodicals and anthologies long out of print. You'd never find some of this writing anywhere else, and it is truly amazing.
All of the stories do have somewhat of a dark and twisted theme, but they are all very rich.
If seriously considering this book, I highly recommend purchasing it in a hardback edition. It will last you much longer, and you'll be glad for this after reading it.

Views of the Dark Side.......2003-03-21

This is a wonderful anthology, giving a full historical spectrum of Gothic tales from silly early ones to chilling modern ones. I've used this as a textbook in two courses I teach in college, and students have been both amused (at blatantly Freudian overtones in 18th century stories) and horrified (especially at Pizarnek's account of Erzebet Bathory's perversions). My favorites are Carter's "Lady of the House of Love" and Cowles' "The Vampire of Kaldenstein," both of which combine eerieness with ironic humor.

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories

Average customer rating:

Oxfors Book of Science Fiction Stories
Science fiction story collection keeper!
Excellent Science Fiction Anthology
Excelent insight into the gnere

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192803816

Book Description

'As good an introduction to SF as you can buy.' Iain Banks The definitive collection of the twentieth-century's most characteristic genre-from H.G. Wells's prophetic vision of technological warfare to contemporary cyberspace, and up-to-the-minute myths of genetic engineering.

Customer Reviews:

Oxfors Book of Science Fiction Stories.......2006-11-04

This is a history of sci-fi kind of anthology. We start early, then we move upwards through the 1980s. As a history, this is a fine collection, very enjoyable, as it makes it possible for one to trace the development of the genre alongside what was happening in the world it has its roots in.
But as a history, sometimes, I fear, quality has to be sacrificed. Not all these short stories are optimal for the genre.

Science fiction story collection keeper!.......2006-03-26

That fact that this collection would get produced again after about 10 years is a sign that this book is selling well enough that it deserves a re-release with a different cover. I'd always been a fan of science fiction, but never really tried to get into it until I read most of the stories in it. With only 30 pages left to read, I'm interested in finishing the rest of the book now.

Shippey's selection of stories is excellent whether you are a science fiction fanatic or an amateur. What's good about short stories is that they are short enough so that if you don't like them, you can move on to the next one, and if you really like it, you can look for longer works by that particular author. The book is thick enough to include a span of stories which vary in plot and complexity greatly. More general ideas such as how the world may be like in the future, whether the world will end or not, how a part of the future may be like in the future, government policies, religion, standardized tests, alien invasions, sickness, the afterlife, and even sex are a few big concepts in the science fiction stories presented. At least one of these stories may even bring some disgust or creative joy to your taste buds. More specific plot stories which are not necessarily tuned in to a social global theory are also included such as search for treasure and visiting alien planets. Something for everyone pretty much in the science fiction genre.

Excellent Science Fiction Anthology.......2005-12-04

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories edited by Tom Shippey is a very representative collection of some of the best short stories of the genre written between 1903 and 1990 and collecting stories form such luminaries in the field as H.G. Wells, Ursula K. LeGuin, and George R. R. Martin. As you read each story, you are on a linear progression throughout the last century, watching the genre evolve and you get a good representation of the various forms of science fiction, from extraterrestrial exploration to time traveling. Shippey also does a good job of choosing stories that reflect the social conditions of the time each story was written letting us see how the world turned out despite the warnings given by the author's tale. The introduction is also a wonderful accounting of science fiction and its eras written by Shippey, which is a great read. This book should definitely be on the shelf of every science fiction aficionado.

Excelent insight into the gnere.......2000-04-14

A collection of Science-Fiction stories that tries to follow the genere from it's earliest days of H.G. Wells to the modern Gibson and Brin. Some of the stories are already famous, but a surprising number of them are excelent, yet mostly unknown to the average reader. In my opinion it's good both as an excelent collection as an historic collection.

The Young Oxford Book of Timewarp Stories (Young Oxford Books)

Average customer rating:

Really, really GOOD!

The Young Oxford Book of Timewarp Stories (Young Oxford Books)
Dennis Pepper
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192781677

Book Description

A collection of stories about time, exploring all the different ways that we can twist and play with time. The stories take in trips to the future, package holidays to the past, visitors from other times with unwelcome messages, a thief with the power to stop time altogether, a man in love with someone who died years before he was born, a star fleet that paradoxically caused its own destruction, and many more. With a sure appeal for everyone who likes an exciting, thought-provoking story, as well as fans of science fiction and ghost stories, this is a wonderfully entertaining collection of stories to amuse, amaze, and enthral.

Customer Reviews:

Really, really GOOD!.......2006-11-11

An excellent anthology of time travel stories. All of the stories are classics. This mix of authors and stories seems to be perfectly chosen because they are still contemporary and speak to today's more selective readers. A reader of any age will enjoy this compilation. Younger readers will find this broad range of stories especially tasty. The best one in my opinion is the "Love Letter" by Jack Finney. This story captured my imagination when I was in grade school and its sense of adventure, magic and romance never left me. That was something I have been able to pass along to my child because of this very nice anthology.

The Oxford Book of Sea Stories (Oxford Books of Prose)

Average customer rating:

Some stories deeper than others

The Oxford Book of Sea Stories (Oxford Books of Prose)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192803700

Book Description

'And then went down to the ship.' Thus, with a nod to Homer, Ezra Pound began his own epic odyssey through the world of literature and the modern world. There is no literature without a departure, a setting forth; and very often that has meant leaving the land for the more uncertain world of the sea. Many great writers have written about life at sea and the adventures that are to be had, and in this selection of short stories, Tony Tanner's aim was to avoid the obvious and where possible to seek out their more neglected works. As a separate and recognizable genre, the sea story was effectively invented by American writers and they are well represented, with contributions from Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen Crane, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and William Faulkner. From Herman Melville(who wrote no short stories) we read his account of the final three days of the chase of Moby Dick, which concludes that novel and is one of the high points in American literature. Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, John Masefield, E. M. Forster, Malcolm Lowry, and Peter Ustinov are some of British authors in this collection. Although not British in origin, the greatest of all writers of sea fiction is Joseph Conrad, the only writer to be represented by two stories: 'Initiation', which begins the volume, and 'The Secret Sharer', in which he charts one of the most extraordinary relationships between men at sea ever imagined and analyzed. In his introduction, Tony Tanner seeks to explore and establish the particular qualities that emerge when writing takes to the waters and we, as readers, are offered what Conrad called his 'paper-boats'. This wide-ranging collection of stories will prove absorbing and thoroughly entertaining reading for anyone with an interest in the sea and its literature.

Customer Reviews:

Some stories deeper than others.......2006-03-13

Like all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. But, for lovers of the sea and stories of it, this collection is well worth having to endure the more shallow stories for the deeper treasures. I'll just confine myself to some personal plaudits and qualms concerning a few of the stories to give the prospective reader a general idea of what he's in for.

First off, the best "story", anchors down, so to speak, is the extract from Moby Dick herein entitled The Chase. It reminded me of just what a genius America was bequeathed with in Melville.-Ahab's poetic, philosophical "ravings" leave one speechless before their innate profundity and insight into humanity and nature.

Not surprisingly, Jack London's "Make Westering", though very short, gives us more powerful writing from a writer vastly underappreciated today.

And, of course, there's Joseph Conrad, whose famous Secret Sharer gave me quite a shock. I was forced to read this story in my teens and saw nothing in it. Rereading it, I found it to be probably the most insidiously terrifying story in the collection. The notion of meeting one's otherworldly double has never been so explored.---I'll leave the reader to it.

My major qualm with this book is that many of the stories seem to be included simply to get the names of the famous authors into the anthology, rather than for any intrinsic worth of the stories themselves.

Sea stories are just not Henry James's suit, as is amply demonstrated here.

The F. Scott Fitzgerald story was so bad that I well-nigh became seasick muddling through it.---Only for hardcore Fitzgerald devotees who don't mind hearing about Scott and Zelda under thinly disguised alterations---again!

On the other hand, Faulkner's "Turnabout" is one of the best stories included here!---You never know with such a literary giant.

The selection from Lowry's oeuvre was disappointing. Tanner really should have chosen an excerpt from his early novel, Ultramarine, rather than one of his later stories, "The Bravest Boat, which is, well, "wishy-washy."

So, Bon Voyage readers into what is all-in-all quite an enjoyable book.

Only 4 stars---if only because of the inclusion of that vapid Fitzgerald story.

The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories

Average customer rating:

Could have been better
Breaking the Rules, the Evolution of the American Detective Story - Good Collection
Interesting selection
A remarkable collection of American detective fiction

The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195117921

Book Description

Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" launched the detective story in 1841. The genre began as a highbrow form of entertainment, a puzzle to be solved by a rational sifting of clues. In Britain, the stories became decidedly upper crust: the crime often committed in a world of manor homes and formal gardens, the blood on the Persian carpet usually blue. But from the beginning, American writers worked important changes on Poe's basic formula, especially in use of language and locale. As early as 1917, Susan Glaspell evinced a poignant understanding of motive in a murder in an isolated farmhouse. And with World War I, the Roaring '20s, the rise of organized crime and corrupt police with Prohibition, and the Great Depression, American detective fiction branched out in all directions, led by writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, who brought crime out of the drawing room and into the "mean streets" where it actually occurred. In The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories, Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert bring together thirty-three tales that illuminate both the evolution of crime fiction in the United States and America's unique contribution to this highly popular genre. Tracing its progress from elegant "locked room" mysteries, to the hard-boiled realism of the '30s and '40s, to the great range of styles seen today, this superb collection includes the finest crime writers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, Ed McBain, Sue Grafton, and Hillerman himself. There are also many delightful surprises: Bret Harte, for instance, offers a Sherlockian pastiche with a hero named Hemlock Jones, and William Faulkner blends local color, authentic dialogue, and dark, twisted pride in "An Error in Chemistry." We meet a wide range of sleuths, from armchair detective Nero Wolfe, to Richard Sale's journalist Daffy Dill, to Robert Leslie Bellem's wise-cracking Hollywood detective Dan Turner, to Linda Barnes's six-foot tall, red-haired, taxi-driving female P.I., Carlotta Carlyle. And we sample a wide variety of styles, from tales with a strongly regional flavor, to hard-edged pulp fiction, to stories with a feminist perspective. Perhaps most important, the book offers a brilliant summation of America's signal contribution to crime fiction, highlighting the myriad ways in which we have reshaped this genre. The editors show how Raymond Chandler used crime, not as a puzzle to be solved, but as a spotlight with which he could illuminate the human condition; how Ed McBain, in "A Small Homicide," reveals a keen knowledge of police work as well as of the human sorrow which so often motivates crime; and how Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer solved crime not through blood stains and footprints, but through psychological insight into the damaged lives of the victim's family. And throughout, the editors provide highly knowledgeable introductions to each piece, written from the perspective of fellow writers and reflecting a life-long interest--not to say love--of this quintessentially American genre. American crime fiction is as varied and as democratic as America itself. Hillerman and Herbert bring us a gold mine of glorious stories that can be read for sheer pleasure, but that also illuminate how the crime story evolved from the drawing room to the back alley, and how it came to explore every corner of our nation and every facet of our lives.

Customer Reviews:

Could have been better.......2006-04-03

I picked the book with interest. I wondered which story by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Edna Buchanan would be included as an excellent example of the current state of the art. I did not like the absence of Edna.
The editors felt compelled to get Nero Wolfe out of the brownstone for a gag. If I'd felt I had to make Nero break his own rules I'd of chosen "This Won't Kill You." That story is a good example of the "It was the behavior of the dog" mystery.

Breaking the Rules, the Evolution of the American Detective Story - Good Collection.......2006-01-17

Critics have observed that the widely popular detective story is essentially a literary game, and have speculated that readers might tire of its structured formula, thereby leading to the eventual disappearance of this genre. Nonetheless, after more than 150 years, the mystery story remains vibrant. Why is this so? The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories provides an answer.

Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert have assembled stories that trace the evolution of the American detective short story. Their contention, amply supported by their selections, is that American authors have stretched, modified, and violated the rules and structural form of the detective story, thereby continuously enriching this genre, and ensuring its longevity. Each story is preceded with an interesting, one-page discussion on topics like the emergence of credible female detectives, the growth of regionalism, and the development of authentic, psychologically complex characters.

This literary theme is interesting in itself, but the primary attraction is the stories. I especially liked I'll Be Waiting (Raymond Chandler), Small Homicide (Ed McBain), Guilt-Edged Blonde (Ross MacDonald), Christmas Party (Rex Stout), Words Do Not A Book Make (Bill Pronzini), Benny's Space (Marcia Muller) and Chee's Witch (Tony Hillerman).

Some were titles that I have encountered elsewhere: Rear Window (Cornell Woolrich), The Problem of Cell 13 (Jacques Futrelle), The Doomdorf Mystery (Melville Davisson Post), The Parker Shotgun (Sue Grafton), An Error in Chemistry (Faulkner) and The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Poe). Others were by early masters of this genre: Erle Stanley Gardner, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, Anthony Boucher, and Edward Hoch.

All in all, the thirty-three stories selected by Hillerman and Herbert create a satisfying, enjoyable anthology, one that will appeal to avid readers of detective fiction.

Interesting selection.......2002-09-21

There are a good mix of stories here. They range over a broad time period, early to present. I like the fact that there were some authors I haven't read yet, or others that I never associated with mysteries. The reason I didn't give it five stars is that there were quite a few stories that I had already read in other anthologies. Nice introductions to each story, with background info on the author.

A remarkable collection of American detective fiction.......2000-04-04

I am taking a class this semester, Mysteries, and this book is the required text. I have always enjoyed mysteries, but this book has added to that pleasure immensely. Hillerman and Herbert have done an extraordinary job of piecing together a good representative slice of American detective/mystery writers past and present. The books begins with Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." The editors wrap the selection up with Marcia Muller's "Benny's Space," published in 1991. The book spans the evolution of the American detective story throughout its entire history.

Amazon.com

This is a desk reference for all things paranormal. Enright covers subjects both malignant and benign, and as diverse as ghosts, telepathy and spontaneous human combustion. As eclectic as the subject matter are the sources: excerpts from Shakespeare and Stoker, Goethe and Jung, Huxley and King James I. Enright includes both Eastern and Western philosophies spanning from ancient to modern beliefs.

Book Description

The supernatural has this in common with nature: you may drive it out with a pitchfork, but it will constantly come running back. At a time when science and technology are proving ambivalent in their effects and institutionalized religion is weakened by self-inflicted wounds, interest in the supernatural is insatiable. This sweeping anthology presents material in which, touchingly, eerily, or bizarrely, the supernatural and the natural meet and ignite, illuminating our deepest anxieties, frailties, and hopes. While chiefly concerned with specific instances, it gives due weight to the views of philosophers and of lovers and lost souls. Mixing what is advanced as fact with what is offered as fiction, it takes in hauntings both malignant and benign, magic, vampires and other popular monsters, witches and fairies, the devil seeking whom he may devour, sex and the supernatural, dreams and coincidences, daemonic influences in art, comedies of the occult, near-death experiences and after-death expectations. The closing section sums up the war between believers and disbelievers and touches on the processes of reading and of writing about the subject. Testimonies cited are ancient and modern, drawn from East and West, from Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist sources, and range from Homer to Hardy, Pliny to Primo Levi, Apuleius to A.S. Byatt, through Rabelais, Shakespeare, Johnson, Goethe, Dickens, George Eliot, Flaubert, Kipling, Yeats, Rebecca West, and many others, including some who, like Browning's medium, Mr Sludge, find a little cheating comparable to the china egg that prompts a hen to lay a real one. For fervent believers and sceptics alike, there can be no more magical compendium than this.

Customer Reviews:

The Complete Spectrum of Spectres.......2000-05-01

D.J. Enright has put together an incredible collection of ghostly encounters, both fact, fiction, and all points in between. In this massive and meticulously researched tome, Enright draws upon science, literature, theology, psychology, and folklore to give his readers what is perhaps the most exhaustive, yet enjoyable, collage of the Supernatural yet written. Highly recommended, this book is well worth the price. No serious student of things that go bump in the night should be without it.

This is one excellent book..........1999-11-11

I've read many books on the supernatural but most really lose my interest after a while. I think this one was a great collection of many little stories and explanations of the supernatural. It has all kinds of interesting things in it. Anyone interested in the supernatural should definitely own this book=)

Worth the money.......1999-04-12

This book was so comprehensive and left me satisfied. I enjoyed all of the writings included in the book. I got chills as I read it in the night time. It is a very long book and includes so many classic writers as well as modern ones. I can thoroughly recommend buying this book. Its like getting many, many books in one.

The Young Oxford Book of Aliens (Young Oxford Book)

Average customer rating:

The Young Oxford Book of Aliens (Young Oxford Book)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Short Story Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0192781774

Amazon.com

Ready to meet the aliens? This collection of bug-eyed monster stories will introduce you to extraterrestrials both nasty and nice, ugly and elegant. Some of the world's best science fiction writers are represented--you'll find contributions from Arthur C. Clarke, Avram Davidson, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, and A.E. van Vogt, among others. If you think all aliens are frail little green men with big eyes and bald heads, think again. Some of the fantastic creatures in these stories are hideous beasts, some are hypnotically fascinating, and some you can't see at all. But every alien in the book can teach you something about what it means to be human. As editor Dennis Pepper writes in his introduction, "Aliens, however they may be presented, are aspects of ourselves."

This collection is designed for young adults, with beautifully detailed line-drawing illustrations throughout, but any fan of little green men (and big gray ones, and creepy ugly ones) will enjoy this topnotch collection. (Ages 9 to 12) --Therese Littleton

Book Description

This collection brings together a range of stories about aliens and our encounters with them. The stories don't necessarily portray aliens as hostile invaders. On the contrary, there are many stories that explore the interaction between aliens and humans, and other stories in which humans are
themselves the aliens. Some of the stories have been specially written for this collection by writers such as Sue Welford. Others are by the best of sci-fi writers including Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Harry Harrison.

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
ETBR - Oxford Book of Fantasy
A nice collection, but missing something...
A great variety from well-known and lesser known authors
Superbly selected

The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories
Tom Shippey
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 019214216X

Book Description

Stories of the unreal, of trolls and werewolves, spells and sorcerers and magic lands, have been part of the human psyche for as long as there are records. In the present century, far from being outdated by the rise of technology and science fiction, fantasy has once more become a major
literary genre expressive of the deepest feelings about humanity and its relation to the natural world.
In The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories, Tom Shippey brings together thirty-one short fantasy stories from the last years of the nineteenth century to the immediate present. The anthology shows both the development of the fantasy genre over time and the range of individual talents it has embraced,
from Lord Dunsany and H.P. Lovecraft through Ray Bradbury, Mervyn Peake, Larry Niven, and Angela Carter, to the latest creations of Tanith Lee, Lucius Shepard, and Terry Pratchett. In addition to these marvelous tales, Shippey also provides a thoughtful introduction that discusses the nature of
fantasy, and he includes an extensive bibliography listing single author collections and anthologies of fantasy writings as well as works of criticism.
For established readers of fantasy fiction, Tom Shippey's selection will offer many forgotten gems, and for those less familiar with the genre, it forms an ideal introduction to perhaps the purest of literary pleasures.

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-22

This book takes a look at fantasy in chronological order, taking books from different years from the 1880s up to Terry Pratchett in the 1990s. The editor gives an introduction to the subject, and some types, as well as a discussion of treatment of the genre over the years.

He also gives a useful bibliography of where some of the work in this anthology has come from, and suggestions for further reading, including osme criticism. So, even though the stories only average 3.37, that is worth bonus points on the rating scale, certainly.

Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Demon Pope - Richard Garnett
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Fortress Unvanquishable Save for Sacnoth - Lord Dunsany
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Through the Dragon Glass - Abraham Merritt
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Nameless City - H. P. Lovecraft
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Wind in the Portico - John Buchan
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Tower of the Elephant - Robert E. Howard
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Xeethra - Clark Ashton Smith
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Jirel Meets Magic - Catherine L. Moore
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Bleak Shore - Fritz Leiber
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Homecoming - Ray Bradbury
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : See You Later - Henry Kuttner
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Liane the Wayfarer - Jack Vance
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Desrick on Yandro - Manly Wade Wellman
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Silken-Swift - Theodore Sturgeon
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Operation Afreet - Poul Anderson
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Singular Events Which Occurred in the Hovel on the Alley Off of Eye Street - Avram Davidson
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Sudden Wings - Thomas Burnett Swann
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Same Time Same Place - Mervyn Peake
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Timothy - Keith Roberts
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Kings of the Sea - Sterling E. Lanier
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Not Long Before the End - Larry Niven
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Wager Lost by Winning - John Brunner
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Lila the Werewolf - Peter S. Beagle
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Johanna - Jane Yolen
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Erl-King - Angela Carter
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Beyond the Dead Reef - James TiptreeJr.
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Subworld - Phyllis Eisenstein
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Bite-Me-Not or Fleur de Fur - Tanith Lee
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : The Night of White Bhairab - Lucius Shepard
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Thorn - Robert Holdstock
Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories : Troll Bridge - Terry Pratchett

Pontiff or Devil, they aren't sure which is worse.

3.5 out of 5

To kill an immortal ruler is easy, not.. First you need to kill the invulnerable dragon to get the invincible sword to get through the impenetrable fortress. The there is the whole won't die thing to get around.

3 out of 5

Boxer rebellion acquisition of otherworldly artifact vistas.

3.5 out of 5

A traveller finds a city under the sand, and exploring, a doorway into it. He explores for a time, but strange noises start coming close:

"I fell babbling over and over that unexplainable couplet of the mad
Arab Alhazred, who dreamed of the nameless city:

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die."
He eventually makes it out.

4 out of 5

Flaming altar ruins.

3 out of 5

Conan is in thieving mode here. In a tavern, he is asking the assembled crowd of nogoodniks why no-one has stolen a famous jewel from this tower.

They tell him because it is guarded by some very nasty things.

He, of course, investigates, and meets a master thief attempting the same thing.

Humans, animals, a giant spider and a wizard are to be encountered, not to mention an alien.

2.5 out of 5

Xeethra should have listend to his uncle Pornos (he who should be careful with pronunciation) and behaved himself and not run off to make a deal with a demon for a soul.

2.5 out of 5

Having to rid herself of a wizard that has killed some or her men, Jirel finds worse, his own ruler, a sorceress.

4 out of 5

Lethal lizards' master lopped.

3.5 out of 5

I want to feel the wind beneath my wings. Or I'll cry.

3.5 out of 5

Overcopying extreme.

2.5 out of 5

Witchy Lith.

3 out of 5

John runs into a crimelord, tells him about a hill that is his namesake, and is volunteered to show him there. Apart from a hairy heffalump, monsters await Mr. Yandro.

3.5 out of 5

Virgin deception test, unicorn required.

3 out of 5

Witchwolf teamup success requires djinn psychology.

4 out of 5

Check if tempted, for a spell.

3 out of 5

Old winged guy wants friends, one of each flavour.

3.5 out of 5

Beauty is a beast, stoopid.

2.5 out of 5

Scarecrow animation gallivantin' cancellation.

3.5 out of 5

Seaserpent turf defender succession deal.

4 out of 5

Once upon a time a swordsman battled a sorcerer. As was fairly de rigeur, really.

To paraphrase Guru Bob, 'a good big barbarian with weapon will always beat a good little sorcerer when the magic goes away.'

4.5 out of 5

You better bet your life. Only not against a chaos defeating ageless sorcerer.

3.5 out of 5

If your girlfriend eats live canines, follow Paul Simon's advice. Pick one.

3.5 out of 5

Venison viewing shot down.

3.5 out of 5

Forest Lord shagging will be the death of someone.

3.5 out of 5

Scattered sea woman scare.

4 out of 5

Metro mouse club.

3.5 out of 5

Flighty vamp, unflighty girl.

2.5 out of 5

Nepalese houseboy's female possession flaming Khaalear out.

4 out of 5

Stony faced god botherer.

3 out of 5

Being a barbarian hero isn't what it used to be.

3.5 out of 5

ETBR - Oxford Book of Fantasy.......2004-07-15

1. Reflections: Tom Shippey has tried to put together a book of stories from 31 of the most influential short story fantasy authors, while also paying attention to little known works. Does this collection stand on its own, or is it lacking something that would give it that 'classic' flavor?

2. Thematics: Shippey maintains that a major theme is sword versus sorcery, barbarian versus wizard, realism versus magic. How does each story show this?

3. Characterization: This collection contains some of the most lovable characters of all fantasy literature, including Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Cohen, the Devil, and a whole plethora of individually crafted short story characters that are unforgettable. What is it that makes these characters so powerful?

4. Symbolism: Throughout all of the stories, mythology remains an important symbol. Nearly all of the stories hearken back to a previous time in which legends lived just as we live today. Would these stories stand on their own if that was taken away?

5. Authorship: Many of the stories represented are little known works, backshelf stories that have finally been given credit. Do these stories accurately portray the authors' legacy?

A nice collection, but missing something..........2004-05-29

You cannot fault the stories selected here: we get a variety of them, all generally classics. I just can't help it, though... this book is missing some kind of spark. Basically the introduction is nice, but not deeply informative. The stories themselves are neither introduced or postscripted. While, as I say, you cannot fault the selection, the selections are all too safe for my taste. Lovecraft, Dunsany, Howard, Pratchet. Okay, safe ground.

But there should have been some more risk taken here I think. James Branch Cabell instead of Dunsany, perhaps. Or Moorcock or LeGuin or Tanith Lee for Pete's sake. But the stories are all good and a good introduction (if you need it) or good sampling if not.

A great variety from well-known and lesser known authors.......1999-02-20

diverse collection of fantasy short stories, including heavyweights such as H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Larry Niven as well as other lesser-known but skilled writers.

Some of the stories I just couldn't get into, such as "The Erl-King" by Angela Carter, and some dragged on a bit. However, others I now consider among my favorite short stories, such as "The Nameless City", my first taste of Lovecraft. Other favorites include "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" written in 1908 by Lord Dunsany, "The Kings of the Sea" by Sterling Lanier, "Lila the Werewolf" by Peter Beagle, "Beyond the Dead Reef" by James Tiptree, Jr. and "Troll Bridge" by Terry Pratchett.

Superbly selected.......1998-11-16

Shippey has chosen a wonderful range of stories and arranged them with considerable wit and art. Even stories which might seem a bit superficial or illwritten in isolation take on new significance in this collection.

Book Description

The Oxford Book of Australian Short Stories brings together forty-nine outstanding tales, capturing the expansiveness of imagination, the prolific creativity, and the richness of sympathy of Australia's great literary tradition.
The volume spans more than 120 years of Australian fiction and it runs the gamut from traditional realistic works to modern experiments with language and form. Readers will discover the ways in which the cosmopolitan, expatriate experiences of writers such as Christina Stead ("Harmless Affair") and
Nobel prize-winning author Patrick White ("Clay") invigorated the genre, and how during the 1960s and 1970s, an exciting and innovative time for Australian fiction, writers responded to international models and experimented boldly with the form. The book includes the great originals, such as Marcus
Clarke ("Human Repetends") and Henry Lawson ("The Union Buries Its Dead") and such contemporaries as Helen Garner ("Did He Pay?") and Tim Winton ("My Father's Axe"). There is also a fine piece by Aboriginal writer Oodgeroo ("Carpet Snake"), several non-Anglo-Saxon contributors (including Antigone
Kefala, Angelo Loukakis, and Ania Walwicz), and many marvelous stories by women. And of course there are selections by such widely admired modern writers as Peter Carey ("Room No. 5, Escribo") and David Malouf ("The Only Speaker of His Tongue").
The Oxford Book of Australian Short Stories is a superb collection that captures the egalitarian spirit of the Australian people even as it celebrates their great literary heritage. It will delight all lovers of fine fiction.

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The Oxford Book of Adventure Stories

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

`The love of adventure, and of mystery, and of a good fight lingers in the minds of men and women.' Thus wrote Andrew Lang in 1887, and the enduring popularity of a genre that was in its heyday at the turn of the century shows no sign of waning. This anthology brings together 23 of the best adventure stories from the zenith of Empire to our present, fragmented, post-colonial world. Pitched against the unknown, against the forces of nature and against man's own treachery, the protagonists' courage and heroism are put to the test. In settings that range from desert islands to the Java Sea, from war-torn Europe to deepest Africa, heroes battle not only for self-preservation but in defence of country and culture. As the old certainties faded with the loss of empire, so moral complexity and literary sophistication grew, and the very notion of `adventure' is challenged in fine stories by Paul Bowles, Tim O'Brien, and Margaret Atwood.

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