Book Description
Undreamed-Of Wonders From
The Farthest Reaches Of ImaginationIn this second volume of the previous year's finest short fantastic fiction, acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell showcases new works by stellar literary artists -- acknowledged masters of the genre and exceptionally talented newcomers alike. Astonishing worlds come alive in these pages -- realms of strange creatures and remarkable sorceries, as well as twisted shadow versions of our inhabited earthly plain. A bold and breathtaking compendium of tales -- including a new Earthsea story from the incomparable Ursula K. Le Guin -- Years's Best Fantasy 2 is the state-of-the-art of a unique and winning genre, offering unforgettable excursions into new realities wondrous, bizarre, enchanting...and terrifying.


About the Author
David G. Hartwell is a Senior Editor at Tor/Forge Books. He is the proprietor of Dragon Press, publisher and bookseller, which publishes The New York Review of Science Fiction. He is the author of Age of Wonders and the editor of many anthologies, including The Dark Descent, Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment, The World Treasury of Science Fiction, Northern Stars, The Ascent of Wonder (co-edited with Kathryn Cramer), and a number of Christmas anthologies. Recently he edited his sixth annual paperback volume of Year's Best SF and co-edited the new Year's Best Fantasy. He has won the Eaton Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Poll and has been nominated for the Hugo Award twenty-four times to date.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer launch this series with an impressive lineup of contributors -- George R. R. Martin, Charles de Lint, Gene Wolfe, and Terry Goodkind, to name a few. As expected in a collection of this nature, the stories run the gamut from the satirical "Magic, Maples, and Maryanne" by Robert Sheckley to Don Webb's terrifying "The Prophecies at Newfane Asylum," a Lovecraftian tale set in the 18th-century British colony of New Connecticut. Jeremiah Brewster used to be a trusted spy for King George, but now he's insane. His story is guaranteed to make anyone think twice about turning off the lights.

Other memorable stories included Renee Bennett's "The Fey," a very unusual retelling of the Arthurian legend, and "Everything Changes," by John Sullivan, about an ancient dragon who has more wisdom and savvy than most modern-day politicians. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be "The Walking Sticks," by Gene Wolfe, a story described by the editors as "a darkly humorous contemporary sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Johnny and Jo receive an unusual delivery -- an antique cabinet filled with walking sticks. Little do they know that the expensive walking sticks used to belong to an infamous killer....

This anthology is a bargain at four times the price -- a great way to launch what should be a very long-lived annual collection. (Paul Goat Allen)

FROM THE PUBLISHER