From Publishers Weekly
Stoker-winner Sarrantonio (Redshift) delivers another exciting all-original anthology, stocked with a host of high-profile authors who show that fantasy, at its best, can't be defined, only expressed through an ever-changing menu. Robert Silverberg's elegant prose sets the stage with "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," a rueful romance. The second tale, Kit Reed's surreal "Perpetua" (about a girl who's been miniaturized by an overprotective father and trapped inside an "alligator" in a nightmarish near future), likewise avoids familiar fantasy tropes, though enough elves, witches, dragons and magicians surface elsewhere in this hefty volume to soothe readers who have come to expect them. Among the finest selections are Elizabeth Hand's exquisite "Wonderwall," about a confused student haunted by Rimbaud; Charles de Lint's "Riding Shotgun," a ghost story about the consequences of trying to change the past; Thomas M. Disch's "The White Man," a vampiric delight regarding race relations; Patricia McKillip's "Out of the Woods," an enchanting meditation on lost love, replete with Pre-Raphaelite imagery; Harry Turtledove's poignant "Coming Across," about AIDS in faerie land; and Sarrantonio's own "Sleepover," an ode to unwanted children. Gene Wolfe's mysterious "Golden City Far," a multi-layered dream regarding "the magical power of death," closes a book as strong as any year's best-of anthology. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Editor Sarrantonio asked some more of the best sf and fantasy writers to create their own "dangerous visions" a la the stories in Harlan Ellison's famed 1967 anthology of that name, which is actually the inspiration for all three of Sarrantonio's acclaimed selections (999 [1999] and Redshift [2001] are this one's predecessors). Big names like Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Harry Turtledove, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Silverberg, Charles de Lint, Thomas M. Disch, and Gene Wolfe obliged, as did still-rising stars such as Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jeffrey Ford, and Terry Bisson. Among stories of consistently high quality, standouts include Patricia A. McKillip's "Out of the Woods," a variation on Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott"; de Lint's "Riding Shotgun"; Peter Schneider's believably frightening "Tots"; and Kit Reed's "Perpetua," which should give old Freudians fits. Another sterling assemblage by a master anthologist. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Booklist
Another sterling assemblage by a master anthologist.

Chronicle
Easily one of the more impressive collections to hit the shelves.

Book Description
This daring, star-packed collection is the fantasy publishing event of the year. Challenging the boundaries of modern fantasy, this all-original anthology features stories from Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Harry Turtledove, Larry Niven, Dennis L. McKiernan, Joe R. Lansdale, George R. R. Martin, Barbara Hambly, Charles de Lint, Terry Bisson, Patricia A. McKillip, Tim Powers, and more.

About the Author
Al Sarrantonio, the author of numerous books, is a winner of the Bram Stoker Award and has been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award. He is the editor of books including the highly acclaimed anthologies Redshift and 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense. His most recent novels are Orangefield and Hallows Eve.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This daring, star-packed collection is the fantasy publishing event of the year. Challenging the boundaries of modern fantasy, this all-original anthology features stories from Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Harry Turtledove, Larry Niven, Dennis L. McKiernan, Joe R. Lansdale, George R. R. Martin, Barbara Hambly, Charles de Lint, Terry Bisson, Patricia A. McKillip, Tim Powers, and more.

Author Biography: Al Sarrantonio, the author of numerous books, is a winner of the Bram Stoker Award and has been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award. He is the editor of books including the highly acclaimed anthologies Redshift and 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense. His most recent novels are Orangefield and Hallows Eve.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Stoker-winner Sarrantonio (Redshift) delivers another exciting all-original anthology, stocked with a host of high-profile authors who show that fantasy, at its best, can't be defined, only expressed through an ever-changing menu. Robert Silverberg's elegant prose sets the stage with "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," a rueful romance. The second tale, Kit Reed's surreal "Perpetua" (about a girl who's been miniaturized by an overprotective father and trapped inside an "alligator" in a nightmarish near future), likewise avoids familiar fantasy tropes, though enough elves, witches, dragons and magicians surface elsewhere in this hefty volume to soothe readers who have come to expect them. Among the finest selections are Elizabeth Hand's exquisite "Wonderwall," about a confused student haunted by Rimbaud; Charles de Lint's "Riding Shotgun," a ghost story about the consequences of trying to change the past; Thomas M. Disch's "The White Man," a vampiric delight regarding race relations; Patricia McKillip's "Out of the Woods," an enchanting meditation on lost love, replete with Pre-Raphaelite imagery; Harry Turtledove's poignant "Coming Across," about AIDS in faerie land; and Sarrantonio's own "Sleepover," an ode to unwanted children. Gene Wolfe's mysterious "Golden City Far," a multi-layered dream regarding "the magical power of death," closes a book as strong as any year's best-of anthology. Agent, Ralph Vicinanza. (June 1) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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