A note on book covers: while we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
“The joy of fiction is the joy of the imagination…” The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: “And then what happened?” The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal. Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction and affords some of the best writers in the world—from Peter Straub and Chuck Palahniuk to Roddy Doyle and Diana Wynne Jones, Stewart O’Nan and Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley and Jodi Picoult—the opportunity to work together, defend their craft, and realign misconceptions. Gaiman, a literary magician whose acclaimed work defies easy categorization and transcends all boundaries, and “master anthologist” (Booklist) Sarrantonio personally invited, read, and selected all the stories in this collection, and their standard for this “new literature of the imagination” is high. “We wanted to read stories that used a lightning-flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we have never seen it at all.” “Introduction: Just Four Words” Neil Gaiman “Blood” Roddy Doyle “Fossil Figures” Joyce Carol Oates “Wildfire in Manhattan” Joanne Harris “The Thah Is a Cave in the Black Mountains” Neil Gaiman “Unbelief” Michael Marshall Smith “The Stars Are Falling” Joe R. Lansdale “Juvenal Nyx” Walter Mosley “The Knife” Richard Adams “Weights and Measures” Jodi Picoult “Goblin Lake” Michael Swanwick “Mallon the Guru” Peter Straub “Catch and Release” Lawrence Block “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” Jeffrey Ford “Loser” Chuck Palahniuk “Samantha’s Diary” Diana Wynne Jones “Land of the Lost” Stewart O’Nan “Leif in the Wind” Gene Wolfe “Unwell” Carolyn Parkhurst “A Life in Fictions” Kat Howard ‘Let the Past Begin” Jonathan Carroll “The Therapist” Jeffery Deaver “Parallel Lines” Tim Powers “The Cult of the Nose” Al Sarrantonio “Human Intelligence” Kurt Andersen “Stories” Michael Moorcock “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon” Elizabeth Hand “The Devil on the Staircase” Joe Hill About the Contributors
A note on book covers: while we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Vibrant, boundary-pushing tales from top sci-fi authors.
Who is this book for?
If you're into stories that stretch your imagination and redefine genres, this collection is a must-read. Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio have gathered an impressive lineup of writers who craft tales that are both inventive and evocative, each one inviting you into worlds where anything is possible. This anthology offers a fresh look at imagination in literature, perfect for readers seeking inspiring and unexpected stories.
