T ' H ^ E YEAR’S BEST GREG BEAR EDWARD BRYANT EMMA BULL PAT CADIGAN JONATHAN CARROLL JOE HALDEMAN TANITH LEE ROBERT R. McCAMMON BRUCE STERLING JANE YOLEN AND ' MANY ' OTHERS OVER 200,000 WORDS FANTASY HORROR OF THE FINEST FANTASY AND HORROR E L L E N ' D A T L O W T E R R I / WI ND L I N G Third Annual Collection The Horror OTHER BEST OF THE YEAR ANTHOLOGIES FROM ST. MARTIN’S PRESS The Year’s Best Fantasy: First Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling The Year’s Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Sixth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois T H I R D A N N U A L C O L L E C T I O N ♦ Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling S T . M A R T I N ’ S P R E S S N E W Y O R K TH E YEAR’S B E ST FANTASY AND HORROR: THIRD ANNUAL COLLECTION. Copyright © 1990 by James Frenkel and Associates. “ Summation 1989: Fantasy.” Copyright © 1990 by Terri Windling— The Endicott Studio. “ Summation 1989: Horror.” Copyright © 1990 by Ellen Datlow. “ 1989: Horror and Fantasy on the Screen.” Copyright © 1990 by Edward Bryant. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quo tations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. Design by Judy C. Dannecker ISBN 0-312-04447-X (hbk) ISBN 0-312-04450-X (pbk) First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A Bluejay Books Production This page constitutes an extension of the copyright page. “The Edge of the World” by Michael Swanwick. Copyright © 1989 by Michael Swanwick. First published in Full Spectrum 2 edited by Lou Aronica, Shawna McCarthy, Amy Stout, and Patrick LoBrutto; Doubleday & Company. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Virginia Kidd. “The Adder” by Fred Chappell. Copyright © 1989 by Fred Chappell. First published in Deathrealm # 9 . Reprinted by permission of the author. “Cat in Glass” by Nancy Etchemendy. Copyright © 1989 by Mercury Press, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Monsters, Tearing Off My Face” by Rory Harper. Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, May 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Family” by Joyce Carol Oates. Copyright © 1989 by The Ontario Review, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, John Hawkins and Associates, Inc. “A Dirge for downtown” by James Powell Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, November 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc. “ Miss Carstairs and the Merman” by Delia Sherman. Copyright © 1989 by Mercury Press, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Unknown Things” by Reginald Bretnor. Copyright © 1989 by T Z Publications. First published in Twilight Zone, February 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Return to the Mutant Rain Forest” by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier. Copyright © 1989 by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier. First published in Masques 3 edited by J. N. Williamson; St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the authors. “ Date with a Bird” by Tatyana Tolstaya. Copyright © 1989 by Tatyana Tolstaya. First published in Great Britain in On the Golden Porch under the title “ Rendezvous With a Bird” by Virago Press; First published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Reprinted by permission of Virago Press, Ltd., London and Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. “Them Bald-headed Snays” by Joseph A. Citro. Copyright © 1989 by Joseph A. Citro. First published in Masques 3 by J. N. Williamson; St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author. “A Sad, Last Love at the Diner of the Damned” by Edward Bryant. Copyright © 1989 by Edward Bryant. First published in Book of the Dead edited by John Skipp and Craig Spector; Bantam Books. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Hanging the Fool” by Michael Moorcock. Copyright © 1989 by Michael Moorcock. First published in Tarot Tales edited by Rachel Pollack and Caitlin Matthews; Legend/Century Hutchinson. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Congdon Associates. “ Hansel’s Finger” by Leif Enger. Copyright © 1989 by Leif Enger. First published in The New Frontier edited by Joe R. Lansdale; Doubleday & Company. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Dogfaerie” by Garry Kilworth. Copyright © 1989 by Garry Kilworth. Reproduced by permission of Methuen Children’s Books from Hidden Turnings ed. Diana Wynne Jones (published in the U.S.A. by Greenwillow Books). “A Bird That Whistles” by Emma Bull. Copyright © 1989 by Emma Bull. Reproduced by permission of Methuen Children’s Books from Hidden Turnings ed. Diana Wynne Jones (published in the U .S.A . by Greenwillowr Books). “The Walled Garden” by Lisa Tuttle. Copyright © 1989 by Lisa Tuttle. Reproduced by permission of Methuen Children’s Books from Hidden Turnings ed. Diana Wynne Jones (published in the U.S.A. by Greenwillow Books). “Varicose Worms” by Scott Baker. Copyright © 1989 by Scott Baker. First published in Blood Is Not Enough edited by Ellen Datlow; William Morrow & Co. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The War with Things” by Leszek Kolakowski. Copyright © 1989 by Leszek Kolakowski. First published in Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia; The University of Chicago Press. Reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press. “The Faery Flag” by Jane Yolen. Copyright © 1989 by Jane Yolen. From the book The Faery Flag: Stories and Poems of Fantasy and the Supernatural by Jane Yolen. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Orchard Books. “ Souls Tied to the Knots on a Leather Cord” by Zhaxi Dawa. Copyright © 1989 by Jeanne Tai. First published in Spring Bamboo edited by Jeanne Tai; Random House, Inc., New York. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc., New York. “The Illusionist” by Steven Millhauser. Copyright © 1989 by Steven Millhauser. First published in Esquire , December 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, International Creative Management, Inc. “Timeskip” by Charles de Lint. Copyright © 1989 by Charles de Lint. First published in Post Mortem edited by Paul F. Olson and David B. Silva; St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Something Passed By” by Robert R. McCammon. Copyright © 1989 by Robert R. McCammon. First published in Blue World in the United States by Pocket Books, Inc.; in Blue World in Great Britain by Grafton Books. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Self-portrait Mixed Media on Pavement, 1988” by Dan Daly. Copyright © 1989 by The Generalist Association, Inc. First published in Pulpsmith, Volume 8, 1989 Giant Edition. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The Plane Tree and the Fountain” by Michael de Larrabeiti. Copyright © 1988 by Michael de Larrabeiti. First published in Provengal Tales in Great Britain by Pavilion Books, Ltd.; in the United States by St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ White as Sin, Now” by Tanith Lee. Copyright © 1989 by Tanith Lee. First published in The Forests of the Night; Unwin-Hyman, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The Power and the Passion” by Pat Cadigan. Copyright © 1989 by Pat Cadigan. First published in Patterns by- Pat Cadigan; Ursus Press. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Jack Straw” by Midori Snyder. Copyright © 1989 by Midori Snyder. First published in Things That Go Bump in the Night edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg; Harper & Row, Publishers, New York. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The Sudd” by J. N. Willliamson. Copyright © 1989 by J. N. Williamson. First published in Pulphouse S, edited by Kristine Kathry n Rusch. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Mr. Fiddlehead” by Jonathan Carroll. Copyright © 1989 by Jonathan Carroll. First published in OMNI, July 1989 issue. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group, Inc. “ Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites” by Dan Simmons. Copyright © 1989 by Dan Simmons. First published in Masques 3 edited by J. N. Williamson; St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Cinema Altere” by Andrew Stephenson. Copyright © 1989 by Andrew Stephenson. First published in Zenith edited by David Garnett; Sphere Books, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Frances Collin Agency. “Matters of Family” by Gary A. Braunbeck. Copyright © 1989 by Gary- A. Braunbeck. First published in Not One of Us Issue # 5. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Beauty- and the Beast: An Anniversary” by Jane Yolen. Copyright © 1989 by Jane Yolen. From the book The Faery Flag: Stories and Poems of Fantasy and the Supernatural by Jane Yolen. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Orchard Books. “ Find Me” by Joan Aiken. Copyright © 1989 by Joan Aiken Enterprises, Ltd. First published in Give Yourself a Fright ; Delacorte Press. Used by permission of Dell Books, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group, Inc. “ Unidentified Objects” by James P. Blaylock. Copyright © 1989 by Omni International, Ltd. First published in OMNI, July 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Meeting the Author” by Ramsey Campbell. Copyright © 1989 by Ramsey Campbell. First published in Interzone #28. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The Lovers” by Gwyneth Jones. Copyright © 1989 by Gwyneth Jones. First published in Tarot Tales edited by Rachel Pollack and Caitlin Matthews; Legend/Century Hutchinson. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ Yore Skin’s Jes’s Soft ’N Purty . . . He Said. (Page 243)” by Chet Williamson. Copyright © 1989 by Chet Williamson. First published in Razored Saddles edited by Joe R. Lansdale and Patrick LoBrutto; Dark Harvest. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc. “ Dori Bangs” by Bruce Sterling. Copyright © 1989 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, September 1989 issue. Reprinted by permission of the author. “The Steel Valentine” by Joe R. Lansdale. Copyright © 1989 by Joe R. Lansdale. First published in By Bizarre Hands by Joe R. Lansdale; Mark Ziesing. Reprinted by permission of the author. "Equilibrium” by John Shirley. Copyright © 1989 by John Shirley. First published in Heatseeker, Scream/Press. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Time Lapse” by Joe Haldeman. Copyright © 1989 by Joe Haldeman. First published in Blood Is Not Enough edited by Ellen Datlow; William Morrow & Co. Reprinted by permission of the author. “ White Noise” by Garry Kilworth. Copyright © 1989 by Garry Kilworth. First published in Zenith edited by- David Garnett; Sphere Books, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of the author. “Terrible Kisses” by Roblev Wilson, Jr. Copyright © 1989 by Robley Wilson, Jr. First published in Terrible Kisses by Robley Wilson; Simon & Schuster, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. “ Sleepside Story” by Greg Bear. Copyright © 1989 by Greg Bear. First published in a limited edition by Cheap Street; and in Full Spectrum 2 edited by Lou Aronica, Shawna McCarthy, Amy Stout, and Patrick LoBrutto; Doubleday and Company. Reprinted by permission of the author. CO NTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction Summation 1989: FANTASY Terri Windling x Summation 1989: HORROR Ellen Datlow xxii Horror and Fantasy on the Screen Edward Bryant xliii Obituaries li The E d g e o f t h e W o r l d Michael Swanwick 1 T he A dder Fred Chappell 14 C a t in G l a s s Nancy Etchemendy 30 M onsters , T earing O ff M y F ace Rory Harper 43 F a m il y Joyce Carol Oates 47 A D irge for C lowntown James Powell 60 Miss C arstairs and t h e M erman Delia Sherman 74 U nknown T hings Reginald Bretnor 93 R eturn to the M utant R ain F orest { poem ) Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier 101 D a t e w it h a B ir d Tatyana Tolstaya 105 T h e m B a l d - h e a d e d S n a y s Joseph A. Citro 115 A S a d L a s t L o v e a t t h e D in e r o f t h e D a m n e d Edward Bryant 123 H a n g i n g t h e F o o l Michael Moorcock 146 H a n s e l ’ s F in g e r LeifEnger 161 D o g f a e r i e Garry Kilworth 168 A B ir d T h a t W h i s t l e s Emma Bull 175 T h e W a l l e d G a r d e n Lisa Tuttle 187 V a r ic o s e W o r m s Scott Baker 199 T h e W a r w it h T h in g s Leszek Kolakowski 223 T h e F a e r y F l a g Jane Yolen 228 S ouls T ied to the K nots on a L eather C ord Zhaxi Dawa 234 T h e I l l u s i o n i s t Steven Millhauser 254 T im e s k ip Charles de Lint 269 S o m e t h in g P a s s e d B y Robert R. McCammon 281 S elf - portrait M ixed M edia on P avement , 1988 Dan Daly 293 T he P lane T ree and the F ountain Michael de Larrabeiti 302 W h i t e a s S i n , N ow Tanith Lee 316 T he P ower and the P assion Pat Cadigan 340 J a c k S t r a w Midori Snyder 351 T h e S u d d J. N. Williamson 358 M r F iddlehead Jonathan Carroll 369 S h a v e a n d a H a i r c u t , T w o B i t e s Dan Simmons 379 C in e m a A l t £ r £ Andrew Stephenson 392 viii Contents M a t t e r s o f F a m il y Gary A. Braunbeck 402 B eauty and the B east : A n A nniversary (poem) Jane Yolen 412 F in d M e Joan Aiken 414 U nidentified O bjects James P. Blaylock 417 M e e t i n g t h e A u t h o r Ramsey Campbell 431 T he L overs Gwyneth Jones 441 Y o u r S k in ’ s J e s ’ s S o f t ’ n P u r t y . . . H e S a i d . (P a g e 243) Chet Williamson 452 D ori B angs Bruce Sterling 468 T he S teel V alentine Joe R. Lansdale 480 E quilibrium John Shirley 494 T ime L apse (poem) Joe Haldeman 503 W hite N oise Garry Kilworth 507 T errible K isses Robley Wilson 517 S leepside S tory Greg Bear 524 H onorable M entions : 1989 557 I’d like to thank Merrilee Heifetz; Stuart Moore; Gordon Van Gelder; Robert Killheffer; the American and British contributors, editors, and publishers who provided material and background; and particularly I’d like to thank Jim Frenkel, who was invaluable. Also, thanks to Charles N. Brown, whose magazine Locus (Locus Publications, Inc., P. O. Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661; $40.00 for a one-year first-class subscription, 12 issues) was used as a reference source throughout the Summation and to Andrew Porter, whose magazine Science Fiction Chronicle ( S .F . Chronicle, P. O. Box 2730, Brooklyn, N Y 11202-0056; $33.00 for a one-year first-class subscription, 12 issues) was also used as a reference source throughout. Acknowledgments — Ellen Datlow Many thanks to all the publishers, writers, artists, booksellers, librarians, and readers who sent me material, recommended favorite titles, and shared their thoughts on the year in fantasy publishing with me; and to Locus, S F Chronicle, Library Journal, Horn Book, and Folk Roots magazines, which are helpful sources for seeking out fantasy material. Special thanks go to Ellen Kushner, Sylvia Peretz, Elisabeth Roberts and Craig Gardner, Will Shetterly and Em m a Bull, Valerie Smith, Jane Yolen; to Stuart Moore and Gordon Van Gelder of St. Martin’s Press; to the helpful people at the Boston Public Library and Wordsworth Books; to Tappan King and Beth Meacham for providing a desert haven to finish the work on this year’s volume (and to T K for looking over my introduction); and most of all to Thomas Canty, Ellen Datlow, and Jim Frenkel. Anyone wishing to recommend fantasy stories, novels, music, or art released in 1990 for next year’s volume should do so d o The Endicott Studio, 63 Endicott Street, Boston, MA 02113. — Terri Windling IX Summation 1989: Fantasy The “ Adult Fantasy” book genre, as we know it, barely existed at the beginning of the 1980s. As we enter the 1990s, it is interesting to take a look back over the last decade to see how the fantasy field has developed. Fantasy stories, of course, have always been with us, an important part of every culture on this planet since the earliest myths, hero tales, and fairy tales, as well as a staple of English-language literature from Mallory to Shakespeare; from Yeats and Oscar Wilde to T. H. White and C. S. Lewis. It was a twentieth century, and particularly American, notion that fantasy was fit only for children— a notion dispelled in the latter half o f this century by the popularity of British author J. R. R. Tolkien’s books among readers of all ages, and by the acceptance by American literati of works of “ magic realism” as popularized by Latin American writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel Asturias, and Jorge Luis Borges. On the heels of the enormous popularity of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy came the first modem publishing venture expressly aimed at adult fantasy readers: the Sign of the Unicorn line, published by Ian and Betty Ballantine at Ballantine Books, edited by Lin Carter and beautifully illustrated by Gervasio Gallardo, in the early 1970s. Although this line failed to establish itself successfully in the commercial mar ketplace, editor Carter was able, for a short while, to bring classic literary fantasy works back into print, introducing such authors as George McDonald, W illiam Morris, Lord Dunsany, E. R. Eddison, James Branch Cabell, and Mervyn Peake to readers hungry “for more stuff like Tolkien,” thereby influencing what was to become the next generation of fantasy writers. Judy-Lynn and Lester del Rey, founders of the Del Rey Fantasy imprint— under their Gryphon logo— at Ballantine, were more successful at providing readers with Tolkien- esque fantasy, particularly with The Sword o f Shannara by Terry Brooks— which was accused of being too derivative of Tolkien, but which hit the best-seller lists and got the Del Rey Fantasy line off to a running start. Picking up selected titles and authors (such as Evangeline Walton, Poul Anderson, Peter Beagle, and Patricia A. McKillip) from the Lin Carter line, and introducing new authors (like Stephen R. Donaldson), Del Rey quickly had a thriving fantasy publishing program— and little competition. As the 1980s began, Del Rey was the only American publisher with an adult fantasy imprint. Other houses published the occasional fantasy title under a science fiction label— a system that made some sense at the time because the little adult fantasy that was published then was largely of the Howardian “sword-and-sorcery” kind (as typified by the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard) which, like American science fiction, grew out of the pages o f the old pulp magazines. The Del Rey line included both Howardian pulp fantasy and “high” fantasy a la Tolkien. Lester del Rey created strict guidelines, based on his own years as an SF/fantasy writer beginning in the 1940s, of what constituted a “ Del Rey Fantasy,” and what did not (such as magic realism and other less traditional forms.) The Del Rey line established the commercial viability' of adult fantasy books and Judy-Lynn del Rey, a brilliant publisher, invented the current model for marketing fantasy best-sellers. Yet the boundary' lines of the adult fantasy genre were at that time still quite narrowly drawn. Ace Books, where I worked at the beginning of the decade, was the next publisher to create a separate adult fantasy imprint, and it was difficult to convince editorial boards x Summation 1989: Fantasy XI and booksellers to commit advance monies and rack space to this upstart genre. Much of what was in print in those early days was pulp magazine-style stories aimed at a largely male readership, with covers sporting large-breasted women swooning at the feet of muscle-bound men. Little wonder then that the literary establishment dismissed the genre as a whole— an attitude that unfortunately lingers in some quarters today. High fantasy was in short supply at that time and reader demand for it was greater than the few contemporary fantasy writers could keep up with. It was a great time to be a young fantasy author seeking a first novel publication, and an exciting time to be a fantasy editor with a mandate to find and develop new talent. Thus a whole generation of writers who had whetted their teeth on Tolkien and on classic Sign of the Unicorn fantasies appeared on the American publishing scene. Most major publishing houses now have adult fantasy imprints (run side-by-side with their science fiction lists, despite the fact that editing S F and fantasy are very different skills, which factor has had its effect on the genre). Annual combined sales of all fantasy titles currently exceed that of science fiction. The World Fantasy Award, originally established primarily as an award for horror fiction, now regularly honors high fantasy and magic realism as well; fantasy books are placing on the national best-seller lists; and a magic realist novel, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, has—-in a most unfortunate manner— become the most notorious novel of the century. In looking back over the last ten years, I see a field that has diversified and matured. Once the field, with a few laudable exceptions, could be boiled down to Howardian sagas with Frazetta-inspired covers and Celtic epics with Hildebrandt-inspired covers; early attempts to deviate from these areas, such as with the magic realism of Patricia M cKillip’s Stepping from the Shadows or Megan Lindholm’s The Wizard o f the Pigeons, did not have the reader and bookseller support such novels can expect today. Now the field encompasses works as diverse as Craig Shaw Gardner’s light-hearted spoofs and Charles de Lint’s urban faery stories, Lisa Goldstein’s surrealistic explorations and Raymond Feist’s dark epic sagas. Design-oriented book cover illustrations, owing more to Mucha and the Pre-Raphaelites than to Pyle or Frazetta, are now sharing the book stands with more standard works by Boris, Sweet, and the Hildebrandts; and the evolving technology o f computer art promises to take cover designs in interesting new directions. Small presses are becoming more sophisticated in their marketing and distribution, and picking up— particularly in the short fiction market— where the large publishing houses leave off. As we look into the 1990s, I think it is this diversity that will continue to make the fantasy field lively for both writers and readers. That new generation of fantasy writers is “growing up” and the field is growing up with them, resisting the trap o f being genre- bound and cut off from the mainstream of American fiction. At the same time, writers from outside the genre are increasingly drawn to fantastic and magic realist themes, due to the influence of foreign writers and to the popularity of Joseph Campbell and his work in the area of myth and the function of the hero in our modern world. This cross pollination between genre and mainstream writers holds promise of riches to come in both fields in the 1990s in the area of magic realism. It strikes me as the literary equivalent of Worldbeat music: a creative mixing of different styles and cultural rhythms to create a synthesis that is at once fresh and timeless. More traditional fantasy fare is still a large staple of the genre, however, dominating the bestseller lists— and although I admit to groaning when yet another Young-Girl/Boy- with-Sword-in-Vaguely-Celtic-World manuscript finds its way to my desk, I don’t think the continuing popularity of these books among the mass audience is hard to understand. Like fairy tales, these tend to be coming-of-age stories in the literal or psychological xii Summation 1989: Fantasy sense, speaking with age-old symbols (the magic sword, the poison apple, the hero who must count on wit or honor to survive) directly to the heart; and like fairy tales, their appeal is not in novelty or innovation, but in retelling a familiar tale so that it resonates anew. The best writers— Ursula K. Le Guin, Peter Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, Robin McKinley and their ilk— write on two levels: on the surface is a colorful tale of a magical adventure, but beneath that a second tale is being told about deeper human issues such as good and evil, courage and despair, honor and betrayal, reflecting something of the author’s own experience (just as Frodo Baggins’s quest to save his beloved Middle Earth is given resonance by Tolkien’s strong love o f rural England and his experience o f the horrors of World War II), and told with a clear lyricism of language that reflects the elegant simplicity o f age-old, time-polished tales. T o be sure, many of the high fantasies written and sold today are derivative tales that work only on the first level— but even these appeal to many readers by echoing the experience they had reading a master story teller like Tolkien, tiding them over until the “real thing” comes along again. While publisher expansion into the fantasy field in the last few years has glutted the market with more titles than the marketplace can sustain— making it harder for new writers to find an audience and for discriminating readers to tell the good from the bad — I don’t think the 1990s will see the demand for high fantasy die out. And for those of us who have become wary of it due to all the second-rate books pushed onto the stands, I see a promising trend as talented authors with strong literary values— like Gwyneth Jones, C. J. Cherryh, and Ellen Kushner— turn to traditional stories, and as the line between high fantasy and dark fantasy/horror becomes thinner. Urban fantasy, of the kind pioneered by Charles de Lint, Michael de Larrabeiti, Em m a Bull, Rick Bowes and others, continues to be a fascinating exploration of the interconnection o f myth and folklore with modern society. Writers such as John Crowley, Orson Scott Card, Tom Dietz, Matt Ruff, Greg Bear, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Lisa Goldstein are de veloping a distinctly American brand of magic realist fantasy that seems particularly suited to the 1990s. W e’re seeing the American fantasy field come o f age, and I find that exciting. With this diversity of fantasy in mind, the following is a list of recommended fantasy in fiction and other arts which appeared in 1989. While I can’t claim to have seen every fantastic or surrealistic work published here or abroad, I hope my readings and discussions with fantasy writers, artists, publishers, booksellers and readers across the U .S. and England will lead you to some works you might have overlooked, and some new authors who you might enjoy. 1989 was the year of the short story. So many excellent works of short fiction were published in magazines, anthologies, and single-author collections that they quite ov ershadowed novel-length works— but in fact it wasn’t a bad year for novels either. If you can read only a few of the fantasy novels published in 1989, the following is a baker’s dozen of works, by established and new authors, you shouldn’t miss (in alphabetical order): Prentice Alvin, Orson Scott Card (Tor). The latest volume in Card’s excellent American historical fantasy epic, The Tales c f Alvin Maker. A Child Across the Shy, Jonathan Carroll (Legend, U.K.). Dark fantasy, loosely connected to Carroll’s Bones o f the Moon and Sleeping in Flames — he just keeps getting better and better. Sunglasses After Dark, Nancy A. Collins (NAL). This wild, dark fantasy novel about inner-city vampires will appeal to non-horror readers as well. The Whim o f the Dragon, Pamela Dean (Ace). Traditional high fantasy with young pro Summation 1989: Fantasy tagonists, beautifully written by an author with a superior prose style; ends the Secret Country trilogy. Geek Love, Katherine Dunn (Knopf). A strangely wonderful literary fantasy about an American family that breeds its own mutants. Tourists, Lisa Goldstein (Simon & Schuster). American tourists in a surrealistic imagi nary land, from one o f the field’s best young writers. Gate o f Darkness, Circle o f Light, Tanya Huff (DAW ). Urban fantasy set in contemporary Canada, well-crafted and enjoyable, from a promising new writer who is probably get ting tired o f being compared to Charles de Lint. New Moon, Midori Snyder (Ace). Refreshingly original high fantasy set in a city won derfully reminiscent o f Dickensian London from another promising new writer. The Stress of Her Regard\ Tim Powers (Ace). Dark, dark fantasy about Byron and Shelley from one of the most twisted— I mean that as a compliment— and original minds in the fantasy field. Kindergarten, Peter Rushford (David R. Godine). One o f the very best novels o f this or any other year, finally back in print— a contemporary reworking o f the Hansel and Gretel tale, set in a small English town, expertly crafted. The Coachman Rat, David Henry Wilson (Carroll & Graf). A good literary fantasy retelling o f Cinderella from the coachman’s point o f view. Soldier o f Arete, Gene Wolfe (Tor). A masterful prose stylist continues the “ diary” o f a flawed hero begun in Soldier in the Mist. White Jenna, Jane Yolen (Tor). Invented myth, history, folklore, and high fantasy ad venture are beautifully woven together by one o f the most respected authors in the children’s and adult fantasy fields. The Best Peculiar Book of the Year “award” goes to The Cockroaches o f Stay More, a satiric fantasy by Donald Harrington (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). Two excellent novels that straddle the line between S F and fantasy, Bruce McAllister’s Dream Baby (Tor) and Pat Murphy’s The City, Not Long After (Doubleday/Foundation), will also be of interest to fantasy readers and are among the very best books of the year. And I would, of course, heartily recommend the latest offering in my own Adult Fairy Tales series: Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede (Tor). Other recommended titles of 1989: From Ace Fantasy/The Berkley Publishing Group: The Stone Giant, James P. Blaylock (highly recommended sequel to The Elfin Ship and The Disappearing Dwarves, traditional fantasy infused with Blaylock madness); Marianne, The M adame and the Momentary Gods and Marianne, the Matchbox and the Malachite Mouse, Sheri S. Tepper (the surrealistic Marianne books are among her best works); The Fortress o f the Pearl, Michael Moorcock (a fun new Elric novel, although I miss the striking Gould covers); A Dis agreement with Death, Craig Shaw Gardner and The Sword o f Sagamore, Kara Dalkey (both are humorous fantasy, a cut above most of the rest); The Willow Garden, Kathryn Grant (nicely written oriental fantasy); The Tangled Lands, Will Shetterly (terrific, strange SF novel with more than a touch o f fantasy); and the following well-written adventure fantasy books: Luck o f the Wheels, Megan Lindholm; On the Seas of Destiny, Ru Emerson; The Schemes o f Dragons, David Smeds; and Blood Storm, Heather Gladney. From Atheneum: The Dogs of Paradise, Abel Posse (the story of Colum bus, aptly described by one reviewer as “ history performed by the Monty Python troupe”; first English language publication by this Argentine author). From The Atlantic Monthly Press: Blue Fruit, Adam Lively (literary time-travel novel). xiii xiv Summation 1989: Fantasy From Avon Books: The Gryphon King, Tom Dietz (Dietz, a talented new writer, is at his best with contemporary fantasy like this one, set in Georgia— highly recommended); Beauty and the Beast, Barbara Hambly (don’t be put off because this is based on a TV show— Hambly is, as always, superb). From Baen/Sign of the Dragon: Apocalypse, Nancy Springer (Springer started out writing very traditional fantasy and keeps surprising me with books that are anything but; set in near-future Pennsylvania, this hard-hitting book is highly recommended); The Complete Compleat Enchanter, L. Sprague de Cam p and Fletcher Pratt (note humorous fantasy fans— these guys practically invented it); and Piper at the Gate, Mary Stanton (a gentle fantasy novel that horse lovers will particularly enjoy). From Bantam/Doubleday/Dell: Sleeping in Flames, Jonathan Carroll (first U .S. edition o f a splendid novel by one of the best dark fantasy writers around); The Coming o f the King, Nikolai Tolstoy (first U .S . edition of this British Arthurian saga); A Wind in Cairo, Judith Tarr (pleasant oriental fantasy); Philip Jose Farmer’s the Dungeon # 3 , Charles de Lint (a cut above the rest of these packaged series books); the above-mentioned The City, Not Long After, Pat Murphy (a magical near-future tale set in San Francisco); and Lord Byron’s Doctor, Paul West (the invented memoirs of Byron’s companion, Polidori). From Jonathan Cape, U .K .: The Child o f Good Fortune, Tom de Haan (sequel to the quirky A Mirror for Princes, highly recommended). From Crossing Press: The Fablesinger, Judith Woolcock Colombo (flawed but intri guing Caribbean fantasy). From Crossway: Arthur, Stephen Lawhead (nice Arthurian retelling). From DAW: M agic’s Pawn, Mercedes Lackey (Lackey has come into her own with this latest novel); The Heroine o f the World, Tanith Lee (one of fantasy’s masters— she’s in good form with this one); and the above-mentioned Gate o f Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff. From Del Rey: Rusalka, C. J. Cherryh (traditional fantasy from a respected S F writer, set in mythical Russia, highly recommended); Sorcess o f Darshiva, David Eddings (tra ditional fantasy, well crafted); The Curse of Slagfid, Elizabeth R. Boyer (traditional fantasy with a nice Scandinavian touch); and The Harrowing of Gwynedd, Katherine Kurtz (the latest entry in Kurtz’s long-running Deryni series). From GW Books: Drachenfels, Jack Yeovil (written for W arhammer fantasy gaming enthusiasts, it’s surprisingly good). From Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco (occult con spiracy novel by the author of The Name o f the Rose). From Hunter House: On the Road to Baghdad, Guneli Gun (flawed but interesting Arabian feminist fantasy). From Knopf: The Golden Ball, Hanne Marie Svendsen: (a lovely, dreamlike magic realist fantasy translated from the Danish); The History of the World in IOZ 2 Chapters, Julian Barnes (mad literary fantasy by the author of Flaubert’s Parrot); Changing the Past, Thom as Berger (one of America’s preeminent magic realists and satirists with a story about a man who changes his past with disastrous results); The History o f Luminous Motion by Scott Bradfield (all right, it’s really stretching things to list this as a fantasy— but it’s by a writer well-known for his fantasy short stories and it’s one of the best books o f the year, about a young boy’s journey across the U .S.); and the above-mentioned Geek Love, Katherine Dunn. From W illiam Morrow: L avondyss, Robert Holdstock (first U .S. edition of this won derful dark mythological fantasy, highly recommended); Red Branch, Morgan Llyewelyn (fantasy based on Irish history and mythology from an author who handles this material better than most); Knight of Shadows, Roger Zelazny (the ninth book in his Amber series). Summation 1989: Fantasy xv From NAL: Morf, Terry Pratchett, and Sphynxes, Esther M . Friesner (both for fans of humorous fantasy); The Dark Tower II: The Drawing o f the Three, Stephen King (surrealistic “gunslinger” fantasy from King with interesting experimental illustrations by Phil Hale); and, the above-mentioned Sunglasses After Dark, Nancy A. Collins. From Peter Owen/Dufour Editions: Parsival, Peter Vansittart (interesting, somewhat obscure retelling of the Parsival legend). From Poseidon Press: Tours of the Black Clock, Steve Erickson (literary alternate history novel, recommended). From Random House: Dollarville, Peter Davies (peculiar magic realist novel); Cannibal Kiss, Daniel Odier (literary fantasy translated from the French about an author’s character who comes to life). From Tor: Nemesis and Inferno, Louise Cooper (fans of Moorcock’s Elric series will likely enjoy Cooper’s work, too); The Woman Who Loved Reindeer, Meredith Ann Pierce (lyrically written high fantasy tale, originally published in hardcover as a young adult book); and, the previously mentioned titles: Prentice Alvin, Orson Scott Card; White Jenna, Jane Yolen; Soldier o f Arete, Gene Wolfe; and Snow White and Rose Red, Patricia C. Wrede. From Underwood-Miller: Madouc, Jack Vance (sequel to Lyonesse, beautifully illus trated by James Christiansen), and a cloth edition of Nancy Springer’s Apocalypse. From Viking/Penguin: M ascara, Ariel Dorfman (first novel in English by this Chilean author, this magic realism story is about a man so nondescript no one can remember him); and, There’s Something in the Back Yard, Richard Snodgrass (a magic realist novel about a university professor who gets tangled up with a Hopi kachina spirit). From Walker: Hong on the Range, William F. Wu (American Chinese fantasy, illustrated by Darrel Andersen and Phil Hale). From Wamer/Questar: The Fool on the Hill, Matt Ruff (paperback reprint of a first novel from The Atlantic Monthly Press, delightful magic realism, highly recommended); Q ueens Gam bit Declined, Melinda Snodgrass (historical fantasy set in the seventeeth century). The best first novel of the year: the above-mentioned Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins (NAL). Runner up: Randall Kenan’s A Visitation o f Spirits, a magic realism novel about black family and community life in North Carolina (Grove Press.) Other interesting debuts: Teresa Edgerton’s nicely written Celtic-style fantasies: Child of Saturn and The Moon in Hiding (Ace); Alidia van Gores’s sea lore fantasy Mermaid’s Song (NAL); and Jeanne Larsen’s Silk Road, an oriental fantasy (Henry Holt). 1989 produced a bumper crop of short story collections, despite the fact that readers don’t buy them with the same frequency that they purchase novels, leading some pub lishers to avoid them altogether. Happily, small presses are becoming more skilled in picking up the slack. The best collections of 1989 were: Novelty, John Crowley: four novellas— magic realism and a lovely original fairy tale (Doubleday/Foundation); Hot Jazz Trio, W illiam Kotzwinkle: three wonderful, wild magic realist novellas, illustrated by Joe Servello (Houghton Mifflin); Casting Fortune, John M. Ford: a tour-de-force original Liavekan novella and two reprint stories (Tor); Provencal Tales, Michael de Larrabeiti: beautifully crafted adult fantasy tales based on French folklore (St. Martin’s Press); Forests o f the Night, Tanith Lee: a collection of superb original and reprint stories with an overall dark fantasy tone (Unwin Hyman, U .K .); Escape from Kathmandu, Kim Stanley Robinson: humorous fantasy adventure stories— hard to describe, wonderful to read (Tor); Author’s Choice Monthly, Issue Three, xvi Summation 1989: Fantasy Lisa Goldstein: a monthly small press “magazine” series published in hardcover book format, Issue Three contains Goldstein’s excellent work— both fantasy and S F , all reprint (Pulphouse Publishing); Antique Dust, Robert Westall: a dark fantasy collection, the first for adults from a master of children’s fantasy (Viking); The Faery Flag, Jane Yolen: thirteen faery and supernatural stories and poems in an illustrated book for children (Orchard); and A Romance o f the Equator, Brian Aldiss: twenty-six of his best fantasy stories (Gollancz, U .K .) Other recommended collections that contain at least some fantasy stories: Women as Demons, Tanith Lee (The W omen’s Press, U .K .); Patterns, Pat Cadigan (Ursus); E n dangered Species, Gene Wolfe (Tor); Frost and