[Mithfânion]

This looks to be a stunning year for original as well as reprint anthologies, as well as some single author collections. For the benefit of the forum I have collected them here, so you can see what you might be interested in. Go to Amazon to see the covers for all of these.

First up, Warriors by GRRM and Dozois, due March 16th. For many of us, an asap read I suspect, it looks to contain many good stories.

TOC:

"The King of Norway" by Cecilia Holland
"Forever Bound" by Joe Haldeman
"The Triumph" by Robin Hobb
"Clean Slate" by Lawrence Block
"And Ministers of Grace" by Tad Williams
"Soldierin'" by Joe Lansdale
"Dirae" by Peter S. Beagle
"The Eagle and the Rabbit" by Steven Saylor
"Seven Years from Home" by Naomi Novik
"The Custom of the Army" by Diana Gabaldon
"The Pit" by James Rollins
"Out of the Dark" by David Weber
"The Girls from Avenger" by Carrie Vaughn
"Ancient Ways" by S.M. Stirling
"Ninieslando" by Howard Waldrop
"Recidivist" by Gardner Dozois
"My Name is Legion" by David Morrell
"Defenders of the Frontier" by Robert Silverberg
"The Scroll" by David Ball
"The Mystery Knight" by George R.R. Martin

Then in June, Swords and Dark Magic, edited by other anthologist giants, Strahan and Lou Anders.

TOC:

Introduction, Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
“Goats of Glory”, Steven Erikson
“Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company”, Glen Cook
“Bloodsport”, Gene Wolfe
“The Singing Spear”, James Enge
“A Wizard of Wiscezan”, C.J. Cherryh
“A Rich Full Week”, K. J. Parker
“A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet”, Garth Nix
“Red Pearls: An Elric Story”, Michael Moorcock
“The Deification of Dal Bamore”, Tim Lebbon
“Dark Times at the Midnight Market”, Robert Silverberg
“The Undefiled”, Greg Keyes
“Dapple Hew the Tint Master”, Michael Shea
“In the Stacks”, Scott Lynch
“Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe”, Tanith Lee
“The Sea Troll’s Daughter”, Caitlin R Kiernan
“Thieves of Daring”, Bill Willingham
“The Fool Jobs”, Joe Abercrombie

3rd, Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio have done a speculative fiction anthology that's due in June as well, simply titled "Stories: All-new tales". Genre authors known to be in are Joe Hill, Jeffrey Ford, Michael Moorcock, but he reaches out to mainstream writers to tell speculative tales as well. A full TOC has not yet been disclosed.

http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/harper/516_1295_313435323438.htm

4th, The New Dead anthology, edited by Christopher Golden. Just released a few days ago to some very godo reviews, it has some well-known names contributing.

TOC:

Lazarus" by John Connolly
"What Maisie Knew" by David Liss
"Copper" by Stephen R. Bissette
"In the Dust" by Tim Lebbon
"Life Sentence" by Kelley Armstrong
"Delice" by Holly Newstein
"Closure, LTD" by Max Brooks
"The Wind Cries Mary" by Brian Keene
"Family Business" by Jonathan Maberry
"The Zombie Who Fell From the Sky" by M.B. Homler
"My Dolly" by Derek Nikitas
"Second Wind" by Mike Carey
"Among Us" by Aimee Bender
"Ghost Trap" by Rick Hautala
"The Storm Door" by Tad Williams
"Kids and Their Toys" by James A. Moore
"Shooting Pool" by Joe R. Lansdale
"Weaponized" by David Wellington
"Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" by Joe Hill

Continued in following posts due to size restrictions.

[Mithfânion]

We march on, continuing with anthologies:

Sympathy for the Devil- edited by Tim Pratt, due in August. The synopsis:

The Devil is known by many names: Serpent, Tempter, Beast, Adversary, Wanderer, Dragon, Rebel. His traps and machinations are the stuff of legends. His faces are legion. No matter what face the devil wears, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL has them all.

Edited by Tim Pratt (HART & BOOT & OTHER STORIES, THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF RANGERGIRL, BLOOD ENGINES), SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL collects the best Satanic short stories by Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Stephen King, Kage Baker, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Kelly Link, China Mieville, Michael Chabon, and many others, revealing His Grand Infernal Majesty, in all his forms.

Thirty-five stories, from classics to the cutting edge, exploring the many sides of Satan, Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies, the Father of Lies, the Prince of the Powers of the Air and Darkness, the First of the Fallen... and a Man of Wealth and Taste. Sit down and spend a little time with the Devil.


Contents:

Introduction -- Tim Pratt
The Price -- Neil Gaiman
Beluthahatchie -- Andy Duncan
Ash City Stomp -- Richard Butner
Ten for the Devil -- Charles de Lint
A Reversal of Fortune -- Holly Black
Young Goodman Brown -- Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Man in the Black Suit -- Stephen King
The Power of Speech -- Natalie Babbitt
The Redemption of Silky Bill -- Sarah Zettel
Sold to Satan -- Mark Twain
MetaPhysics -- Elizabeth M. Glover
Snowball's Chance -- Charles Stross
Non-Disclosure Agreement -- Scott Westerfeld
Like Riding a Bike -- Jan Wildt
Bible Stories for Adults, No. 31: The Covenant -- James Morrow
And the Deep Blue Sea -- Elizabeth Bear
The Goat Cutter -- Jay Lake
On the Road to New Egypt -- Jeffrey Ford
That Hell-Bound Train -- Robert Bloch
The God of Dark Laughter -- Michael Chabon
The King of the Djinn -- David Ackert and Benjamin Rosenbaum
Summon, Bind, Banish -- Nick Mamatas
The Bottle Imp -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Two Old Men -- Kage Baker
...With By Good Intentions -- Carrie Richerson
Nine Sundays in a Row -- Kris Dikeman
Lull -- Kelly Link
We Can Get Them for You Wholesale -- Neil Gaiman
Details -- China Mieville
The Devil Disinvests -- Scott Bradfield
Faustfeathers -- John Kessel
The Professor's Teddy Bear -- Theodore Sturgeon
The Heidelberg Cylinder -- Jonathan Carroll
Mike's Place -- David J. Schwartz
Thus I Refute Beelzy -- John Collier
Inferno: Canto XXXIV -- Dante Alighieri (translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Looks awesome.

In July, With Great Power, a fantasy-superhero anthology, edited by PYR's Lou Anders.

Contents:

Introduction: The Golden Age by Lou Anders
"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges
"Where their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey
"Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell
"The Non-Event" by Mike Carey
"Avatar" by Mike Baron
"Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory
"Thug" by Gail Simone
"Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter
"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson
"Head Cases" by Peter David & Kathleen David
"Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi
"By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn
"Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu
"Tonight we fly" by Ian McDonald
"A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham

In June, also from Night Shade, a reprint anthology about dragons, titled "Wings of Fire". GRRM is one of the contributors, as well as Le Guin, Peter Beagle, OS Card, De Lint.

http://www.nightshadebooks.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=159

As long as we are with dragons, I should mention last November saw the release of The Dragon Book, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. These are all originals.

Contents:

Preface / Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois -- Dragon's deep / Cecelia Holland -- Vici / Naomi Novik -- Bob Choi's last job / Jonathan Stroud -- Are you afflicted with Dragons? / Kage Baker -- The Tsar's dragons / Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple -- The Dragon of Direfell / Liz Williams -- Oakland dragon blues / Peter S. Beagle -- Humane killer / Diana Gabaldon and Samuel Sykes -- Stop! / Garth Nix -- Ungentle fire / Sean Williams -- A stark and wormy knight / Tad Williams -- None so blind / Harry Turtledove -- JoBoy / Diana Wynne Jones -- Puz_le / Gregory Maguire -- After the third kiss / Bruce Coville -- The war that winter is / Tanith Lee -- The Dragon's tale / Tamora Pierce -- Dragon storm / Mary Rosenblum -- The Dragaman's bride / Andy Duncan

And also, April 1st sees the release of another Ellen Datlow anthology, this time it's a Fantasy about human/animal shapechangers and it is titled "The Beastly Bride". Cool cover. Contents:

Preface by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Introduction by Terri Windling
Island Lake by E. Catherine Tobler
The Puma’s Daughter by Tanith Lee
Map of Seventeen by Christopher Barzak
The Selkie Speaks by Delia Sherman
Bear’s Bride by Johanna Sinisalo
The Abominable Child’s Tale by Carol Emshwiller
The Hikikomori by Hiromi Goto
The Comeuppance of Creegus Maxin by Gregory Frost
Ganesha by Jeffrey Ford
The Elephant’s Bride by Jane Yolen
The Children of Cadmus by Ellen Kushner
The White Doe Mourns Her Childhood by Jeanine Hall Gailey
The White Doe’s Love Song by Jeanine Hall Gailey
The White Doe Decides by Jeanine Hall Gailey
Coyote and Valorosa by Terra L. Gearheart
One Thin Dime by Stewart Moore
The Monkey Bride by Midori Snyder
Pishaach by Shweta Narayan
The Salamander Fire by Marly Youmans
The Margay’s Children by Richard Bowes
Thumbleriggery and Fledglings by Steve Berman
The Flock by Lucius Shepard
The Children of the Shark God by Peter Beagle
Rosina by Nan Fry
Further Reading

Finally, in May, a Werewolf anthology called "Running with the Pack". This one interests me because it has new tales by strong debut Fantasy authors like NK Jemisisn and Jesse Bullington as well as some good reprints:

Contents:

WILD RIDE, Carrie Vaughn
SIDE-EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE, Steve Duffy
COMPARISON OF EFFICACY RATES FOR SEVEN ANTIPATHETICS AS EMPLOYED AGAINST LYCANTHROPES, Marie Brennan
THE BEAUTIFUL GELREESH, Jeffrey Ford
SKIN IN THE GAME, Samantha Henderson
BLENDED, C.E. Murphy
LOCKED DOORS, Stephanie Burgis
WERELOVE, Laura Anne Gilman
IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, Molly Tanzer
ROYAL BLOODLINES, Mike Resnick
THE DIRE WOLF, Genevieve Valentine
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT, Lawrence Schimel
MONGREL, Maria Snyder
DEADFALL, Karen Everson
RED RIDING HOOD'S CHILD, N.K. Jemisin
ARE YOU A VAMPIRE OR A GOBLIN? Geoffrey Goodwin
THE PACK AND THE PICKUP ARTIST, Mike Brotherton
THE GARDEN, THE MOON, THE WALL, Amanda Downum
BLAMED FOR TRYING TO LIVE, Jesse Bullington
THE BARONY AT RODAL, Peter Bell
INSIDE OUT, Erzbet Yellowboy
GESTELLA, Susan Palwick

In March, there is also a new original tales Werewolf anthology with Gene Wolfe and Peter Beagle, called Full Moon City.

[Mithfânion]

And finally, for some single author collections:

In March, the long awaited Mirror Kingdoms by Peter Beagle. Contents on the subpress links:

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=beagle02&Category_Code=NEW&Product_Count=1

Also in March, b]The Great Bazaar and Other Stories[/b] by Peter Brett, Pat's Fantasy Hotlist reviewed it a while ago, a short extra offering for fans of The Warded Man. A bit too short for my taste though.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=brett01&Category_Code=B&Product_Count=23

Leviathan Wept and Other Stories by Daniel Abraham, due late May/June:

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=abraham01&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=1

In April, Lesser Demons by Norman Partridge, which I cannot wait to be released cause this looks fantastic. The Blurb:

While the sun blisters a dying world, a mutant spider battles a squad of toy soldiers and a plastic cowboy on his last ride...

-- A gangster, a sheriff, and a mysterious traveler face an army of mechanical vampires burrowing up from hell itself during a wild Montana storm...

-- In a desert poisoned by atomic radiation, an abused boy stands between a rampaging giant and the hunter who would make him a grisly trophy...

-- Beneath a full Arizona moon, a drifter faces a pack of merciless human animals and the werewolf who butchered his sister...

-- In the American West, a legendary gunslinger delivers a cursed bounty to the one-horse town where his partner’s ghost awaits.



http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=partridge8&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=21

In September, Journeys, by Ian MacLeod. Contents:

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=macleod02&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=19

Also in September, The Sky that wraps, by Jay Lake. I will have this one as well, he's very good at short work.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=lake01&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=15

What else do we have? Jeff Vandermeer has a brand new collection due in July called "The Third Bear". Contents here:

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2009/09/28/the-third-bear-story-collection-turned-in-sorta/

In April there is Black Wings, a new anthology of some big name authors working in the style of HP Lovecraft.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=joshi01&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=11

And in March, a major repint anthology from Ellen Datlow called "Darkness: Two decades of Modern Horror" which collects among others work from GRRM, Barker, Ligotti, Dan Simmons, Joe Hill, Glen Hirshberg, Joe Lansdale, Stephen King, Michael Marshall Smith, Neil Gaiman and Gene Wolfe.

Contents here:

http://ellen-datlow.livejournal.com/185233.html

Also, Night Shade has The Best of Fritz Leiber due in April, as well as The Green Leopard Plague collection by Walter Jon Williams. And there is a Best of Kim Stanley Robinson listed for August as well.

That's it. For now.

[Randy M.]

Well, these should contribute greatly to the ruination of my budget. I'm just thinking about it, and my wallet is starting to smolder.

Randy M.

[Sapph]

So far I've only had the one Joe Abercrombie is featured in on preorder, but the other ones you've mentioned have some authors I like. I think my (already low) budget is about to get a lot smaller.

[Loerwyn]

A few of them seem interesting, might consider picking one or two up.

[phil_geo]

I'm guessing that the Haldeman short story "Forever Bound" from Warriors is a continuation of his Forever War series? Anyone know anything about it?

[Mithfânion]

Well, I have a couple of these by now and they're pretty good.

Warriors, Beastly Bride and Swords & Dark Magic are on my shelf. Lou Anders' "With Great Power" has been retitled to "Masked" and I'm still very much looking forward to that one.

Sympathy for the Devil as well as the "Stories" anthology by Gaiman due next month are still high on my list.

I could add Steampunk Reloaded, by the Vandermeers, due in October, and "Songs of Love and Death" edited by Martin & Dozois, which also looks cool.

[pat5150]

Swords & Dark Magic has been kind of meh so far, mainly due to the fact that I realize that sword & sorcery was fun when I was a teenager but does nothing for me today. . .:(

So far, only the Glen Cook and K. J. Parker pieces were really good, and that's because they're not really sword & sorcery short stories.

I have high hopes for the Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie pieces. . .

Patrick

[Jussi]

Swords & Dark Magic has been kind of meh so far, mainly due to the fact that I realize that sword & sorcery was fun when I was a teenager but does nothing for me today. . .:(

I actually started reading sword & sorcery only five years ago (when I was 25). I discovered such great authors as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock and Karl Edward Wagner.