The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales

The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales edited by me and Terri Windling (Viking) is the third in our "mythic fiction" series for Young Adult with crossover to adult readers. The cover art and interior illustrations to each story are by the remarkable Charles Vess, Greenman Press

The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales
Table of Contents
Preface by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Introduction by Terri Windling

One Odd Shoe Pat Murphy

Coyote Woman Carolyn Dunn

Wagers of Gold Mountain Steve Berman

The Listeners Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Realer than You Christopher Barzak

The Fiddler of Bayou Teche Delia Sherman

A Tale for the Short Days Richard Bowes

Friday Night at St. Cecilia's Ellen Klages

The Fortune Teller Patricia A. McKillip

How Raven Made His Bride Theodora Goss

Crow Roads Charles de Lint

The Chamber Music of Animals Katherine Vaz

Uncle Bobs Visits Caroline Stevermer

Uncle Tompa Midori Snyder

Cat of the World Michael Cadnum

Honored Guest Ellen Kushner

Always the Same Story Elizabeth E. Wein

The Señorita and the Cactus Thorn Kim Antieau

Black Rock Blues Will Shetterly

The Constable of Abal Kelly Link

A Reversal of Fortune Holly Black

God Clown Carol Emshwiller

The Other Labyrinth Jedediah Berry

The Dreaming Wind Jeffrey Ford

Kawaku Anansi Walks the World’s Web Jane Yolen

The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change Kij Johnson

Further Reading
The book was released in July and has received some reviews, but disappointingly, for some reason Publishers Weekly and Library Journal did not review it.   

Reading--what I've been up to

While I traveled to and in Japan I brought my usual magazines to toss as read, plus several paperbacks to do the same with. The books I read were:

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (Victor Gollancz) is an entertaining tale about a conspiracy afoot in Victorian England and the stage conjuror who is called up on to save the threatened city of London. The utterly unreliable narrator, the tall, silent titular character, and a cast of the grotesque makes for magical, bloody fun.

Bottom Feeder by B.H. Fingerman (M Press) is a debut novel by a writer better known for his graphic novel writing. A reluctant vampire from Queens, New York is turned at age twenty –seven by an unknown attacker and loses his wife, his home, and his job and forced to make it on his own in his strange new world. His only friend is a total loser he’s known since high school who just won’t let go. Funny, ironic, and ultimately even moving as the guy meets other vampires and see the possible lifestyles he could be “living.”

Remainder by Tom McCarthy (Vintage) is a first novel about a man who received an 8 ½ million pound sterling settlement for an accident in which he almost died. The reader never finds out what actually happened but upon the guy’s recovery, he becomes convinced that he has lost his connection to the world and that the only way he can recover is to recreate a specific living condition that he remembers. Hiring a facilitator, he does this by buying up property and peopling it with hirelings who will follow a specific script that he supplies—on call to his every whim. The pianist upstairs must practice a specific piece of music and when he makes mistakes, he has to practice over and over again. The concierge must stand by the door all day –in a mask—as the employer doesn’t remember the actual face of the original concierge. Black cats must roam the red slate roof across the way. His fraying mind demands that he re-enact scenes that he has viewed in life and his wealth makes it possible to do so. The end result is inevitable—monstrous, terrifying, and in a way funny.

Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas (Solaris) is a “Punktown” novel, and like all of Thomas’s fiction in his world, is absorbing and well told. I love his world building…I was a bit put off at first by some clunkiness in the writing, but ultimately the story carried me along.  A private eye is hired by a rich man to find the missing, very expensive and unique doll that he has bioengineered for his daughter. In the meantime, an abandoned apartment building defends itself by bloodily slaughtering all intruders and a young girl has disappeared.

And started Michael Connolly's Echo Park.

Just before I left I finished William Gibson's remarkable new novel, Spook Country and loved it. It's smart, funny, policially saavy, and possibly one of his most satisfying works.

Anthologies received so far in 2007

Here are the anthologies I've received this year that I have already or  will at least skim for horror:

Thrillers 2                                 ed. Bob Morrish                                   CD galleys

Midnight Premiere                    ed. Tom Piccirilli                                   CD galleys

Triangulation: End of Time         ed. Pete Butcher                                   Parsec

Read by Dawn II                      ed. Adèle Hartley                                 Bloody Books

Zencore!                                  Ed. D.F. Lewis             Megazanthus Press

666: The Number of the Beast                                      Scholastic Point galleys

The Restless Dead                    ed. Deborah Noyes                  Candlewick Press

The New Space opera              ed. Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan Eos

The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet ed. Kelly Link & Gavin Grant Del Rey

At Ease with the Dead              ed. Barbara & Christopher Roden        Ash-Tree Press

Dark Delicacies II: Fear            ed. Del Howison & Jeff Gelb  Carroll & Graf galleys

A Cross of  Centuries               ed. Michael Bishop                   Thunder’s Mouth

The Mammoth Book of Monsters ed. Stephen Jones                             Robinson

Classic Tales of Horror 2          ed. Jonathan Wooding              Bloody Books

Wall Street Noir                       ed. Peter Spiegelman                Akashic

Los Angeles Noir                     ed. Denise Hamilton                  Akashic

Astounding Hero Tales ed. James Lowder                    Hero Games

Places to be, People to Kill       ed. Greenberg/Koner                DAW

Under Cover of Darkness         ed. Czernada / Panicia              DAW

The Secret History of Vampires ed. Darrell Schweitzer  DAW

Pandora’s Closet                      ed. Jean Rabe/Greenber           DAW

Text: Ur                                    ed. Forrest Aguire                    Raw Dog Screaming

Logorrhea                                ed. John Klima             Bantam

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction ed. George Mann                 Solaris 

Wizards                                    ed. Dann/Dozois                                   Berkley

Whispers in the Night                ed Brandon Massey                             Dafina

New Orleans Noir                    ed. Julie Smith                          Akashic Books

Nebula Awards showcase 2007 ed. Mike Resnick                                Roc

Fantasy sampler                        ed. Sean Wallace & Paul Tremblay  Prime

Tattered Souls                          ed. Frank J. Hutton                               Cutting Block Press

Travellers in Darkness   ed. Stephen Jones                     WHConvention book

Waiting for October                  ed. Bill Breedlove                     Dark Arts Books

Horror Library vol II                 ed. R.J. Cavender & V Van Allen Cutting Block Press

Love and Sacrifice                    ed. Robert Pratten                    Zen films

Cover of Darkness                   ed. Tyree Campbell                  Sam’s Dot  

Phantoms at the Phil volume 2                           Side Real/northern Gothic Press

Future Weapons of War                       ed. Joe Haldeman         Baen

Phobic                                      ed. Andy Murray                                  Comma Press

Summer Chills              ed. Stephen Jones                                 C&G

Shadow Plays                           ed. Elise Bunter Griffin Press

Interfictions                               ed  Goss and Sherman Small Beer

Bare Bone #10                         ed. Kevin L. Donihe                 Raw Dog Screaming

Bronx Noir                               ed. S.J. Rozan                                      Akashic

The SFWA European Hall of Fame ed. James & Kathryn Morrow       TOR

Man vs Machine                       ed. Helfers/Greenberg                           DAW 

Army of the Fantastic                ed. Marco/Helfers                                DAW 

Time Twisters                           ed. Rabe/Greenberg                             DAW 

Many Blood Returns                 ed. Charlaine Harris & Toni Kelner       Ace

 

The Black Book ed. Charles Black Mortbury Press

The Parasitorium: Parasitic Sands ed. James Ossuary & Del Stone, Jr.

High Seas Cthulhu ed. William Jones Elder Signs Press

Fate Fantastic ed. Greenberg/Hoyt DAW

Best New Horror 18 Ed Stephen Jones Robinson

Five Strokes to Midnight Hank something Haunted Pelican Press

dislocations ed. Ian Whates NewCon Press

A Dark and Deadly Valley ed. Mike Heffernan Silverthought

In Bad Dreams ed. Mark S. Deniz & Sharyn Lilley Eneit Press

YBFH 2007 #20

Our first reviews for the 20th anniversary volume of YBFH are starred raves from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

Kirkus:
Bring out the bone china--a critically acclaimed fantasy/horror annual celebrates its 20th anniversary in grand style.

Publishers Weekly:
In the two decades since this venerable series was inaugurated, so many ventures have begun to welcome horror and fantasy stories that these dedicated editors play a crucial role in bringing the best new works to fans who don't always read far afield.
.... As the line between fantasy and horror blurs, this combined presentation of their exemplars will give readers of both genres much to enjoy, and may even broaden a few horizons.

Thank you, whoever reviewed the book at PW, for "getting" it.