The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I love fantasy. I would expect that most of the contributors to this site do, to some degree. Of course, it can be a difficult thing to find a place to start, but then it might be good to begin with short stories rather than jumping headfirst into long novels. With that in mind, I would suggest the Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories as a primer on the range and technique of fantasy. I loved reading this book, getting multiple voices from both well-known and out-of-print tales that cover a large chunk of the genre's contemporary history. Of course, this book itself is now out of print, but if you happen to have a copy in your local library, like I did, I would strongly recommend picking it up to get a sense of what I try to talk about on the blog. There are also some cheap used copies available at the moment on Amazon. Here's the link to the page:

https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Book-Fantasy-Stories/dp/019214216X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484260220&sr=1-1&keywords=the+oxford+book+of+fantasy+stories

To further whet your appetite, here are my own personal descriptions of the stories' synopses. I've tried to stay relatively spoiler-free to entice you to check it out yourself.



"The Demon Pope" (1888) by Richard Garnett – The Devil trades places with a new pope...and discovers that clerical officials are not as pious as they may seem.

"The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" (1908) by Lord Dunsany – An evil sorcerer has returned to plague the dreams of a neighboring village, so a fearless warrior seeks out the sword which alone can kill the villain and his enchanted fortress.

"Through the Dragon Glass" (1917) by A. Merritt – During the plunder of the Forbidden City in China, one of the soldiers discovers a peculiar mirror which acts as a doorway to an ancient world, where he finds both true love and deep terror.

"The Nameless City" (1921[?]) by H. P. Lovecraft – Deep in the Arabic regions, a lone wanderer comes upon an ancient accursed city which one housed an ancient inhuman race – one which might not be so extinct as believed...

"The Wind in the Portico" (1928) by John Buchan – In researching some ancient Greek manuscripts, a man becomes suspicious of the strange building which his host has built adjacent to his house, where old rituals may still by practiced.

"The Tower of the Elephant" (1933) by Robert E. Howard – Conan, the Cimmerian warrior, seeks to conquer a mysterious tower in which a great jewel is claimed to reside. What he finds is a story of an ancient being enslaved by man, waiting for both freedom from bonds and revenge on its captor.

"Xeethra" (1934) by Clark Ashton Smith – A young goatherd stumbles into an enchanted valley, where the strange fruit of the trees awakens memories of another life as ruler of an ancient city. How far will he go, then, to reclaim that life?

"Jirel Meets Magic" (1935) by C. L. Moore – Seeking vengeance on a sorcerer, warrior-woman Jirel of Joiry enters the domain of a wily enchantress, where her defiance may bring either her own downfall or that of the cruel mistress.

"The Bleak Shore" (1940) by Fritz Leiber – Sword companions Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are called to the ends of the earth to seek their own deaths. Do they have what it takes to break their enchantment?

"Homecoming" (1947) by Ray Bradbury – A great Halloween family reunion is underway, and little Timothy is the odd man out. He so wishes to fit in, but it isn't his fault that he doesn't have wings or a taste for blood...

"See You Later" (1949) by Henry Kuttner – An ornery curmudgeon wants to get even with the whole world, and, due to a mishap, the Hogben family is obliged to help. However, they have a special surprise for such a mean old man.

"Liane the Wayfarer" (1950) by Jack Vance – An adventurer of questionable character tries to make a lover out of a witch and is subsequently drafted into stealing the other half of a magic tapestry. It seems simple enough, and he has enough enchantment of his own to protect himself from the guardian of the tapestry...doesn't he?

"The Desrick on Yandro" (1952) by Manly Wade Wellman – Silver John the balladeer is coaxed into helping a man find the abode on the mountaintop where his grandfather once abandoned his bride-to-be...and she's been waiting ever since.

"The Silken-Swift..." (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon – One woman uses a man wantonly out of spite. Another woman attends a small pond where the unicorn drinks. The man challenges the first woman to capture the unicorn to prove her purity, if she has any. Which shall the unicorn choose?

"Operation Afreet" (1956) by Poul Anderson – During the Second World War against the Islamic Caliphate, two conscripted officers – a werewolf and a witch, respectively – are tasked with breaking into occupied territory and securing the afreet [ifrit] which the enemy plans to unleash against the other magic divisions.

"The Singular Events Which Occurred in the Hovel on the Alley Off of Eye Street" (1962) by Avram Davidson – During the coronation of the new president of the country in 1961, "the year when the dragons were so bad," a member of Alchymy Ltd. of Canada is tested for a new position. The strength of this story (6 pages long) lies in the telling.

"The Sudden Wings" (1962) by Thomas Burnett Swann – Some time after the sack of Jerusalem, two Roman citizens are accompanying their uncle to secure the allegiance of the neighboring land of Petra. A mystical creature known as the Dragonfly becomes enamored of them and offers them a chance at new lives.

"Same Time, Same Place" (1963) by Mervyn Peake – Disenchanted with his home life, a young man runs away to Piccadilly Circus, where he falls in love with a strange woman at a restaurant. He may have stepped into more than he bargained for...

"Timothy" (1966) by Keith Roberts – Young Anita is bored, what with the dreary chores set by her Grandma, so she decides to have a bit of fun. What better fun for a witch than to bring a neighboring scarecrow to life! Of course, she'll have to build his personality over time – and he may have a bit too much, certainly more than intended...

"The Kings of the Sea" (1968) by Sterling E. Lanier – At an old house in Sweden, Brigadier Donald Ffellowes sees some strange furniture being moved. A subsequent strange encounter at a lake leads him to the master of the house and the discovery of a strange pact between old Viking ancestors and the original denizens of the land who still dwell there.

"Not Long Before the End" (1969) by Larry Niven – A barbarian warrior armed with a magic sword confronts a Warlock for the freedom of a young girl. But all is not as it seems, especially for the Warlock, who possesses a secret that weighs heavily on the future of his world.

"The Wager Lost by Winning" (1970) by John Brunner – After having enslaved an entire village on the eve of a wedding, a selfish lord obsessed with gambling makes a bet with a Traveller in Black, not realizing that the Traveller often grants people's desires at a heavy price.

"Lila the Werewolf" (1974) by Peter S. Beagle – Lila Braun has a strange hang-up: she's a werewolf. What's worse, she has a thing for killing other dogs for their blood. Her partner Farrell is taking it quite well, but one night, Lila is feeling particularly frisky and goes out for a night on the town, in the middle of New York City. Things will happen.

"Johanna" (1978) by Jane Yolen – Johanna's mother is ill. In order to fetch the doctor, she must venture into the wintry woods from which her relatives have never returned. What lies in those regions?

"The Erl-King" (1979) by Angela Carter – The mysterious master of the wood, the Erl-King, entices the nameless narrator to his abode. Is he a beneficial god offering respite or a malevolent deceiver building guilded cages?

"Beyond the Dead Reef" (1983) by James Tiptree, Jr. – An unintentional error in communication nearly leads the narrator to being abandoned out by a dead reef choked by human waste. The narrator's companion then explains how there are things in that reef that aren't so dead after all...living things that should never have been alive in the first place.

"Subworld" (1983) by Phyllis Eisenstein – A blind man selling peanuts in the subway strikes up a friendship with a young boy and his divorced father. One day, he invites them to share a secret which offers them the chance for escape from the troubles of the world. The father is hesitant, but the son is all too eager...

"Bite-Me-Not or Fleur de Fur" (1984) by Tanith Lee – A scullery maid is noted for being similar in appearance to the reigning duke's deceased daughter. All seems well until she meets the prince of the mountain vampire tribe, whom she is drawn irresistibly to.

"The Night of White Bhairab" (1984) by Lucius Shepard – An Indian collector in Kathmandu has acquired the fireplace of a purportedly haunted house in New England. His English companion and a girl with a shady past are then caught in a conflict between the spirit that dwells within the fireplace and the native spirits guarding their house.

"Thorn" (1986) by Robert Holdstock – During the erection of a new stone church, a local mason is called upon by an old god to secretly carve his likeness into the wall, in order to consecrate the church for the old ways. But is it still a secret if everybody knows? And why do they know?

"Troll Bridge" (1992) by Terry Pratchett – Cohen the Barbarian wants to defeat a troll at least once in his life. What he finds is just another poor soul struggling to make due in an ever-shrinking world.

[Raven]

Some of these stories sound really good. I don't often read short stories but I'd like to read the one about the guy who wants to conquer a troll, at the very least.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

"Troll Bridge" is actually one of my favorites, and I'll definitely be talking about Pratchett soon on the blog. Actually, Lee's "Fleur-de-Fur" and Shepard's "The Night of White Bhairab" may be my least favorites, as I sort of felt like I was forcing myself to read them. They just didn't flow like some of the others - it's not that they weren't well written, but they just weren't my preference, for some reason. If I were to pick some of my other favorites, in no particular order, I'd go with:

-"The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth"
-"The Tower of the Elephant"
-"The Desrick on Yandro"
-"Same Time, Same Place"
-"Homecoming"
-"Liane the Wayfarer"
-"The Bleak Shore"
-"Operation Afreet"
-"The Sudden Wings"
-"Jirel Meets Magic"

I really liked all of them, so I could end up repeating the entire list, but if I have to split hairs, these are the ones that stick with me the most - the ones that simply flowed and I remember/understand the best. If you don't have it in your library, I would suggest picking up a copy really soon before it gets too expensive. You don't have to read it right away - I know you're busy - but it wouldn't hurt to have it around.

[Raven]

Ah, my friend, there are many things I'd like to purchase -- but unfortunately I'm on a tight budget. I don't often have the luxury of purchasing something just in case. Oh well! Sounds like a good collection and I can always get it on interlibrary loan if need be.

Sorry if I've asked you before, but have you ever seen the Norwegian film, Trollhunter (2010)?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I thought you might go for the $0.99 one - plus shipping and handling, it wouldn't be too expensive. But I get it.

In the case of the movie, no, I haven't seen it yet. I believe it's on Netflix, but like many of those movies, I haven't made the time to get to it. I'll keep it in mind, though.

[Raven]

Hmm, at that price, I might spring for it. I didn't look before, kinda just had regular book prices in my head. I've got to order school textbooks tonight and will take a look at what shipping and handling would be.

The movie is a ton of fun, or at least I thought so.