Search Worlds Without End

A potpourri of poetry and amazing tales that cross genre borders, between fantasy, horror, noir, science fiction, and more, from the legendary Poul Anderson and his wife, Karen Anderson

Lyrical and beautiful, enchanting and strange, exhilarating and horrific, this extraordinary collaboration between science fiction-fantasy luminary Poul Anderson and his equally creative wife, Karen, almost defies description. Combining their extraordinary talents, the Andersons have produced a sumptuous feast of the written word--stories that delight, move, and disturb, mixed with rich, sumptuous poetry that soars.

A truly stunning collection, The Unicorn Trade transports readers to places at once uniquely strange and strangely familiar--magical fairy realms, the far reaches of outer space, and the twisted minds of madmen. Stories of love, loss, and self-discovery are met with soaring verse that celebrates the human spirit and the wonders of the universe. Here are unforgettable bounding leaps of the imagination, where detective noir is ingeniously reimagined, and tales of Edgar Allan Poe-like suspense stand side by side with poignant tributes to the men who led us to the stars. Real treasures are to be found here--a hungry Olympian god's interactions with a divine computer, a murdered man's shrewd revenge, an Earthling's con game on an unsuspecting Martian visitor, and other such flights of inventive fancy--in a sterling compendium of stories, poems, and science fiction haikus (scifaiku) as bright as starshine and more magical and enduring than fairy gold.

Table of Contents:

• The Unicorn Trade - (1971) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Fairy Gold - novelette by Poul Anderson
• Ballade of an Artificial Satellite - (1958) - poem by Poul Anderson
• The Innocent Arrival - (1958) - novelette by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Six Haiku - (1962) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Haiku for Mars - poem by Karen Anderson
• Think of a Man - (1965) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Dead Phone - (1964) - novelette by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Bela Lugosi: 1883-1956 - poem by Karen Anderson
• The Kitten - (1976) - novelette by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Apollo 1: January 27, 1967 - poem by Karen Anderson
• Planh on the Death of Willy Ley: June 23, 1969 - (1969) - poem by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson and Tim Courtney
• Murphy's Hall - (1971) - shortstory by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Single Jeopardy - (1958) - shortstory by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• In Memoriam: Henry Kuttner - (1958) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Cyril M. Kornbluth - poem by Karen Anderson
• A Feast for the Gods - (1971) - novelette by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Theoretical Progress - (1964) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Investigation of Galactic Ethnology - (1964) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Look Up - (1965) - poem by Karen Anderson
• The Sky of Space - (1963) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Cosmic Concepts - (1961) - poem by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Extract From the English Edition of a Guide Michelin - (1973) - shortstory by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Robert A. Heinlein - poem by Karen Anderson
• Treaty in Tartessos - (1963) - shortstory by Karen Anderson
• A Philosophical Dialogue - (1971) - shortstory by Poul Anderson
• Professor James - (1965) - poem by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson
• Landscape With Sphinxes - (1962) - shortstory by Karen Anderson
• Alpha, Beta - poem by Karen Anderson
• A Blessedness of Saints - (1962) - essay by Poul Anderson
• Origin of the Species - (1958) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Conjunction (Venus and Jupiter, February 1975) - poem by Karen Anderson
• Adonis Recovered - poem by Karen Anderson
• The Piebald Hippogriff - (1962) - shortstory by Karen Anderson
• The Coasts of Faerie - shortstory by Karen Anderson
• Shanidar IV - poem by Karen Anderson

Unicorns: Not just for virgins anymore. Here are sixteen lovely, powerful, intricate, and unexpected unicorn tales from fantasy icons including Garth Nix, Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, Bruce Coville, Carrie Vaughn, and more. In this volume you will find two would-be hunters who enlist an innkeeper to find a priest hiding the secret of the last unicorn. A time traveler tries to corral an unruly mythological beast that might never have existed at all. The lover and ex-boyfriend of a dying woman join forces to find a miraculous remedy in New York City. And a small-town writer of historical romances discovers a sliver of a mysterious horn in a slice of apple pie.

Table of Contents:

• "The Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory" Carlos Hernandez
• "The Brew" Karen Joy Fowler
• "Falling Off the Unicorn" David D. Levine and Sara A. Mueller
• "A Hunter's Ode to His Bait" Carrie Vaughn
• "Ghost Town" Jack C. Haldeman II
• "A Thousand Flowers" Margo Lanagan
• "The Maltese Unicorn" Caitlín R. Kiernan
• "Stampede of Light" Marina Fitch
• "The Highest Justice" Garth Nix
• "The Lion and the Unicorn" A. C. Wise
• "Survivor" Dave Smeds
• "Homeward Bound" Bruce Coville
• "Unicorn Triangle" Patricia A. McKillip
• "My Son Heydari and the Karkadann" Peter S. Beagle
• "Unicorn Series" Nancy Springer

Since 1968, Peter S. Beagle's classic, The Lost Unicorn, has captured the hearts and imaginations of more than 1 million readers. At last. Beogle has reunited with the fabulous mythical creature in this massive original anthology featuring 30 bestselling writers.

Table of Contents:

• Preface - (1995) - essay by Janet Berliner
• Foreword - (1995) - essay by Peter S. Beagle
• Sea Dreams - (1995) - shortstory by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
• Old One-Antler - (1995) - shortstory by Michael Armstrong
• Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros - (1995) - novelette by Peter S. Beagle
• The Same But Different - (1995) - shortstory by Janet Berliner
• Big Dogs, Strange Days - (1995) - shortstory by Edward Bryant
• Gilgamesh Recidivus - (1995) - shortstory by P. D. Cacek
• Seven for a Secret - (1995) - shortstory by Charles de Lint
• What the Eye Sees, What the Heart Feels - (1995) - shortstory by Robert Devereaux
• Stampede of Light - (1995) - shortstory by Marina Fitch
• The Brew - (1995) - shortstory by Karen Joy Fowler
• Mirror of Lop Nor - (1995) - novelette by George Guthridge
• The Hunt of the Unicorn - (1995) - shortstory by Ellen Kushner
• The Devil on Myrtle Ave. - (1995) - novelette by Eric Van Lustbader
• Winter Requiem - (1995) - shortstory by Michael Marano
• Daughter of the Tao - (1995) - shortstory by Lisa Mason
• A Rare Breed - (1995) - novelette by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
• A Plague of Unicorns - (1995) - shortstory by Robert Sheckley
• Taken He Cannot Be - (1995) - shortstory by Will Shetterly
• The Tenth Worthy - (1995) - novelette by Susan Shwartz
• Survivor - (1995) - novelette by Dave Smeds
• A Thief in the Night - (1995) - shortstory by S. P. Somtow
• Dame à La Licorne - (1995) - shortstory by Judith Tarr
• Convergence - (1995) - shortstory by Lucy Taylor
• Half-Grandma - (1995) - shortstory by Melanie Tem
• The Trouble with Unicorns - (1995) - shortstory by Nancy Willard
• Three Duets for Virgin and Nosehorn - (1995) - novelette by Tad Williams
• We Blazed - (1995) - novelette by Dave Wolverton

A misfit 13-year-old girl, Joey Rivera, hears mysterious music and encounters an even more mysterious boy who calls himself Indigo. Thus begins a quest that leads Joey to the faerie land of Shei'rah, source of the music and home of the Old Ones, unicorns who are menaced by blindness.

Indigo is a unicorn who has preferred to remain in our world in human form, but he helps Josephine to take her grandmother to Shei'rah and to cure the plague of blindness. The story is slight, but the characterizations are grand, enhanced by graceful prose laced with exquisite detail, and through both literary creativity and folkloric expertise where unicorns are concerned. The return to unicorns and the massive promotional effort behind the novel should put Beagle's name before the public in a way that it has deserved to be for many years.

-- Publishers Weekly

Includes eleven full-color illustrations by Robert Rodriguez.

Unicorns roam the uplands of Libby Quarrels' mountain ranch. When Libby takes the AIDS-afflicted Bo Gavin out of exile in Atlanta to live with her in Colorado, she sees no connection between his disease and the fantastic secret she guards. But it so happens the unicorns suffer from an ugly, implacable plague of their own, and the parallel world that touches the high country has unleashed magic sinister as well as marvelous. While Libby's Indian ranch hand Sam is stalked by his wife's headless ghost, his estranged daughter has visions that propel her toward the grueling Sun Dance ritual, where an encounter with the spirit world may decide the fate of both the unicorns and the people whose lives they've touched.

It's the epic battle of brains against manes. Which side are you on?

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? This all-original anthology edited by Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie) makes strong arguments for both sides in the form of spectacular short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns, and half show the good (and really, really badass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan.

This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
• The Highest Justice - short story by Garth Nix
• Love Will Tear Us Apart - novelette by Alaya Dawn Johnson
• The Purity Test - short story by Naomi Novik
• Bougainvillea - novelette by Carrie Ryan
• A Thousand Flowers - novelette by Margo Lanagan
• The Children of the Revolution - novelette by Maureen Johnson
• The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn - novelette by Diana Peterfreund
• Inoculata - novelette by Scott Westerfeld
• Princess Prettypants - novelette by Meg Cabot
• Cold Hands - short story by Cassandra Clare
• The Third Virgin - novelette by Kathleen Duey
• Prom Night - novelette by Libba Bray

Nebula Award winning and World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in the anthology New Dimensions 11 (1980), edited by Robert Silververg and Martha Randall. It can also be found in the anthologies Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Tenth Annual Collection (1981), edited by Gardner Dozois, Fantasy Annual IV (1981) edited by Terry Carr, Nebula Award Stories Sixteen (1982), edited by Jerry Pournell and John F. Carr, Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Fantasy Novels (1984), edited by Charles G. Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg and Isaac Asimov and Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction (1997) edited by Leonard Wolf. The story is included in the collections Music of the Night (2001) and Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms (2004).

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1999. The story can also be found in the collection Death and the Librarian and Other Stories (2002).

Nebula Award winning novelette. It originally appeared in the anthology Graven Images (1977) edited by Edward L. Ferman and Barry N. Malzberg. It can also be found in the anthology Nebula Winners Fourteen (1980), edited by Frederik Pohl. It is included in the collections A Glow of Candles and Other Stories (1981) and Scream Quietly: The Best of Charles L. Grant (2012).

This short story originally appeared in the collection The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria (2016), and was reprinted in Lightspeed, June 2017. It can also be found in the anthology The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017, edited by Rich Horton.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

Greenwich Village was a model of decorum compared to what went down when the BLIP hit the cosmic fan - and scattered all time, space and sanity to the fourteen dimensions.

Mike and Chester - fearless hippy explorers of a thousand incredible worlds - find that even their legendary powers are dwarfed by...

• The most beautiful girl in the universe.
• The fire snorting dragonettes.
• The magic hash pipe.
• The last unicorn.
• The mean metal tanks.
• The assorts freaks and fuzz.

From demon-haunted France to the High Crusades, The Wandering Unicorn will take you on a magical dangerous journey with the legendary Melusine, an enchanting half-woman, half-fairy who alters her shape as startlingly as this book will alter your imagination.

Open these pages and discover 14 remarkable stories of fantasy by a grand master of the genre. A wonderful writer, as well as successful and beloved by fans across the world, Anne McCaffrey has created an exciting collection of telepaths, secret gifts, dangerous missions, dragonriders, and more.

Table of Contents:

• "Lady in the Tower" (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 1959)
• "A Meeting of Minds" (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1969)
• "Daughter" (The Many Worlds of Science Fiction, October 1971)
• "Dull Drums" (Future Quest, September 1973)
• "Changeling" (original to this collection)
• "Weather on Welladay" (Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1969)
• "The Thorns of Barevi" (The Disappearing Future: A Symposium of Speculation, 1970)
• "Horse from a Different Sea" (original to this collection)
• "The Great Canine Chorus" (Infinity One, January 1970)
• "Finder's Keeper" (The Haunt of Horror, August 1973)
• "A Proper Santa Claus" (Demon Kind, March 1973)
• "The Smallest Dragonboy" (Science Fiction Tales, 1973)
• "Apple" (Crime Prevention in the 30th Century, 1969)
• "Honeymoon" (original to this collection)

Short story collection:

• "Essay on Sturgeon" by Groff Conklin
• "The Silken-Swift"
• "The Professor's Teddy-Bear"
• "Bianca's Hands"
• "Saucer of Loneliness"
• "The World Well Lost"
• "It Wasn't Syzygy"
• "The Music"
• "Scars"
• "Fluffy"
• "The Sex Opposite"
• "Die, Maestro, Die!"
• "Cellmate"
• "A Way of Thinking"

This novella was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction, September/October 2021.

Read the full story for free at Asimov's.

Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, June 8, 1981. The story can also be found in the anthologies Unicorns! (1982) edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois and The Best Science Fiction of the Year #11 (1982), edited by Terry Carr. It is included in the collection Endangered Species (1989).

Hugo Award winning novelette. It originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, April 13, 1981. the story can also be found in the anthologies Unicorns! (1982) edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, Pawn to Infinity (1982), edited by Fred and Joan Saberhagen, The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 8 (1982) edited by Arthur W. Saha, The Hugo Winners, Volume 5: (1980-82) (1986), edited by Isaac Asimov, and The Fantasy Hall of Fame (1998), edited by Robert Silverberg. It is included in the collections Unicorn Variations (1983) and Last Exit to Babylon (2009).

Collection of short works includes an introduction by the author and:

• Unicorn Variation (1981)
• The Last of the Wild Ones [Sam Murdock] (1981)
• Recital (1981)
• The Naked Matador (1981)
• The Parts That Are Only Glimpsed: Three Reflexes (1978, essay)
• Dismal Light [Francis Shadow] (1968)
• Go Starless in the Night (1979)
• But Not the Herald (1965)
• A Hand Across the Galaxy (1967)
• The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current (1976)
• Home is the Hangman[Nemo] (1975)
• Fire and/or Ice (1980)
• Exeunt Omnes (1980)
• A Very Good Year... (1979)
• My Lady of the Diodes (1970)
• And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee (1981)
• The Horses of Lir (1981)
• The Night Has 999 Eyes (1964)
• Angel, Dark Angel (1967)
• Walpurgisnacht (1981)
• The George Business (1980)
• Some Science Fiction Parameters: A Biased View (1975, essay)

Robbed of lands and heritage by the rapacious Vulkings, young Airar Alvarson had only his limited gift for sorcery to aid him against a world of savage intrigues. Then he met a mysterious sorcerer and was given a strange iron ring -- a ring that led him into a futile conspiracy and soon had him fleeing for his life.

Driven by enchantments and destiny, he found himself leading a band of warriors against the mighty empire of the Vulkings. With him was a warrior maid who mocked him while she sought to serve by fair means or foul. Then he met the Imperial Princess who preached the peace of the Well but it soon became apparent she would bring him only turmoil and strife!

It's 8:35 pm on New Year's Eve, and Private Detective John Justin Mallory is hiding out in his Manhattan office to avoid his landlord's persistent inquiries about the unpaid rent. As he cheerlessly reflects on the passing of a lousy year, which saw his business partner run off with his wife, he assumes the bourbon is responsible for the appearance of a belligerent elf. This elf informs him that he needs the detective's help in searching for a unicorn that was stolen from his charge.

When Mallory realises the little green fellow is not going to disappear with the passing of his inebriation, he listens to the elf's impassioned plea that the stolen magical beast must be returned to his care by daylight or his little green life will be forfeited by the elves' guild.

Join detective Mallory on a New Year's night of wild adventure in a fantasy Manhattan of leprechauns, gnomes, and harpies as he matches wits with the all-powerful demon The Grundy in a race to find the missing unicorn before time runs out!

The combined magic and technology between the parallel worlds of Phaze and Proton is not enough to save the planets from a conquering invasion. Only Mach and Bane--robot and wizard, linked between worlds--have any chance of stopping this threat.

John Willoughby is being pulled between worlds. Or he is going mad, 'riding the unicorn' as his prison officer colleagues would say. It's clear to Willoughby it must be the latter. Disappearing in the middle of his prison shift from among convicts, appearing in a makeshift medieval encampment for minutes before tumbling back to the real world, Willoughby believes his mind is simply breaking apart.

He finds no solace at home, with a wife who has grown to dislike him and a daughter who can barely hide her disgust. He's realised he isn't worth anyone's time, barely even his own, and falls into drinking and violence guaranteed to bring about his downfall. Except in this other world, in this winter land of first-settlers he is a man with a purpose, a man upon whom others must rely. Persuaded to kill a King so as to save a people, Willoughby finds that in another world, with a second chance he may be the kind of man he had always wanted to be after all.

THE LAST MOVES IN THE UNIVERSAL GAME

A Gaming Magi is ruthlessly pursued through boundless dimensions--while the Dark Lord sits in a dungeon desperately waiting for the return of his errant head... the lucious Princess turns a key that unlockis unseemly trouble too hot to handle... and the eager young Hero colledts kisses and blows with equal rapidity. Only then does a reincarnated unicorn return to the land of myth and the most dreadful monsters slide, crawl, slither, and flap to the ultimate confrontation... and the Magi dice begin one eternally decisive roll...

THE UNICORN GAMBIT

A fabulous collection of unicorn stories and poems, with both medieval and modern settings, weaves the author's imaginative perspective into traditional unicorn lore about the fabled beast's healing powers and quintessential goodness.

Table of Contents:

• The Making of a Unicorn - (1994) - poem
• Unicorn Tapestry - (1994) - shortstory
• Death of a Unicorn - (1984) - poem
• An Infestation of Unicorns - (1994) - shortstory
• The Lady's Garden - (1994) - shortstory
• The Hunting of the Narwhale - (1994) - poem
• The Boy Who Drew Unicorns - (1988) - shortstory
• The Promise - (1977) - shortstory
• The Hunt - (1994) - shortfiction
• The Unicorn Leaves - (1994) - poem
• De Natura Unicorni - (1994) - shortstory
• The Unicorn's Pool - (1994) - poem
• The Unicorn and the Pool - (1994) - shortfiction
• A Visitor's Account - (1994) - poem
• The Healing Horn - (1994) - shortstory
• Rhinoceros - (1959) - poem
• Li Po and the Unicorn - (1994) - shortstory
• Fossils - (1994) - poem

This novelette originally appeared in the anthology Zombies Vs. Unicorns (2010), edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier. It can also be found in the anthology The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Five (2011), edited by Jonathan Strahan.

The Land is Wounded.

Shadowlands monsters mass on the edges of Rokugan. The Crab Clan, long vigilant in battling them, seems unable or unwilling to stop the demonic onslaught.

But from an unlikely quarter, a hero arises. She will lead her forces in a battle that will rend the world: The Battle at Beiden Pass.

A year had passed since Ben Holiday bought the Magic Kingdon from the wizard, Meeks. But unbeknownst to him, he has been the victim of a trap by Meeks, who has succeeded in stealing the Paladin and appropriating his face. Suddenly none of Ben's friends know him, but all of his enemies do. He must win it all back again--only this time on his own!

Accepting the responsibilities as ruler to the world of Amber, Corwin finds himself the target of sibling treachery, and must seek guidance in a land of visions, where a sinister prediction foretells his doom.

Contents:

• Introduction to Avram Davidson's "The Spoor of the Unicorn" - (1982) - essay by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
• The Spoor of the Unicorn - (1982) - essay by Avram Davidson
• The Silken-Swift - (1953) - short story by Theodore Sturgeon
• Eudoric's Unicorn - (1977) - short story by L. Sprague de Camp
• The Flight of the Horse - (1969) - short story by Larry Niven
• On the Downhill Side - (1972) - short story by Harlan Ellison
• The Night of the Unicorn - (1975) - short story by Thomas Burnett Swann
• Mythological Beast - (1979) - short story by Stephen R. Donaldson
• The Final Quarry - (1970) - novelette by Eric Norden
• Elfleda - (1981) - short story by Vonda N. McIntyre
• The White Donkey - (1980) - short story by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Unicorn Variation - (1981) - novelette by Roger Zelazny
• The Sacrifice - (1982) - short story by Gardner Dozois
• The Unicorn - (1952) - short story by Frank Owen
• The Woman the Unicorn Loved - (1981) - novelette by Gene Wolfe
• The Forsaken - (1982) - short story by Beverly Evans
• The Unicorn - (1939) - short fiction by T. H. White
• Selected Bibliography - (1982) - uncredited

Contents:

• Preface - (1992) - essay by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann
• The Calling of Paisley Coldpony - (1988) - novelette by Michael Bishop
• Unicornucopia - (1992) - short story by Lawrence Watt-Evans
• he Black Horn - (1984) - novelette by Jack Dann
• The Hole in Edgar's Hillside - (1991) - short story by Gregory Frost
• The Hunting of Death: The Unicorn - (1984) - novella by Tanith Lee
• Stalking the Unicorn with Gun and Camera - (1986) - short story by Mike Resnick
• The Boy Who Drew Unicorns - (1988) - short story by Jane Yolen
• Ghost Town - (1992) - short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II
• The Stray - (1987) - short story by Gardner Dozois and Susan Casper
• The Shade of Lo Man Gong - (1988) - short story by William F. Wu
• The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn - (1988) - short story by Patricia C. Wrede
• Naked Wish-Fulfillment - (1989) - novelette by Janet Kagan
• Selected Bibliography - (1992) - uncredited

The Last Unicorn is one of the true classics of fantasy, ranking with Tolkien's The Hobbit, Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy, and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Beagle writes a shimmering prose-poetry, the voice of fairy tales and childhood:

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

The unicorn discovers that she is the last unicorn in the world, and sets off to find the others. She meets Schmendrick the Magician--whose magic seldom works, and never as he intended--when he rescues her from Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival, where only some of the mythical beasts displayed are illusions. They are joined by Molly Grue, who believes in legends despite her experiences with a Robin Hood wannabe and his unmerry men. Ahead wait King Haggard and his Red Bull, who banished unicorns from the land.

This is a book no fantasy reader should miss; Beagle argues brilliantly the need for magic in our lives and the folly of forgetting to dream.

Nebula-winning and Hugo- and World Fantasy-nominated Novelette

"Two Hearts" is a novelette written by Peter S. Beagle in 2004 as a coda to The Last Unicorn (1968), despite his decades-long reluctance to continue the original story.

A young girl named Sooz lives in a village plagued by a griffin. The beast has preyed on the village's sheep and goats for years, but recently it has started killing children as well. Sooz embarks on a quest to recruit the King to save her village, and on the way runs into Schmendrick and Molly Grue from The Last Unicorn.

Read this story online for free at the author's website.

The Last Unicorn is one of fantasy's most revered classics, beloved by generations of readers and with millions of copies in print. Revisiting the world of that novel, Beagle's long-awaited Hugo and Nebula-Awards-winning "Two Hearts" introduced the irrepressible Sooz on a quest to save her village from a griffin, and explored the bonds she formed with unforgettable characters like the wise and wonderful Molly Grue and Schmendrick the Magician.

In the never-before-published "Sooz," the events of "Two Hearts" are years behind its narrator, but a perilous journey lies ahead of her, in a story that is at once a tender meditation on love and loss, and a lesson in finding your true self.

The Way Home is suffused with Beagle's wisdom, profound lyricism, and sly wit; and collects two timeless works of fantasy.

A queen, a pilgrim, a demon - and a king with a world to save.

Beneath every beloved legend there is a deeper legend still, etched in ancient stone. The Dragon and the Unicorn begins before the beginning of Time, as light first cools to matter, bearing within it the electron glow of lost Heaven. Attanasio's epic tale of a quest for immortality spans all history, human and demihuman, from the dung fires on the steppes to the snows of the Himalayas, from the mudhut cities on the Euphrates to the glass and steel towers of tomorrow, from the hunt for the Unicorn's horn to the ceaseless wars of elf and dragon, Celt and Roman. It is a quest that ends - and begins - in a legend-heavy place at the edge of the Western Sea, with the first cry of a King new born. A place called Tintagel. A King, the heir Pendragon, called Eagle of Thor, or... Arthur.

Humanity joining the intergalactic community has been a disaster for Bala, the magical creatures of the galaxy: they've been exploited, enslaved and ground down for parts. Now the Century Summit is approaching, when humans will be judged by godlike aliens.

When Jenny Perata, disabled Maori shuttle captain, is contracted to take a shipment to the summit, she must enlist half-unicorn Gary Cobalt, whose horn powers faster-than-light travel. But he's just been released from prison, for murdering the wife of Jenny's co-pilot, Cowboy Jim... When the Reason regime suddenly enact laws making Bala property, Jenny's ship becomes the last hope for magic.

Reasonspace is in shambles after the disappearance of all magical creatures. Without faster-than-light travel, supply and communication routes have dried up, leaving humankind stranded and starving. Cowboy Jim and his complement of Reason soldiers search for the relocated Bala using the only surviving FTL drive. On their new utopian planet, the Bala are on the brink of civil war between those who want peace under old-fashioned unicorn rule and those who seek revenge on their human oppressors. Only Captain Jenny and her new brain parasite can stop the Reason plan to enslave the Bala again.

Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin. Cover art by Gary Ruddell. Cover: Tempus battles a hawk-mask.

The world's top fantasy writers spin stories and loop the loop with each other's characters in Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, the second collection in this unique anthology series set in the amazing city of Sanctuary, where you can enjoy the quiet elegance of Ambrosia House; sample bizarre pleasures at the House of Whips; sip ale in the Vulgar Unicorn, and listen to some of the most strange, dangerous, magical and deadly tales ever told...

Philip José Farmer, A.E. Van Vogt, Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey, Janet Morris, David Drake and Andrew J. Offutt have dreamed up a world of wonders -- a fabulous reading adventure!

Contents:

• Introduction by Robert Asprin
• Spiders of the Purple Mage by Philip José Farmer
• Goddess by David Drake
• The Fruir of Enlibar by Lynn Abbey
• The Dream of the Sorceress by A.E. van Vogt
• Vashanka's Minion by Janet Morris
• Shadow's Pawn by Andrew J. Offutt
• To Guard the Guardians by Robert Asprin
• Essay: The Lighter Side of Sanctuary by Robert Asprin

Nobody knew where it had come from, or what it wanted. Not even Jaive, the sorceress, could fathom the mystery of the fabled beast. But Tanaquil, Jaive's completely unmagical daughter, understood it at once. She knew why the unicorn was there: It had come for her. It needed her. Tanaquil was amazed because she was the girl with no talent for magic. She could only fiddle with broken bits of machinery and make them work again. What could she do for a unicorn?

Tanaquil, a young mender, and her familiar come face to face with her half-sister, Lizra, who forces Tanaquil to make a perilous choice between siding with Lizra in her quest for conquest or risking her terrible anger.

The enchanting, magical sequel to The Black Unicorn and The Gold Unicorn!After several years traveling, Tanaquil -- a sorceress like her mother with the ability to mend -- returns home only to discover that her true love has been betrothed to her sister, Empress Lizra. Broken-hearted and jealous of her sister's happiness, Tanaquil is lured by a red unicorn into a mirror world where she encounters Tanakil, a diabolical version of herself. She discovers also several new powers. Powers she will need to foil Tanakil's sinister plot of revenge.

A fantasy masterpiece set in the English countryside of two young women in charge of their own future by the co-creator of "Thieves' World." Wolves are loose in the English countryside. A dying monarch cannot enforce the laws, and his heirs are circling like vultures. The small castle that is Hafwynder Manor is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a mysterious young stranger, too badly wounded to explain his plans. The forces of 11th century history invade Hafwynder Manor. Its safety - and perhaps the fate of all England - many depend on the deeds of the blond, impulsive Alison and her sister, the dark-haired and cunning Wildecent. With the forces of the outside world raging at the castle the two young women must learn to shape their own destiny!

The fate of eleventh-century England depends on two sisters--the compulsive Alison and the crafty Wildecent--as the dark forces of the outside world invade Malfwynder Manor.

UK title: The Green Man

The Were Riders wore the shape of men but they were not human.The price of their aid was thirteen beautiful maidens to be taken a brides. This is the story of one of them.