Some of the Best from Tor.com 2013 (It’s free!)

The 2013 edition of Some of the Best from Tor.com will contain twenty-one stories from Tor.com and will be available world-wide as a single, easy to read, free mini ebook from all ebook retailers. It includes my Liverpool-set story, “Rag and Bone”.

It’s out on November 5th but can be pre-ordered now by Kindle users.

All the stories were acquired and edited for Tor.com by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Ellen Datlow (THANKS ELLEN!), Ann VanderMeer, Liz Gorinsky, George R. R. Martin, Noa Wheeler, Melissa Frain, and Claire Eddy. Each story is accompanied by an original illustration, which I think are fantastic (see below).

Contents

“A Rumor of Angels” by Dale Bailey
“The Too-Clever Fox” by Leigh Bardugo
“Thief of War” by Beth Bernobich
“A Window or a Small Box” by Jedediah Berry
“Contains Multitudes” by Ben Burgis
“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” by John Chu
“Old Dead Futures” by Tina Connolly
“The Elephant in the Room” by Paul Cornell
“Lawful Interception” by Cory Doctorow
“Wakulla Springs” by Andy Duncan and Ellen Klages
“A Terror” by Jeff Ford
“The Hanging Game” by Helen Marshall
“In the Greenwood” by Mari Ness (upcoming)
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
“Burning Girls” by Veronica Schanoes
“Rag and Bone” by Priya Sharma
“Equoid” by Charles Stross
“Sing” by Karin Tidbeck
“Terrain” by Genevieve Valentine
“The Best We Can” by Carrie Vaughn
“Super Bass” by Kai Ashante Wilson

Best of Tor.com 2013: Why You Should Read These Stories is a post of minireviews of each story by Carl Engle-Laird.

The thing that Charles Dickens did best, out of all the many things he did really quite well, was creating a portrait of young people who have fallen through the cracks of a society that does not want to help them. He created a world of poverty and hunger that felt both real and desperate, in a way that shaped how we view his era. “Rag and Bone“ inhabits Dickens’ world of grime and debasement, but integrates technological elements that feel almost futuristic. The rich families of Liverpool have the technology and power to use the poor for replacement parts. Sharma portrays a world where the poor can’t afford to maintain the sanctity of their own bodies, their own bones. It’s truly chilling. Carl Engle-Laird

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales, edited by Paula Guran and published by Prime Books is now out.

Eighteen extraordinary authors devise all-new fairy tales: imaginative reinterpretations of the familiar, evocative new myths, speculations beyond the traditional realm of “once upon a time.” Often dark, occasionally humorous, always enthralling, these entertaining stories find a certain Puss in a near-future New York, an empress bargaining with a dragon, a princess turned into a raven, a king’s dancing daughters with powerful secrets, great heroism, terrible villainy, sparks of mischief, and a great deal more. Brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares with meaning for today and tomorrow…

“The Giant In Repose” by Nathan Ballingrud
“Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me” by Christopher Barzak
“Tales That Fairies Tell” by Richard Bowes
“Warrior Dreams” by Cinda Williams Chima
“Blanchefleur” by Theodora Goss
“The Road of Needles” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
“Below the Sun Beneath” by Tanith Lee
“The Coin of Heart’s Desire” by Yoon Ha Lee
“Sleeping Beauty of Elista” by Ekaterina Sedia
“Egg” by Priya Sharma
“Lupine” by Nisi Shawl
“Castle of Masks” by Cory Skerry
“Flight” by Angela Slatter
“The Lenten Rose” by Genevieve Valentine
“The Hush of Feathers, the Clamour of Wings” by A.C. Wise
“Born and Bread” by Kaaron Warren
“The Mirror Tells All” by Erzebet YellowBoy
“The Spinning Wheel’s Tale” by Jane Yolen

I am delighted to be included in this original anthology with my offering, “Egg”. A big thanks to Paula Guran.

Available from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes and Noble and to order from your local independent bookshop.