Leah Bobet

Hiding in an underground refuge with others who possess supernatural abilities, Matthew and Ariel believe they have escaped the harsh Above until an invasion by an old enemy forces them to investigate the mystery of the shadow army takeover and find a way to survive in the outside world. A first novel.

Above

Now that the strange war is over, sixteen-year-old Hallie and her sister struggle to maintain their family farm, waiting to see who will return from the distant battlefield, soon hiring a veteran to help them but, now as ugly truths about their family emerge, the sisters are taking dangerous risks and keeping desperate secrets while monsters and armies converge on the small farm.

An Inheritance of Ashes

A rich and compelling epic fantasy with a touch of the strange, from the author of Above -- now in paperback! The strange war down south -- with its rumours of gods and monsters -- is over. And while 16-year-old Hallie and her sister wait to see who will return from the distant battlefield, they struggle to maintain their family farm. When Hallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home in ways no one could have imagined. Soon Hallie is taking dangerous risks -- and keeping desperate secrets. But even as she slowly learns more about the war and the men who fought it, ugly truths about Hallie's own family are emerging. And while monsters and armies are converging on the small farm, the greatest threat to Hallie's home may be Hallie herself.

Deborah Biancotti

David Sandner

Marie Brennan

Laird Barron

John Grant

Catherynne M. Valente

Tanith Lee

Vandana Singh

Erin Hoffman

John C. Wright

Ekaterina Sedia

Cat Rambo

Cat Sparks

Joanna Galbraith

Michael J. DeLuca

Jennifer Crow

C.S. MacCath

The first volume in the ground-breaking, genre-bending, boundary-pushing Clockwork Phoenix anthology series, newly available in digital format. Includes critically-acclaimed and award-nominated stories by Catherynne M. Valente, David Sandner, John Grant, Cat Rambo, Leah Bobet, Michael J. DeLuca, Laird Barron, Ekaterina Sedia, Cat Sparks, Tanith Lee, Marie Brennan, Jennifer Crow, Vandana Singh, John C. Wright, C.S. MacCath, Joanna Galbraith, Deborah Biancotti and Erin Hoffman. With a whimsical introduction and new afterword by Nebula Award-nominated editor Mike Allen. CONTENTS The City of Blind Delight • Catherynne M. Valente Old Foss Is the Name of His Cat • David Sandner All the Little Gods We Are • John Grant The Dew Drop Coffee Lounge • Cat Rambo Bell, Book and Candle • Leah Bobet The Tarrying Messenger • Michael J. DeLuca The Occultation • Laird Barron There Is a Monster Under Helen's Bed • Ekaterina Sedia Palisade • Cat Sparks The Woman • Tanith Lee A Mask of Flesh • Marie Brennan Seven Scenes from Harrai's 'Sacred Mountain' • Jennifer Crow Oblivion: A Journey • Vandana Singh Choosers of the Slain • John C. Wright Akhila, Divided • C. S. MacCath The Moon-Keeper's Friend • Joanna Galbraith The Tailor of Time • Deborah Biancotti Root and Vein • Erin Hoffman Praise for CLOCKWORK PHOENIX . . . . Selected for the Locus Magazine 2008 Recommended Reading List Author and editor Allen (Mythic) has compiled a neatly packaged set of short stories that flow cleverly and seamlessly from one inspiration to another. In “The City of Blind Delight” by Catherynne M. Valente, a man inadvertently ends up on a train that takes him to an inescapable city of extraordinary wonders. In “All the Little Gods We Are,” Hugo winner John Grant takes a mind trip to possible parallel universes. Modern topics make an appearance among the whimsy and strangeness: Ekaterina Sedia delves into the misunderstandings that occur between cultures and languages in “There Is a Monster Under Helen’s Bed,” while Tanith Lee gleefully skewers gender politics with “The Woman,” giving the reader a glimpse of what might happen if there was only one fertile woman left in a world of men. Lush descriptions and exotic imagery startle, engross, chill and electrify the reader, and all 19 stories have a strong and delicious taste of weird. — Publishers Weekly, May 12, 2008 A very strong first volume … Established writers and new names all are in good form here … A series of great promise. Prospects on the anthology front look ever better. — Locus, July 2008 I would have bought this book for its mysteriously gorgeous cover art alone, but the stellar lineup of contributing writers sold me completely … CLOCKWORK PHOENIX editor Mike Allen describes the anthology as “a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries, that aren’t afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques.” His choices here don’t disappoint. — PhillyBurbs.com Even if you’re not into the genre, this is a welcome read that’ll hopefully strike an emotional chord in you. — Bibliophile Stalker Another “new weird” collection, perhaps? A slipstream opus? Whatever — set somewhere between fantasy, SF, and something else, the stories selected by editor Mike Allen have an unique property: they are never tedious … I highly recommend the book to anyone looking for top-notch fiction irrespective of genre labels. — The Harrow

Tales of Beauty and Strangeness

Clockwork Phoenix

Cécile Cristofari

"We all know that biodiversity is endangered, but our hyper-urban lifestyles are making us so out of touch with the natural world that it's sometimes easier to imagine complete environmental destruction than to look at the environment we still do have. And how can we be expected to protect what we don't even see?" --fiction editor Cécile Cristofari""The little seed you're carrying around, waiting to replant. The spaces cupped full of joy in motion. Something holy in your pocket; a little-god reminder of why we do the work and what's worth working for. That which is coming. That which has been quietly growing all along. That which is beautiful amidst the noise-all seen through the lens of environmental justice." -- poetry editor Leah Bobet

Reckoning 5

Inheritance of Ashes

Mary Robinette Kowal

Ann Leckie

Saladin Ahmed

Steve Rasnic Tem

Gemma Files

Barbara Krasnoff

Kelly Barnhill

Claude Lalumière

Ian McHugh

Forrest Aguirre

Stephen J. Barringer

The second volume in the ground-breaking, genre-bending, boundary-pushing Clockwork Phoenix anthology series, now available in digital format. Includes critically-acclaimed and award-nominated stories by Claude Lalumière, Leah Bobet, Marie Brennan, Ian McHugh, Ann Leckie, Mary Robinette Kowal, Saladin Ahmed, Tanith Lee, Joanna Galbraith, Catherynne M. Valente, Forrest Aguirre, Gemma Files and Stephen J. Barringer, Kelly Barnhill, Barbara Krasnoff and Steve Rasnic Tem. With a whimsical introduction and new afterword by Nebula Award-nominated editor Mike Allen. "Sixteen unique voices that manage nevertheless to harmonize into a sort of choir of the uncanny singing in the key of beauty and strangeness ... Mike Allen has conducted it masterfully. I highly recommend it, and look forward with great anticipation to CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 3." — SF Site CONTENTS Three Friends • Claude Lalumière Six • Leah Bobet Once a Goddess • Marie Brennan Angel Dust • Ian McHugh The Endangered Camp • Ann Leckie At the Edge of Dying • Mary Robinette Kowal Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela • Saladin Ahmed The Pain of Glass: A Tale of the Flat Earth • Tanith Lee The Fish of Al-Kawthar's Fountain • Joanna Galbraith The Secret History of Mirrors • Catherynne M. Valente Never nor Ever • Forrest Aguirre each thing i show you is a piece of my death • Gemma Files and Stephen J. Barringer Open the Door and the Light Pours Through • Kelly Barnhill Rosemary, That's For Remembrance • Barbara Krasnoff When We Moved On • Steve Rasnic Tem Praise for CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 2 . . . . Allen finds his groove for this second annual anthology of weird stories, selecting 16 wonderfully evocative, well-written tales. Marie Brennan’s thought-provoking “Once a Goddess” considers the fate of a goddess abruptly returned to mortality. Tanith Lee puts a stunning twist in the story of a morose prince in “The Pain of Glass.” Mary Robinette Kowal’s “At the Edge of Dying” describes a world where magic comes only to those at death’s door. In “Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela,” Saladin Ahmed tells of a small village on the edge of a desert, a hermit and a woman who may be a witch. Each story fits neatly alongside the next, and the diversity of topics, perspectives and authors makes this cosmopolitan anthology a winner. — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review In this anthology of 15 original tales by some of fantasy’s most imaginative voices, Tanith Lee returns to her remarkable Flat Earth setting for a poignant and cutting tale of love, fate, and misfortune in “The Pain of Glass.” Other contributors include veteran and newer writers Forrest Aguirre, Steve Rasnic Tem, Joanna Galbraith, Saladin Ahmed, and others, each chosen for their unique perspective and stylistic grace. VERDICT: This second volume in a new annual anthology series will appeal to fantasy readers who enjoy short stories. — Library Journal CLOCKWORK PHOENIX is the most experimental and often the most interesting of the impressive stable of four anthologies published by Norilana. The second outing has a lot of strong work, including a nice ultra-romantic tale of a woman of glass by Tanith Lee (“The Pain of Glass”), a moving fairly traditional ghost story from Kelly Barnhill (“Open the Door and the Light Pours Through”), and a story I frankly didn’t think I’d like, but which seduced me, Gemma Files and Stephen J. Barringer’s “each thing i show you is a piece of my death,” about experimental film makers creating a sort of collage film, including what seems a very old clip of a man committing suicide. It’s queasy-making, odd, yet compelling. My favorite story is Ann Leckie’s “The Endangered Camp,” which she says resulted from a sort of challenge to combine dinosaurs, post-apocalyptic fiction, and Mars — and does so beautifully as the crew of the first spaceship to Mars witnesses the asteroid striking Earth and wonders what to do. — Locus

More Tales of Beauty and Strangeness

Clockwork Phoenix 2

Leah Bobet

Books

Your next favorite book is out there