The Beastly Bride: And Other Tales of the Animal People

·
· Open Road Media
Ebook
508
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Shapeshifting stories by Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Midori Snyder, Jane Yolen, and others: “Rich reading that meets the editors’ high standards.” —Kirkus Reviews

In world mythology, transformation legends are attached to almost every type of animal: a variety of birds, fish, reptiles, and even insects. In this book, you’ll find stories inspired by such myths from around the world, retold and reimagined by some of the very best writers in the realm of fantasy and science fiction.

In “The Puma’s Daughter” by World Fantasy Award–winning author Tanith Lee, a boy betrothed to a girl from a powerful family in the hills hears whispered rumors about his intended that describe her golden hair, her strength—and her ability to transform into a great cat. A man brings his boyfriend to his conservative hometown, teaching his little sister a lot about acceptance—and mermen—in “Map of Seventeen” by Stonewall Honor Award–author Christopher Barzak. And in “The Hikikomori” by Hiromi Goto, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, a misfit fifteen-year-old girl, bullied at school, discovers her true form—and heroic purpose.

“Twenty-two short stories and poems speak to the fascination with therianthropy (animal-human metamorphosis). From riffs on Beauty and the Beast to original tales of sexuality and an adolescent yeti, well-known fantasy and sci-fi authors create morsels that address themes as varied as coming-of-age and the environment—all while changing people into animals and vice versa.” —Booklist

“This collection will appeal to fantasy lovers as it provides both stories by beloved authors and exciting new voices to discover.” —School Library Journal

“A top-to-bottom very readable, engaging, book.” —SF Site

About the author

Ellen Datlow, an acclaimed science fiction and fantasy editor, is credited with nearly one hundred anthologies of speculative fiction, including The Best Horror of the Year, The Doll Collection, and Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories. She has often collaborated with renowned coeditor Terri Windling, with whom she worked on the adult fairy tale series beginning with Snow White, Blood Red. She has received multiple Shirley Jackson, Bram Stoker, Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards, as well as Life Achievement Awards from the Horror Writers Association and the World Fantasy Association. Datlow resides in New York.

Terri Windling is a writer, editor, and artist specializing in fantasy literature, folklore, and mythic arts. She has published over forty books, receiving nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award (for her novel The Wood Wife), the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFWA’s Solstice Award for “outstanding contributions to the speculative fiction field as a writer, editor, artist, educator, and mentor.” She writes essays on folklore and fantasy; maintains a popular blog on these subjects (Myth & Moor); and is on the board of the Chichester Centre for Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Speculative Fiction (Chichester University). She also creates myth-inspired visual art for exhibition in the US and Europe; and she’s a member of the Modern Fairies music-and-folklore project (Oxford & Sheffield Universities). A former New Yorker, she now lives with her British husband and family in Devon, England.

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