Maxima Library

The first short story collection by a master of the macabre is most welcome, for it has long been obvious that he has the unique personal vision and the command of style to make horror hounds howl with shivery delight. Consider the scary revenge motifs of 'We Have All Been Here Before' and 'The Pitch,' which play on fantasies we have all been guilty of. Share the organ donor's nightmare of 'The Dead Line,' which begins with what Ramsey Campbell in his introduction calls 'the most horrifying first line ever written.' Try the title story, which won the World Fantasy Award, or any of the 16 stories here, and you are sampling the state of the art in modern horror.

This acclaimed series, winner of numerous World Fantasy Awards, continues its tradition of excellence with scores of short stories from such writers as K. W. Jeter, Karl Edward Wagner, Terry Bisson, S. P. Somtow, Charles de Lint, Kobo Abe, Jane Yolen and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions—all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.