Pacaritambo

BEAUTY
by Sheri S. Tepper. Ron Zinn cover art. Condition: UNREAD 1992 Spectra/Bantam paperback, third printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: This book is a fantasy of manners, a dystopian science fiction tale, a time-travel story and an eco-morality play. Still more impressive is the evolution of the narrator and title character, whom we follow for a century of life (ages 16 to 116) as she matures gradually and subtly from a pouty, slightly spoiled daughter of a duke to a wise old woman. Retelling various fairy tales, Tepper strips away each story's gloss. Sleeping Beauty's sleep continues endlessly, prince notwithstanding; Cinderella is as heartless and nasty to her ugly stepsisters as they are to her; and Snow White is a blond bimbo, while the dwarfs are a querulous collection of Basque brothers. Tepper manages to maintain interest, style and theme throughout these disparate elements, and she consistently sniffs out the ugly (e.g., the storybook land of Chinanga, which has all the facets of a fairyland but is an extremely boring place to live). Despite an often depressing worldview, this is a beautiful book from one of the genre's best writers. [1 copy available]
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BLACK THORN, WHITE ROSE
edited by Terri Windling and Terri Windling. Great Thomas Canty cover art. Condition: NEW 1995 AvoNova paperback, second printing. Content: This is an enchanting, witty collection of 18 original stories that in general achieve relevance without losing their patina of magic. A case in point is Jane Yolen's brilliant retelling of Rumpelstiltskin story, in which the "imp" is a Jewish moneylender caught in a pogrom because he helped the wrong princess. Equally impressive is Midori Snyder's subtly feminist story about how to keep love alive after "happily ever after" has been going on for a while. Several comic entries include Michael Cadnum's hip retelling of the Gingerbread Man story, Howard Waldrop's entry about about Prohibition gangsters at a music festival. Also, Storm Constantine retells the princess and the pea through the voice of the widowed queen of Gordania, a narrator so wickedly charming, sinister, and intimate with the use of poisons that she brings to mind ancient Rome's Livia and Roger Zelazny's witty story about the grim reaper who, despite his power of death-over- life, cannot resist sparing his favorite football players. The anthology's many powerful themes (e.g., the tyranny of beauty, the sanctity of life) are taken up as suitably by the traditional fantasy voices of Patricia C. Wrede and and others. Even more than its predecessor, this superior volume proves that the notion of modern-day Grimms, Andersens and Wildes isn't just a fairy tale. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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CALIBAN AND OTHER TALES
by Robert Devereaux. Condition: NEW 2002 Leisure Books paperback, first printing. Content: Reviewer: " This book makes no apologies. It's sexually graphic. It's violent. There are no pure of heart heroes. All fine qualities that make this book of dark fantasy enjoyable to read. Five short stories kick off the book followed by the novel, Caliban. The short stories are a mixture of the bizarre, the horrific and the downright depraved. Taking the biscuit is "The Slobbering Tongue That Ate The Frightfully Huge Woman", a story which has more to it than its title would suggest. It starts off as an emotional drama before turning into a horror b-movie before your eyes. Parts of the climax are completely off the wall and extremely funny without losing any of the tale's strange quality. "A Slow Red Whisper Of Sand" is possibly the most extreme vampire story that I've ever read and it's a brave move to release it on the mass market. A long story, it has a dual plot about a man and a woman who meet up through a personal ad and the other thread is about a vampire and his 'wives'. My favourite of the short tales is "Clap If You Believe" a story that will delight fans of his intoxicating novel Santa Steps Out. . This tells the tale of a man's love for Tinkerbell and his visit to her earthly parents house. Absolutely magical and another stunning adult fairy tale from the author. The novel here, Caliban, is set on a small island somewhere off the African coast, Caliban is a boy with no name whose mother is an old and poweful sorceress. However she's dying and two mysterious strangers Prospero and Miranda arrive on the island. From his incestuous relationship with his haggard old mother, through to the entrapment of the mysterious sprite Ariel and the coming of the bad people (Prospero and Miranda) the novel is a blend of magic, innocence and horror. Caliban is tormented by the powerful Prospero as he grows up and repeated spells and curses leave him deformed. However Caliban is spurred on through his tortured life by the thought of revenge." Not to be missed and NOT FOR THE KIDS. [1 copy available]
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CALL OF THE RAINBOW WARRIOR: An Environmental Fable (Inscribed Copy)
by Twyla Dell. B&W decorations. Condition: UNREAD 1990 Foresight hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first edition. Signed in 1990. Content: Reviewer: "Simple but sophisticated, this book packs alot of depth. Rich Lawless, a very successful business man in the timber industry finds himself under attack from all sides, regulators, environmentalists, subordinates. Through visits from an ethereal presence, the Rainbow Warrior, Rich learns what his children's environment will be like unless he uses his leadership in this industry to modify their approach to forests and their resources. He also comes to terms with a neglected marriage and the demands of a valued worker who has child care problems. In other words, he moves from short-term to long-term thinking through a process that is as charming as it dramatic. Three colorful dreams bring him face to face with the effects of environmental indifference. The story is fast-paced and a quick, enjoyable read." (Unfortunately, many of the issues discussed in this book are still with us - very little progress.) Questions welcome. [1 copy availaable]
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CHIMERA
by John Barth. Condition: Unread 1993 Fawcett Crest paperback, reprint - intended for library but never shelved. Cover has been laminated for strength. Library strip on spine is only library marking. Very nice copy! Content: The great myths of all time, revisited by a master storyteller. "Barth reinvents three great myths: Scheherazade (in a tale about her young sister); Perseus (who at 40 is having a midlife crisis), and Bellerophon, whose heroic status does not bring him satisfaction." [1 copy available]
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THE COACHMAN RAT
by David Henry Wilson. Don Maitz cover art. Condition: UNREAD 1990 Baen Books (original) paperback, first printing. Small edgewear bottom spine. Interior clean & tight with light tanning to page edges. Content: The British author of the Jeremy James children's books puts a spin on the Cinderella and Pied Piper myths and turns "happily ever after" upside down. The eponymous narrator, fascinated by man's power over the world, lets himself be caught in a nonlethal trap and is transformed by a "woman of light" into human form. He is now Robert, the coachman who drives Amadea (former scullery maid) to the Prince's ball in a gold coach (formerly a pumpkin) pulled by six white horses (once mice). At midnight they all revert to their original forms, but our hero can no longer communicate with rats; he can talk with humans, however. Robert searches for the woman of light, who appears after Princess Amadea and the Prince are killed by a mob. Transformed to coachman again, Robert plots revenge on the town. Employing armies of rats, his vendetta turns out disastrously for everyone, including the tormented Robert. Comparisons between men and rodents are effective, and the story has the simple, propulsive feel of a real fairy tale. Why, oh why, this book has not gotten the recognition it deserves, I have no idea. The imagination it took to create this world/story is second only to "Interview with a Vampire." and Harry Potter, IMHO. Wilson must have a delightfully demented mindset. If you like dark fantasy, this is a must-read book! [1 copy available]
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DELUSION'S MASTER (An Adult Fantasty): Tales From the Flat Earth
by Tanith Lee. Ken Kelly cover art. Condition: Gently pre-read to page 20, 1981 DAW paperback, first printing. Light edge wear with a handwritten note inside front cover. Interior clean & tight with light tanning to page edges. Content: Reviewer: "In the third book of the Tales of the Flat Earth, Tanith Lee once again takes us into the dark and mystical world where five Lords Of Darkness reign over the inhabitants of the Flat Earth. One is Azrharn, Night's master, whose beauty and cruelty riddle the lives of the mortals with living nightmares and sensuous wickedness. Another, Uhlume, Lord Death...and a third - Delusion's Master. He is Prince Chuz, and he plagues the world with madness. When his sights are set on touching Azhrarn with a bit of lunacy, he begins a war of the titans, which cannot be resolved until justice has been served." "From the first scene of the woman cradling the finger bone of her dead son to the final stoning in the city of dreams, this book is what fairy tales and fantasy should have been all along. Mystical this book puts you into a completely different universe and wakes you to possibilities unimagined. More profound is the painter's aesthetic running through the book. Color, lights, shading, description without running into the awful Victorian novel trap. Tanith Lee is definitely a voice to be reckoned with.". [1 copy available]
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THE EROTIC ADVENTUES OF SLEEPING BEAUTY: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty; Beauty's Punishment; Beauty's Release (3 for 1)
by Anne Rice, writing as A. N. Roquelaure. Condition: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty: NEW 1990 Plume Trade Paperback, 17th printing. Beauty's Punishment: Gently pre-read c. 1999 Plume hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), no printing given. Beauty's Release: NEW c. 1999 Plume hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), no printing given. Content: This is an erotic, adult fantasy trilogy written by Anne Rice under the name of A. N. Roquelaure. It's certainly not for the kids and probably not for most adults, either. It IS erotic fantasy. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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FITCHER'S BRIDES (The Tale of Bluebeard) (The Fairy Tale Series)
by Gregory Frost. Thomas Canty cover art. Condition: NEW 2003 TOR Trade Papaerback, first PB edition, first printing. Content: This is one of the best of the Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling. A modern retelling of the classic Bluebeard tale, setting his version in New York's Finger Lakes district during the 1830s. Charismatic preacher Elias Fitcher, the Bluebeard figure, has set up a utopian community that prays and works while awaiting the end of the world prophesied for 1843. Into this hotbed of religious fervor comes the Charter family from the nearby town of Jeckyll's Glen. The father and stepmother succumb to Fitcher's mesmerizing preaching, but it is the three daughters-Vernelia, Amy and Catherine-who listen to household spirits and end up, each in turn, marrying Fitcher, then vanishing, except for Catherine, the youngest. In order to survive, Catherine must use her wits and the understanding passed on from her sisters. Exploring such adult themes as lust, masochism and desire, Frost neatly counterbalances the underlying threads of wifely curiosity and disobedience with the growing awareness of true evil in Fitcher, the elements that have made the fairy tale such a timeless story. Some readers may want to save Windling's introduction, which traces the historical legend through its roots in folklore to the narrative of Frenchman Charles Perrault, for last, in order to enjoy the novel for its own sake. [1 copy available]
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GRIMM'S GRIMMEST
by the Brothers Grimm. Wonderful color and B&W illustrations by Tracy Arah Dockray. Introduction by Maria Tatar. Condition: UNREAD 1997 Chronicle Books soft cover, first printing. Light edgewear. Content: Gruesome and ghastly tales for grown-ups! Murder, kidnapping, cruel punishment, and violent revenge - these are not your childhood bedtime stories. This book presents the original, unsanitized, unholy tales as they were first collected by the Brothers Grimm. From the true horror of Aschenputtel (the original Cinderella story) to Rapunzel's dark secret, here are the authentic stories born long ago in the land of the Black Forest, at a time when fairy tales weren't for children. Stories: The Juniper Tree, The Three Army Surgeons, The Robber Bridegroom, Hans My Hedgehog, The Wilful Child, the Death of the Little Hen, The Goose Maid, The Three Snakes Leave, Aschenputtel, The Crows, Prudent Hans, Fowler's Fowl, The Girl Without Hands, Allerleirauh, The Mother-in-Law, Rapunzel, The Dog and the Sparrow, Little Brother and Little Sister, The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shudder. Curl up with a cozy fire, a brandy, and be sure the doors are locked - and enjoy. [1 copy available]
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IN THE LAND OF WINTER
by Richard Grant. Mary Grandpre cover art. Condition Gently pre-read 1969 Scholastic paperback, second printing. Binder's glue strings down spine with moderate tanning to page edges. Tiny edgewear. Content: The ever unpredictable, loopy Grant takes us into a frigid and tree-filled New England 'burb near Mount Wabenaki, where witches stir their brews. A husbandless young wiccan, Pippa Rede, works in the Rose Petal and Thorn flower shop supporting herself and her adorably sensible nine-year-old daughter, the elfin Winterbelle. Pippa is often distraught, but the sweet Winterbelle helps soothe her buffetings. Then the local Herald begins printing attacks on satanism, pointing to Pippa. It's all very unfair--she is, after all, only a friendly, contemporary young witch trying to make it on her own, for heaven's sake. At school Winterbelle seems to outwit meddling psychologist Carol Aaby, who nonetheless comes that night to the Rede home with the Department of Family Services and removes Winterbelle from the house of witchcraft. Things get worse as Pippa is fired from the Rose Petal and Thorn for being scary to Christians during the shop's big Christmas season. Pippa finally gets help from an unexpected source: Spear, a Native American law-school dropout, has developed a special personal interest in people who are doing something that doesn't make sense to anybody else--such as wiccans--and he proves more than a match for Pippa's many enemies. [1 copy available]
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IN THE LAND OF WINTER
by Richard Grant. Mary Grandpre (Harry Potter covers) cover art. Condition UNREAD 1997 Avon Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: The ever unpredictable, loopy Grant takes us into a frigid and tree-filled New England 'burb near Mount Wabenaki, where witches stir their brews. A husbandless young wiccan, Pippa Rede, works in the Rose Petal and Thorn flower shop supporting herself and her adorably sensible nine-year-old daughter, the elfin Winterbelle. Pippa is often distraught, but the sweet Winterbelle helps soothe her buffetings. Then the local Herald begins printing attacks on satanism, pointing to Pippa. It's all very unfair--she is, after all, only a friendly, contemporary young witch trying to make it on her own, for heaven's sake. At school Winterbelle seems to outwit meddling psychologist Carol Aaby, who nonetheless comes that night to the Rede home with the Department of Family Services and removes Winterbelle from the house of witchcraft. Things get worse as Pippa is fired from the Rose Petal and Thorn for being scary to Christians during the shop's big Christmas season. Pippa finally gets help from an unexpected source: Spear, a Native American law-school dropout, has developed a special personal interest in people who are doing something that doesn't make sense to anybody else--such as wiccans--and he proves more than a match for Pippa's many enemies. [1 copy available]
$ 10.79 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

A KISS OF SHADOWS (Meredith Gentry Series) (Paranormal Romance)
by Laurell K. Hamilton. Condition: NEW 2002 Ballantine Books paperback, fourth printing. Content: In this new series, Hamilton updates faeries. This book introduces Merry Gentry, a.k.a. Meredith NicEssus, a faerie princess of the Unseelie Court, where politics is a blood sport. Merry, who's part sidhe (elvish), part brownie, and part human, never really fit in. She's short, not skilled in offensive magic, and mortal because of her human blood. These are real liabilities when your family, especially aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, is out to kill you. Merry has been in hiding for three years, living in Los Angeles and working for the Grey Detective Agency, which specializes in "supernatural problems, magical solutions." A new case sets her against a man who uses forbidden magic to seduce fey women and drain their power. A plan to trap him goes awry and Merry's cover is blown. Now Andais knows where she is. But things have changed in Andais's court, and Merry is changing too. Despite the selkies, brownies, goblins, and ogres in this book, it's not for children. The fey are "creatures of the senses" -- and in the Unseelie court, sex and pain go together. Merry is sexually adventurous and surrounded by gorgeous, powerful males, most of whom want her badly. [1 copy available]
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THE LIFE & TIMES OF ALTU-FALTU: A Fable
by Ranjit Lal. B&W illustrations by Mishta Roy. Condition: NEW 2001 IndiaInk (New Delhi) Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: He was, thought Altu-Faltu piteously, a bereaved, bereft, and beleagured little monkey whom no one wanted or loved, excepting perhaps Rani-beti if she were still alive, and whom almost eveyone else was looking to kill. In brief, he needed a drink. Thus we begin the story of an Indian Rhesus monkey in search of love and libation. A wonderful story of our times. But not for kids! [1 copy available]
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THE LINNET'S TALE: A Novel
by Dale C. Willard. B&W illustrations by James Noel Smith. Maps. Condition: NEW 2002 Scribner Paperback softcover (6.7 x 5.4 x 0.6, 208 pages), first printing. Content: Linnet Waterford Hopstep is the ideal observer and narrator to tell the tale of the field mice of Tottensea Burrows. After falling out of his nest as a baby and being orphaned by a stoat, he is taken in by a family of mice who teach him to fly. He describes the flourishing Tottensea Burrows, where field mice Mr and Mrs. Fieldpea and their daughters Almandine, Grenadine, and Incarnadine entice customers to the Bookish Mouse shop by serving tea each day at four; Merchanty Swift finds whatever stuff his fellow creatures want; inventor Opportune Baggs perfects his mousewriter; and the entire mouse community, located near a cottage, dines happily on birdseed, vegetables from the garden, and food from the dog's dish. Eating dog food raises ethical issues, then leads to upheaval of a catastrophic sort that in the end proves fortuitous, for even field mice should be true to their nature. These are endearing creatures, and their story is a charming one for all ages. [1 copy available]
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THE LORE OF THE UNICORN
by Odell Shepard. B&W plates illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1988 Avenel hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), 11th printing. Tiny edge wear to DJ. Content: Fascinating, delightfully readable book traces development of various aspects of the unicorn legend in mythology, folklore, magic, medicine, literature, art and commerce. "It is a book rich with curious lore, the product . . . of careful and intensive research; yet it is written with charm and with affection for the elusive animal which for milleniums has entranced men’s imagination. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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MEMORIES AND VISIONS: Women's Fantasy & Science Fiction
edited by Susanna J. Sturgis. Patricia Davis cover art. Condition: NEW 1990 Crossing Press Trade Paperback, assumed first edition. Tiny, tiny edgewear. Content: Contents: Chaos Diaries (Lorraine Schein); Excerpts from Daughters of Gelasia (Shirley Hartwell); Womankind (Rosaria Champagne); Rational Ship (Caro Clarke); Smazing Disappearing Girl (Judith Katz); Killing Color (Charlotte Sherman); O's Story (L. Timmel Duchamp); Conversatin with a Legend (R. M. Meluch); Signs of LIfe (Barbara Krasnoff); Token for Celandine (Laurel Hamilton); Harmonic Conception (Nona Caspers); Children of Divers Kind (Mary Ellen Matthews); Meaningful Diaglog (Kiel Stuart); Signs of Hope (Adrienne Lauby); womanmansion/to my sister/mourning her mother (Hattie Gossett); and biographical notes on authors. These selections illustrate the broad range of this collection of 15 sf and fantasy stories by women. Although a strong feminist and lesbian slant appears in many selections, this volume offers a combination of stimulating -- sometimes explicit -- prose and challenging subject matter." NOT for the kiddies. [1 copy available]
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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S FAERY TALE
by Wendy Froud & Terri Windling. Beautiful color photos of the "fairies" and "dolls" by John Lawrence Jones. Photographic art direction by Brian Froud. Condition: NEW 1999 Simon & Schuster hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Not once upon a time, but right now, in a British forest called Old Oak Wood, faeries frolic, invisible to those humans who choose not to believe in them. In A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale, doll maker Wendy Froud (daughter of Jim Hensen and wife of Brian Froud, best known for creating Yoda and other creatures for The Muppets) and award-winning fantasy author Terri Windling collaborate to tell the story of one of these elusive fellows, a young tree-root faery named Sneezle. Each page of this delightful book is graced with an elaborately staged photo of Froud's doll creations in their natural habitats, paired with Windling's story of Sneezle's unlikely heroism. Sneezle and his diaphanous friends are adorable enough to charm a kid, and his adventures are interesting enough to hold the attention of an adult reading the book aloud to a favorite youngster. Sneezle's adventures begin when he sets out to fetch the Midsummer crown for King Oberon. Meanwhile, the Faery Queen Titania is found asleep, victim of a powerful magic spell. The hopes of the faery kingdom ride on Sneezle's little shoulders! While on his journey, Sneezle meets up with fascinating forest characters, discovers the identity of the wicked sorceress who has enchanted the queen, and learns about courage and loyalty. He also figures out that being "the same old Sneezle" is a fine thing to be. Kids and adults will enjoy this richly illustrated, romantic fantasy. (Ages 8 through adults) [1 copy available]
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THE MINSTREL
text & illustrations by Bernard Benson. Raised cover art by Rich Grote. Red & white drawings. Condition: UNREAD 1977 Putnam's hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. DJ shows light shelf wear top edge. Content: This l ovely, magical book, written in the form of a fable and charmingly illustrated by the author, was inspired by the life and music of Elvis Presley. It is the simple tale of a young troubadour who, in reincarnations centuries apart, brings peace and joy to the people throughout the world. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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MOTHER GOOSE ON THE LOOSE
edited by Bobbye S. Goldstein. B&W cartoons from The New Yorker. Condition: NEW 2003 Harry Abrams large hardcover (pictorial boards) & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: Like fractured fairy tales, these 80 cartoons collected from the New Yorker have fun with the children's folklore everyone knows, setting the old nonsense in contemporary scenarios. The appeal is in the sly commentary on how we live now, and the artists parody the timeless nursery rhymes and fairy tales to poke fun at our pretentious and absurd icons. Some of the best cartoons in this large, spaciously designed volume are by well-known children's book illustrators, but the audience here is not the nursery crowd. In fact, it will be adults who most appreciate the parenting and Wall Street parodies. There's lots of laugh-out-loud stuff for teens, too, whether it's the view of Goldilocks in a police lineup or a hard-boiled Humpty Dumpty. The wicked drawings are a great way to get junior-high and high-school students writing their own fractured fairy tales. Children's poet Goldstein points out in her interesting afterword that many Mother Goose rhymes were born as satirical commentary. These versions continue in that glorious tradition. This may be too advanced for junion high school students, IMHO. [1 copy available]
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NIGHTSEER
by Laurell K. Hamilton. No credit for the cover art. Condition: Gently pre-read 1992 ROC paperback, 9th printing. Pale spine crease. Interior clean & tight. Nice copy. Content: This is Hamilton's first novel. Young Kelios has a dream of her mother being killed by the evil witch Harque, and the dream unfortunately is realized. Her prophetic powers are discovered, and Kelios is sent to wizardry training on the isle of Astrantha, where she is destined to exact revenge by stalking the dreaded witch. [1 copy available]
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NO ONE NOTICED THE CAT
by Anne McCaffrey. Cover art by Charles Bernard. Condition: NEW 2005 Wildside Press Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: In an enchanting and sophisticated fairy tale for adults and intelligent children alike, a cat who may be more than a cat guides a young prince through the perils of ruling and loving. After the death of Esphania's wise regent, young Prince Jamas finds that the regent's cat, Niffy, seems to have the ability to cause him to have second thoughts when he considers actions that might lead to war or other unpleasantness. When King Egdril of nearby Mauritia appears to be casting an acquisitive eye on Esphania, Jamas, instead of waging war, invites the monarch on a hunting trip to demonstrate the martial skills of the Esphanian nobility. Egdril turns out to be quite a good fellow; it's not until Jamas falls in love with his niece, Willow, that the prince discovers the real source of evil behind the Mauritian throne. After Jamas and Willow are wed, it takes all of Niffy's cleverness to save them, Jamas's princedom and Willow's relatives. [1 copy available]
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ONCE UPON A TIME: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales (Adult & Children's Tales)
edited by Lester Del Rey and Rita Kessler. Beautiful color illustrations by Michael Pangrazio. Condition: UNREAD 1991 Del Rey hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: These stories are hard to categorize - some are appropriate for children and many are for adults. This collection of 10 well written stories nicely illustrates the concept that fairy tale themes are universal, and that modern fantasy writers can give them a sophisticated, psychological and realistic approach while still providing a sense of wonder for all ages. In Barbara Hambly's Changeling, a hard-working Marchlord slays the dragon devastating his countryside and brings home to his wife and children what he finds in its lair: a mute child with two unusual companions. Anne McCaffrey's "The Quest of a Sensible Man" features a prince who seeks a suitable mate for his flying horse. The eponymous "Thistledown" in Susan Dexter's tale is a unicorn colt saved from from predatory hounds by a mute boy suspected of witchcraft. The spoiled princess in "The Fairy Godmother," by Lester del Rey, learns the rudiments of wise rule when she is taken in by an old couple after an attempted abduction. In Wayland Drew's "The Old Soul," an old woman's tale of the fall of a powerful city jolts three travelers out of their self-important lives. Questions welcome. [1copy available]
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ONE TOO MANY TIMES (Historical Fantasy)
by Diana Rubino. Condition: NEW 2001 Domhan Books Trade Paperback, Review Copy. Tiny edgewear. Content: When the usual psychic can't make it to act as medium for the annual seance to summon the slain King Richard's spirit, Annie Spooner steps in. She's the longest standing member of the Richard III Society. A scholar, she's published several books about him. Rather than summoning a ghost, however, the seance has the unexpected result of the real Richard's arrival. Actually, an amulet given by his brother brings him to the twenty-first century when his life is endangered. With no way back to his own time, Richard settles into exploring his new world, from peanuts at the market to borrowed designer jeans that don't fit. Soon the Grand Wizbar sends his brothers, Ned and George, followed later by Elizabeth as she pursues Ned in a quest to fulfill true love. Richard soon learns of the filming of his story. Of course he steps in, first to correct history, but soon to rewrite it. He lands the part of himself, along with his brothers in appropriate roles. Combined with poltergeist activity, and women who shape each of three time traveling men's destinies, the result is a fabulous romp. Past, present and future fuse in a hysterically inaccurate timeline that will keep readers in stitches. This revisionist history combines wizardry, windows 2000 and wondrous impossibility in a marvelous original manner. [1 copy available]
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THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Movie Edition)
by William Goldman. Elwes & Wright cover photo. Condition: UNREAD 1990 Ballantine paperback, 34th printing with tiny edgewear foreedge. FOLD OUT color map of the kingdom. Content: What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince in the world - and he turns out to be a son of a bitch? The movie is a great classic and the book is better. Fairy Tale for adults! The 1987 movie was directed by Rob Reiner and starred Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, the hilarious Wallace Shawn, Robin Wright, Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, the fantastic Carol Kane, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, and Peter Falk. One of the best movies ever made. [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

RED AS BLOOD or Tales From the Sisters Grimmer
by Tanith Lee. Great cover art by Victoria Poyser. Interior B&W illustrations by Tanith Lee. Condition: UNREAD 1983 DAW Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Content: Reviewer: "Tanith Lee provides a darker, more gothic feel to the classic fairytales we all know: Snow White is a creature of the night in "Red As Blood;" Little Red Riding Hood has meets a very different kind of wolf in "Wolfland;" Rapunzel's prince is more sinister in "The Golden Rope;" plus six othe re-tellings. Each one takes place in a specific time and place on Earth, mostly in the past - with the one exception being "Beauty," Lee's re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, set on Earth in the distant future. Even thought the titles of the stories have changed, Lee makes it easy to figure out which story is being re-rold. It's a bit too dark for children, but for fans of horror and gothic tales, this makes a great addition to your reading list." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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SIRENS AND OTHER DAEMON LOVERS
edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Cover art by Fletcher Sibthorpe. Condition: Gently pre-read, if at all, 1998 HarperPrism Trade Paperback, first printing. Problem: book has been badly treated on the shelf - pale vertical crease front cover at fore edge, cover edgewear with turn-up fore edges both covers. Interior clean & tight. Content: Prepare to be seduced by powerful magic -- the sorcery of lust, need, and sensuality. Multiple award-winners Datlow and Windling have gathered together twenty-two tales of unearthly temptations wickedly concocted by some of today's most potent literary conjurers -- including Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Tanith Lee, Ellen Kushner, Michael Swanwick, and Joyce Carol Oates. Here are stories of incubi and succubi, of forbidden fruits harvested in erotic gardens, of pleasures that persist beyond death. So heed the sirens' song. Lie back, relax, and submit to the darkest delights you have ever experienced. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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SNOW WHITE (A perverse fairy tale)
by Donald Barthelme. Condition: Very good pre-read 1971 Bantam paperback, 10th printing. Pale spine crease with light tanning to white cover edges and interior page edges. Interior clean & tight. Content: "Snow White is alive and well in the East Village. She is a nymphomaniac; she makes love to each of ther seven friends; she is a cynic; she is a terrifying child of our age!" Reviewer: "Not [the familiar] Snow White. Here we have real literature with a capital L and here we have real imagination too. Based on the original tale, alert readers will love how a master writer converts the simple to the complex, the silly to the profound, and yet keeps us entertained as he goes. Oh, I know in this democratic era questions of elitism are de trop. But so what? Go ahead and read an elitist book. It won't hurt and you will have a lot of fun in the process." [1 copy available]
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SNOW WHITE, BLOOD RED
by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (Editors). Thomas Canty cover art. Condition: Gently pre-read 2000 AvoNova paperback, 8th printing with pale spine crease - everything else is perfect. Interior clean & tight. Content: "A return to the origins of the fairy tale, no holds barred." - NY Times Book Review. Horror Fairy Tales by: Like A Red, Red Rose (Susan Wade); The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep (Charles de Lint); The Frog Prince (Gahan Wilson); Stalking Beans (Nancy Kress); Snow-Drops (Tanith Lee*); Little Red (Wendy Wheeler); I Shall Do Thee Mischief In the Woods (Kathe Koja); The Root of the Matter (Gregory Frost); The Princess in the Tower (Elizabeth Lynn); Persimmon (Harvey Jacobs); Little Poucet (Steve Tem); The Changelings (Madeline Tem); Springfield Swans (Caroline Stevermer & Ryan Edmons); Troll Bridge (Neil Gaiman); A Sound, Like Angels Singing (Leonard Rysdyk; Puss (Esther Friesner); The Glass Casket (Jack Dann); Knives (Jane Yolen); The Snow Queen (Patricia McKillip); Breadcrumbs & Stones (Lisa Goldstein). Great stories! Fairy tales become nightmares! [1 copy available]
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THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS (Fairy Tale Series)
by Steven Brust. Tom Canty cover art. Condition: Good+ 1988 Armadillo Press-Ace Fantasy paperback, first printing. Small edgewear with sine crease - book abandoned at about page 66 - rest unread. Interior clean & tight but has tanning to page edges. Content: Part of the wonderful Fairy Tale Series (for adults) ut togethr by Terri Windling, this is probably the least popular of the series. It's more difficult to read and sometimes more difficult to follow, but it's worth the effort. This thoroughly refreshing, informative novel contains disparate components that coalesce nicely: an examination of how five struggling artists who share a studio interact with each other, a discourse from one of them about his craft, and a Hungarian fairy tale featuring Csucskari, a gypsy who tries to find the sun, moon and stars and restore them to the vacant heavens. Narrator Greg and his friends routinely assemble at the studio to work and exchange ideas. After three years, however, their enthusiasm ebbs as solvency and acclaim seem no closer. The five contemplate disbanding, while Greg labors on an immense, ambitious painting entitled Death of Uranus. With engaging unpretentiousness he explains some fundamental artistic issues to the reader: technique, the difficulties inherent in creating visually and intellectually stimulating paintings and the vacuousness of "pretty" pictures. Interspersed throughout the book is a fairy tale also told by Greg, who excitingly chronicles Csucskari's skirmishes with dragons and other foes. This fanciful fable ingeniously reinforces the book's principle theme of persevering despite adversity, yet it is Greg's amiable, frank discussion of his vocation that truly fascinates. [1 copy available]
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THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS (Fairy Tale Series)
by Steven Brust. Condition: NEW 1996 ORB Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: Part of the wonderful Fairy Tale Series (for adults) ut togethr by Terri Windling, this is probably the least popular of the series. It's more difficult to read and sometimes more difficult to follow, but it's worth the effort. This thoroughly refreshing, informative novel contains disparate components that coalesce nicely: an examination of how five struggling artists who share a studio interact with each other, a discourse from one of them about his craft, and a Hungarian fairy tale featuring Csucskari, a gypsy who tries to find the sun, moon and stars and restore them to the vacant heavens. Narrator Greg and his friends routinely assemble at the studio to work and exchange ideas. After three years, however, their enthusiasm ebbs as solvency and acclaim seem no closer. The five contemplate disbanding, while Greg labors on an immense, ambitious painting entitled Death of Uranus. With engaging unpretentiousness he explains some fundamental artistic issues to the reader: technique, the difficulties inherent in creating visually and intellectually stimulating paintings and the vacuousness of "pretty" pictures. Interspersed throughout the book is a fairy tale also told by Greg, who excitingly chronicles Csucskari's skirmishes with dragons and other foes. This fanciful fable ingeniously reinforces the book's principle theme of persevering despite adversity, yet it is Greg's amiable, frank discussion of his vocation that truly fascinates. [1 copy available]
$ 5.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

TAM LIN (The Fairy Tale Series)
by Pamela Dean. Thomas Canty cover art. Condition: Gently pre-read 1992 TOR paperback (first mass market PB printing). Tiny edgewear and pale spine crease. Interior clean & tight with tanning to page edges. Content: This is one of the best of the Fairy Tale Series created by Terri Windling. A modern retelling of an ancient Scottish fairy tale sets the story of a girl whose lover is stolen by the Queen of Faeries against the backdrop of a midwestern college campus in the late sixties. [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping

TOO LONG A SACRIFICE
by Mildred Downey Broxon. B&W maps of Ireland. Neat wrap-around cover art, but no artist credit given. Condition: UNREAD 1981 Dell paperback, first printing. Pale tanning to page edges. Content: Reviewer: "This is a lovely little fantasy novel set in both the past and present of Ireland. Well-written, compelling and often surprising-- it deserves better than to be as forgotten as it seems to be today. Maire ni Donnall and Tadgh MacNiall are husband and wife in ancient Ireland. They carry out their respective trades of healer and bard against a setting of battle, and a curious new religion called Christianity has just started to walk the land. When Maire is cursed by a woman she tries to help, they are pulled into the land of fairy and sleep away the passing of time in the fairy kingdom. When finally they emerge into the modern world, they find themselves separated and active on opposing sides of the Troubles that currently split Ireland. They must not only find each other, they must also find a way to heal the rift between the great powers and aid the troubled land." I guarantee that if you like fantasy, fairy stories, and/or Irish mythology, you will like this book. [1 copy available]
$ 3.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping

TULLIO'S ORANGE TREE: A Fable
by Ted Gerstl. Beautiful watercolor illustrations by Jan Albertin. Cover art by Ruth Sanderson. Condition: NEW 1996 Millennium hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: This is usually recommended for Young Adults, but it really is an adult fable about hope. Set in Tuscany, an old man (Tullio) who has been tending the olive and orange trees on an abandoned villa teaches a family (in a dream) about revivial and renewal. "The text flows smoothly and gives the reader a descriptive picture of the surroundings and the feelings of the Tuscan area and the attachment of the people to their land and home. The beautiful illustrations help the reader to understand and view the beautiful colors of the Tuscan area." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

TWICE UPON A TIME
edited by Denise Little. Adorable cover art by Yvonne Gilbert. Condition: Gently pre-read, IF at all, 1999 DAW paperback, first edition, first printing. May be light spine crease. Content: This is NOT a fairy tale book for young kids and maybe not for some adults. These are dark fairy tales. The stories here "finish" the fairy tales we all grew up with, i.e., the lawsuit that the grieving giant's widow filed against Jack, etc. Spinning a Yarn (Jody Nye); How I Came to Marry A Herpetologist (Nina Hoffman); Puck in Boots, the True Story (Connie Hirsch); Case #258B (Esther Friesner); The Beanstalk Incident (Jane Lindskold); Gilly the Goose Girl (Nancy Springer); Fifi's Tale (Alan Rodgers); Thy Golden Stair (Richard Parks); True Love (or The Many Faces of Prince Charming) by ToddFahnestock & Giles Custer; Savior (John Helfers); Wolf at the Door (Lupita Shepherd); The Castle and Jack (Tim WAggoner); Baron Boscov's Bastard (Jacey Bedford); The Emperor's New (and Improved) Clothes (Leslie What); One Fairy Tale, Hard Boiled (P Andrew Miller); Feeding Frenzy or the Further Adventures of the Frog Prince (Josepha Sherman); A Leg Up or the Constant Tin Soldier (Gonzo Version) by Gary Braubeck; and Mrs. Myrtle Montegrande VS The Vegetable Stalker/Slayer (Elizabeth Scarborough). Sounds interesting, eh? Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
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WHITE AS SNOW (The Fairy Tale Series)
by Tanith Lee. Beautiful, typical Thomas Canty cover art. Condition: NEW 2000 TOR hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: At long last - the Fairy Tale Series edited by Terri Windling is back! Lee gives us seductive reworking of "Snow White" that echoes the macabre ambience of the Brothers Grimm. Drawing on the sex and violence implicit in the original fairy tale, Lee gives a modern, introspective angle to the classic story. The evil queen, Arpazia, first appears as an innocent princess of 14, who is terrified when Draco, a rising new leader, conquers her father's castle and rapes her. Soon after he has her sister, Lilca, hanged because Lilca betrayed the castle. Draco forces Arpazia to travel with him and his barbaric army. She later bears him a girl, Candacis, whom she immediately shuns as an incarnation of evil, mumbling death spells as the infant tries to suckle her. Lee casts the evil queen in a sympathetic light, depicting her as a tortured soul who in later years begins to question her dark fate. With its melancholy shading, Lee's new twist on an old tale is sure to engage fans of dark fantasy. If you have not read any Tanith Lee before, I think of her as "Anne Rice on acid!" Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

WICKED: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by Gregory Maguire. Illustrations by Douglas Smith. Condition: NEW 1995 ReaganBooks Trade Paperback, reprint. Tiny edgewear. Great fcolor ontispiece of the Wicked Witch - green face and all. Content: Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, has gotten a bum rap. Her mother is embarrassed and repulsed by her bright-green baby with shark's teeth and an aversion to water. At college, the coed experiences disapproval and rejection by her roommate, Glinda, a silly girl interested only in clothes, money, and popularity. Elphaba is a serious and inquisitive student. When she learns that the Wizard of Oz is politically corrupt and causing economic ruin, Elphaba finds a sense of purpose to her life - to stop him and to restore harmony and prosperity to the land. A Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and an unknown species called a "Dorothy" appear in very small roles... The story presents Elphaba in a sympathetic and empathetic manner-readers will want her to triumph! The conclusion, however, is the same as L. Frank Baum's. The book has both idealism and cynicism in its discussion of social, religious, educational, and political issues present in Oz, and, more pointedly, present in our day and time. The idealism is whimsical and engaging; the cynicism is biting. Sometimes the earthy language seems appropriate and adds to the sense of place; sometimes the four-letter words and sexual explicitness distract from the charm of the tale. The multiple threads to the plot proceed unevenly, so that the pace of the story jumps rather than moves steadily forward. Wicked is not an easy rereading of The Wizard of Oz. It is for good readers who like satire, and love exceedingly imaginative and clever fantasy. One of the great Adult Fairy Tales. Questions welcome. [2 copies available]
$ 10.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

WORMWOOD (AKA Swamp Foetus)
by Poppy Z. Brite. Introduction by Dan Simmons. B&W illustrations without credit. Condition: NEW 1996 Dell paperback, sixth printing. Content: This book would be more properly put in the category of "Horror Tales for Adults." The name of Poppy Z. Brite is well known to most horror fans. What some do not know, though, is that Brite hit the ground running as a fiction writer, and some of her best work so far is right here in this collection of a dozen tales she wrote between ages 18 and 24. The exigencies of long plot development and evolving characters that sometimes bog her down in the novels are absent from the short story form, where Brite's extraordinary talent for compressed, redolent imagery combines with her keen sense of narrative structure to create perfect little objets d'art. Stories like "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood," "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves," and "The Sixth Sentinel," are too exquisite to be missed. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + $ 2.94 media shipping.