In the mind of Ayako, an old woman in exile on a mountain in medievalJapan, nothing is certain, and nothing holds a familiar shape for long. This isa map of a psyche exalted and destroyed by solitude, and on its contortedsurface Shinto philosophy, Greek mathematics, Hawaiian goddesses, Egyptianlegend, quantum physics, and Babylonian myth meet and merge... InCatherynne M. Valente's second novel since the critically acclaimed TheLabyrinth, language and myth construct a strange new geography of theself. This is The Book of Dreams: open it and walk the shadowy paths ofthis extraordinary landscape.

"Collected here for the first time, [the author's] early short novels explore, deconstruct, and ultimately explode the seminal myths of both East and West"--P. [4] of cover.

Catherynne M. Valente enchanted readers with her spellbinding In the Night Garden. Now she continues to weave her storytelling magic in the next book of Orphan’s Tales—an epic of the fantastic and the exotic, the monstrous and mysterious, that will transport you far away from the everyday. . . . Her name and origins are unknown, but the endless tales inked upon this orphan’s eyelids weave a spell over all who listen to her read her secret history. And who can resist the stories she tells? From the Lake of the Dead and the City of Marrow to the artists who remain behind in a ghost city of spice, here are stories of hedgehog warriors and winged skeletons, loyal leopards and sparrow calligraphers. Nothing is too fantastic, anything can happen, but you’ll never guess what comes next in these intimately linked adventures of firebirds and djinn, singing manticores, mutilated unicorns, and women made entirely of glass and gears. Graced with the magical illustrations of Michael Kaluta, In the Cities of Coins and Spice is a book of dreams and wonders unlike any you’ve ever encountered. Open it anywhere and you will fall under its spell. For here the story never ends and the magic is only beginning. . . .

Amid the hard-scrabble West Virginia coal mines, a terrible magical vengeance takes an equally terrible toll on a young boy's heart. Ancient gods provide metaphors for a father's love and a child's grief, and Cinderella's shattered glass slippers become a window into the horror of the Holocaust. A mythic tale of a little girl's rebellion explains all the craziness of weather, and the Wandering Jew reveals the truth about the Loch Ness Monster. Longtime Mythic Delirium editor Mike Allen returns to his fiction roots with MYTHIC, a digest of fantasy prose and verse in the tradition of Prime Books' Jabberwocky. This volume, the first of a planned anthology series, places off-beat new talents like Matthew Cheney, Theodora Goss, Richard Parks and Sonya Taaffe alongside veterans such as Joe Haldeman and Ian Watson to offer a unique literary smorgasbord of humor and horror, wonder and wisdom.

This original short story tells the tale of how a girl named Mallow defeated King Goldmouth with the help of the Red Wind, Mr. Map, and many fairyland friends new and old--from Catherynne M. Valente, author of the children's fantasy sensation The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales—but the villains themselves beg to differ. In Troll's-Eye View, you'll hear from the Giant's wife ("Jack and the Beanstalk"), Rumpelstiltskin, the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and many more. A stellar lineup of authors, including Garth Nix, Jane Yolen, and Nancy Farmer, makes sure that these old stories do new tricks!

The Oracles of the ancient world spoke for the gods, they spoke for the future: but they could not speak for themselves. Here, their voices bubble up from the depths, enraged and sardonic, sorrowing and wild, finding themselves on new ground -- scattered across the American continent, marking a path for the seeker to follow, from New England universities to Hawaiian volcanoes, from dilapidated factories to Chinatown kitchens, from the Old East to the New West...

A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us–to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time–a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first page . . . Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars–each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales–even, and especially, their teller. Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun…. Praise for In the Night Garden “Cathrynne Valente weaves layer upon layer of marvels in her debut novel. In the Night Garden is a treat for all who love puzzle stories and the mystical language of talespinners.”—Carol Berg, author of Daughter of Ancients “Fabulous talespinning in the tradition of story cycles such as The Arabian Nights. Lyrical, wildly imaginative and slyly humorous, Valente's prose possesses an irrepressible spirit.”—K. J. Bishop, author of The Etched City “Astonishing work! Valente’s endless invention and mythic range are breathtaking. It’s as if she’s gone night-wandering, and plucked a hundred distant cultures out of the air to deliver their stories to us.”—Ellen Kushner, author of Thomas the Rhymer “Refreshingly original in both style and form, In the Night Garden should delight lovers of myth and folklore.”—Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters trilogy