Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2

Edited by William Schafer.

Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy, published in 2008 to widespread critical and popular acclaim, provided a unique showcase for some of our finest practitioners of dark, disturbing fiction. This much anticipated second volume more than meets the standards set by its predecessor, offering a diverse assortment of stories guaranteed to delight, unsettle, and enthrall. Volume two proper is a full 20,000 words longer than the first installment in the series – 35,000 words longer if you buy the limited edition, with the bonus chapbook.

This stellar collection leads off with Joe Hill’s dazzling “Wolverton Station,” in which a predatory businessman travels to England, and to a primal confrontation he could never have imagined. Elsewhere, a number of contributors revisit familiar, well-established themes and settings. Glen Cook’s “Smelling Danger” gives us a brand new chapter in the long-running annals of The Black Company. “The Passion of Mother Vajpai” is a story of exotic – and erotic – initiation set against the backdrop of Jay Lake’s novel, Green. Kelley Armstrong reenters the Otherworld with “Chivalrous,” the account of a devious – and long-delayed – act of revenge.

And there’s more, much more, including a hallucinatory portrait of guilt, angst, and drug-fueled violence by Caitlin R. Kiernan, and an affecting reflection on love, death, and acceptance by Steven R. Boyett. These stories, together with first-rate work by the likes of K. J. Parker and Norman Partridge, offer provocative, sometimes visceral entertainment. As this rich, rewarding volume amply demonstrates, the tale of dark fantasy is alive and thriving, and continues to develop in new – and unexpected – ways.

Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 is made up almost exclusively of novelettes rather than short stories. The limited edition will be feature full color art not in the trade edition and be accompanied by a chapbook of two original short stories (over 15,000 words) by SubPress favorite Joe R. Lansdale. The tales: “The Case of the Lighthouse Shambler” and “The Case of the Stalking Shadow” mark the beginning of a new series featuring supernatural sleuth Dana Roberts.

Contents:

• Joe Hill – Wolverton Station
• Kelley Armstrong – Chivalrous
• James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers – Untitled
• Steven R. Boyett – Not Last Night but the Night Before
• Glen Cook – Smelling Danger
• Caitlin R. Kiernan – Hydraguros
• Jay Lake and Shannon Page – The Passion of Mother Vajpai
• K. J. Parker – A Room with a View
• Norman Partridge – Vampire Lake
• David Prill — A Pulp Called Joe
• William Browning Spencer — That Dappled Thing
• Bruce Sterling — The Partheneon Scalpel