The Oxford book of fantasy stories - T. A Shippey

Stories of the unreal, of trolls and werewolves, spells and sorcerers, and magic lands have been part of the human psyche for as long as there are records. In the present century, far from being outdated by the rise of technology and science fiction, fantasy has once more become a major literary genre expressive of the deepest feelings about humanity and its relation to the natural world.;Fantasy is indeed one of the most successful of modern literary genres, as can been from the sales of Tolkien and his successors. Yet the rise of the fantasy "trilogy" has tended to obscure a long tradition of short fantasy fiction, just as enjoyable as the long books. Built on the ancient foundation of the fairy tale, but sharply distinguished from it, the fantasy story has evolved in often ephemeral and little-known magazines.;This selection of 31 of the best short fantasy stories from the last 100 years include the authors John Buchan, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Mervyn Peake, Larry Niven, Angela Carter, Tanith Lee, Lucius Shepard and Terry Pratchett. Many of the stories were first published in fiction magazines and should be new to fantasy readers. Tom Shippey is the editor of "The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories", the co-editor of "Fiction 2000", and author of "The Road to Middle-Earth".