Volume two of the magical short story collection by Nebula and World Fantasy Award winner Tanith Lee, author of The Silver Metal Lover and The Birthgrave. "Gothic poetess, comic young-adult author, robust adventure-fantasy novelist: Tanith Lee has more writing personas than Sybil. But in her short fiction, all these aspects come gloriously together. Such stories as 'Antonius Bequeathed' or 'The Persecution Machine,' with their death-defying mixture of prose poetry, genre trope reversals and ominous wit, could be written by no one else." - WEIRD TALES magazine Stories include: "The Woman in Scarlet," "One For Sorrow," "Unlocking the Golden Cage," "Antonius Bequeathed," "Doll Skulls," "Queens in Crimson," "Flower Water," "The Persecution Machine," "All the Birds of Hell," "Vermilia."

The mammoth 85th Anniversary Issue of The Unique Magazine features:

FICTION: "Heart of Ice" by Tanith Lee; "Creature" by Ramsey Shehadeh; "The Yellow Dressing Gown" by Sarah Monette; "The Talion Moth" by John Kirk; "Detours on the Way to Nothing" by Rachel Swirsky; "Black Petals" (new Elric novella) by Michael Moorock.

SPECIAL FEATURE: The 85 Weirdest Storytellers of the Past 85 Years.

POETRY: "A Compleynte on the Deth of Sir William Thatcher, Sumtyme Ycleped Ulrich of Lichtenstein" by Geoffrey Chaucer.

NONFICTION: Interview: Jeff VanderMeer chats with weird fantasy novelist China Mieville; Weirdism: Stephen Geigen-Miller on his pulp-fiction heritage; Lost Pages: Ira Marcks presents a snapshot of modern Innsmouth...; Lost in Lovecraft: ...and Kenneth Hite explores why H.P.L.'s characters sought asylum in Arkham; Excerpt: Csilla Csori discusses the science of Dune's gholas and how to raise the dead; The Bazaar: Cherie Priest meets a steampunk Cthulhoid amulet crafter; The Cryptic: Darrell Schweitzer on the enduring power of the Blob; The Library: Book reviews.

Once upon a time there was a mirror. . . .

So begins this dark, unusual retelling of the story of Snow White by the writer reviewers have called “the Angela Carter of the fantasy field”—a whole novel based on a beloved story, turning it into a dark and sensual drama full of myth and magic.

Arpazia is the aging queen who paces the halls of a warlord’s palace. Cold as winter, she has only one passion—for the mysterious hunter who courts the outlawed old gods of the woodland. Coira is the princess raised in the shadow of her mother’s hatred. Avoided by both her parents and half forgotten by her father’s court, she grows into womanhood alone . . . until the mirror speaks, and blood is spilled, and the forest claims her.

The tragic myth of the goddess Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, stolen by the king of the underworld, is woven together with the tale of Snow White to create a powerful story of mothers and daughters and the blood that binds them together, for good or ill. Black queen. White maid. Royal huntsman. Seven little folk who live in the forest. Come inside, sit by the fire, and listen to this fairy tale as you’ve never heard it told before.

Once upon a time there was a mirror, and a girl as white as snow. . . .

An anthology of all original stories written to honour the memory of one of Britain's greatest fantasy authors. Determined warriors, hideous creatures, wicked sorceries, tricksy villains and cunning lovers abound as fantasy's finest imaginations do their best... and their worst. James Barclay reveals the origins of The Raven, Adrian Tchaikovsky unveils new aspects of the realm of the Apt, Tanith Lee, Joe Abercrombie, Storm Constantine, Stan Nicholls, Juliet E McKenna and more weave their magic as only they can. Produced in cooperation with the David Gemmell Awards, Legends will, in part, act as a fund-raiser for the awards. Steel yourself, throw caution to the wind, and dare to enter the realm of Legends

Love is made of more than mere flesh and blood....
Tanith Lee is one of the most thought-provoking and imaginative authors of our time. In this unforgettably poignant novel, Lee has created a classic tale--a beautiful, tragic, erotic, and ultimately triumphant love story of the future.
For sixteen-year-old Jane, life is a mystery she despairs of ever mastering. She and her friends are the idle, pampered children of the privileged class, living in luxury on an Earth remade by natural disaster. Until Jane's life is changed forever by a chance encounter with a robot minstrel with auburn hair and silver skin, whose songs ignite in her a desperate and inexplicable passion.
Jane is certain that Silver is more than just a machine built to please. And she will give up everything to prove it. So she escapes into the city's violent, decaying slums to embrace a love bordering on madness. Or is it something more? Has Jane glimpsed in Silver something no one else has dared to see--not even the robot or his creators? A love so perfect it must be destroyed, for no human could ever compete?