First published 2012
This anthology gathers sixteen stories that place bookstores at their center. Gene Wolfe opens with "From the Cradle" while Ramsey Campbell contributes "One Copy Only." Charles de Lint explores "Pixel Pixies" and Lisa Morton delivers "Blind Stamped." Jack Williamson takes readers to "Shakespeare & Co." Each story blends bookstore settings with elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A customer searches through mysterious shelves in one tale while another discovers books that should not exist. The stories span from Harlan Ellison's "Cheese Stands Alone" to Marianne de Pierres' "In the Bookshadow." Neil Gaiman provides the introduction while John Picacio created the cover art. Fourteen of these stories appear here for the first time. The collection treats bookstores as more than mere retail spaces. They become places where reality bends and impossible things happen between the stacks.
Genres: science-fiction, fantasy, horror, books-about-books
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, magical-realism
Setting: Shakespeare & Co.
285 pages · Paperback · Prime Books