«Если», 2005 № 12

In a Russia where the Decembrists' rebellion was successful and the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed before 1854, Sasha Trubetskaya wants nothing more than to have a decent debut ball in St. Petersburg. But her aunt's feud with the emperor lands Sasha at university, where she becomes one of its first female students — an experiment, she suspects, designed more to prove female unsuitability for such pursuits than offer them education. The pressure intensifies when Sasha's only friends — Chinese students — start disappearing, and she begins to realize that her new British companion, Jack, has bigger secrets than she can imagine! Sasha and Jack find themselves trying to stop a war brewing between the three empires. The only place they can turn to for help is the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, newly founded by the Taiping rebels. Pursued by the terrifying Dame Florence Nightingale of the British Secret Service, Sasha and Jack escape across Siberia via train to China. Sasha discovers that Jack is not quite the person she thought he was…but then again, neither is she.

The first short story collection by award-winning author Ekaterina Sedia!

One of the more resonant voices to emerge in recent years, this Russian-born author explores the edge between the mundane and fantastical in tales inspired by her homeland as well as worldwide folkloric traditions.

With foreword by World Fantasy Award-winner Jeffrey Ford, showcases singular and lyrical writing that will appeal to fans of slipstream and magical realism, as well as those interested in the uncanny and Russian history.

Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets—secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. However, this doesn’t sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart—literally!

A steampunk novel of romance, political intrigue, and alchemy, represents a new and intriguing direction by the author of the critically-acclaimed .

Победитель премии Брема Стокера за лучший сборник!

Мрачные и захватывающие, эти двадцать рассказов о привидениях заставят вас дрожать от ужаса! Все истории о призраках написаны в традиционном стиле, но при этом каждый рассказ является уникальным переложением страшных городских легенд со всего мира.

Лауреат множественных премий Эллен Датлоу и номинант нескольких премий, автор и редактор Ник Маматас соединили в одну блестящую композицию работы Джеффри Форда, Рэмси Кэмпбелла, Джо Лэнсдейла, Кейтлин Кирнан, Кэтрин Валенте, Кит Рид, Екатерины Седиа и тринадцати других отличных писателей. Вместе они создали непревзойденную по глубине книгу, которая заставит читателей на всю ночь оставить включенным свет…

You hold in your hands a cornucopia of modern cutting-edge fantasy. The first volume of this extraordinary new annual anthology series of fantastic literature explodes on the scene with works that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the manner in which they cross genre boundaries, that aren’t afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques, and yet seamlessly blend form with meaningful function. The delectable offerings found within these pages come from some of today’s most distinguished contemporary fantasists and brilliant rising newcomers.

Whether it’s a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant style, or mind-blowing philosophical speculation and insight, the reader will be led into unfamiliar territory, there to find shock and delight.

Introducing CLOCKWORK PHOENIX.

Author and editor Allen () has compiled a neatly packaged set of short stories that flow cleverly and seamlessly from one inspiration to another. In “The City of Blind Delight” by Catherynne M. Valente, a man inadvertently ends up on a train that takes him to an inescapable city of extraordinary wonders. In “All the Little Gods We Are,” Hugo winner John Grant takes a mind trip to possible parallel universes. Modern topics make an appearance among the whimsy and strangeness: Ekaterina Sedia delves into the misunderstandings that occur between cultures and languages in “There Is a Monster Under Helen’s Bed,” while Tanith Lee gleefully skewers gender politics with “The Woman,” giving the reader a glimpse of what might happen if there was only one fertile woman left in a world of men. Lush descriptions and exotic imagery startle, engross, chill and electrify the reader, and all 19 stories have a strong and delicious taste of weird.

(July)

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An expedition to an alien planet; Lenin rising from the dead; a superhero so secret he does not exist. In , World Fantasy Award nominated editor Lavie Tidhar brings together a unique collection of stories from around the world. Quiet horror from Cuba and Australia; surrealist fantasy from Russia and epic fantasy from Poland; near-future tales from Mexico and Finland, as well as cyberpunk from South Africa. In this anthology one gets a glimpse of the complex and fascinating world of genre fiction – from all over our world.

Każde miasto ma swoje sekretne miejsca. Wieki pełne mrocznych historii sprawiły, że stolica Rosji ma takich miejsc wyjątkowo dużo. Współczesność przenika się tu z przeszłością w sposób subtelny i magiczny. Mieszkańcy Moskwy szukając schronienia przed problemami współczesnego życia mogą czasem trafić do niezwykłych miejsc. Wystarczy jeden nieostrożny krok, żeby znaleźć się w mrocznym, baśniowym świecie pełnym magii, płaczących drzew, gadających ptaków, wygnanych wieki temu pogańskich bóstw i baśniowych stworzeń. Tu można usłyszeć najdziwniejsze z opowieści. Trzeba tylko cierpliwie nadstawiać uszu. Ekaterina Sedia napisała książkę niezwykłą o zderzeniu dwóch światów. Kapitalistycznej i nowoczesnej Moskwy z magicznym światem starorosyjskich baśni. Tuż pod powierzchnią szarej rzeczywistości kryje się inny świat. Mroczny, niebezpieczny, ale i zarazem piękny. Tu wszystko jest możliwe. Niepokojący klimat powieści porównywany jest przez krytyków z dziełami Bułhakowa. Ta książka to jedna z najważniejszych pozycji współczesnej literatury rosyjskiej. Główną bohaterką powieści jest Galina, młoda kobieta mająca na głowie zwyczajne problemy codziennego życia. Zostaje zaplątana w wir tajemniczych wydarzeń i razem z milicjantem prowadzącym śledztwo w sprawie tajemniczych zaginięć musi na nowo poznać otaczający ją świat. Wspólne poszukiwania prowadzą ich do podziemnego królestwa, do krainy zawieszonej między rzeczywistością i fantazją. Do świata, gdzie honor ma znaczenie, a dobro i zło są tym, czym były u zarania dziejów. Ekaterina Sedia urodziła się i wychowała w Moskwie. Po studiach przeniosła się do Stanów Zjednoczonych. Obecnie mieszka w New Jersey razem z mężem i dwoma kotami. Wykłada botanikę i ekologię. W chwilach wolnych uprawia ogródek i pisze książki. Jej najnowszy bestseller to "Tajemna Historia Moskwy".

Ekaterina Sedia resides in the Pinelands of New Jersey. Her new novel, The Secret History of Moscow, was published by Prime Books in November 2007. Her next one, The Alchemy of Stone, will be published in June 2008. Her short stories have sold to Analog, Baen's Universe, Fantasy Magazine, and Dark Wisdom, as well as the Japanese Dreams (Prime Books) and Magic in the Mirrorstone (Mirrorstone Books) anthologies. Visit her at www.ekaterinasedia.com.

Sedia (According to Crow) applies urban fantasy templates to her Russian setting with mixed success in her second stand-alone novel. Masha, the cheerfully normal sister of vision-prone translator Galina, turns into a jackdaw and flies off, leaving her just-born child behind. Joined by police detective Yakov Richards, Galina tracks the missing Masha into an underground milieu where lost souls mingle with beings out of Russian folklore. A host of secondary characters rapidly clutter the narrative and cloud its focus, and Sedia's persistently curt prose favors contemporary atmosphere over mythic resonance, diminishing Koschey the Deathless and Zemun the Celestial Cow to near-mundane status. Modern blue-collar Moscow is pitch-perfect, however: bustling yet seedy, disorganized and none too respectable. While undeniably authentic, the cynical tone may alienate many Western readers before they reach the startling but well-grounded climax. On the whole, this wholeheartedly Russian tale is most compelling as social commentary.

Это не конец света, это всего-навсего подарок генетика любимой женушке к годовщине свадьбы.