Editor Sarrantonio asked some more of the best sf and fantasy writers to create their own "dangerous visions"--he actually issued a challenge to them to come up with the best fantasy story each of them has ever written without restrictions of any kind. Big names like Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Harry Turtledove, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Silverberg, Charles de Lint, Thomas M. Disch, and Gene Wolfe obliged, as did still-rising stars such as Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jeffrey Ford, and Terry Bisson.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Robert Silverberg >> When Gannin Thidrich becomes apprentice to a sorcerer; he did not expect his teacher to be a sorceress, and a beautiful one at that. Things are going to get very complicated for Gannin, especially when one's longings are obviously rebuffed again & again.

"Perpetua" by Kit Reed >> Some of us may be Daddy's little girl/s but this is taking it a bit too far. Creepy.

"The Edges of Never-Haven" by Catherine Asaro >> Denric, a Ruby Prince absentmindedly crossed into the border of the town of Never-Haven where people live in curved houses and cannot create any straight line, not even a line in the dirt, without summoning demons. "You've never needed for anything, princeling. Never lived the edges of life, only its sweet fullness."

"Pat Moore" by Tim Powers >> Pat Moore never questioned how common his name was...until he started meeting ghosts with the same name. Got bored with this, or maybe I just didn't like the author's writing style.

"Six Hypotheses" by Joyce Carol Oates >> A very disturbing and strange story containing six hypotheses about what has happened to a perfectly normal family. You can almost "hear" the nightmare inside your head, invading your senses.

"The Silver Dragon" by Elizabeth A. Lynn >> In the land of Ryoka, an evil lord prepares for war against his neighbors, including the Silver Dragon. In order to neutralize the dragon, the lord steals his wife. But, the dragon will stop at nothing to get his wife back. This is my fave! I think the only dragon tale I ever liked :)

"Fallen Angel" by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. >> Imagine a cocky "fallen angel" being paid to perform spells that deal with real estate up in heaven.

"The Following" by P.D. Cacek >> Run-of-the-mill haunted house except its owner refuses to believe that is it haunted in spite of all the evidence staring him in the face. He finally meets a woman who can chase the ghosts away but not in the usual way.

"A Tower With No Doors" by Dennis L. McKiernan >> This is a great retelling of the fairy tale "Rapunzel" which makes me actually prefer this one to the original. A brilliant choice of using a lamia instead of a witch.

"Boomerang" by Larry Niven >> Tells of the end of the mythological god Daramulum who ruled Australia and New Zealand.

"Wonderwall" by Elizabeth Hand >> A story of a creative artist's up and downs in life and of her comparing herself to Rimbaud: "He had walked through the wall, but I had only smashed my head against it, fruitlessly, in anguish and despair. It had defeated me, and I hadn't even left a mark."

"Blood, Oak, Iron" by Janny Wurts >> Every time a King dies, the successor is possessed by a wraith. Can the cycle ever be broken?

"Riding Shotgun" by Charles de Lint >> A man clearing out his deceased father's estate stumbles upon his old car and is transported back in time to a critical event in his past. Provides an insight on why some spirits choose to stay behind. "...it was different for his generation: you figured out what you wanted to be, what you could be, given your situation in life, and that's what you aimed for. He couldn't understand that not only did I not know, but I didn't care, either."

"Demons Hide Their Faces" by A.A. Attasnasio >> A skeptical young man discovers the truth about missing books and the responsibility that goes into protecting them. "The most avid collectors of books are demons. The oldest texts."

"Relations" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman >> A member of the Family who always found a way of bending the given rules governing her kind unexpectedly found herself the slave of another.

"Tourists" by Neal Barrett, Jr. >> An unusual group of people decided to take a tour into a more unusual place. The problem is that one of them starts remembering snatches of things she's supposed to have forgotten.

"The White Man" by Thomas M. Disch >> A story of race relations and vampires. Not that engaging a read.

"Out of the Woods" by Patricia A. McKillip >> A young sorcerer-in-training moved into the old cottage in the woods. He hires a woman to tend to his house: she got more than she bargained for since she's the one actually witnesses the extraordinary things that occur in the woods! I particularly liked the bit about Merlin & Nimue.

"Perchance to Dream" by David Morrell >> A doctor tries to treat a patient for sleep disorder. But who is really dreaming and who really belongs to the waking world?

"Coming Across" by Harry Turtledove >> Elves live almost forever (given they don't die of boredom first) so they treasure everything that is of change and that which is new to them. They have created a gate in which every several hundred years one of them can visit our world in search of interesting experiences. Little do they know what they will find and accidentally bring back with them. I've loved elves since reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; what I wouldn’t give to be an elf myself.

"The Problem of Susan" by Neil Gaiman >> Related to C.S. Lewis's "The Last Battle" but be warned: this isn't your usual fare of children's story. Echoes of Lewis' Narnia parallelism to Christian Heaven.

"Keeper of Lost Dreams" by Orson Scott Card >> A young person discovers he is the keeper of the title. A promising tale but didn't quite meet my expectations.

"Watchfire" by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts >> What if you were so much more than what you thought you were? What if you're an important part of what keeps the balance of the worlds? Do you doubt it? Then you're perfectly tailored to the role given to you since the dawn of time.

"Tots" by Peter Schneider >> A story about four-year old children who are trained to fight each other to the death for big money and the amusement of adults.

"Jupiter's Skull" by Jeffrey Ford >> A strange psychic woman leaves a legacy in foxglove tea leaves for a man and woman who had visited her often when she was alive: of a love story between a human girl and a beast.

"Death's Door" by Terry Bisson >> We all thought it'd be great if we don't die. But what really happens when the dying can't die?

"Bill, the Little Steam Shovel" by Joe R. Lansdale >> A hilarious tale of a steam shovel who dreams of being more than he is. You'd giggle over the absurdity of it all.

"Sleepover" by Al Sarrantonio >> Two children wake up all alone on a flat, deserted, alien plain. And now, other parents know the way...

"Golden City Far" by Gene Wolfe >> A young man's dreams started to invade his waking life. But really, what's the harm in that? The golden city with its mountains beckons and he’s getting ready for the long journey ahead. This reminded me of Moorcock's works & of Gaiman's "One Life."

...Reading's another way to go somewhere else and keep the past at bay.

Book Details:

Title Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy: Vol. I
Author Edited by Al Sarrantonio
Reviewed By Purplycookie ( )

One of the only fantasy short story collections that I could tollerate, even enjoy. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining read.

And hey, I think Larry Niven, author of the science fiction novel RING WORLD even has a story in here. Neat! ( )

Denric Valdoria, the seventh of Roca and Eldrinson's children, has come to the planet of Sandstorm with the plan of opening a school. Aware of the privileges his status gives him, he has a need to give something back to society, rather than take up an academic position in a high level university somewhere.

The story opens with him running, desperately, with demons chasing him. He has accidently strayed into the city of Never-Haven where everything is curved and to draw a straight line is to draw down the Edger demons. Denric finds himself captured and must set out to free himself.

This is a very short, little story with a simple plot that is beautifully worked. We never discover if the demons and their spells are truly magic and some long forgotten technology - and as Denric reflects, is there really a difference? Denric gets a chance to learn more about himself and how he fits with his famous family where he is a scholar rather than a fighter like so many of his siblings. This is a lovely little insight into a previous shadowy member of the Valdoria family and I look forward to meeting him again in a full novel. ( )