Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to Journey to the Center of the Earth, from the fabled island of Avalon to the lost oasis of Zerzura, from The Land That Time Forgot to the golden city of El Dorado, storytellers have long imagined what exists beyond the edges of the map. The need to seek and discover the unknown is embedded in who we are, no matter the culture or era. To celebrate this sense of wonder, award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has gathered together some of the best SF&F writers working today, collecting adventure and mystery in this spectacular anthology. With original contributions from Seanan McGuire, Becky Chambers, Carrie Vaughn, Charles Yu, Kate Elliott, Tobias S. Buckell, Dexter Palmer, E. Lily Yu, Jonathan Maberry, and more, there are short stories sure to enthrall every reader. Explore the rich tradition begun centuries ago with this all-new compilation full of imagination and delights. What lies beyond the edge of the unknown? Only you, brave reader, can find out.

CONTENTS

  • INTRODUCTION
    John Joseph Adams
  • THE LIGHT LONG LOST AT SEA
    An Owomoyela
  • THE CLEFT OF BONES
    Kate Elliott
  • THE VOYAGE OF BRENYA
    Carrie Vaughn
  • COMFORT LODGE, ENIGMA VALLEY
    Charles Yu
  • THE EXPEDITION STOPS FOR THE EVENING AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN PASS
    Genevieve Valentine
  • DOWN IN THE DIM KINGDOMS
    Tobias S. Buckell
  • THOSE WHO HAVE GONE
    C.C. Finlay
  • AN ACCOUNT, BY DR. INGE KUHN, OF THE SUMMER EXPEDITION AND ITS DISCOVERIES
    E. Lily Yu
  • OUT OF THE DARK
    James L. Cambias
  • ENDOSYMBIOSIS
    Darcie Little Badger
  • THE ORPHEUS GATE
    Jonathan Maberry
  • HOTEL MOTEL HOLIDAY INN
    Dexter Palmer
  • ON THE COLD HILL SIDE
    Seanan McGuire
  • THE RETURN OF GRACE MALFREY
    Jeffrey Ford
  • THE TOMB SHIP
    Becky Chambers
  • PELLARGONIA: A LETTER TO THE JOURNAL OF IMAGINARY ANTHROPOLOGY
    Theodora Goss
  • THERE, SHE DIDN’T NEED AIR TO FILL HER LUNGS
    Cadwell Turnbull

Praise for Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms

Here be dragons . . . and a lot of stories that would make a dragon blink. A fascinating kaleidoscope of people and places and Things That Might Have Been―or Might Be.

—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author