Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 3

Dust jacket illustration by Dave McKean.

Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 3 is the latest installment in an acclaimed anthology series, and it brings together ten voices—some familiar, some less so—that are at once distinctive, compelling, and irresistible.

Tales of darkness and inexplicable happenings have always been with us—and always will. In its contemporary form, this sort of story is not only alive and well, but flourishing, and it continues to speak to us in a variety of voices. Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 3 is the latest installment in an acclaimed anthology series, and it brings together ten voices—some familiar, some less so—that are at once distinctive, compelling, and irresistible. 

The volume opens with award-winning novelist Kat Howard’s “An Ordinary Progression of Hearts,” an elegant meditation on the fragility of the human heart; and closes with acclaimed newcomer P. Djèlí Clark’s “Skin Magic,” a stunning account of sorcery and dark magic set in an unnamed third world country. Elsewhere in the anthology, Caitlin R. Kíernan (“Cherry Street Tango, Sweat Box Waltz”) offers a piece of near-future noir in which a “blackstrap” (a hired assassin) contemplates the failure of her latest murderous assignment. “At the Threshold of Your Bedchamber on the Fifth Night” by Sarah Gailey is the tale of a courtship that leads to a most unusual consummation. In “Final Course,” a rare short story by rising star C.J. Tudor, the reunion of old school friends takes a savage and unexpected turn. In addition to these and other stellar tales by the likes of Bentley Little, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Gallagher and Ian R. MacLeod, Tales of Dark Fantasy 3 contains Robert R. McCammon’s “Death Comes for the Rich Man,” a rare novella set in Colonial America and featuring McCammon’s popular “problem solver,” Matthew Corbett.

The limited edition of this superb anthology comes with a very special signed bonus hardcover: Always Going On by Tim Powers. A 14,000 word autobiographical essay of immense charm, it offers a highly personal glimpse into the mind, memories, and personal esthetics of one of modern fantasy’s most durable—and original—artists. Always Going On is both a gift to Powers’ many readers, and an invaluable supplement to an extraordinary body of work.  

Table of Contents:

• An Orderly Progression of Hearts—Kat Howard
• Cherry Street Tango, Sweatbox Waltz—Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Estate Sale—Bentley Little
• Twisted Hazel—Stephen Gallagher
• Death Comes for the Rich Man—Robert McCammon
• At the Threshold of Your Bedchamber on the Fifth Night—Sarah Gailey
• Final Course—C. J. Tudor
• Lamagica—Ian R. MacLeod
• Razor Pig—Richard Kadrey
• Skin Magic—P. Djèjí Clark

Trade: Fully cloth-bound hardcover edition

Limited: 250 signed numbered copies, in slipcase, with exclusive Tim Powers volume, Always Going On 

• NOTE: This is for a stand-alone unmatched copy, if you want a matching numberd set - click here to be taken to page to order a matching numbered set