Powieść można porównać do tkaniny o skomplikowanym, fascynującym wzorze, misternie utkanej z wątków trzech, pozornie odrębnych, mikropowieści. Każda z nich stanowi pasjonującą lekturę, razem tworzą natomiast zupełnie nową jakość; dopiero przewróciwszy ostatnią kartkę czytelnik zaczyna sobie uświadamiać jak wielkie znaczenie miały pozornie mało istotne wzmianki rozrzucone w tekście i natychmiast zaczyna czytać książkę od nowa, by móc w pełni docenić mistrzostwo Gene Wolfe'a, jednego z najbardziej oryginalnych i fascynujących twórców współczesnej science fiction.

A truly breathtaking new anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders, Swords & Dark Magic offers stunning new tales of sword and sorcery action, romance, and dark adventure written by some of the most respected, bestselling fantasy writers working today—from Joe Abercrombie to Gene Wolfe. An all-new Elric novella from the legendary Michael Moorcock and a new visit to Majipoor courtesy of the inimitable Robert Silverberg are just two of the treasures offered in Swords & Dark Magic—a fantasy lover’s dream.Seventeen original tales of sword and sorcery penned by masters old and newElric…the Black Company…Majipoor. For years, these have been some of the names that have captured the hearts of generations of readers and embodied the sword and sorcery genre. And now some of the most beloved and bestselling fantasy writers working today deliver stunning all-new sword and sorcery stories in an anthology of small stakes but high action, grim humor mixed with gritty violence, fierce monsters and fabulous treasures, and, of course, swordplay. Don’t miss the adventure of the decade!Swords & Dark Magic is the most important new fantasy anthology to be published this decade. Featuring new stories from the bestselling and brightest writers working in the genre, including: New York Times bestselling authors Scott Lynch and Garth Nix; genre greats Michael Moorcock (with an all-new Elric novella), Michael Shea (with a fully authorized new Cugel the Clever adventure), Robert Silverberg (with an all-new Majipoor tale), Glen Cook (with an all-new Black Company story), Gene Wolfe, and C. J. Cherryh; and hot new writers who’ve been re-inventing swords and sorcery like Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Tim Lebbon, and many more.Cover illustration © by Benjamin Carré

A truly breathtaking new anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders, Swords & Dark Magic offers stunning new tales of sword and sorcery action, romance, and dark adventure written by some of the most respected, bestselling fantasy writers working today—from Joe Abercrombie to Gene Wolfe. An all-new Elric novella from the legendary Michael Moorcock and a new visit to Majipoor courtesy of the inimitable Robert Silverberg are just two of the treasures offered in Swords & Dark Magic—a fantasy lover’s dream.Seventeen original tales of sword and sorcery penned by masters old and newElric…the Black Company…Majipoor. For years, these have been some of the names that have captured the hearts of generations of readers and embodied the sword and sorcery genre. And now some of the most beloved and bestselling fantasy writers working today deliver stunning all-new sword and sorcery stories in an anthology of small stakes but high action, grim humor mixed with gritty violence, fierce monsters and fabulous treasures, and, of course, swordplay. Don’t miss the adventure of the decade!Swords & Dark Magic is the most important new fantasy anthology to be published this decade. Featuring new stories from the bestselling and brightest writers working in the genre, including: New York Times bestselling authors Scott Lynch and Garth Nix; genre greats Michael Moorcock (with an all-new Elric novella), Michael Shea (with a fully authorized new Cugel the Clever adventure), Robert Silverberg (with an all-new Majipoor tale), Glen Cook (with an all-new Black Company story), Gene Wolfe, and C. J. Cherryh; and hot new writers who’ve been re-inventing swords and sorcery like Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Tim Lebbon, and many more.Cover illustration © by Benjamin Carré

Thirty-one stories by the most distinguished creator of literary sf makes for a pretty indispensable volume. Of course, “The Fifth Head of Cerberus” and “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”—recognized as classics for many years now—are here. So are such objects of amused contemplation (on account of their titles) well before they are read (and as amusedly enjoyed) as “The Hero as Werewolf,” “The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton” (steampunk with more than one difference), “Seven American Nights” (an account of archaeology of the future), and “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?” written in homage to the witty Catholic sf (and historical) novelist R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002). Each of those and the rest of these stories characteristically begin at a point from which Wolfe diverges in a number of different directions—with just how many depending, surprisingly enough, on the particular reader.

“The Book of the New Sun”, by Gene Wolfe.Omnibus edition.

Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an Earth transformed in mysterious and wonderful ways. Severian is a torturer, exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his victims, and now journeying to the distant city of Thrax, armed with his ancient executioner’s sword, Terminus Est.Won Nebula Award for Best novel in 1981.Won Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1982.Nominated for Hugo and World Fantasy Awards in 1982.

Far from Earth two sister planets, Sainte Anne and Sainte Croix, circle each other. It is said that a race of shapeshifting aliens once lived here, only to become extinct when human colonists arrived. But one man believes they still exist, somewhere out in the wilderness. In The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Gene Wolfe brilliantly interweaves three tales: a scientist’s son gradual discovery of the bizarre secret of his heritage; a young man’s mythic dreamquest for his darker half; the mystifying chronicle of an anthropologist’s seemingly-arbitrary imprisonment. Gradually, a mesmerising pattern emerges.

A novel of the fantastic set in an imagined country in EuropeAn American writer of travel guides in need of a new location chooses to travel to a small and obscure Eastern European country. The moment Grafton crosses the border he is in trouble, much more than he could have imagined. His passport is taken by guards, and then he is detained for not having it. He is released into the custody of a family, but is again detained. It becomes evident that there are supernatural agencies at work, but they are not in some ways as threatening as the brute forces of bureaucracy and corruption in that country. Is our hero in fact a spy for the CIA? Or is he an innocent citizen caught in a Kafkaesque trap?Gene Wolfe keeps us guessing until the very end, and after.

The World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award and International Horror Guild Award-winning series. This latest edition of the world's premier annual showcase devoted exclusively to excellence in horror and dark fantasy fiction contains some of the very best short stories and novellas by today's finest exponents of horror fiction. Also featuring the most comprehensive yearly overview of horror around the world, lists of useful contact addresses and a fascinating necrology, this is the only book that should be required reading for every fan of dark fiction. Like all of the other volumes in this series, award-winning editor Stephen Jones once again brings us the best new horror, revisiting momentous events and chilling achievements on the dark side of fantasy in 2004. This book was nominated for the 2005 British Fantasy Award.

Recently voted the greatest fantasy of all time after The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an Earth transformed in mysterious and wonderful ways. Severian is a torturer, exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his victims, and now journeying to the distant city of Thrax, armed with his ancient executioner’s sword, Terminus Est.Won BSFA Award and World Fantasy Award in 1981.Nominated for Nebula and John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1981.

Banished for the sin of mercy, Severian, one of the ancient guild of Torturers, flees from exile. In a mountain wilderness he meets the Alzabo, in whom those eaten seem to live on, adopts as son only to lose him in battle, discharges an old debt to vengeance, encounters fanged aliens who hide behind masks of beauty, and helps the people of the floating islands in their unending battle for freedom.Won British Fantasy Award in 1983.Won Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1983.Nominated for BSFA Award in 1982.Nominated for Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1982.Nominated for Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1983.Nominated for World Fantasy Award in 1983.

The final volume of Book of the New Sun series.Severian, formerly a member of the Torturers’ Guild and now Autarch of Urth, travels beyond the boundaries of time and space aboard the Ship of Tzadkiel on a mission to bring the New Sun to his dying planet. Wolfe demonstrates his mastery of both style and content in this complex, multilayered story of one man’s eternal quest.Nominated for Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards in 1988.