“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Robert Silverberg – The twist is that the sorcerer is really a woman, and the apprentice is a young man who is instantly obsessed by her. But, she treats him coldly…most of the time.

“Perpetua” by Kit Reed – Weird tale in which a father’s like is carried too far.

“The Edges of Never-Haven” by Catherine Asaro – In the town of Never-Haven, public live in bent houses and cannot make any straight line, not even a line in the dirt, lacking summoning demons.

“Pat Moore” by Tim Powers – Brilliant, suspenseful ghost tale.

“Six Hypotheses” by Joyce Carol Oates – Weird tale showing six hypotheses for the basis of a violent thing in a seemingly normal family.

“The Silver Dragon” by Elizabeth A. Lynn – In this land the King can shapechange into a dragon.

“Fallen Angel” by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. – Devout religious public may not care for this tale much.

“The Following” by P.D. Cacek – Chilling ghost tale with a twist.

“A Tower With No Doors” by Dennis L. McKiernan – Nice take on Rapunzel

“Boomerang” by Larry Niven – Too small to describe

“Wonderwall” by Elizabeth Hand – Sorry, don’t remember much about this one (I don’t have the book anymore)

“Blood, Oak, Iron” by Janny Wurts – Every time a King dies, the successor is possessed by an evil spirit. Can the sequence ever be broken?

“Riding Shotgun” by Charles de Lint – A man clearing out his deceased father’s estate stumbles upon an ancient car and is transported back in time to a critical event in his past.

“Demons Hide Their Faces” by A.A. Attasnasio – A skeptical young man discovers the truth about gone books.

“Relations” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman – Can’t remember

“Tourists” by Neal Barrett, Jr. – Can’t remember

“The White Man” by Thomas M. Disch – A chilling tale of race relations and vampires.

“Out of the wood” by Patricia A. McKillip – can’t remember

“Perchance to Dream” by David Morrell – A doctor tries to treat a patient for sleep disorder.

“Coming Across” by Harry Turtledove – Elves who can live perpetually (if they don’t die of boredom-literally) bent a gate to visit another world (ours) in search of fascinating experiences. Small do they know what they will find and accidentally bring back with them.

“The Problem of Susan” by Neil Gaiman – Related to C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle

“Keeper of Lost Dreams” by Orson Scott Card – A young person discovers he is the keeper of the title

“Watchfire” by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts – can’t remember

“Tots” by Peter Schneider – Four-year ancient children who struggle each additional to death for the amusement of adults

“Jupiter’s Skull” by Jeffrey Ford – A weird psychic woman leaves a legacy in tea leaves for a man and woman who had visited her often when she was alive.

“Death’s Door” by Terry Bisson – What happens when the dying can’t die?

“Bill, the Small Steam Shovel” by Joe R. Lansdale – A really irreverent, hilarious tale of a steam shovel who dreams of life more than he is.

“Sleepover” by Al Sarrantonio – Two children wake up on a flat, deserted, alien plain.

“Golden City Far” by Gene Wolfe – A young man’s dreams invade his waking life.

A wonderful mix of classic and present fantasy, as well as tales that defy categorizing. Despite the title, the tales are not about flights or flying. Not all of the tales are winners, but there is enough excellent stuff here to warrant a 5 star recommendation.

My personal favorites: “Pat Moore” by Tim Powers, “The Silver Dragon” by Elizabeth A. Lynn, “Riding Shotgun” by Charles de Lint, “Coming Across” by Harry Turtledove, and “Bill, the Small Steam Shovel” by Joe R. Lansdale.

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I didn’t quite know what to expect from such a tile, what they meant by extreme. It’s mostly unusual ways to approach fantasy, intended for an audience that matured from dragons and elves and expects a small bit more. I found many of the tales refreshingly original, twisted, and mind-bending. Among my favorites was a new take on Rapunzel told by an unlikely character, a sweet and sad tale of a fallen angel, an fascinating visit to Hell, and last but not least, a lion a bit too friendly to a certain witch. I also found some useful information, like how to tell when there’s a demon nearly, by an unusual separation of cold and hot air. Excellent to know. An entertaining collection on the whole and that will most likely make me search for more books from some of the authors.

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By 

J. Bilby “littlebibs” (Kingston, New Hampshire United States) –

  

Just received this this week,(excellent way to start the new year) and I’m impressed with this book but I’m not bowled over with
anything that Al Sarrantonio place his hands to. What a cast of
characters that deliver these tales. I’m just finishing up
the fantastic American East Texas storyteller Joe R. Lansdale and
his new tale, “Bill, the small steam shovel” and its nothing
like I’ve read by Joe before but its so excellent, so like Joe Lansdale in its detail, humor and vision. This anthology has
so many fantastic tales and what a list of who’s who… Orson Scott Card, Joyce
Carol Oats, Neal Barrett jr., Charles De Lint, P.D. Cacek,
Robert Silverberg, Nina Hoffman, Neil Gaiman, David Morrell,
Ray Feist as well as the above master tale teller Joe Lansdale
this is a fantastic way to spend superfluous time nearly the holidays!
Pick your favorites!

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