Description
Listen to Catherine read from “A Day at the Inn, A Night at the Palace.”
Eleven tales of the queer fantastic by award-winning author Catherine Lundoff. A bookstore clerk goes on a quest for the Norns while a couple of mercenaries wake up to some big surprises at their favorite inn. Shakespeare’s sister, Judith, forms an alliance with playwright Christopher Marlowe. A witch attempts the wrong love spell and a young prince meets an irresistible monster. Swordswomen, ghosts, the Queen of the Fay, the occasional gentleman of the evening and other unforgettable characters populate these stories rich and strange. Includes the Gaylactic Spectrum Award finalist “At the Roots of the World Tree” as well as several other stories not previously collected.
Queen of Swords –
Keith John Glaeske of Out in Print says:
Among my favorites in this collection are the Gaylactic Spectrum Award finalist “At the Roots of the World Tree,” about an inept, socially awkward clerk of a living bookstore who is forced to forestall Ragnorök, and the collection opener, “Great Reckonings, Little Rooms.” Riffing on Virginia Woolf’s famous quote about “Shakespeare’s sister” Judith, this story reads like one of Shakespeare’s own plays with intrigue, crossdressing “identical” fraternal twins, and swordplay; best of all, it finally answers the question as to who actually wrote Shakespeare’s works. (Ha! Take that, adherents of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford!)
Queen of Swords –
Author Heather Rose Jones says: “If I had to sum up Lundoff’s collection Out of This World: Queer Speculative Fiction Stories in a single word (which would be a totally unfair thing to require me to do) it would be “versatile.” This volume touches base on a broad variety of genres and subgenres yet succeeds in being a unified stylistic whole. There is everything from steampunk horror to hard-boiled alien invasion to magical police procedural, each story both drawing lovingly from its literary inspirations and turning them upside down.”
Book review excerpt, Alpennia
Queen of Swords –
Lambda Award-winning editor Sacchi Green says, “Out of This World suggests entering other worlds. The worlds Lundoff transported me to were well worth visiting, and the distinctive voices of the characters drew me into their stories.”
Read the rest of the review on Goodreads.
Queen of Swords –
Rising Shadow says “If you’re looking for something different and intriguing to read, you should take a look at Catherine Lundoff’s Out of This World: Queer Speculative Fiction Stories. This collection won’t disappoint those who are looking for well written stories, because each of the stories is worth reading. Please, invest a bit of time into reading this amazing collection, because it’s a genuinely entertaining and fascinating collection of fantastical tales for adult readers.”
Read the full review.
Queen of Swords –
The Nerdy Girl Express says “All of the stories within Out of This World are engaging and fun reads and no matter what genre you are typically drawn to you will definitely find something you will enjoy.” Read full review here.
Queen of Swords –
Rainbow Shelf says, “OUT OF THIS WORLD is an excellent anthology — crucially in that it introduces new readers, such as me, to such a wide variety of stories by a single author.”
Read the rest of the review here.
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Author Nathan Burgoine says, ” It’s just the sort of historical fiction I love the most: putting us queer (or other marginalized) people right there in the thick of things, finding our ways around the rules and power structures in play, and—ultimately—coming out on top in a not insignificant way, even when it’s not a complete victory.” Follow the link to read his sotry by story review.
Queen of Swords –
Looking for a “tasting menu” of Catherine Lundoff’s fantasy and science fiction? This is a great place to start!
– Queen of Swords Press staff