Mythic Delirium

Rich word choices and settings that blend speculative concepts with quotidian reality highlight this stellar anthology of prose and poetry from well-known editor Mike Allen (Clockwork Phoenix) and his wife and copublisher, Anita Allen. Imaginative ideas abound, include creating an alternative history for Troy’s ill-fated Paris in Marie Brennan’s “The Wives of Paris,” septuagenarians who think they’re Annie Oakley in Patty Templeton’s “The Two Annies of Windale Road,” and a stunning creation myth in Yukimi Ogawa’s “The Giant’s Tree.” Two of the best narrative poems are “Voyage to a Distant Star,” where C.S.E. Cooney tells the plight of an unwilling generation ship, and Lisa M. Bradley’s “Backbone of the Home,” a haunting tale of a witch who preys upon new home owners. “Maggie’s body is a ruined country where everything lovely has been bombed out,” from Georgina Bruce’s “The Art of Flying,” is just one of many lines worth lingering over. This anthology is a winner from cover to cover. (Nov.)