Ex Libris

Anthologist extraordinaire Guran compiles 24 fantastical reprints that are linked by libraries and librarians. Ellen Klages’s charming “In the House of the Seven Librarians” is about the librarians who inhabit the abandoned Carnegie Library, and an orphaned baby girl who changes them forever. In Norman Partridge’s nightmarish “Special Collection,” a murderous librarian comes face to face with a vicious killer right out of the history books. Ray Bradbury’s delicate, dreamlike “Exchange” tells the story of a librarian who, through books, helps a soldier remember his golden childhood, then ushers him on to his next destination. Ken Liu’s tender “Summer Reading” imagines a future Earth that’s a museum with robot curators; when a seven-year-old girl asks CN-344315 to read one of the physical books that he fastidiously maintains, they escape to another world, if only for a short, precious time. “A Woman’s Best Friend” by Robert Reed features a librarian of many worlds who helps a man after he saves an angel’s life on Christmas Eve, putting an otherworldly twist on a classic film. This solid collection has something for everyone and includes a comprehensive introduction by Guran. (June)