Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2
Starred Review. Subterranean Press founder Schafer follows 2008's Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy with a superb anthology of 11 twisty stories. In Joe Hill's "Wolverton Station," humans and werewolves meet on the commuter trains outside of London. Jay Lake and Shannon Page's "The Passion of Mother Vajpai" is an erotic and poignant story of an apprentice assassin given a difficult task. Kelley Armstrong picks up the werewolf theme in a completely different vein with "Chivalrous," a study of pack mentality. In "A Pulp Called Joe," David Prill digs slyly at the terminology of paper while offering an aching glimpse of the evils of inequality. Finally, K.J. Parker serves up a wonderfully dry, comic, under-achieving, freelance wizard in "A Room with a View." Each tale has an element of the unexpected, playing delightfully on themes of individuality and unsettled outcomes. (Apr.)(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC.  All rights reserved.