“To the flames.”
I nodded.
“Death takes many forms, Mr. Smithe.” Though she spoke to me, Audrey’s gaze was fixed on the green box.
Thinking to safeguard both this Audrey and the box, I stood up. In that I was nearly too late. Audrey grasped it too; I had to snatch it from her.
I triumphed, and reality reeled.
BY GENE WOLFE FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES
THE WIZARD KNIGHT
The Knight
The Wizard
THE BOOK OF THE SHORT SUN
On Blue’s Waters
In Green’s Jungles
Return to the Whorl
THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN
Shadow & Claw (comprising The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator)
Sword & Citadel (comprising The Sword of the Lictor and The Citadel of the Autarch)
THE BOOK OF THE LONG SUN
Litany of the Long Sun (comprising Nightside of the Long Sun and Lake of the Long Sun)
Epiphany of the Long Sun (comprising Caldé of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun)
NOVELS
The Fifth Head of Cerberus
The Devil in a Forest
Peace
Free Live Free
The Urth of the New Sun
Latro in the Mist (comprising Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete)
Soldier of Sidon
There Are Doors
Castleview
Pandora by Holly Hollander
Pirate Freedom
An Evil Guest
The Sorcerer’s House
Home Fires
The Land Across
A Borrowed Man
Interlibrary Loan
NOVELLAS
The Death of Doctor Island
Seven American Nights
COLLECTIONS
Endangered Species
Storeys from the Old Hotel
Castle of Days
The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories
Strange Travelers
Innocents Aboard
Starwater Strains
The Best of Gene Wolfe
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GENE WOLFE (1931–2019) was a winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, multiple winner of the Nebula Award and the World Fantasy Award, as well as the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Prix Apollo. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the SFWA Grand Master Award. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
1. From the Spice Grove Public Library
2. What the Shirt Showed
3. The House on Signal Hill
4. Adah’s Story
5. A Cold Tea Party
6. From Library Custody
7. Conversations
8. To Lichholm
9. The Only Village on Corpse Island
10. The Cottage in the Cavern
11. Jingle Bells
12. Something You Do on a Boat
13. The Cheap Detective
14. Of the Continental Police
15. Strangers in the House
16. Among the Leaves
17. Shelf Life Resumed
18. Buck Baston
19. At Home with the Heaths
20. Night and Day
21. A New Fevre
22. Unburied Treasure
By Gene Wolfe from Tom Doherty Associates
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN
Copyright © 2020 by Gene Wolfe
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph by Getty Images
Cover design by FORT
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-24236-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-24268-6 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250242686
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First Edition: June 2020