The Very Best of Kate Elliott

“
The Very Best of Kate Elliott
does an excellent job of displaying Elliott’s multifaceted creativity, her huge talent for inventing a variety of worlds without ever sacrificing the sparkling little details in each one that make her writing so compelling.”

—Katharine Kerr, author of the Deverry Cycle

“But remarkably Elliott is one of those rare writers who is also able to distill that sense of an epic fantasy novel into the short form. For fans of epic storytelling, this is a collection not to be missed.”

—John Joseph Adams, series editor of
Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy
and editor of
Lightspeed Magazine

P
RAISE FOR
K
ATE
E
LLIOTT

“A gripping and enthralling fantasy epic.”

—
London Times
on Crown of Stars

“Elliott pulls out all the stops in a wildly imaginative narrative that will ring happy bells for fans of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Elliott’s accomplished in three novels over three years what one might reasonably expect to take much longer. With Traitors’ Gate she concludes a wildly complex story with clarity and panache. If you like to immerse yourself in a fantasy world, Elliott’s completed trilogy is a great place to do so.”

—
The Agony Column

“The Crossroads trilogy is a breathtaking achievement that places fantasy back in the center of political fiction.”

—
Strange Horizons

“The most fabulous part of Elliott’s series is how perfectly crafted the characters are, each with their own flaws and blind spots, as well as their honor or lack thereof. . . . Rebellion and unrest provide plenty of opportunity for plot surprises, and the conclusion is delicious.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“
Cold Steel
—indeed, the whole Spiritwalker trilogy—is one of a handful of epic fantasy novels that treats social change and social revolution thoughtfully, understanding the nature of a paradigm shift away from privilege (privilegium, private law) towards common law and equality before the law.”

—
Tor.com

“Elliott’s writing keeps getting better. She handles a cast roughly the size of
The Iliad
’s and still makes each personality distinct, and she excels at depicting quiet character moments.”

—
Starlog

“An exuberant narrative with great energy and inventive world building . . . I utterly loved it”

—
Fantasy Book Critic

“Elliott has concocted something very special and original here, with elements to tweak sci-fi and fantasy fans of nearly any stripe, from alt history and steampunk aficionados, to lovers of intrigue, romance, and swashbuckling adventure.”

—
New York Journal of Books

“A broad, adventurous novel that draws successfully from historical fiction, SF, and even romance writing in creating its background and interpersonal tensions.”

—
Science Fiction Chronicle

“A fantastic exploration of an alternate world, complete with a spirit world, Mages, an alternate geography, an alternate history, and lots and lots of cool ideas.”

—
SF Signal

“Just when you think you know where this epic is going, Ms. Elliott impressively pulls the carpet right out from under your feet and opens up dazzling new vistas for your imagination to savor.”

—
Rave Reviews

“The Spiritwalker trilogy contains many of the qualities that I love to see in a fantasy novel—a richly detailed, vivid world; well-developed characters with unique personalities and histories; and a first-person narrator whose sparkling words bring the story to life. Books like these are why I read speculative fiction, and the three books in the Spiritwalker trilogy are keepers.”

—
Fantasy Cafe

“Fans of steampunk and alternate history will enjoy this heady mix of magic and technology.”

—
Library Journal

“If you need your fix of secret enclaves of sorcerers attempting to turn the world into its puppet, Mesoamerican elves and their time-traveling ghosts, Woman of Color protagonist with bookish habits and complex motives, political intrigue of the best and worst sort, White-farm boy-who-mighthave-a-destiny protagonist, Non-human yet oddly relatable protagonist, Noble Knight Man of Color protagonist with simple desires and complicated loyalties, enormous cast of interesting and terrible people, the beauty of war, the horrors of love, heresy and power-mad Clergyfolk, Matriarchs who abuse their power and those that lead revolutions from prisons, Hack-N-Bash Knights in Full Plate and Kings who go forth in the land, Prophecies, Curses, Magic Cities that Aren’t There, and spoiled child empresses who like to get dirt on their gowns, welcome to staying up WAY past your bedtime for the foreseeable future.”

—
Medievalpoc
on Crown of Stars

The Very Best of Kate Elliott

This is a work of collected fiction. All events portrayed in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form without the express permission of the editor and the publisher.

Cover art by Julie Dillon and interior design by Elizabeth Story

Tachyon Publications

1459 18
^thStreet #139

San Francisco, CA 94107

(415)
285-5615

www.tachyonpublications.com

[email protected]

Series Editor: Jacob Weisman

Project Editor: Jill Roberts

BOOK ISBN 13: 978-1-61696-179-4 | Epub ISBN 13: 978-1-61696-180-0

KINDLE ISBN 13: 978-1-61696-181-7 | PDF ISBN 13: 978-1-61696-182-4

Printed in the United States of America by Worzalla

First Edition: 2015

“Riding the Shore of the River of Death” © 2009 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
A Fantasy Medley
, edited by Yanni Kuznia (Subterranean Press: Burton, Michigan). | “Leaf and Branch and Grass and Vine” © 2013 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Fearsome Journeys
, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Solaris: Oxford). | “The Queen’s Garden” © 2013 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Unexpected Journeys
, edited by Juliet E. McKenna (British Fantasy Society: London). | “On the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New” © 2015 by Kate Elliott. First appearance in print. | “The Gates of Joriun” © 1997 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Tarot Fantastic
, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Lawrence Schimel (DAW Books: New York). | “The Memory of Peace” © 1995 Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Enchanted Forests
, edited by Katharine Kerr and Martin H. Greenberg (DAW Books: New York). | “With God to Guard Her” © 1996 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Return to Avalon
, edited by Jennifer Roberson (DAW Books: New York). | “My Voice Is in My Sword” © 1994 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Weird Tales from Shakespeare
, edited by Katharine Kerr and Martin H. Greenberg (DAW Books: New York). | “Sunseeker” © 2002 by Kate Elliott. First Appeared in
30th Anniversary DAW Science Fiction
, edited by Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert (DAW Books: New York). | “A Simple Act of Kindness” © 1996 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
The Shimmering Door
, edited by Katharine Kerr (HarperPrism: New York). | “To Be a Man” © 2011 by Kate Elliott. First appeared on kateelliott.com. First appearance in print. | “Making the World Live Again” © 1997 by Kate Elliott. First appeared in
Zodiac Fantastic
, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and A. R. Morlan (DAW Books: New York). | “Four Essays” © 2015 by Kate Elliott.

All essays appear in print for the first time.

“The Omniscient Breasts: The Male Gaze through Female Eyes” © 2012 by Kate Elliott. First appeared on
SFSignal
, 9/14/12: sfsignal.com/archives/2012/09/guestpost-the-omniscient-breasts-by-kate-elliott/; “The Narrative of Women in Fear and Pain” © 2012 by Kate Elliott. First appeared on kateelliott.com (I Make Up Worlds), 9/24/12; “And Pharaoh’s Heart Hardened” © 2010 by Kate Elliott. First appeared on kateelliott.livejournal.com, 9/28/10;“The Status Quo Does Not Need World Building” © 2013 by Kate Elliott. First appeared on kateelliott.com (I Make Up Worlds), 9/30/13 and
Tor.com
, 11/5/13.

T
HE
V
ERY
B
EST OF

K
ATE
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LLIOTT

Other Books by Kate Elliott

Court of Fives
(2015)

Black Wolves
(2015)

The Spiritwalker Trilogy

Cold Magic
(2010)

Cold Fire
(2011)

Cold Steel
(2013)

The Crossroads Trilogy

Spirit Gate
(2007)

Shadow Gate
(2008)