TALES OF DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

A bumper crop of 30 tales spanning more than a century, grouped in three sections (horror, supernatural, fantasy), and compiled by the famous British anthologist--with the added fillip of interest that they're all previously uncollected; many, indeed, haven't seen the light of day since their original magazine appearance way back when. The superior efforts include: Stephen King's riveting tale of a demon-possessed laundry steam-press; John Collier's amusing-macabre sea monster; a vast and malevolent stone lizard (John D. MacDonald); a fierce and funny futurological satire from Ambrose Bierce; a poignant talc of a faun who chooses to become mortal (Arthur Ransome, of Swallows and Amazons fame); bats (James Hilton); clones (John Gardner); a defense against would-be book-burners (Ray Bradbury); a ""Three Wishes"" fantasy done to perfection by F. Anstey; an evil man who can shift his mind into another's body to escape vengeance (John Wyndham); and an atmospheric shape-shifting sea-demon yarn (William Hope Hodgson). And there are some lesser tales from famous names: Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe (his unfinished ""The Lighthouse,"" completed by Robert Bloch), H.P. Lovecraft (science fiction), Sax Rohmer, William Faulkner, Robert Bloch, Lord Dunsany, and William Morris (a longish fantasy, ""The Hollow Land""). Not all-time great tales, generally speaking, but of enormous rarity value to h/s/f fans and collectors alike.