Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Hypothetical Mammoth Book of Karl Edward Wagner


No, sorry there isn't actually a book named The Mammoth Book of Karl Edward Wagner, though there should be!

Recently, I started poking around my handful of Mammoth anthologies. I have mostly horror tomes edited by Stephen Jones.

I love those things, though I tended to grab them for a single story. Going back over the tables-of-content, I am noticing authors who I am now aware of that I wasn't aware of when I bought the books - Manly Wade Wellman, David J. Schow, Hugh B. Cave, et al.  (Which is why I should find more reading time.)

Some of these Mammoth anthologies have even found their way to ebook versions.

Sooo... - long story long, I thought I'd put together a list of Mammoth appearances of Karl Edward Wagner. For those who are interested in reading him but find acquiring the Wagner collections and novels difficult, maybe these can help. Some of the ebooks are pricey but there are lots of good stories alongside Wagner's tales. If not available as ebook, some can be found cheaply enough used.

The Mammoth Book of Frankenstein (Kindle)
“Undertow” (A Kane tale)

The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen (out-of-print)
(a reprint of The Mammoth Book of Werewolves (out-of-print))
“One Paris Night” (A Becker tale)

The Mammoth Book of Vampires (Kindle - yes, you can preview it, just click where the cover image would be)
“Beyond Any Measure”

The Mammoth Book of Monsters (out-of-print)
“.220 Swift”

The Mammoth Book of Zombies (Kindle)
“Sticks”

The Mammoth Book of Terror (out-of-print)
"The River of Night's Dreaming"

The Mammoth Book of New Terror (Kindle)
"The Fourth Seal"

Best New Horror 2 (Kindle) (technically, not Mammoth but edited by Jones and came up in my search)
"Cedar Lane"

In fact, there are also a large number of Best New Horror Stories. Wagner's name is on many of the covers, but I can't see the contents of the out-of-print ones. E.g.; number 4. (update; available for Kindle; number 3 and number 5)

Oh, of course, I just found this. I knew about it, but forget about it, too. Well, it doesn't have the Centipede collections or the ebooks or later Mammoth books, so my efforts aren't completely in vain.

Karl Edward Wagner Bibliography.

Also, according to that list, he had two stories in The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories. (out-of-print)

Happy hunting!

7 comments:

  1. I was very excited at the title of this post until I saw your first sentence. :P

    I ought to look into these books as I don't have any of them. I've been known to buy books and pulps for a single story. There's some great stuff hiding out there.

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    1. You're right, that was a cheap shot. I've updated the title :)

      I need to get more and read more of them! I think maybe I need a month or two of nothing but short story reading - mostly from Mammoth anthologies.

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  2. Argh, I want them on kindle or audio and I still need to get a copy of "sticks"!

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  3. I'm not going to gloat about having all of Wagner's published fiction. Wait, yes I am.

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  4. I didn't think it was that cheap of a shot. I rather admired the effectiveness of the title getting me to click through even though I knew it was a tease.

    Plus, I also have all of Wagner's published fiction. So I join Charles in gloating. And, yes, David, you do need to get a copy of "Sticks".

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  5. Oh, I believe I have nearly all the Wagner stuff, too - except I don't have Exorcisms & Ecstasies - so if anything was published only there (e.g.; "Satan's Gun") I don't have it. But I figured I'd help those who don't have much Wagner or no Wagner.

    Even at that - those Mammoth books are downright appealing for all their content! I still might augment my collection with some more.

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  6. If you have the two volume Centipede Wagner Horror set and the two Nightshade Kane books you have almost everything. The Centipede books have the remaining horror that's not in 'Why Not You and I' and 'In a Lonely Place'.There are a couple of Kane stories in the Nightshade short story volume that aren't in the Warner paperbacks and it includes the Elric crossover. Then, yeah you'd need Exorcisms and Ecstasies for the Becker stories. I'll be interested in seeing if the Centipede Kane collections offer any bonus material.
    Beyond that there's Conan Road of Kings, Killer, and Legion From the Shadows.

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