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Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy PDF

304 Pages·2004·1.3 MB·English
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Emerald Magic Also by Andrew M. Greeley from Tom Doherty Associates All About Women Angel Fire Angel Light Contract with an Angel Faithful Attraction The Final Planet Furthermore!: Memories of a Parish Priest God Game The Priestly Sins Star Bright! Summer at the Lake White Smoke Sacred Visions (editor with Michael Cassutt) The Book of Love (editor with Mary G. Durkin) Bishop Blackie Ryan Mysteries The Bishop and the Missing L Train The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germain The Bishop in the West Wing Nuala Anne McGrail Novels Irish Gold Irish Lace Irish Whiskey Irish Mist Irish Eyes Irish Love Irish Stew! The O’Malleys in the Twentieth Century A Midwinter’s Tale Younger than Springtime A Christmas Wedding September Song Second Spring Emerald Magic GREAT TALES of IRISH FANTASY Edited by Andrew M. Greeley This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in these stories are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. E M : G T I F MERALD AGIC REAT ALES OF RISH ANTASY Copyright © 2004 by Andrew M. Greeley Enterprises, Ltd., and Tekno Books All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. This book is printed on acid-free paper. A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 www.tor.com ® Tor is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Emerald magic : great tales of Irish fantasy / edited by Andrew M. Greeley.—1st ed. p. cm. “A Tom Doherty Associates book.” ISBN 0-765-30504-6 1. Fantasy fiction, English—Irish authors. 2. Ireland—Fiction. I. Greeley, Andrew M., 1928– PR8876.5.F35E44 2004 823'.0876608—dc22 2003061477 First Edition: February 2004 Printed in the United States of America 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acknowledgments Introduction, copyright © 2004 by Andrew M. Greeley. “Herself,” copyright © 2004 by Diane Duane. “Speir-Bhan,” copyright © 2004 by Tanith Lee. “Troubles,” copyright © 2004 by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. “The Hermit and the Sidhe,” copyright © 2004 by Judith Tarr. “The Merrow,” copyright © 2004 by Elizabeth Haydon. “The Butter Spirit’s Tithe,” copyright © 2004 by Charles de Lint. “Banshee,” copyright © 1986 by Ray Bradbury. First published in Woman’s Own, February 1986. Reprinted by permission of the author and his agents, the Don Congdon Agency. “Peace in Heaven?” copyright © 2004 by Andrew M. Greeley. “The Lady in Grey,” copyright © 2004 by Jane Lindskold. “A Drop of Something Special in the Blood,” copyright © 2004 by Fred Saberhagen. “For the Blood Is the Life,” copyright © 2004 by Peter Tremayne. “Long the Clouds Are over Me Tonight,” copyright © 2004 by Cecilia DartThornton. “The Swan Pilot,” copyright © 2004 by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. “The Isle of Women,” copyright © 2004 by Jacqueline Carey. “The Cat with No Name,” copyright © 1989 by Morgan Llywelyn. First published in The Irish Times. Reprinted by permission of the author. For Colm O’Muircheartaigh, Up Kerry! Contents I Andrew M. Greeley NTRODUCTION The Little People H Diane Duane ERSELF S -B Tanith Lee PEIR HAN T Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple ROUBLES T H S Judith Tarr HE ERMIT ANDTHE IDHE T M Elizabeth Haydon HE ERROW T B S ’ T Charles de Lint HE UTTER PIRIT S ITHE B Ray Bradbury ANSHEE P H ? Andrew M. Greeley EACE IN EAVEN Literar y Fantastics T L G Jane Lindskold HE ADY IN REY A D S S B Fred Saberhagen ROP OF OMETHING PECIAL IN THE LOOD F B I T L Peter Tremayne OR THE LOOD S HE IFE L C A M T Cecilia Dart-Thornton ONG THE LOUDS RE OVER E ONIGHT T S P L. E. Modesitt, Jr. HE WAN ILOT T I W Jacqueline Carey HE SLEOF OMEN T C N N Morgan Llywelyn HE AT WITH O AME About The Auther Introduction W hen I was a small one,my mother told me stories about “the little people” in Ireland, stories she had heard from her own mother. I don’t think she believed the stories, at least not that much. Her mother before may have told them at least half in fun. Even if they were not altogether true, they were good stories. So I learned early on in life about the characters that swirl around Dublin’s fair city in Diane Duane’s first story in this collection—leprechauns and pookas and silkie and banshee and the rest of them. I was surprised that they had all moved to Dublin, but so, it seems, has everyone else. Indeed the largest number of those who speak The Irish as their first language now live in Dublin. The “little people,” as my mother called them, go wherever the Irish speakers go. My mom also explained where the faerie came from. They were the moderate middle angels in the time of the great war in heaven between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels.When the matter was settled, and the “bad angels” went off to hell, there was some discussion as to where the “independents” should be sent. They had not fought against the Lord God, so they didn’t deserve hell, but they hadn’t been on His side either, so they couldn’t stay in heaven. The decision was they would be sent to earth, to a place of their own choosing. They opted for Ireland: it was, after all, the place on earth most like heaven! They had the Emerald Isle all to themselves until the Celts came, a variety of humans for whom they didn’t have much affection, so they retreated to the west of the island and to their caves and forts and hills and islands in the river and other hangouts. Their situation was made worse when the monks came and replaced the druids. The latter were properly afraid of them, but the Catholic clergy vigorously denied their existence and denounced them from the altars. The Sidhe (whom I call the Shee because few can be expected to cope with the mysteries of Irish spelling) decided that it was not prudent to take on the priests directly and withdrew farther into the ground and into mystery and magic. In my own story in this collection I try to make peace between the two angelic hosts, an exercise of fantasy, I hasten to add, not theology (lest I be delated to the Holy Office!).

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Mythology and magic come alive in this collection of Irish fantasy stories by some of today's finest authors.Ireland is a nation that holds fast to its history and heritage, and nowhere is that more true than in its folktales and legends. From the great Celtic myths featuring the bard Taliesin, the
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