at last, another FFB: SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: CONTEMPORARY FANTASY AND HORROR 2nd Edition, edited by Richard Bleiler (Scribners 2003)

In this ridiculously busy week, after a busy and extremely sad week, I've been considering doing posts on several books (and notable magazine issues) but have been putting them aside for now, so that I could read further and think about them some more...and I've noted that while several libraries share online an awkward table that lists the subjects and contributors to this fine (if very expensive) supplementary second edition to Richard Bleiler's father's 1985 Supernatural Fiction Writers, I've taken the data from that table and made it a bit easier to parse...subjects in italics first, contributors second:

Volume 1 Introduction p. xi List of Contributors p. xvii Peter Ackroyd Paul Kincaid p. 1 Robert Aickman John Clute p. 9 Joan Aiken John Clute p. 21 Poul Anderson Ed McKnight p. 33 Piers Anthony Solomon Davidoff p. 45 Paul Auster Paul Kincaid p. 53 Clive Barker K. A. Laity p. 61 Peter Beagle Darrell Schweitzer p. 71 Michael Bishop Paul Di Filippo p. 79 James P. Blaylock Mark Wingenfeld p. 89 Robert Bloch Stefan Dziemianowicz p. 99 Ray Bradbury Willis McNelly p. 115 Scott Bradfield Claude Lalumiere p. 123 Marion Zimmer Bradley Paula Johanson p. 129 Poppy Z. Brite Brian Stableford p. 147 Terry Brooks Nick Andreychuk p. 153 Steven Brust Patricia Brogan p. 161 Pat Cadigan Don Riggs p. 169 Ramsey Campbell K. A. Laity p. 177 Orson Scott Card Gary Westfahl p. 189 Jonathan Carroll Brian Stableford p. 201 Angela Carter Gina Wisker p. 209 Nancy Collins Monica J. O'Rourke p. 221 Storm Constantine Christopher Treagus p. 227 Glen Cook Gary Westfahl p. 233 Susan Cooper  Elizabeth Hand p. 239 John Crowley Elizabeth Hand p. 245 Avram Davidson Henry Wessells p. 253 Charles de Lint Christine Mains p. 267 Samuel R. Delany Brian Stableford p. 277 Paul di Filippo Claude Lalumiere p. 285 Thomas M. Disch Darrell Schweitzer p. 293 Stephen R. Donaldson Walter E. Meyers p. 299 Tananarive Due Mary Anne Mohanraj p. 309 Dave Duncan Martin Morse Wooster p. 315 David Eddings John D. Teehan p. 323 Harlan Ellison Gary K. Wolfe p. 331 Steve Erickson Paul Kincaid p. 341 Dennis Etchison Fiona Kelleghan p. 347 Raymond Elias Feist Scott D. Vander Ploeg p. 355 Esther M. Friesner Gary Westfahl p. 361 Neil Gaiman Gary K. Wolfe p. 369 Alan Garner Brian Attebery p. 377 Ray Garton Michael T. Huyck, Jr. p. 385 Charles L. Grant  T. Liam McDonald p. 391 Alasdair Gray Jeff VanderMeer p. 403 Elizabeth Hand Cherie Wein p. 413 M. John Harrison Elizabeth Hand p. 419 Mark Helprin Maureen Speller p. 427 Russell Hoban Brian Stableford p. 435 Robert Holdstock David Langford p. 445 Tom Holt Ian Nichols p. 455 Barry Hughart Jeff VanderMeer p. 461 Rhys Henry Hughes E. F. Bleiler p. 467 Robert Irwin Brian Stableford p. 473 Shirley Jackson Jack Sullivan p. 479 Diana Wynne Jones Helen H. Thompson p. 485 Robert Jordan Neal Baker p. 493 Graham Joyce Brian Stableford p. 503 Volume 2  Guy Gavriel Kay Christine Mains p. 509 Jack Ketchum Fiona Kelleghan p. 517 Stephen King Richard Bleiler p. 525 Kathe Koja Steffen Hantke p. 541 Dean Koontz Greg Beatty p. 551 William Kotzwinkle Bud Webster p. 561 Nancy Kress Maureen Speller p. 569 Katherine Kurtz Kelly A. O'Connor-Salomon p. 575 Mercedes Lackey Justin Gustainis p. 585 R. A. Lafferty Chris Morgan p. 593 Joe R. Lansdale Stefan Dziemianowicz p. 603 Ursula K. Le Guin Elizabeth Cummins p. 613 Tanith Lee Jessica Reisman p. 633 Fritz Leiber Brian Stableford p. 643 Thomas Ligotti Darrell Schweitzer p. 653 Bentley Little Keith Neilson p. 659 George R. R. Martin E. C. McMullen Jr. p. 667 Richard Matheson Keith Neilson p. 673 William Mayne John Clute p. 685 Anne McCaffrey David Langford p. 693 Robert McCammon Richard Bleiler and Hunter Goatley p. 705 Ian McEwan Jack Slay, Jr. p. 715 Patrick McGrath Jay McRoy p. 723 Patricia A. McKillip Jessica Reisman p. 729 Michael Moorcock Rhys Hughes p. 737 James Morrow Brian Stableford p. 749 Kim Newman Claude Lalumiere p. 757 Andre Norton Charlene Brusso p. 767 Joyce Carol Oates (and, briefly, Kate Wilhelm) Todd Mason p. 775 Tim Powers Ian Nichols p. 785 Terry Pratchett David Langford p. 791 Katherine Ptacek Richard Bleiler p. 803 Philip Pullman Andrew Butler p. 809 Anne Rice Christopher Treagus p. 817 J. K. Rowling Brian Stableford p. 825 David J. Schow Darrell Schweitzer p. 833 Michael Shea Brian Stableford p. 839 Lucius Shepard Graham Sleight p. 845 John Shirley Jeff Prickman p. 855 Robert Silverberg Arthur Hlavaty p. 863 Dan Simmons  Greg Beatty p. 875 S. P. Somtow Gary Westfahl p. 883 Brian Stableford David Langford p. 891 Peter Straub John Clute p. 903 Thomas Burnett Swann John Clute p. 915 Lisa Tuttle Janice M. Bogstad p. 923 Sydney J. Van Scyoc Janice M. Bogstad p. 929 Jack Vance Thomas Marcinko p. 935 Jeff VanderMeer Ian Nichols p. 945 Howard Waldrop  John Clute p. 951 Nancy Willard  Brian Stableford p. 959 Chet Williamson T. Liam McDonald p. 967 F. Paul Wilson Justin Gustainis p. 973 Gene Wolfe Robert Borski p. 981 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Janice M. Bogstad p. 993 Jane Yolen Gary K. Wolfe p. 1003 Roger Zelazny Jane Lindskold p. 1011 Index p. 1025 That first, 1985, edition, with a much though not totally different "cast"...

The essays in the 2003 set are a mixed bag, with the worst of them offering at least useful pointers and some interesting observations about the writers in question; my own essay is neither the worst nor the best, was written and (more importantly) researched in the time around my often overtime-heavy job among other matters, and manages at least to slip some discussion of Kate Wilhelm into the book, she being more worthy than a few who were selected by editor and contributor Richard Bleiler, probably in negotiation with his editors. (The copy-editors did an excellent job on my essay, by the way...not something one hears often these years, even or perhaps particularly in academic publishing.) And the best of them are excellent surveys of their topics, as one could hope from the assembled scholars (several of these essays are by the most devoted scholars one could imagine undertaking the task, such as Henry Wessells on Avram Davidson...that John Clute doesn't do the Elizabeth Hand essay robs us of a certain perspective that life-partnership can bring, but otherwise is probably a good idea, even as not having Hand do the Hand essay herself, despite a handy potential title "On Hand, by Hand"). The gang here ranges from fellow UConn present and former faculty (such as Kate Laity)(Go Huskies!) to folks spread, rather thinly at some edges, around the Anglophone world (there are no primarily non-English-text writers as subjects in this volume, arguably a flaw, but so many other such surveys would seek Respectability in highlighting self-tagged or [like Mark Helprin] foolishly fantasy-resentful magical realists at the expense of the Robert Blochs, or even the Shirley Jacksons or Angela Carters). Perhaps at this point, S. P. Somtow, who would sign early work as Somtow Sucharitkul, has published a fair amount of fiction also in Siamese; other exceptions might apply.

The writers covered are a mixed bag, as well, most among the key fantasists of our time, some in for being important rather than actually good (Terry Brooks, Stephen Donaldson, Robert Jordan, Piers Anthony most of the time; I would perhaps more controversially also suggest Orson Scott Card, as, say, Brooks's appeal has never been strong to critical readers) and a few in for being more excellent than influential (Pat Cadigan as fantasist probably qualifies thus and Oates almost does--though she's continuing to notably contribute to the fantasticated; R. A. Lafferty almost so, though if there's a single grandfather, rather than nine hundred [labored injoke warning], to the New Weird, he's Lafferty)[engine-searching "Nine Hundred" and Lafferty will answer the question you might now have...it the book is reasonably priced, you should buy it].

This remains the only writing of mine between boards (aside from a high-school yearbook and passages quoted in someone's doctoral thesis, published by a small press) that I'm aware of, but the scope and ambition of the work is most of the reason I can encourage you to Go Look at library copies, unless you're very wealthy and/or very lucky in stumbling across an inexpensive copy...younger Bleiler, with some obstacles in his way, tapped some of our best critics and researchers and sophisticated fans for these essays, and this, particularly collectively, carries the day. 

The proud editor/contributor, Richard Bleiler

For far more prompt FFBs on this holiday (this one either several hours or a week late or both, depending on how you look at it), please see Patti Abbott's blog.