Search Worlds Without End

This short story originally appeared in the anthology The Book of the Dead (2013), edited by Jared Shurin, and was reprinted in Lightspeed, November 2013.

Read the full story for free at Lightspeed.

The Book of the Dead addresses the most fascinating of all the undead: the mummy. The mummy can be a figure of imperial dignity or one of shambling terror, at home in pulp adventure, contemporary drama, or apocalyptic horror. The anthology will be published in collaboration with the Egypt Exploration Society, the UK's oldest independent funder of archaeological fieldwork and research in Egypt, dedicated to the promotion and understanding of ancient Egyptian history and culture. This anthology includes nineteen original stories of revenge, romance, monsters and mayhem, ranging freely across time periods, genres and styles. The stories are illustrated by Garen Ewing, creator of The Adventures of Julius Chancer and introduced by John J. Johnston, Vice Chair of the Egypt Exploration Society.

Table of Contents:

• Akhenaten Goes to Paris - (2013) - shortstory by Louis Greenberg
• All is Dust - (2013) - shortstory by Den Patrick
• Bit-U-Men - (2013) - shortstory by Maria Dahvana Headley
• Cerulean Memories - (2013) - shortstory by Maurice Broaddus
• Egyptian death and the afterlife: mummies (Rooms 62-3) - (2013) - shortstory by Jonathan Green
• Escape from the Mummy's Tomb - (2013) - shortstory by Jesse Bullington
• Henry - (2013) - shortstory by Glen Mehn
• Her Heartbeat, An Echo - (2013) - shortstory by Lou Morgan
• Inner Goddess - (2013) - shortstory by Michael West
• Introduction: "Some Words from an Egyptologist" - (2013) - essay by John J. Johnston
• Mysterium Tremendum - (2013) - shortstory by Molly Tanzer
• Old Souls - (2013) - shortstory by David Thomas Moore
• Ramesses on the Frontier - (2013) - shortstory by Paul Cornell
• The Book of the Dead - (2013) - interior artwork by Garen Ewing
• The Cats of Beni Hasan - (2013) - shortstory by Jenni Hill
• The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, The Mummy that Was and the Cat in the Jar - (2013) - shortstory by Gail Carriger
• The Dedication of Sweetheart Abbey - (2013) - shortstory by David Bryher
• The Roof of the World - (2013) - shortstory by Sarah Newton
• The Thing of Wrath - (2013) - shortstory by Roger Luckhurst
• Three Memories of Death - (2013) - shortstory by Will Hill
• Tollund - (2013) - shortstory by Adam Roberts

Shirley Jackson and Locus Award-nominated Anthology

A fascinating collection of new and classic tales of the fearsome Djinn, from bestselling, award-winning and breakthrough international writers.

Imagine a world filled with fierce, fiery beings, hiding in our shadows, in our dreams, under our skins. Eavesdropping and exploring; savaging our bodies, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends. Some have called them genies: these are the Djinn.

And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places.

There is no part of the world that does not know them. They are the Djinn. They are among us.

With stories from Neil Gaiman, Nnedi Okorafor, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherine Faris King, Claire North, E.J. Swift, Hermes (trans. Robin Moger), Jamal Majoub, James Smythe, J.Y. Yang, Kamila Shamsie, Kirsty Logan, K.J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley, Monica Byrne, Nada Adel Sobhi, Saad Hossein, Sami Shah, Sophia Al-Maria and Usman Malik.

Table of Contents:

• Amal El-Mohtar - A Tale of Ash in Seven Birds
• Catherine King - Queen of Sheba
• Claire North - Hurrem and the Djinn
• E.J. Swift - The Jinn Hunter's Apprentice
• Helene Wecker - Majnun
• Hermes (trans. Robin Moger) - The Djinn Falls in Love
• Jamal Mahjoub - Duende 2077
• James Smythe - The Sand in the Glass is Right
• J.Y. Yang - Glass Lights
• Kamila Shamsie - The Congregation
• Kirsty Logan - The Spite House
• K.J. Parker - Message in a Bottle
• Kuzhali Manickavel - How We Remember You
• Maria Dahvana Headley - Black Powder
• Monica Byrne - Authenticity
• Nada Adel Sobhi - Time is a Teacher
• Neil Gaiman - Somewhere in America
• Nnedi Okorafor - History
• Saad Hossein - Bring Your Own Spoon
• Sami Shah - REAP
• Sophia Al-Maria - The Righteous Guide of Arabsat
• Usman Malik - Emperors of Jinn

The bold new anthology from the acclaimed editors of The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories.

We live our lives in the daylight. Our stories take place under the sun: bright, clear, unafraid.

This is not a book of those stories.

These are the stories of people who live at night; under neon and starlight, and never the light of day.

These are the stories of poets and police; writers and waiters; gamers and goddesses; tourists and traders; the hidden and the forbidden; the lonely and the lovers.

These are their lives. These are their stories. And this is their time:

The Outcast Hours.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
• "This Book Will Find You" by Sam Beckbessinger, Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen
• "It Was a Different Time" by Will Hill
• "Ambulance Service" by Sami Shah
• "Blind Eye" by Frances Hardinge
• "Sleep Walker" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• "Bag Man" by Lavie Tidhar
• "Gatsby" by Maha Khan Phillips
• "Swipe Left" by Daniel Polansky
• "MiDNIghT MaRAuDERS" by M. Suddain
• "Everyone Knows That They're Dead. Do You? Genevieve Valentine
• "The Collector" by Sally Partridge
• "The Patron Saint of Night Puppers" by Indrapramit Das
• "Tilt" by Karen Onojaife
• "In the Blink of a Light" by Amira Salah-Ahmed
• "The Dental Gig" by S. L. Grey
• "One Gram" by Leah Moore
• "This Place of Thorns" by Marina Warner
• "Not Just Ivy" by Celeste Baker
• "Dark Matters" by Cecilia Ekbäck
• "Above the Light" by Jesse Bullington
• "Welcome to the Haunted House" by Yukimi Ogawa
• "Rain" by Streaming" by Omar Robert Hamilton
• "Lock-In" by William Boyle
• "The Night Mountain" by Jeffrey Alan Love
• "A Partial Beginner's Guide to The Lucy Temerlin Home for Broken Shapeshifters" by Kuzhali Manickavel
• And also including 9 microstories by China Miéville