Refugees from an Imaginary Country


Refugees from an Imaginary Country is a collection of dark fantasy short stories by American writer Darrell Schweitzer. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by W. Paul Ganley and Owlswick Press in March 1999.

Summary

The collection consists of nineteen early works of the author, including one of his tales about the legendary madman Tom O'Bedlam. The pieces were originally published from 1988-1997 in various speculative fiction magazines and anthologies.

Contents

  • "Savages"
  • "On the Last Night of the Festival of the Dead"
  • "The Outside Man"
  • "Minotauress"
  • "Malevendra's Pool"
  • "Angry Man"
  • "The Sorcerer Evoragdou"
  • "The Strange Rider from the Far, Dark Land"
  • "The Mysteries of the Faceless King"
  • "Runaway"
  • "The Knight of Pale Countenance"
  • "One of the Secret Masters"
  • "Climbing"
  • "The Death of Falstaff"
  • "King Yvorian's Wager"
  • "Going to the Mountain"
  • "The Last Dangerous Lunacy"
  • "Last Things"
  • "Refugees from an Imaginary Country"

Reception

Tom Easton in Analog Science Fiction and Fact characterizes the collection as "nineteen very entertaining fantasies," of which "ome are dark, some are jolly, all are deft and often witty." He singles out the Tom O'Bedlam story "The Last Dangerous Lunacy," which he "quite enjoyed," for particular comment. Concluding, he states "It is the wit that makes Schweitzer's work stand out. I commend it to you."
The collection was also reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in Locus no. 460, May 1999, Chris Gilmore in Interzone no. 151, January 2000, Paul Di Filippo in Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2000, and Kathryn S. Morrow in The New York Review of Science Fiction, January 2001.