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Tails of Wonder and Imagination  By  cover art

Tails of Wonder and Imagination

By: Stephen King,Joyce Carol Oates,Susanna Clarke,Lawrence Block,Tanith Lee,George R.R. Martin,Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Teresa DeBerry,Jeremy Arthur,Cynthia Barrett
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Publisher's summary

What is it about the cat that captivates the creative imagination? No other creature has inspired so many authors to take pen to page. Mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories have all been written about cats.

From legendary editor Ellen Datlow comes Tails of Wonder and Imagination, showcasing 40 cat tales by some of today's most popular authors. With uncollected stories by Stephen King, Carol Emshwiller, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Hand, Dennis Danvers, and Theodora Goss and a previously unpublished story by Susanna Clarke, plus feline-centric fiction by Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, George R. R. Martin, Lucius Shepard, Joyce Carol Oates, Graham Joyce, Catherynne M. Valente, Michael Marshall Smith, and many others.

Tails of Wonder and Imagination features more than 200,000 words of stories in which cats are heroes and stories in which they're villains; tales of domestic cats, tigers, lions, mythical part-cat beings, people transformed into cats, cats transformed into people. And yes, even a few cute cats.

Table of Contents:

"Through the Looking Glass (excerpt)" - Lewis Carroll
"No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be..." - A. R. Morlan
"The Price" - Neil Gaiman
"Dark Eyes, Faith, and Devotion" - Charles de Lint
"Not Waving" - Michael Marshall Smith
"Catch" - Ray Vukcevich
"The Manticore Spell" - Jeffrey Ford
"Catskin" - Kelly Link
"Mieze Corrects an Incomplete Representation of Reality" - Michaela Roessner
"Guardians" - George R. R. Martin
"Life Regarded as a Jigsaw Puzzle of Highly Lustrous Cats" - Michael Bishop
"Gordon, the Self-Made Cat" - Peter S. Beagle
"The Jaguar Hunter" - Lucius Shepard
"Arthur's Lion" - Tanith Lee
"Pride" - Mary A. Turzillo
"The Burglar Takes a Cat" - Lawrence Block
"The White Cat" - Joyce Carol Oates
"Returns" - Jack Ketchum
"Puss-Cat" - Reggie Oliver
"Cat in Glass" - Nancy Etchemendy
"Coyote Peyote" - Carole Nelson Douglas
"The Poet and the Inkmaker's Daughter" - Elizabeth Hand
"The Night of the Tiger" - Stephen King
"Every Angel is Terrifying" - John Kessel
"Candia" - Graham Joyce
"Mbo" - Nicholas Royle
"Bean Bag Cats(R)" - Edward Bryant
"Antiquities" - John Crowley
"The Manticore's Tale" - Catherynne M. Valente
"In Carnation" - Nancy Springer
"Old Foss is the Name of His Cat" - David Sandner
"A Safe Place to Be" - Carol Emshwiller
"Nine Lives to Live" - Sharyn McCrumb
"Tiger Kill" - Kaaron Warren
"Something Better than Death" - Lucy Sussex
"Dominion" - Christine Lucas
"Tiger in the Snow" - Daniel Wynn Barber
"The Dweller in High Places" - Susanna Clarke
"Healing" - Benjamin Dennis Danvers
"The Puma" - Theodora Goss

©2010 Ellen Datlow (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about Tails of Wonder and Imagination

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Should be subtitled: "For People Who Hate Cats"

Really pretty disgusted with most of the stories I've listened to so far. With perhaps one or two exceptions, the first 6 or 8 stories include cats coming to gory ends. Burning, skinning, killed, cooked, and eaten, "euthanized" and dissected. I can't take any more. I'm returning this title. I wanted something calming to listen to on my commute to and from work. This one will lead to "road rage". If you love cats, or living things in general, I'd give this a pass. I've only listened to about the first third of the volume, so maybe all the rest are sweet, loving stories. But I doubt it.

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55 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

What a waste of money

What disappointed you about Tails of Wonder and Imagination?

Several of the introductions were the same. Exactly the same for different stories. All the stories were listed as Chapters, not by title. The male narrator was easy to listen to, but OMG I will never ever ever buy another audible book narrated by the female one again. I didn't realize she was the same one that narrated all the Hunger Games books and I would never have bought this if I had realized. Worse than a dentist drill is her voice. Worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. I. Am. Not. Kidding. She cannot do a different accent to save her life. Awful.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

stories of abusing and murdering cats, I couldn't

murdered and tortured cats, I couldn't listen to it like it was funny like the author implied

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Inconsistent Quality

Some stories were great. I particularly liked the one about the barn paintings and George RR Martins offering. As a whole some stories were so bad I had to skip them half way through. The author bios were also a little obnoxious and repetitive.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not very good...

This collection wants for some better editing and narration. One story's introduction/ bio of author was read twice, by two different women. I daresay if I noted it, an editor should have. The stories ranged from just okay to uninteresting.
I cannot recommend others make my mistake and spend time or money on this volume.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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This is not the original collection

This is all stories about cats. Yawn. I was looking for the same title that included sci-fi/horror, Using this title for a cat collection was disingenuous at best.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Some of the worst stories I've ever heard.

Would you try another book from the authors and/or the narrators?

For the life of me I can't see why any respectable publisher would ever put this out unless nobody was writing at the time. We're they looking for the writer with the least talent? If I could I would really give this 1.5 stars.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

After a few stories I just fell asleep. I was hoping it would get better but it never did.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very nice

I liked this a lot good mix of stories recommended to anyone who like short fiction

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Not for the Feint of Feline Heart

An excellent collection of mostly modern tales with felines of some shape or shade atbthe heart of them. Some do, however, reflect on humans less than caring behaviours towards these beautiful creatures - a couple are quite violent, but in service to the story being told.

For the mature cat fancier, this is a tasty smorgasbord of small bites and near-entrées served up to delight those who savour all things remotely related to Family Felidae (including one of the House Smilodon).

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting tall "tails".

Tall tales as they were but very interesting , cats with human qualities, I wonder.

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1 person found this helpful