Scheherazade's Bedchamber

Susan Shwartz's Arabesques

"But please remember that Araby, as Europe came to know it in the Middle Ages and subsequently, was and is not so much an historically and anthropologically accuate representation of various cultures but rather a spendid amalgam of people, creatures, and places that never existed, except in storytellers' and readers' imaginations."
— Susan Shwartz, Arabesques

Scheherazade's Bedchamber was inspired in part by two anthologies, Arabesques: More Tales of the Arabian Nights (1988) and Arabesques 2 (1989), edited by Susan Shwartz.

Cover illustration by James Warhola.

Arabesques: More Tales of the Arabian Nights, Susan Shwartz, ed., New York: Avon, 1988, with cover illustration by James Warhola (image served by Black Gate), collects thirteen original stories plus framing fiction by Shwartz, and includes:

• "The Tale of the Djinni and the Sisters," by Larry Niven;
• "The Tale of the Rose and the Nightengale (And What Came of It)," by Gene Wolfe;
• "Foolish, Wicked, Clever and Kind," by Tanith Lee;
• "Memoirs of a Bottle Djinni," by Jane Yolen;
• "An Eye for the Ladies," by Esther M. Frieser;
• "Truthseeker," by Nancy Springer;
• "The Dowry of the Rag Picker's Daughter," by Andre Norton;
• "Kehailan," by Judith Tarr;
• "The Elephant In-Law," by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough;
• "The King Who was Summoned to Damascus," by Melissa Scott;
• "The Truthsayer," by William R. Forstchen;
• "The Banner of Kaviyan," by Harry Turtledove;
• "The Lovesick Simurgh," by M.J. Engh.

Illustration by James Warhola.

Arabesques 2, Susan Shwartz, ed., New York: Avon, 1989, with cover illustration by James Warhola (image served by Black Gate), collects sixteen original stories plus framing fiction by Shwartz, and includes:

• "The Djinn Who Watches Over the Accursed," by Stephen R. Donaldson;
• "The Wishing Game," by Larry Niven;
• "Curse of the Three Demons," by Harry Turtledove;
• "The Tale of the Four Accused," by Gene Wolfe;
• "The Three Brides of Hamid-Dar," by Tanith Lee;
• "The Houri's Mirror," by Esther M. Friesner;
• "Ali Achman and the City of Illusion," by Ru Emerson;
• "Al-Ghazalah," by Judith Tarr;
• "The Scorpion," by Nancy Springer;
• "The Peri, the Roc, and the Undergrooms," by M.J. Engh;
• "The Merchant," by Melissa Scott;
• "Beyond the Golden Road," by Charles Sheffield;
• "The Tale of Sindbad and the Mid-Day Demon," by Marvin Kaye;
• "Feather of the Phoenix," by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel;
• "The Soul of a Poet," by Cherry Wilder;
• "The Flower Princess," by Diana L. Paxson.

Shwartz has written several novels which might be described as "Silk Road Fantasy," beginning with the "Heirs of Byzantium" trilogy:

Image - Byzantium's Crown by Rowena Morrill

Illustration by Rowena Morrill.

Byzantium's Crown, Susan Shwartz, New York: Questar / Popular Library, 1987, with cover illustration by Rowena Morrill (image served by ISFDB).

Image - The Woman of Flowers by Rowena Morrill

Illustration by Rowena Morrill.

The Woman of Flowers, Susan Shwartz, New York: Questar / Popular Library, 1987, with cover illustration by Rowena Morrill (image served by ISFDB).

Illustration by Rowena Morrill.

Queensblade, Susan Shwartz, New York: Questar / Popular Library, 1988, with cover illustration by Rowena Morrill (image served by ISFDB).

Shwartz's stand alone novel Silk Roads and Shadows is archetypal "Silk Road Fantasy":

Image - Silk Roads and Shadows by Nancy Weisenfeld

Illustration by Nancy Weisenfeld.

Silk Roads and Shadows, Susan Shwartz, New York: Tor, 1988, with cover illustration by Nancy Weisenfeld (image served by ISFDB).

Shwartz's "Imperial Lady" duology, co-authored with Andre Norton, is also "Silk Road Fantasy":

Illustration by Luis Royo.

Imperial Lady, Andre Norton and Susan Shwartz, New York: Tor, 1989, with cover illustration by Luis Royo (image served by Tor.com).

Image - Empire of the Eagle by Peter Goodfellow

Illustration by Peter Goodfellow.

Empire of the Eagle, Andre Norton and Susan Shwartz, New York: Tor, 1993, with cover illustration by Peter Goodfellow (image served by Kirkus Reviews).

Shwartz's "Shards of Empire" duology is also "Silk Road Fantasy":

Image - Shards of Empire by Richard Bober

Illustration by Richard Bober.

Shards of Empire, Susan Shwartz, New York: Tor, 1996, with cover illustration by Richard Bober (image served by Kirkus Reviews).

Image - Cross and Crescent by Richard Bober

Illustration by Richard Bober.

Cross and Crescent, Susan Shwartz, New York: Tor, 1997, with cover illustration by Richard Bober (image served by Kirkus Reviews).

Shwartz had previously edited the fantasy heroine anthology Hecate's Cauldron.

Image - Hecate's Cauldron by Michael Whelan

Cover illustration by Michael Whelan.

Hecate's Cauldron, Susan Shwartz, ed., New York: DAW, 1982, with cover illustration by Michael Whelan, collects thirteen original stories with an introduction, interstitial information and a bibliography by Shwartz, and includes:

• "Boris Chernevsky's Hands," by Jane Yolen;
• "Mirage and Magia," by Tanith Lee;
• "Willow," by C. J. Cherryh;
• "Moon Mirror," by Andre Norton;
• "The Sage of Theare," by Diana Wynne Jones;
• "The Harmonious Battle," by Jessica Amanda Salmonson;
• "Science Is Magic Spelled Backwards," by Jacqueline Lichtenberg;
• "An Act of Faith," by Galad Elflandsson;
• "Witch Fulfillment," by Jean Lorrah;
• "Ishigbi," by Charles Saunders;
• "Bethane," by Katherine Kurtz;
• "The Riddle of Hekaitë," by Diana L. Paxson;
• "Reunion," by Jayge Carr.

Shwartz subsequently co-edited two "Sisters in Fantasy" anthologies, with Martin H. Greenberg:

Cover illustration by Mel Odom

Sisters in Fantasy, Susan Shwartz and Martin H. Greenberg, eds., New York: Roc / New American Library, 1995, with cover illustration by Mel Odom (image served by Pinterest), collects fourteen original stories, and includes:

• "Hallah's Choice" by Jo Clayton;
• "Wayfinder" by Janny Wurts;
• "The Way Wind" by Andre Norton;
• "Healer" by Josepha Sherman;
• "No Refunds" by Phyllis Eisenstein;
• "Firstborn, Seaborn" by Sheila Finch;
• "A Game of Cards" by Lisa Goldstein;
• "Courting Rites" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch;
• "Felixity" by Tanith Lee;
• "Horse of Her Dreams" by Elizabeth Moon;
• "Unto the Daughters" by Nancy Kress;
• "Babbitt's Daughter" by Phyllis Ann Karr;
• "Remedia Amoris" by Judith Tarr.
• "The Bargain" by Katharine Kerr.

Image - Sisters in Fantasy 2 by Mel Odom

Cover illustration by Mel Odom

Sisters in Fantasy 2, Susan Shwartz and Martin H. Greenberg, eds., New York: Roc / New American Library, 1996, with cover illustration by Mel Odom (image served by Black Gate), collects twenty-three mostly original stories, and includes:

• "Wonder Land" by Jane Yolen;
• "Shahrezad" by Ellen Guon;
• "This Fair Gift" by Pamela Dean;
• "Dumping Ra" by Sharan Newman;
• "Kneeling at His Side" by Lois Tilton;
• "Vashti and God" by Valerie J. Freireich;
• "Angel of the City" by Susan Shwartz;
• "Why Is This Night Different?" by Janni Lee Simner;
• "Völsi" by Diana Paxson;
• "Stone Whorl, Flint Knife" by Rebecca Ore;
• "Horse Tracks" by Rebecca Ore;
• "The Witches of Junket" by Patricia McKillip;
• "Moonlight in Vermont" by Esther Friesner.
• "The Way Your Life Is" by Nancy Springer.
• "Bitterfoot (Homage to Ernest K. Gann)" by Gael Baudin;
• "A Night at the J Street Bar" by Susan Casper;
• "Fuzz" by Martha Soukup;
• "Call Him by Name" by Ru Emerson;
• "Daria's Window" by Sherwood Smith;
• "The Found and Lost Shop" by Barbara Delaplace;
• "Pyre" by Lee Barwood;
• "Coyote" by Beth Meacham;
• "Wet Wings" by Mercedes Lackey;

Please support Scheherazade's content at Zarthani.net

©2018-2023 by Zarthani.net. The contents of this Web site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any material displayed on or served by this site cannot be republished or distributed without explicit consent from Scheherazade's Bedchamber.