The Faery Reel includes tales by Ford and Link, two major fantasists. And these may be my favorites of all stories that either has written.

Ford’s “Annals of Eelin Ok -details the brief but well rounded life of a Twilmish, a creature whose lifespan is that of a sandcastle. So perfect and likely is the story that one finishes it and goes looking for more Twilmish tales only to discover that this is the first and only one.

Link’s “The Faery Handbag” a contemporary tale with worlds within worlds so rich and so likely that you’ll wonder why your grandmother never warned you about the dangers of accessories found in antique clothing warehouses.

The Ford story won the late, lamented Fountain Award. The Link won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus. And between them they kind of sucked all the oxygen away from all the other stories in The Faery Reel, that would have gotten much more attention if seen on their own. (This often happens: the first few times I got anthologized I always ended up next to Gene Wolfe which I thought was just plain unfair).

In this case, a poem by Neil Gaiman, tales by Gregory Frost,  Katherine Vas, Hiromi Goto, Delia Sherman,  Patricia A, McKillip and a dozen other poems and tales remain under valued and there for future readers’ discovery or rediscovery.