Mercy and Other Stories is a sewn hardback of 220 pages, printed lithographically, with silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w. Limited to 300 copies. Book is in new unread condition.

Published by Tartarus Press

About this book:

Nominated, World Fantasy Awards, 2015

Rebecca Lloyd’s first published collection of six­teen strange stories, nine of which are previously unpublished, is made up of tales of unease with a sprinkling of the ghostly, menacing and fantastical. The stories inhabit the fragile space between fantasy and reality, where the landscape is in constant flux and things are not quite as they seem.

In ‘Mercy’ a loving husband finds an un­usual method of prolonging his affec­tion for his wife, while the inhabitant of a half-way house finds a creative use for internet dating in ‘Salsa’. Alan runs away from the circus in ‘The Lover’, and in ‘The Reunion’, eccentric and elderly Isobel and Charles, struggling with the upkeep of their de­caying mans­ion, chose an entirely new way to face the future. In ‘Maynard’s Moun­tain’, the search for a lost lottery ticket involves a traveller family in a (literally) uphill task.

Rebecca Lloyd’s is a stylish and distinc­tive new voice in the field of the strange tale, and it is hoped that this collection will chill and entertain in equal meas­ure.

Contents: ‘Mercy’, ‘The Careless Hour’, ‘The Stone’, ‘Salsa’, ‘The Meat Freezer’, ‘Dust’, ‘What Comes?’, ‘Momentum’, ‘Lucky Cat’, ‘The Bath’, ‘The Gathering’, ‘Gone to the Deep’, ‘Maynard’s Mountain’, ‘The Lover’, ‘All That Follows’, The Reunion’.

Much of Rebecca Lloyd’s work is in the literary horror and Gothic genres, including The Bellboy, a novella (Zagava 2018), and Seven Strange Stories, (Tartarus Press 2017). Her other story collections include Ragman and Other Family Curses, (Egaeus Press 2016), Mercy and Other Stories, (Tartarus Press 2014), and The View from Endless Street, (WiDo Publishing 2014). Recent literary awards in which she has been acknowledged include The World Fantasy Award, The Aestas Short Story Prize, and the Paul Bowles Short Fiction Award. Some of her stories have been reprinted in Best British Horror, (Salt Publishing), Best New Horror, (PS Publishing), and in recent volumes of Best Horror of the Year.

Reviews:

‘The stories collected in ‘Mercy’ are excitingly, invitingly, engagingly human. With each tale, Lloyd offers us the premise that our hearts are a mystery.’ Rick Kleffel, The Agony Column

‘Lloyd is a new writer to me, but one I am delighted to have made the acquaintance of, and in publishing this collection Tartarus provide yet further proof that the strange tale is in a robust state of health.’ Peter Tennant, Black Static

‘Rebecca Lloyd is a name to look out for.’ British Fantasy Society

‘Her control of the form is obvious, and it’s a joy to read the work of such a talented short story writer. Or maybe joy is the wrong word, since it seems to be Lloyd’s mission to craft tales loaded with creepy and uncanny details that will stick with you long after the close of any single story.’ Neon: A Literary Magazine

‘These are wonderfully written tales, dealing with life, love, relationships and the loss thereof in a thoroughly believable way, and with a depth not present in many works of short fiction. The way Lloyd interweaves the past with the present is hugely impressive, and adds an extra dimension to her impressive body of work. This has been one of my books of the year so far.’ M.R. Cosby

‘At times I found it hard to differentiate between this collection and Angela Carter’s…’ A Universe in Words

‘I consider this collection to be an outstanding achievement in contemporary strange fiction’ Risingshadow