Mythotenebrae

Storm Constantine is a mistress of shadow fantasy, exploring the dark and the weird in human nature and the natural world. Her short stories cross genres from science fiction, to horror, to fantasy, and this collection is the sixth to showcase her uncollected works.




Mythotenebrae is the sixth volume of her collected short stories, containing fifteen pieces, many of which are previously unpublished. It's long been Storm's aim to polish up the juvenilia works she has stored away on various devices. For this collection, she's completely reshaped three of these stories, one of which she wrote during her O Level exam when she was 16. She's also included several recent pieces that were accepted for publication by other editors, but then their proposed books were cancelled, or their publishing houses closed down. So we trust there will be a lot of material that is new to the majority of readers, within a variety of genres.




Storm has included a brief description of the history of each story along with it, explaining its inspirations and/or how it developed. As we're releasing this book around Samhain 2020, it seems only fitting that the first story in it has a Halloween theme, 'The Bone Fire' which appeared in Stephen Jones' The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories, published in 2018. You'll discover stories in this book from the very beginning of Storm's writing career, right up to the present day, showcasing her talent and versatility.




"Storm Constantine is a myth-making Gothic queen, whose lush tales are compulsive reading. Her stories are poetic, involving, delightful and depraved. I wouldn't swap her for a dozen Anne Rices."

- Neil Gaiman




Contents: The Bone Fire; Haven; Dimmed by a Scattering Cloud; Violet's House or Songs the Martyrs Sang; Down into Silence; In the Speed of Their Wings Keep Pace; Spirit of Place; When He Comes Home Through the Snow; Colin's Cough; When the Angels Came; La Ténébreuse; Through the Nighted Gardens; Priestess of Porsenna; The Testament of the Kehllcomm; Metamorphosis, or The Larval Stage of Vulgarity.