Book excerpt: A rich anthology of short stories from the New York Times–bestselling author and legendary creator of the Witch World series. Each year, Garner’s troupe makes its way to Ithkar Fair. The actors charm the crowd, winning applause and lavish reward, but none captures the audience’s imagination like the yellow-eyed, silver-haired girl whose performance conceals pain that few can understand. She is a Quintka—her coloring makes that plain—and yet even Garner, who has seen more of the world than anyone, can't unlock the secrets of her unknown father, who left her mother to sacrifice herself to save the child. As she passes her seventeenth birthday, the mystery of her past drives her into danger, as she fights to find answers that no mortal should possess. “Swamp Dweller” is a classic Andre Norton story: lush, thrilling, and impossible to put down. Like the others in this invaluable volume, it is more than mere escapism—it is an entrancing look into another world.