The Jaguar Hunter is a collection of science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 and horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

 stories by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author Lucius Shepard

Lucius Shepard

Lucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...

. Illustrated by J. K. Potter, it was released in May, 1987

1987 in literature

The year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...

 and was the author's first book published by Arkham House

Arkham House

Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...

. It was originally published in an edition of 3,194 copies, with a second printing later in 1987 of 1,508 copies. Bantam Books issued a trade paperback edition in 1989, and Four Walls Eight Windows

Four Walls Eight Windows

Four Walls Eight Windows was an independent book publisher in New York City. Its debut occurred in the fall of 1987, under the direction of two young editors, John G. H. Oakes and Daniel Simon. In 1995, Oakes and Simon parted ways...

 reprinted the collection in 2001. The first British publication came as a Paladin Books trade paperback in 1988, followed quickly by a Kerosina Books hardcover. A Rumanian translation appeared in 2008.

The Jaguar Hunter won the 1988 World Fantasy Award

World Fantasy Award

The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...

 for best collection, as well as the Locus Award

Locus Award

The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...

 in the same category. Five of the stories were nominated for the Nebula Award

Nebula Award

The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...

, one winning the award; three of those were also nominated for the Hugo Award

Hugo Award

The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

; and one nominated, for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. Ten of the eleven stories placed in the annual Locus polls, eight reached the top ten, and two won Locus Awards.

Contents

• Foreword (Michael Bishop
  Michael Bishop (author)
  Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
  
  )
• "The Jaguar Hunter" (F&SF 1985)
• "The Night of White Bhairab" (F&SF 1984)
• "Salvador
  Salvador (story)
  "Salvador" is a science fiction short story published in 1984 by Lucius Shepard. In 1985 it won the Locus Poll award for Best Short Story, the SF Chronicle award for Short Story and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Short Story....
  
  " (F&SF 1984)
• "How the Wind Spoke at Madaket" (F&SF 1983)
• "Black Coral" (Universe 14, 1984)
• "R & R" (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 1986)
• "The End of Life as We Know It" (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 1985)
• "A Traveler's Tale" (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 1984)
• "Mengele" (Universe 14, 1984)
• "The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule" (F&SF 1984)
• "A Spanish Lesson" (F&SF 1985)

The precise contents of this collection vary from edition to edition. The Bantam reprint omits "R & R". The Paladin and Kerosina editions omit "R & R" and add three additional stories. The 2001 reissue adds one story to those found in the original edition.

Reception

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

 gave the collection a highly favorable review, declaring that "Shepard is the best new short-fiction writer of the eighties" and "is capable of dazzling brilliance."

Neil Barron

Neil Barron

Richard Neil Barron is a science fiction bibliographer and scholar. His training was as a librarian. He is perhaps best known for his book Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. He won the Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship in 1982...

described The Jaguar Hunter as "One of the finest collections of fantasy and science fiction published in the 1980s."