Swords Against Darkness V

Cover of the first edition.
Editor	Andrew J. Offutt
Cover artist	Luis Bermejo
Language	English
Series	Swords Against Darkness
Genre	Fantasy short stories
Publisher	Zebra Books
Publication date	1979
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (paperback)
Pages	288
ISBN	0-89083-550-0
LC Class	PN6071.F25
Preceded by	Swords Against Darkness IV

Swords Against Darkness V is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Andrew J. Offutt, the fifth and last in a series of five anthologies of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Zebra Books in November 1979, and later reprinted by the same publisher; a Canadian reprint was issued by General Paperbacks in 1981.^[1]

The book collects twelve short stories and novelettes by various fantasy authors, together with a foreword by Offutt.

• "Foreword to the Fifth Volume of Swords Against Darkness" (Andrew J. Offutt)
• "The Mouths of Light" (Ramsey Campbell)
• "Perfidious Amber" (Tanith Lee)
• "Awake, Awake, Ye Northern Winds" (Simon Green)
• "Rats" (Robert Fester)
• "The Forging" (Robin Kincaid)
• "Hungry Grass" (Keith Taylor)
• "The Tale of the Cat, the Mouse, the Sorcerer, and the Children" (Edward DeGeorge)
• "Golden Vanity" (James Anderson)
• "The Castle of Kites and Crows" (Darrell Schweitzer)
• "The Scream of the Rose" (Paul McGuire)
• "Joni" (Gordon Linzner)
• "Druin's Heritage" (Richard K. Lyon)

The book was nominated, together with the preceding volume, for the 1980 Balrog Award for Best Collection/Anthology.^[1]