Rating: 
Summary: 1999 "lackluster" year for fantasy
Review: A good collection, as always, of fantasy, horror, and "interstitial" works -- though the 1999 offerings seemed to me a little threadbare. The standouts this year: Steve Rasnic Tem's "Heat" and Elizabeth Birmingham's "Falling Away". Excellent stories, both. Low points: "Welcome", by Michael Marshall Smith -- well meaning, but awkwardly written; "The Pathos of the Genre", by Douglas E Winter -- a rather condescending essay about the state of horror writing and publishing, aimed at writers; and, "The Beast" and "The Hedge" by Bill Lewis [poetry is always Datlow and Windling's weakest point.. though this is probably a reflection of the state of poetry in general]. Terri Windling's Recommended Top 20 books in fantasy is an indespensable guide, as always.Complete listing of included authors and works: "Darkrose and Diamond" - Ursula K LeGuin; "The Chop Girl" - Ian R MacLeod; "The Girl Detective" - Kelly Link; "The Transformation" - N Scott Momaday; "Carabosse" - Delia Sherman; "Harlequin Valentine" - Neil Gaiman; "Toad" - Patricia A McKillip; "Washed in the River" - Beckian Fritz Goldberg; "The Dinner Party" - Robert Girardi; "Heat" - Steve Rasnic Tem; "The Wedding at Esperanza" - Linnet Taylor; "Redescending" - Ursula K LeGuin; "You Don't Have to Be Mad..." - Kim Newman; "The Paper-thin Garden" - Thomas Wharton; "The Anatomy of a Mermaid" - Mary Sharratt; "The Grammarian's Five Daughters" - Eleanor Arnason; "The Tree is My Hat" - Gene Wolfe; "Welcome" - Michael Marshall Smith; "The Pathos of the Genre" - Douglas E Winter; "Shatsi" - Peter Crowther; "Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story" - Neil Gaiman; "What You Make It" - Michael Marshall Smith; "The Parwat Ruby" - Delia Sherman; "Odysseus Old" - Geoffrey Brock; "The Smell of Deer" - Kent Meyers; "Chorion and the Pleiades"; "Crosley" - Elizabeth Engstrom; "Naming the Dead" - Paul J McAuley; "The Stork-men" - Juan Goytisolo; "The Disappearance of Elaine Coleman" - Steven Millhauser; "White" - Tim Lebbon; "Dear Floods of her Hair" - James Sallis; "Mrs. Santa Decides to Move to Florida" - April Selley; "Tanuki" - Jan Hodgman; "At Reparata" - Jeffrey Ford; "Skin So Green and Fine" - Wendy Wheeler; "Old Merlin Dancing on the Sands of Time" - Jane Yolen; "Sailing the Painted Ocean" - Denise Lee; "Grandmother" - Laurence Snydal; "Small Song" - Gary A Braunbeck; "The Emperor's Old Bones" - Gemma Files; "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse" - Susanna Clarke; "Halloween Street" - Steve Rasnic Tem; "The Kiss" - Tia V Travis; "The Beast" - Bill Lewis; "The Hedge" - Bill Lewis; "Pixel Pixies" - Charles deLint; "Falling Away" - Elizabeth Birmingham.
Rating:
Summary: 1999 "lackluster" year for fantasy
Review: A good collection, as always, of fantasy, horror, and "interstitial" works -- though the 1999 offerings seemed to me a little threadbare. The standouts this year: Steve Rasnic Tem's "Heat" and Elizabeth Birmingham's "Falling Away". Excellent stories, both. Low points: "Welcome", by Michael Marshall Smith -- well meaning, but awkwardly written; "The Pathos of the Genre", by Douglas E Winter -- a rather condescending essay about the state of horror writing and publishing, aimed at writers; and, "The Beast" and "The Hedge" by Bill Lewis [poetry is always Datlow and Windling's weakest point.. though this is probably a reflection of the state of poetry in general]. Terri Windling's Recommended Top 20 books in fantasy is an indespensable guide, as always. Complete listing of included authors and works: "Darkrose and Diamond" - Ursula K LeGuin; "The Chop Girl" - Ian R MacLeod; "The Girl Detective" - Kelly Link; "The Transformation" - N Scott Momaday; "Carabosse" - Delia Sherman; "Harlequin Valentine" - Neil Gaiman; "Toad" - Patricia A McKillip; "Washed in the River" - Beckian Fritz Goldberg; "The Dinner Party" - Robert Girardi; "Heat" - Steve Rasnic Tem; "The Wedding at Esperanza" - Linnet Taylor; "Redescending" - Ursula K LeGuin; "You Don't Have to Be Mad..." - Kim Newman; "The Paper-thin Garden" - Thomas Wharton; "The Anatomy of a Mermaid" - Mary Sharratt; "The Grammarian's Five Daughters" - Eleanor Arnason; "The Tree is My Hat" - Gene Wolfe; "Welcome" - Michael Marshall Smith; "The Pathos of the Genre" - Douglas E Winter; "Shatsi" - Peter Crowther; "Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story" - Neil Gaiman; "What You Make It" - Michael Marshall Smith; "The Parwat Ruby" - Delia Sherman; "Odysseus Old" - Geoffrey Brock; "The Smell of Deer" - Kent Meyers; "Chorion and the Pleiades"; "Crosley" - Elizabeth Engstrom; "Naming the Dead" - Paul J McAuley; "The Stork-men" - Juan Goytisolo; "The Disappearance of Elaine Coleman" - Steven Millhauser; "White" - Tim Lebbon; "Dear Floods of her Hair" - James Sallis; "Mrs. Santa Decides to Move to Florida" - April Selley; "Tanuki" - Jan Hodgman; "At Reparata" - Jeffrey Ford; "Skin So Green and Fine" - Wendy Wheeler; "Old Merlin Dancing on the Sands of Time" - Jane Yolen; "Sailing the Painted Ocean" - Denise Lee; "Grandmother" - Laurence Snydal; "Small Song" - Gary A Braunbeck; "The Emperor's Old Bones" - Gemma Files; "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse" - Susanna Clarke; "Halloween Street" - Steve Rasnic Tem; "The Kiss" - Tia V Travis; "The Beast" - Bill Lewis; "The Hedge" - Bill Lewis; "Pixel Pixies" - Charles deLint; "Falling Away" - Elizabeth Birmingham.
Rating:
Summary: Chock full of great old and new fantasy & horror writers.
Review: A great way to sample the best old and new writers in the fantasy and horror genres. As with previous annual anthologies in the series, Datlow and Windling have pulled together a great collection, all stories drawn from books, chapbooks, and magazines published in the year 2000. The stories come from all over the globe, wherever weird stories are published in an English-language edition--Canada, USA, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia. Besides a sampling of the best stories, there are wrap-ups of the year in both genres (fantasy & horror), necrology of persons related to the fields, overviews of magazines, ezines, books, movies, recordings, personalities, and so much more, including the titles, authors, and sources of the stories which made Honorable Mention but didn't get in. A cornucopia of information on horror and fantasy in the Year 2000. No mistake this volume is the size and weight of a seminarian's study Bible; it is the bible of the two genres, and a bargain for the money.
Rating: 
Summary: urban fairy tales, magic realism, supernat. & psych. horror
Review: All of the stories and poems collected in this Sixth edition of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror are good. *All* of them. There is no filler. The editors choose stories not only from genre fiction, but from unexpected sources as well, giving the reader a wonderful, surprising, eclectic selection.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing compared to former editions
Review: Compared to its outstanding forerunners, the 11th annual edition of this normally indispensable series is a serious disappointment, especially for horror readers. (The fantasy selections are better than the horror choices, yet even they are hardly stellar.) If this were just another run-of-the-mill anthology series, the disappointment would not be severe, but the combination of this series' wonderful past, its hefty price tag, and the relative difficulty of finding it in your local bookstore, result in an experience that woefully fails to meet the reader's expectations. Gone are several of the names that have appeared in past issues, and that readers have come to expect: Michael Marshall Smith, Tanith Lee, etc. Certainly the editors are to be commended for attempting to introduce newer or lesser-known authors, but many of these are, judging from the works represented here and to put it as kindly as possible, better left unknown. And certain redoubtable (but assuredly over-exposed) names continue to appear: Jane Yolen, Ray Bradbury and Joyce Carol Oates, for instance. I was thrilled to see Kim Newman here, however, even in a co-authored piece, and that piece is, not surprisingly, the one standout in the collection. Unlike past editions, this one does not contain any stories that absolutely grip your imagination and won't let go. Past editions had at least one such story, and often several! This year, the editors seem to have favored oblique stories whose point is deliberately elusive or vague -- hey, I'm all for challenging your readers, but I sense the smell of ripoff here. The writers seem less subtle than lazy, and the stories, while sometimes well-written and charming in style, are vague, shallow exercises in fluff. And what are the editors doing culling from the New Yorker, for heaven's sake? Not once but several times! I thought this was supposed to represent the best of non-mainstream fiction. On the other hand, some of the small-press and 'zine collections are so poor that perhaps you can hardly blame them -- except that they certainly have the resources to do better. The good news: as usual, the opening "summations" are useful and enjoyable, always worth at least a fraction of the price of admission. Spend your money on the previous editions and keep away from this one. Or, support a much-needed horror fanchise by buying ANY anthology edited by Stephen Jones. Datlow and Windling have lost their right to your hard-earned dough. END
Rating:
Summary: One of the best anthology series ever
Review: Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have once again filled the pages of this volume with excellent stories that compell and enlighten. As with any anthology there are hits and misses, but one person's favorite might be another's dissapointment. Each year they present a collection that will thrill.
Rating:
Summary: Delightfully Wonderful
Review: Every year the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Collection keeps my eyes glued to a book. The Stories and magical and entertaining, written by some of today's best fantasy and horror writers. The stories range from Tolkienesque tales with magical creatures to more serious fiction stories. Many sparked my imagination And of course, quite a few frightened me to a point where I left nail prints in the binding. I recommend this book to fans of fantasy and/or horror or simply anybody looking for a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Snnorrrrre Snnnorrrreeeee
Review: For some reason, the folks at Amazon keep posting my reviews for this series in the wrong place, so expecting that to happen again this time, let me clarify: The review is covering the FOURTEENTH edition. Years ago, I made the mistake of taking "The Year's Best" title seriously, and rushed out and bought all the books in the series I could get my hands on. That turned out to be a BIG mistake, as Editors Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling seem to have very different ideas from me about what makes a good story. Luckily, this is the last volume I was unfortunate enough to purchase. I'll skip the usual complaints this time out. I won't rant about the overlong year-in-review segments. I won't mention the fact that Windling's Fantasy selections monopolixe the book. I won't utter a word about Windling's bizarre penchant for poetry and rehashed versions of older-than-dirt fairy-tales. I'll concentrate on the stories that were actually readable. Charles de Lint contributes another Newford story, "Granny Weather"; As usual, it's a good read.
Ramsey Campbell offers up two creepy little gems, "No Strings", and "No Story In It".
Jack Dann's "Marilyn" turns a young boy's sexual fantasy into a waking nightmare.
Glen Hirschberg's "Mr. Dark's Carnival" is a great haunted house tale.
Ian Rodwell & Steve Duffy's "The Penny Drops" is waaayyy too long, but the knockout ending makes the suffering worthwhile.
Bret Lott's "The Train, The Lake, The Bridge" could almost be a true story, and it's all the creepier for that.
Jonathan Carroll's "The Heidelberg Cylinder" is a hilariously bizarre tale that needs to be read to be appreciated.
Jack Ketchum contributes "Gone", a short but excellent halloween tale.
Paul J. McAuley's "Bone Orchards" is a follow up to his tale from the previous Year's collection, "Naming The Dead"; It's a real treat, and I'd love to see more with the main character. Search out the aforementioned Authors, by all means; Just don't waste your money on this stankass series....unless you have MUCH more patience than me.
Rating:
Summary: In an always fabulous series, this is no exception.
Review: Having read several of Windling and Datlow's collections from previous years, I bought this book with total confidence that I would love it. I was not disappointed. Some of the stories delighted me, others made my spine squirm, or made me laugh, or just say "Yick!" but each and every one was worth reading. This series is not only the first I would recommend to any fantasy or horror fan, but also the first I would recommend to non-fans. You want this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but thematically loaded
Review: I bought this volume because I love fantasy, horror and short stories. I had read the previous volume and enjoyed it very much, and I couldn't wait to get started on another. Among other things, I love to read fantasy anthologies because each new story presents a new moral, and a new universe where anything can happen. Still, there was something about the first one that had bothered me a little, and in this latest one it has escalated to all-out irritating. It's simply this: the book does not represent, as far as I can tell or believe, a true, broad sampling of the year's best short fantasy and horror. The vast majority of the stories are linked thematically. Right now I'm a little more than halfway through the book, and it's gotten to the point where I had to comment on it... just when I start to believe it's a coincidence, along comes another story in the same vein. I'm considering abandoning the book entirely, which is unheard-of for me. A large number of the stories, as I said, reflect a specific and common theme, that of feminism. Now, before anyone thinks for even an instant that that's what I have a problem with: no, that's not it. Obviously I have no problem with this in itself... I'll explain the problem in a moment, just trust me. Anyway, the stories for the most part revolve around strong female characters coming into their own and rejecting a patriarchal world and so on and so on. This is perfectly fine... the stories are all very good! The problem is, this is not what I bought the book to read. There is of course nothing wrong with the theme, it's a very interesting one and like any theme can belong to stories both good and bad. Most of these are frankly excellent. The book, though, is called "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror." There is no mention of feminist fiction, tales of strong women, anything like that... Simply, it purports to be a volume which will present to the reader a sampling of the very best short stories of the year, when in reality what it contains is not strictly that. I believed it was coincidence at first, thinking that perhaps it was simply a popular theme, as it likely is, but when it recurred in story after story the connection seemed too obvious to deny. I can only assume that this is a theme which greatly appeals to the editors. So be it, that's wonderful, and no-one can hope to avoid their own preferences when compiling a list of favorites! I think, though, that it would be more helpful and more honest to let the reader know what to expect within, so that he or she can choose whether it's something they want to experience. Enjoying these stories though I am, I would not have picked out this book had I known. It's too political... I prefer stories that treat the genders as equal, that make a person's gender a complete non-issue, to those which make it their focus. It's interesting, sure, but it's not strictly storytelling for the sake of the story; it's a medium for putting forth gender issues. Fascinating and worthwhile, certainly, but not something I want to read for five hundred pages. Frankly, I think that to inject any sort of modern political or social opinion into fantasy is to mar the beauty of this purest form of story. Fantasy should be above contemporary social conflict. Which isn't to say these stories aren't good; they'd be wonderful if they were scattered amongst stories of other themes! The book isn't that way, though, it's just tale after tale of the same message. It's redundant, plodding and feels slightly condescending to the reader. Honestly, I feel that none of the stories are done justice by being compiled together like this, as each new tale reduces the impact of its predecessors and successors. In summary, this is not a book of pure collected fantasy, no matter as what it may be put forth. So far, nearly halfway through, seven out of sixteen stories have shared this theme. No, it's not quite half, but at the same time "nearly half" is a vast number of stories to share the same theme in an allegedly impartial book. It's certainly enough to eclipse the themes of the other stories, no two of which, it is worth noting, share a common theme. Every non-feminist story is different in theme to every other, further indicating that the feminist stories were chosen based on preference. This is a book mainly of a very specific type of story, and may not be for everyone. The stories are excellent, as I've said, but if you're looking for a true sampling of the year's best fantasy and horror, I can't help but feel you would be well advised to look elsewhere.
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