Home :: Books :: Horror  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror

Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror (Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 13th Ed)

The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror (Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 13th Ed)

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $29.95
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Love This Series!
Review: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror is always exactly that.I pick up this anthology every year because everything Datlow and Windling edit i am guaranteed to like. I am a devotee of both genres,so sometimes I have come across the stories elsewhere(like in their fairy-tales-rewritten-for adults series)but they are always ones i would enjoy rereading.I'm never able to put these down until i'm completely finished,and then im sorry there wasn't more.Highlights of this issue include "At Eventide" by Kathe Koja,and "Granny Weather" by Charles De Lint.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Winner of the 2000 Bram Stoker Award
Review: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Thirteenth Annual Collection won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Anthology. The award was given in Seattle, May 26th, 2001.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Love This Series!
Review: These two fabulous editors have done it again, bringing together the best fantasy and horror fiction of 2000 in one magnificent volume. What I enjoyed most about this anthology was the sheer variety, in authors, stories, and publications. Many of the stories and poems in this volume were originally published in hard-to-find anthologies or literary journals, and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy them had they not put them in this book. "The Heidelberg Cylinder" by Jonathan Carroll is one example, first published as a hardcover chapbook in a limited print run of only 1000, and which sold out almost immediately. "Granny Weather" by Charles de Lint is another, first appearing in Imagination Fully Dilated, Volume II. "Ship, Sea, Mountain, Sky" by newlyweds Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link is yet another, first appearing in Altair #6/7. I also greatly enjoyed "Greedy Choke Puppy" by Nalo Hopkinson, "The Pottawatomie Giant" by Andy Duncan and "Instructions" by Neil Gaiman. This anthology runs the entire gamut of the fantasy and horror genres, from urban fantasy to Carribean folklore to magical realism, and it is the best representation of the field today.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Windling and Datlow, editors extraordinare
Review: These two fabulous editors have done it again, bringing together the best fantasy and horror fiction of 2000 in one magnificent volume. What I enjoyed most about this anthology was the sheer variety, in authors, stories, and publications. Many of the stories and poems in this volume were originally published in hard-to-find anthologies or literary journals, and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy them had they not put them in this book. "The Heidelberg Cylinder" by Jonathan Carroll is one example, first published as a hardcover chapbook in a limited print run of only 1000, and which sold out almost immediately. "Granny Weather" by Charles de Lint is another, first appearing in Imagination Fully Dilated, Volume II. "Ship, Sea, Mountain, Sky" by newlyweds Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link is yet another, first appearing in Altair #6/7. I also greatly enjoyed "Greedy Choke Puppy" by Nalo Hopkinson, "The Pottawatomie Giant" by Andy Duncan and "Instructions" by Neil Gaiman. This anthology runs the entire gamut of the fantasy and horror genres, from urban fantasy to Carribean folklore to magical realism, and it is the best representation of the field today.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best of the Best!
Review: This is the best collection of stories of fantasy and horror I've ever found. I've bought and read a few of these Year's Bests before, but this one was stunning. Great stories by Nancy Pickard, Michael Cadnum, Michael Chabon (who turns in a Lovecraftian tale of all things! Go Michael!), Norman Partridge, Douglas Clegg, Jack Womack, and Gary Braunbeck--this is an amazing collection, and I'm even more enthralled by the editorial eye that found these gems.

If anyone wants to find out what's going on in the fiction of the fantastic and of terror, they need look no further than Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 11th Annual Collection. Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling should get some kind of exalted place in fictiondom for their method of selecting an eclectic group, not based on some bestselling names that no longer produce interesting prose or dazzling stories, but based purely on the stories and poems at hand.

The Charles de Lint and Stephen Laws stories stood out for me, too. Where else can you get this variety of great short fiction? I miss Karl Edward Wagner's Best Of collections also, but Datlow and Windling, as an editorial team, are number one in my book.

Don't hesitate. Grab this one while it's available. If you're a devoted reader of these genres, then you can do no better; if you're a writer, see what's getting noticed these days. There are a lot of talents here I'd never read before that really shine.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 15
Review: This latest edition contains useful discussions of fantasy and horror publications over the last year (2000-1). I've noticed that increasing attention is given to small press items which most readers will have trouble getting their hands on, as well as media, anime, etc. which are of less interest to me. It was disappointing to see that horror novels were just listed, not discussed. Still, the fantasy section described several works that I'll be seeking out.

Stories in this anthology have over the years become increasingly literary and perhaps are not the most accessible examples of the genre. Imagery and style take precedence over plot and character in most of the works reprinted here. Perhaps the best story in the volume was one about a boy who "swallows a faerie", an elegant metaphor for creativity and its repression--I regrettably forget the author but recommend the piece. Also, Norman Partridge contributed a strong work of historical fantasy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Once again I got to have the best of the best
Review: this year collection sets of with the amazing stiry "Incognita INC." by harlan ellison and it gave me the confirmation I needed that buying this book was agood idea. Te fourteenth annual collection brings us, once again, some of the most brilliant works of fantasy and horror of this year. I myself am aman of horror and I hardly read Fantasy, unless im shure its good. Ellen datlow and Terri windling are doing and inspiring and well deserved work by uniting all of this great stories in one vokume. I first learnd about the annual collection when i got the 13th book. after finishing it I wanted more, MORE! MORE! and here it is in my hands and I couldnt stop reading it. I have to admit that some of the stories here are not my cup of tea, as they say, and yet I found thema appealing and enjoing. I garentee any one who gets this collection hours of deligt, by the fire or by light of lamp, the magic is there to last.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fabulous Anthology
Review: What a beautiful, fabulous anthology. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have turned out another of their elegant and amazing collections.

This anthology starts off fast with another of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea stories, but it's the second one, Ian MacLeod's 'The Chop Girl' that starts the anthology off with a bang. MacLeod's story is creepy, eerie, spooky, and thoroughly delightful. The anthology never loses steam. Nearly every story is wonderful.

Excellent stories by Charles de Lint, Gemma Files, Jeffrey Ford (be sure to check out his books here on Amazon. They're fabulous!), Tim Lebbon, Steven Millhauser, Paul McAuley, Michael Marshall Smith, Kim Newman, and on and on.

What makes this anthology so special is the breadth of sources that Datlow and Windling draw from. They have a few stories from the usual suspects, F&SF, Realms of Fantasy, Asimov's and so on, but the amount of stories, really good stories, that they grab from tiny obscure publications that probably less than 3,000 people read is astounding. In my mind this makes this series of anthologies infinitely more valuable than their SF counterparts.

I highly recommend this volume.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 3rd Edition
Review: Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Third Edition; ISBN 031204450X

Third in the long-running annual series, the Third Edition is a collection of the "best" fantastical short stories published in 1989. The whole series is consistently high-quality [even if it deos suffer a bit from cronyism], and this edition is no exception. This volume also contains Windling's summation of fantasy in books and publishing, Datlow's summation of horror, and Edward Bryant's summation of fantasy and horror in film for the year 1989. Windling's customary synopses for her "baker's dozen" list of top fantasy novels are, in this edition, extremely short. My favorites from this year are Michael Swanwick's "The Edge of the World," and Steven Millhouser's "The Illusionist." The stinker for this year: "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said (Page 243)" by Chet Williamson. I found it to be wrongheaded, pointless, and in extremely poor taste. I understand that it was written in the style of an early 20th century pulp western, but a poorly-written story is still a poorly-written story, no matter how clever the writer thinks he's being. I also think had the protagonist been a woman, for example, instead of a homosexual man, this story would never have made it out of the editors' slush pile.

Complete list of included writers and their works: Michael Swanwick, "The Edge of the World"; Fred Chappell, "The Adder"; Nancy Etchemendy, "Cat in Glass"; Rory Harper, "Monsters, Tearing Off My Face"; Joyce Carol Oates, "Family"; James Powell, "A Dirge for Clowntown"; Delia Sherman, "Miss Carstairs and the Merman"; Reginald Bretnor, "Unknown Things"; Bruce Boston & Robert Frazier, "Return to the Mutant Rainforest"; Tatyana Tolstaya, "Date With A Bird"; Joseph A. Citro, "Them Bald-headed Snays"; Edward Bryant, "A Sad Last Love at the Diner of the Damned"; Michael Moorcock, "Hanging the Fool"; Leif Enger, "Hansel's Finger"; Garry Kilworth, "Dogfaerie"; Emma Bull, "A Bird That Whistles"; Lisa Tuttle, "The Walled Garden"; Scott Baker, "Varicose Worms"; Leszek Kolakowski, "The War with Things"; Jane Yolen, "The Faery Flag", Zhaxi Dawa, "Souls Tied to the Knots on a Leather Cord"; Steven Millhouser, "The Illusionist"; Charles DeLint, "Timeskip", Robert R. McCammon, "Something Passed By", Dan Daly, "Self Portrait, Mixed Media on Pavement, 1988"; Michael de Larrabeiti, "The Plane Tree and the Fountain"; Tanith Lee, "White as Sin, Now"; Pat Cadigan, "The Power and the Passion"; Midori Snyder, "Jack Straw"; J.N. Williamson, "The Sudd"; Jonathan Carroll, "Mr. Fiddlehead"; Dan Simmons, "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"; Andrew Stephenson, "Cinema Altere"; Gary A. Braunbeck, "Matters of Family"; Jane Yolen, "Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary"; Joan Aiken, "Find Me"; James P. Blaylock, "Unidentified Objects"; Ramsey Campbell, "Meeting the Author"; Gwyneth Jones, "The Lovers"; Chet Williamson, "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said. (Page 243)"; Bruce Sterling, "Dori Bangs"; Joe R. Lansdale, "The Steel Valentine"; John Shirley, "Equilibrium"; Joe Haldeman, "Time Lapse"; Garry Kilworth, "White Noise"; Robley Wilson, "Terrible Kisses"; Greg Bear, "Sleepside Story"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 3rd Edition
Review: Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Third Edition; ISBN 031204450X

Third in the long-running annual series, the Third Edition is a collection of the "best" fantastical short stories published in 1989. The whole series is consistently high-quality [even if it deos suffer a bit from cronyism], and this edition is no exception. This volume also contains Windling's summation of fantasy in books and publishing, Datlow's summation of horror, and Edward Bryant's summation of fantasy and horror in film for the year 1989. Windling's customary synopses for her "baker's dozen" list of top fantasy novels are, in this edition, extremely short. My favorites from this year are Michael Swanwick's "The Edge of the World," and Steven Millhouser's "The Illusionist." The stinker for this year: "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said (Page 243)" by Chet Williamson. I found it to be wrongheaded, pointless, and in extremely poor taste. I understand that it was written in the style of an early 20th century pulp western, but a poorly-written story is still a poorly-written story, no matter how clever the writer thinks he's being. I also think had the protagonist been a woman, for example, instead of a homosexual man, this story would never have made it out of the editors' slush pile.

Complete list of included writers and their works: Michael Swanwick, "The Edge of the World"; Fred Chappell, "The Adder"; Nancy Etchemendy, "Cat in Glass"; Rory Harper, "Monsters, Tearing Off My Face"; Joyce Carol Oates, "Family"; James Powell, "A Dirge for Clowntown"; Delia Sherman, "Miss Carstairs and the Merman"; Reginald Bretnor, "Unknown Things"; Bruce Boston & Robert Frazier, "Return to the Mutant Rainforest"; Tatyana Tolstaya, "Date With A Bird"; Joseph A. Citro, "Them Bald-headed Snays"; Edward Bryant, "A Sad Last Love at the Diner of the Damned"; Michael Moorcock, "Hanging the Fool"; Leif Enger, "Hansel's Finger"; Garry Kilworth, "Dogfaerie"; Emma Bull, "A Bird That Whistles"; Lisa Tuttle, "The Walled Garden"; Scott Baker, "Varicose Worms"; Leszek Kolakowski, "The War with Things"; Jane Yolen, "The Faery Flag", Zhaxi Dawa, "Souls Tied to the Knots on a Leather Cord"; Steven Millhouser, "The Illusionist"; Charles DeLint, "Timeskip", Robert R. McCammon, "Something Passed By", Dan Daly, "Self Portrait, Mixed Media on Pavement, 1988"; Michael de Larrabeiti, "The Plane Tree and the Fountain"; Tanith Lee, "White as Sin, Now"; Pat Cadigan, "The Power and the Passion"; Midori Snyder, "Jack Straw"; J.N. Williamson, "The Sudd"; Jonathan Carroll, "Mr. Fiddlehead"; Dan Simmons, "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"; Andrew Stephenson, "Cinema Altere"; Gary A. Braunbeck, "Matters of Family"; Jane Yolen, "Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary"; Joan Aiken, "Find Me"; James P. Blaylock, "Unidentified Objects"; Ramsey Campbell, "Meeting the Author"; Gwyneth Jones, "The Lovers"; Chet Williamson, "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said. (Page 243)"; Bruce Sterling, "Dori Bangs"; Joe R. Lansdale, "The Steel Valentine"; John Shirley, "Equilibrium"; Joe Haldeman, "Time Lapse"; Garry Kilworth, "White Noise"; Robley Wilson, "Terrible Kisses"; Greg Bear, "Sleepside Story"


<< 1 2 3 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates