The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2011

Anthologies can often be hit or miss, and at the very least one or more of the stories will be complete drivel. As I said, that is usually the case, but there is nothing usual or mundane about The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition. The stories, each and every one, delighted and thrilled me. The wide breadth of examples of the two genres was astounding and well received. Far too often these kinds of compilations can be made to seem cookie cutter, each story being a reflection of the last. You'll find none of that blandness here, and it speaks volumes to the good taste and efforts of editor Paula Guran.A few of the stand out pieces for me were written by Sarah Langan, Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee and Holly Black. I have read both Langan and Gaiman before and was happy to see their usual high form. I was familiar with the reputations for Lee and Black and I can now see why they are both regarded so highly. While these four were my personal favorites, all of the other authors provided tales well worth reading. Each is a gem...a hideously weird, oddly monstrous, quietly beautiful gem.

Very good collection of dark fantasy and horror stories! The breadth of the writing is surprising, as is the overall quality of fiction writing. This collection will really make you think outside the box!

For the most part I enjoyed this anthology with the strongest pieces being, for me, "Lesser Demons", "Hurt Me", "Raise Your Hand if You're Dead", "The Stars are Falling" (although this story is not actually any form of speculative fiction, it is still quite eerie and touching) "Oaks Park" and "Thimbleriggery and Fledglings". I slept through "Crawlspace" and a few others that took too long to get to any kind of point, along with the massive George R. R. Martin novella which didn't really feel dark enough to qualify for inclusion here. In addition, many of the stories by Big Name authors (Neil Gaiman, Gene Wolf and, arguably, Peter Watts) are reprints from Prime's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011, and nearly all of the stories here are reprints from one anthology or another. Maybe there just aren't many publications left in the horror genre, but I would've liked to see more space dedicated to reprinting worthy works that would otherwise be lost to the recycling bin. Definitely worth the discounted Amazon price, unless you already have the original anthologies.(Full contents:Lesser Demons, Norman PartridgeRaise Your Hand if You're Dead, John ShirleyAs Red As Red, Caitlin R KiernanTragic Life Stories, Steve DuffyThe Naturalist, Maureen McHughThe Broadsword, Laird BarronA Thousand Flowers, Margo LanaganFrumpy Little Beat Girl, Peter AtkinsThe Stars Are Falling, Joe R. LandsdaleHurt Me, M.L.N. HanoverAre You Trying To Tell Me This Is Heaven? Sarah LanganSea Warg, Tanith LeeCrawlspace, Stephen Graham JonesMother Urban's Booke of Dayes, Jay LakeBrisneyland By Night, Angela SlatterThe Thing About Cassandra, Neil GaimanHe Said, Laughing, Simon R. GreenBloodsport, Gene WolfOaks Park, M.K. HobsonThimbleriggery and Fledglings, Steve BermanYou Dream, Ekaterina SediaRed Blues, Michael SkeetThe Moon Will Look Strange, Lynda E. RuckerThe Things, Peter WattsMalleus, Incus, Stapes, Sarah TottonThe Return, S.D. TullisThe Dog King, Holly BlackHow Bria Died, Mike ARanovitzThe Dire Wolf, Genevieve ValentineParallel Lines, Tim PowersThe Mystery Knight: A Tale of The Seven Kingdoms, George R. R. Martin)

Great condition!

As with all anthologies, this is a mixed bag: A compilation of intriguing and frightening to silly and banal. Some of these stories are quite compelling; however, it took me a LONG time to read through this entire anthology. Some of the better known authors like Lansdale and Martin definitely had the best pieces in here...but overall, I'd recommend just reading a full length horror/fantasy book rather than a series of uneven short stories.