Reviews

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling

spikeanderson1's review

An ok set, mostly b stories, a few lower. The notable a stories are: the honeyed knot, onion, struwwelper , watch me when I sleep, the tattoo artist, Annabelle's alphabet , gestella,

_lilbey_'s review

4.0

My favorite stories:

Prussian Snowdrops, Marion Arnott
Timmy Gobel's Bug Jar, Michael Libling
Trading Hearts at the Half Kaffe Cafe, Charles de Lint
Crocodile Lady, Christopher Fowler
Sop Doll, Milbre Burch
Plenty, Christopher Barzak
Cleopatra Brimstone, Elizabeth Hand
The Bird Catcher, S.P. Somtow
Black Dust, Graham Joyce
Annabelle's Alphabet, Tim Pratt
Gestella, Susan Palwick
Oh, Glorious Sight, Tanya Huff
Strange Things About Birds, Scott Thomas
Scarecrow, Gregory Maguire
His Own Backyard, James P. Blaylock

afictionalhubbard's review against another edition

3.0

This hefty tome was given to me by my uncle, who teaches creative writing. The upside of the book is there are probably 25-50 (I honestly forgot to count) different short to medium length stories, plus maybe a half dozen to a dozen poems (and one that falls between the two types so much that it can't be easily classified as either,) and so whether you prefer mythic fantasy, Gothic vampire tales, fables, or tales with a preternatural twist, there will be something in here for you. Some of my favorites included "Scarecrow" "The Puppet and the Train" "Timmy Goebel's Bug Jar," "Annabelle's Alphabet," and "Gestella." Most of the authors (with the exception of Gregory Maguire, author of "Scarecrow,") were authors I was unfamiliar with, and so I took the time to write down the names of my favorites so that next time I'm looking for a new book, I have a new author to try, since many of the authors included in the collection are also novelists, many of whom only have a book or two to their name, so they're not necessarily going to be easy to find unless you know they're out there and can special order them. Another bonus is that the beginning of the book gives an overview of the top novels in different categories within the sci-fi/fantasy realm, with a short entry on each, which is another great guide to finding not just new authors, but specific books you otherwise may have missed. The thumbnail provided is also enough to gauge whether the book is within a subgenre you enjoy or one you avoid like the plague. (For me, if it isn't Pratchett or Tolkien, I avoid wizards like the plague. Wizzards are always fine.)

The downside of the book is that, as is the case with any collection of works, is that others are going to miss the mark or simply not be written in a style that you particularly enjoy. This was actually a setback for me because the very first story in the collection was both one of the longest entries and possibly the one I enjoyed least. I started reading it, couldn't get through it, lost interest, and set the whole book aside for a year or more. I picked it back up recently between other novels and skipped to a shorter entry (the shorter entries, by and large, tend to pack a better punch, in my opinion) and then hopped around until I finished the entire lump. So, I encourage any reader who enjoys sci fi, fantasy, horror, or just a good story, well told, to grab a copy, and if the first story doesn't catch your fancy, skip ahead, bounce around, and cherry pick your morsels accordingly.

theilliteratebookseller's review against another edition

4.0

It was worth it just to read “Where the Woodbine Twineth” by Norman Partridge.

spacenoirdetective's review

4.0

Out of all the stories in this collection, the ones I enjoyed were:

The Hunter's Wife - Anthony Doerr
The Cowardly Coffin - Marin Sorescu - wonderful magical realism from Romania
To Dream of White Horses - June Considine
Skin - Charlee Jacob
The Honeyed Knot - Jeffrey Ford - Ford is a genius.
Timmy Gobel's Bug Jar - Michael Libling - Filled with the unexpected.
The God of Dark Laughter - Michael Chabon - Chabon gets me every time.
Trading Hearts at the Half Kaffe Cafe - Charles de Lint
Louise's Ghost - Kelly Link
Crocodile Lady - Christopher Fowler - If you have never read Christopher Fowler, everything he writes is screenworthy. Don't miss out on him.
The Barbarian and the Queen: Thirteen Views - Jane Yolen
Sop Doll - Milbre Burch
Plenty - Christopher Barzak - American magical realism about the gritty realities of poverty.
The Bones of the Earth - Ursula K. Le Guin
Onion - Caitlin R. Kiernan - One of my now favorite fantasy stories about alternate universes.
Struwwelpeter - Glen Hirshberg - This is probably my favorite story from this collection. It's constantly brimming with the psychological, it's a brilliant retelling of a fairy tale, and alarming on all levels. Hirshberg knows how to tell a great horror story, with characters that are fully sympathetic.
Cleopatra Brimstone - Elizabeth Hand
The Bird Catcher - S.P. Somtow - There is something about this story that really sticks with you. Fascinating look of a serial killer from a child's perspective in mid 20th century Thailand.
Black Dust - Graham Joyce
Annabelle's Alphabet - Tim Pratt
Queen - Gene Wolfe
The Project - Carol Emshwiller - somewhat surreal story from another world that could very well be our own. Compellingly mysterious.
Aesculapius in the Underworld - Ryan G. Van Cleave
Scarecrow - Gregory Maguire