Reviews

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen by Ian Rogers, Matthew Holness, Eóin Murphy, Simon Strantzas, Brian Evenson, Kaaron Warren, A.C. Wise, Ellen Datlow, Jonathan Raab, Simon Bestwick, Carly Holmes, G.V. Anderson, Christopher Golden, Steve Toase, Sarah Lamparelli, Gerard McKeown, Gemma Files, Robin Furth, Laird Barron, Glen Hirshberg, Steve Duffy, Michael Marshall Smith, Eric LaRocca, Lee Murray

helaisme's review

dark

3.75

prickettmb's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kaitlinbisneau's review

4.0

My personal favorite stories from this collection:

-Redwater by Simon Bestwick
-The Offering by Michael Marshall Smith
-Shuck by G.V. Anderson
-The Hunt at Rotherdam by AC Wise
-Dancing Sober in the Dust by Steve Toase
-The God Bag by Christopher Golden
-The Quizmasters by Gerard McKeown
-All Those Lost Days by Brian Everson
-Three Sisters Bog by Eoin Murphy
-Stolen Property by Sarah Lamparelli
-Shards by Ian Rogers

paultypething's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

4.5

novelinsights's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

zlwrites's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

feathersmcgraw's review

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

I can see why Datlow is such a big name in the horror scene, this is great! There isn't a particular theme uniting all of the stories (plus a poem), although childhood trauma seems to be a recurring motif. I can also only assume folk horror was big in 2021 as quite a few of the stories fell under that bracket.

Redwater (by Simon Redwick) - A boat crew illegally navigate a land with permanent, catastrophic flooding.

I enjoyed this more as an action-adventure than an outright horror

Caker's Man (by Matthew Holness) - A young boy has to deal with a creepy neighbour attempting to insert himself into the family by offering cake.

I never realised Holness did actual proper horror outside of Garth Marenghi or that he was a subtext-using coward at that. Unsettling, in the best possible way.

Black Leg (by Glen Hirshberg) - A ghost hunter desperate for a scoop stumbles onto the supernatural.

This one didn't do it for me. I think the initial premise of a strange encounter at a courthouse is more interesting that what the story ultimately went with. The climax is also quite surreal/muddled to the point where I didn't entirely follow what was happening.

The Offering (by Michael Marshall Smith) - A family of american tourists in Europe upset the powers that be.

I think the family dynamic the story hinges around is sound but for the entire time I was stuck thinking about how weirdly negligent the airbnb hosts need to be for the story to be able to happen.

Fox Girl (by Lee Murray) - The poem.

I'm not much for poetry so didn't have strong feelings either way.

Shuck (by G.V Anderson) - A road traffic accident survivor becomes convinced she is being stalked by death, in the form of Black Shuck.

I was really enjoying this right up until pretty much the last paragraph. At that point it swerved into a needless twist ending that sullied the whole thing.

The Hunt at Rotherdam (by A.C Wise) - Young men gather for their annual hunt to catch themselves a bride.

Hunt isn't bad. The premise is great, for one. It just stops right as it gets going and I never felt that the protagonist was ever in any real peril.

Dancing Sober in the Dust (by Steve Toase) - A museum researcher develops an uhealthy interest in some curious costumes.

Leaves all the right things to the imagination. More than that, I 'm a sucker for a good epigraph.

The God Bag (by Christopher Golden) - A man caring for his senile mother learns that she has an odd way of praying.

God Bag is a lot like a Twilight Zone episode with its conceit. Unfortunately, this is one of those stories where something becomes blindingly obvious about half way through yet the main character muddles about for a while longer.

The Stranthantine Imps (by Steve Duffy) - A woman recounts an unsettling story from her childhood.

I have no idea what the point of the framing story is supposed to be. It added nothing to the central story which was itself, unremarkable.

 

The Quizmasters (by Gerard McKeown) - An irish cyclist realises more than he bargained for is at stake when strange tourists ask trivia questions.

I loved Quizmasters. Short and tense.

 

All Those Lost Days (by Brian Evenson) - The narrator's brother has a strange experience on a theme park ride.

Eh. Fun premise but it can't help but feel out of place here.

 

Anne Gare’s Rare and Import Video Catalogue October 2022 (by Jonathan Raab) A description of two very odd video tapes.

It is literally two short paragraphs. Would have worked better if there were more, intercut throughout the entire anthology.

 

Three Sisters Bog (by Eóin Murphy) - A boy and his father venture into a bog searching for his lost dog.

Tense until it peters out at the very end.

 

The Steering Wheel Club (by Kaaron Warren) - A thoroughly unpleasant man buys a steering wheel with a tragic past.

Repulsive characters - in a good way!

 

The King of Stones (by Simon Strantzas) - A couple on a road trip stop at the wrong place.

Excellent imagery, even if I didn't fully buy the relationship between the two central characters.

 

Stolen Property (by Sarah Lamparelli) - Two friends go for a hike in the woods and find two mutilated corpses.

Creepy and suspenseful.

 

Shards (by Ian Rogers) A group of teenagers survive going to the cabin in the woods. This is what happens next.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I saw the phrase 'cabin in the woods' for obvious reasons. I  chose to perservere and I'm glad I did. Shards is a fantastic story. Rogers made a smart choice taking such a well-worn premise, glossing over the bit we all know and inserting much of the horror into the aftermath..

 

Chit Chit (by Steve Toase) - A group of criminals searching for something find more than they bargained for.

I don't think the same author should have made it in twice on principle, even if Chit Chit ends with some impressive body horror.

 

Poor Butcher-Bird (by Gemma Files) - A woman joins a viscious cult with an agenda of her own.

Well-executed gore. That said, I detest the core trope of a human familiar in love with their vampiric master who genuinely cares for them in return. 

 

Trap (by Carly Holmes) - A single mum with two squabbling daughters sets up a camera trap to clock a wild animal.

Well-executed spin on a classic urban legend.

 
 

I’ll Be Gone By Then (by Eric LaRocca) - A woman is asked to permanetly care for her disabled mother

Refreshingly low-key.

 

Jack-in-the-Box (by Robin Furth) - A journalist is sent to write a puff piece about a deceased philanthropist who isn't what he seemed.

Strong atmosphere. I am embarassed I didn't twig the pun until the very end though.

 

Tiptoe (by Laird Barron) - A man going through a rough patch thinks back to any childhood trauma that may have caused it.

I'd never read anything by Barron before. I'm about to go and read anything I can get my hands on. Tiptoe is phenomenal.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Gore, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Grief

rubyhosh's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

tombomp's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

Take that 3 as a positive 3. I very much enjoyed my time with this book! It's just as is usually the case with anthologies I found my opinions varied a lot between stories and there weren't any huge standouts either. But there's definitely quite a few high quality stories here.

Thinking of faves:
- Caker's Man: Great creepy story about the very real creepiness of certain adults as experienced by kids, yet done without depicting any truly awful acts. The horror of being overfamiliar, leering, suggesting gross things. The possibly supernatural element springs from that, and it's vague and uncertain but works well due to being grounded in relatable horror.
- Dancing Sober in the Dust: The creepy narrator recovers the costumes of a grim dancing duo, with the sections of the story interspersed with museum catalogue style descriptions of the costumes. The ending almost feels a touch cliche but the whole thing really works, with the extra theme of the past as living memory vs the past as stuck in archives.
- The God Bag: this is how you pull off a "twist" ending when the reveal seems inevitable. Heavy on the theme of dementia and aging and what you lose and

what you'd give to get yourself back. It's not clear if the mother's sacrifice is something she'd have done in her right mind - maybe it was just the first thing that came to mind while barely conscious - but it doesn't really matter.

It's really chilling and effective, again grounded in very relatable horror around parenthood and loss of self.
- The Quizmasters: A shorter one based on a kind of goofy concept that's pulled off effectively and doesn't outstay its welcome. The horror of random chance and "why would someone do that"
- The Steering Wheel Club: Powerfully hones in on the emotions and drives of abusive men. The ending really boils it down to something incredibly effective - getting what you want forever

as horrifying punishment

- Shards: Friends go to a cabin and it destroys their lives. A cursed object type story, but written really well.
- Chit Chit: There's a really effectively creepy scene

of someone having their skull "massaged" so it's soft and can be transformed into a horse skull

but I admit my appreciation of this one is mostly due to featuring a folk horror favourite tradition

Mari Lwyd

- Tiptoe: A Laird Barron story that taps into what seems to be his usual discomfort with parenting and the horrors that emerge from heterosexual relationships. Nearly nothing horrific actually happens in view, so it's mostly just a constant unease, realising there are people who are not like you that you pass every day and they're dangerous. With an excellent closing image.

A few of the others were pretty decent but didn't make an impact on me, most of the rest weren't *bad* bad but felt like they didn't work totally or just weren't right for my tastes.

The Offering: I think this wasn't bad exactly - although the conclusion could have been chopped off - but I just couldn't help feeling these were the absolute worst AirBnB hosts of all time. It actually bugged me a lot how irresponsible they were! This would be fine but the conclusion talks about the aftermath and doesn't address it. Weirdly weakens the story for me.
Poor Butcher-Bird: This had some good stuff (and the most effective and consistent use of gore and descriptions of horror imagery) but I just really really hate

stories where it's about a supernatural creature and her human lover and we're supposed to be like, cheering the supernatural creature eating humans or w/e because the creature is really cool and morally right. I mean... yeah, obviously, in the story it's fine for her to do it.

idk just a daft pet peeve
The King of Stones: Just a bit of a mess.

bookwisp86's review

dark fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0