In 2021, we had four "best of the year" horror-fiction annuals (that I'm aware of) published in English, as a few others had, sadly, ceased in just previous years. And this quartet included two that were also to be the last volumes published in their respective series, the Stephen Jones, and Hardcore Horror...Ellen Datlow offers the 13th volume of her second (first solo) series, while Jones's was his 31st volume (the first few in collaboration with Ramsey Campbell, as Datlow's first annual series was in tandem with Terri Windling, then with Kelly Link and Gavin Grant). I enjoy the mirroring in the numbers there; Guran's is her second with Pyr, after her former annual's publisher hit hard times, and this would be the sixth and last from Mullenax and Chandler. UK- and Australian/New Zealander-specific horror annuals, and the notably "line-crossing" Weird Fiction annual, had folded in the previous several years.
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Thirteen, ed. Ellen Datlow (Night Shade Books, November 16, 2021, 978-1-949102-60-4, $15.99, xlvi+383pp, trade pb, annual, cover by Reiko Murakami)
- Details taken from Table of Contents.
- xi · Summation 2020 · Ellen Datlow · in
- 1 · Exhalation #10 · A. C. Wise · nv Final Cuts ed. Ellen Datlow, Anchor Books, 2020
- 23 · A Hotel in Germany · Catriona Ward · ss After Sundown ed. Mark Morris, Flame Tree Press, 2020
- 40 · A Deed Without a Name · Jack Lothian · ss The Fiends in the Furrows II ed. David T. Neal & Christine M. Scott, Nosetouch Press, 2020
- 50 · Lords of the Matinee · Stephen Graham Jones · ss Final Cuts ed. Ellen Datlow, Anchor Books, 2020
- 65 · Cleaver, Meat, and Block · Maria Haskins · ss Black Static #73, January/February 2020
- 81 · The Eight-Thousanders · Jason Sanford · ss Asimov’s Science Fiction September/October 2020
- 100 · Scold’s Bridle: A Cruelty · Richard Gavin · ss Grotesquerie by Richard Gavin, Undertow Publications, 2020
- 107 · Come Closer · Gemma Files · ss Apostles of the Weird ed. S. T. Joshi, PS Publishing, 2020
- 119 · It Doesn’t Feel Right · Michael Marshall Smith · ss After Sundown ed. Mark Morris, Flame Tree Press, 2020
- 134 · Mine Seven · Elana Gomel · ss After Sundown ed. Mark Morris, Flame Tree Press, 2020
- 148 · Sicko · Stephen Volk · ss Black Static #73, January/February 2020
- 168 · Mouselode Maze · Christopher Harman · ss The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Mazes ed. Rosemary Pardoe, Sarob Press, 2020
- 189 · Heath Crawler · Sam Hicks · ss Vastarien Fall 2020
- 200 · The Devil Will Be at the Door · David Surface · ss Crooked Houses ed. Mark Beech, Egaeus Press, 2020
- 215 · Let Your Hinged Jaw Do the Talking · Tom Johnstone · ss Nightscript VI ed. C. M. Muller, Chthonic Matter, 2020
- 224 · Scream Queen · Nathan Ballingrud · nv Final Cuts ed. Ellen Datlow, Anchor Books, 2020
- 246 · We Do Like to Be Beside · Pete Sutton · ss The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 2 ed. Peter Coleborn & Jan Edwards, Alchemy Press, 2020
- 257 · Contrition (1998) · J. A. W. McCarthy · ss Oculus Sinister ed. C. M. Muller, Chthonic Matter, 2020
- 274 · Tethered Dogs · Gary McMahon · ss Some Bruising May Occur by Gary McMahon, JournalStone Publishing, 2020
- 282 · Bloody Rhapsody · Alessandro Manzetti · pm Whitechapel Rhapsody by Alessandro Manzetti, Independent Legions Publishing, 2020
- 284 · In the English Rain · Steve Duffy · ss Terror Tales of the Home Counties ed. Paul Finch, Telos Publishing, 2020
- 302 · A Treat for Your Last Day · Simon Bestwick · ss Patreon.com/SimonBestwick March 23 2020
- 313 · Trick of the Light · Andrew Humphrey · ss Nightjar Press, 2020
- 326 · Two Truths and a Lie · Sarah Pinsker · nv Tor.com June 17 2020
- 356 · The Whisper of Stars · Thana Niveau · ss Lovecraft Mythos New and Classic Collection ed. Gillian Whittaker, Flame Tree Publishing, 2020
- 373 · Honorable Mentions · [uncredited] · bi
- 375 · About the Authors · [uncredited] · bg
- 384 · About the Editor · [uncredited] · bg
- · Horror in 2019 · Stephen Jones · in
- · Zombie-ish · Scott Bradfield · ss The Weird Fiction Review #9, Winter 2019
- · Wake the Dead · Maura McHugh · ss The Boughs Withered by Maura McHugh, NewCon Press, 2019
- · Mercy Brown · Caitlín R. Kiernan · ss Sirenia Digest November 2019
- · Mama Bruise · Jonathan Carroll · ss Tor.com April 17 2019
- · The Same as the Air · Alison Littlewood · ss Ten-Word Tragedies ed. Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon, PS Publishing, 2019
- · Getting Through · Ramsey Campbell · ss Asylum Press, 2019
- · The Children of Medea · Stephen Bacon · ss Murmured in Dreams by Stephen Bacon, Luna Press, 2019
- · The Water of Dhu’l Nun · Don Webb · ss Mountains of Madness Revealed ed. Darrell Schweitzer, PS Publishing, 2019
- · Under the Frenzy of the Fourteenth Moon · Ron Weighell · ss The Far Tower ed. Mark Valentine, Swan River Press, 2019
- · The Promise of Saints · Angela Slatter · ss A Miscellany of Death & Folly ed. Mark Beech, Egaeus Press, 2019
- · Crawlspace Oracle · Richard Gavin · ss Mannequin: Tales of Wood Made Flesh ed. Justin A. Burnett, Silent Motorist Media, 2019
- · Downriver · Michael Chislett · ss Where Shadows Gather by Michael Chislett, Sarob Press, 2019
- · Death in All Its Ripeness · Mark Samuels · ss Apostles of the Weird ed. S. T. Joshi, PS Publishing, 2020
- · Schrapnel · Richard Christian Matheson · ss Brothers in Arms ed. Barry Hoffman & Richard Christian Matheson, Gauntlet Press, 2019
- · Precipice · Dale Bailey · ss Echoes ed. Ellen Datlow, Saga Press, 2019
- · Antripuu · Simon Strantzas · ss Nightmare #82, July 2019
- · A Crown of Leaves · Kristi DeMeester · ss Black Static #70, July/August 2019
- · A Stay at the Shores · Steve Rasnic Tem · ss NecronomiCon 2019 Memento Book ed. Victoria Dalpe & Justin Steele, Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council Press, 2019
- · The Old Man of the Woods · Reggie Oliver · ss The Pale Illuminations, Sarob Press, 2019
- · Iron City · Tanith Lee · ss Strindberg’s Ghost Sonata by Tanith Lee, Immanion Press, 2019
- · Slough · Glen Hirshberg · ss Space and Time #135, Winter 2019
- · A Species of the Dead · D. P. Watt · ss Petals and Violins by D. P. Watt, Tartarus Press, 2019
- · The Burning Woods · Michael Marshall Smith · na I Am the Abyss ed. Chris Morey, Dark Regions Press, 2018
- · Necrology: 2019 · Stephen Jones & Kim Newman · ob
Details taken from online listing.
- The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: Volume 2 ed. Paula Guran (Pyr, October 19, 2021, 978-1-64506-032-1, $21.95, 495pp, tp, an)
- xi · Stranger Days · Paula Guran · in
- 1 · Recognition · Victor LaValle · ss The New York Times Magazine July 12 2020
- 7 · Odette · Zen Cho · ss Shoreline of Infinity #18, Summer 2020
- 21 · Das Gesicht · Dale Bailey · nv Final Cuts ed. Ellen Datlow, Anchor Books, 2020
- 38 · The Sycamore and the Sybil · Alix E. Harrow · ss Uncanny Magazine #33, March/April 2020
- · The Stonemason · Danny Rhodes · ss Black Static #75, May/June 2020
- 65 · Desiccant · Craig Laurance Gidney · ss Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire ed. Nicole Givens Kurtz, Mocha Memoirs Press, 2020
- 76 · Open House on Haunted Hill · John Wiswell · ss Diabolical Plots #64, June 2020
- 85 · The Genetic Alchemist’s Daughter · Elaine Cuyegkeng · ss Black Cranes ed. Geneve Flynn & Lee Murray, Omnium Gatherum, 2020
- 102 · Swanskin · Alison Littlewood · ss After Sundown ed. Mark Morris, Flame Tree Press, 2020
- · The Dead Outside My Door · Steve Rasnic Tem · ss Black Static #77, November/December 2020
- 125 · Lusca · Soleil Knowles · ss Fiyah #13, Winter 2020
- 133 · To Sail the Black · A. C. Wise · ss Clarkesworld #170, November 2020
- 155 · Nobody Lives Here · H. Pueyo · ss The Dark #66, November 2020
- 162 · On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera [Cthulhu] · Elizabeth Bear · nv Tor.com November 18 2020
- · The Thickening · Brian Evenson · ss Conjunctions #74, Spring 2020
- 202 · The Owl Count · Elizabeth Hand · nv Conjunctions #74, Spring 2020
- 225 · Color, Heat, and the Wreck of the Argo · Catherynne M. Valente · nv Strange Horizons September 7 2020
- 251 · Ancestries · Sheree Renée Thomas · ss Nine Bar Blues by Sheree Renée Thomas, Third Man Books, 2020
- 262 · The Sound of the Sea, Too Close · James Everington · ss Shadows & Tall Trees v8, 2020
- 274 · Drunk Physics · Kelley Armstrong · nv Final Cuts ed. Ellen Datlow, Anchor Books, 2020
- 297 · Call Them Children · Wenmimareba Klobah Collins · ss The Dark #64, September 2020
- 313 · Tea with the Earl of Twilight · Sonya Taaffe · ss Nightmare #96, September 2020
- 326 · Wait for Night · Stephen Graham Jones · ss Tor.com September 2 2020
- 342 · Where the Old Neighbors Go · Thomas Ha · nv Metaphorosis September 2020
- · Dead Bright Star (July 1987) · Caitlín R. Kiernan · ss Sirenia Digest April 2020
- 373 · And This Is How to Stay Alive · Shingai Njeri Kagunda · ss Fantasy Magazine #61, November 2020
- 390 · Lacunae · V. H. Leslie · ss Shadows & Tall Trees v8, 2020
- 410 · The Girlfriend’s Guide to Gods · Maria Dahvana Headley · ss Tor.com January 23 2020
- 417 · Monster · Naomi Kritzer · nv Clarkesworld #160, January 2020
- 446 · Last Night at the Fair · M. Rickert · ss The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2020
Details taken from Table of Contents.
- Year’s Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 6: Masquerade ed. Randy Chandler & Cheryl Mullenax (Red Room Press, May 18, 2021, 978-1-936964-15-4, $14.95, 293pp, tp, an)
- 11 · Welcome to the Masquerade · Randy Chandler & Cheryl Mullenax · in
- 15 · The Nipples in Dad’s Tool Box · Ronald Kelly · nv The Essential Sick Stuff by Ronald Kelly, Silver Shamrock Publishing, 2020
- 39 · Going Green · Christine Morgan · nv Yet More Tales of Body Enhancements Gone Bad! ed. Weldon Burge, Smart Rhino Publications, 2017
- 59 · Whiskey to the Wound · Rachel Nussbaum · ss Brewtality ed. K. Trap Jones, The Evil Cookie Publishing, 2020
- 71 · thestrangethingwebecome · Eric LaRocca · ss 34 Orchard #1, Spring 2020
- 89 · Hey, Valentine · Amanda Cecelia Lang · ss Tales from the Moonlit Path February 14 2021
previously available as an audio download from Acast, February 10, 2020. - 93 · In Subspace, No One Can Hear You Scream · Hailey Piper · ss Mycelia December 2020
- 103 · The Pogonip Fog · Sean Patrick Hazlett · ss Galaxy’s Edge #42, January 2020
- 119 · Gunfire and Brimstone · Alicia Hilton · ss Vastarien Fall 2020
- 137 · The Happiest Man in the World · Matthew Brockmeyer · ss Nest of Salt by Matthew V. Brockmeyer, Black Thunder Press, 2020
- 153 · Synaesthete · Melanie Harding-Shaw · ss Black Dogs, Black Tales ed. Tabatha Wood, Things in the Well, 2020
- 161 · Full Moon Shindig · Patrick C. Harrison, III · nv Visceral: Collected Flesh by Patrick C. Harrison, III & Christine Morgan, Death's Head Press, 2020
- 183 · The Drinking-Horn · Christine Morgan · ss Brewtality ed. K. Trap Jones, The Evil Cookie Publishing, 2020
- 195 · Otto Hahn Speaks to the Dead · Octavia Cade · ss The Dark #59, April 2020
- 207 · All the Stars in Her Eyes · Deborah Sheldon · nv Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #80, September 2020
- 229 · The Village · Matias F. Travieso-Diaz · ss The Fantasy Library February 2020
- 247 · The Smell of Night in the Basement · Wendy N. Wagner · ss
previously available as an audio download from PseudoPod, November 2020. - 263 · The Saint · Alessandro Manzetti · ss The Radioactive Bride by Alessandro Manzetti, Necro Publications, 2020
- 273 · Her Wounded Eyes · Robert Guffey · ss New Reader Magazine June 2020
Details taken from online listing.
Stury reviews forthcoming...it's been a busy weekend.
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