The Year's Best Dark Fantasy \u0026 Horror 2010 by Paula Guran

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy \u0026 Horror 2010 Reviews

• 
  DeAnna Knippling

  Fine, solid stories - but kind of predictable. Maybe I'm getting better at predicting stories, but it felt like a lot of these were stories of a particular type without a lot of twist to it. I suspect I'm like, "But there are other anthology editors I especially love, and this is okay but doesn't scratch that itch," and that's all there is to it, and this is perfectly fine but I just can't love it. Any of the stories on their own would be fine...
  
  
• 
  Jaffa Kintigh

  This anthology of the macabre and unsettling started what has now become an annual almanac of horror. I really enjoyed
  The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2015. This predecessor includes a third more stories, but more is not always better.
  
  Two tales merit top marks.
  "Lowland Sea" by Suzy McKee Charnas spectacularly brings together modern day slavery and an apocalypse in a work of speculative fiction. The beauty of this piece is in capturing the unique narrative voice of Miriam who witnesses the apocalypse years after her own world has been upended by her enslavement. Norman Prentiss'
  "In the Porches of My Ears" is a double tale involving the same characters in all-too-real situations. The first tale embeds subtly if not uneasily before achieving a devastating paradigm shift with the second tale calling every detail of the first into question. It is the epitome of tragic without any elements of fantasy or speculation needed. No horrors other than what life is amply able to provide.
  
  I have many honorable mentions that earned 4-stars:
  Bear, Elizabeth--
  "The Horrid Glory of Its Wings"
  Black, Holly--
  "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown"
  Duffy, Steve--
  "Certain Death for a Known Person"
  Laidlaw, Marc--
  "Leng"
  Langan, John--
  "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky"
  Mantooth, John--
  "The Water Tower"
  O'Nan, Stewart--
  "Monsters"
  Sedia, Ekaterina--
  "Cherrystone and Shards of Ice"
  Tem, Steve Rasnic--
  "The Cabinet Child"
  
  I've individually reviewed all of the included short stories and novellas. Also included are:
  Dale Bailey & Nathan Ballingrud's --
  "The Crevasse"--3 stars
  Biancotti, Deborah--
  "Diamond Shell"--3 stars
  Campbell, Ramsey--
  "Respects"--3 stars
  Dinan, Kurt--
  "Nub Hut"--3 stars
  Fried, Seth--
  "Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre"--3 stars
  Kiernan, Caitlin R.--
  "The Bone's Prayer"--3 stars
  Lanagan, Margo--
  "Sea-Hearts"--3 stars
  Link, Kelly--
  "The Cinderella Game"--3 stars
  McHugh, Maura--
  "Vic"--3 stars
  Monette, Sarah--
  "White Charles"--3 stars
  Pinborough, Sarah--
  "The Nowhere Man"--3 stars
  Roden, Barbara--
  "The Brink of Eternity"--3 stars
  Shepard, Lucius--
  Halloween Town--3 stars
  Smith, Michael Marshall--
  "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night"--3 stars
  Straub, Peter--
  "Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld"--3 stars
  Tremblay, Paul--
  "Headstone in Your Pocket"--3 stars
  Valente, Catherynne M.--
  "A Delicate Architecture"--3 stars
  Armstrong, Kelley--
  "A Haunted House of Her Own"--2 stars
  Atkins, Peter--
  "The Mystery"--2 stars
  Bulkin, Nadia--
  "Everything Dies, Baby"--2 stars
  Davies, Robert--
  "Bruise for Bruise"--2 stars
  Files, Gemma--
  "The Jacaranda Smile"--2 stars
  Houarner, Gerard--
  "The Other Box"--2 stars
  Jones, Stephen Graham--
  "The Ones Who Got Away"--2 stars
  Lansdale, Joe R.--;
  "Torn Away"--2 stars
  McMahon, Gary--
  "Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film"--2 stars
  Phillips, Holly--
  "The Long, Cold Goodbye"--2 stars
  Shea, Michael--
  "Copping Squid"--2 stars
  
  
• 
  Bill

  This was the first volume of The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, and it is rather sturdy and consistent in its selection of stories. Almost all the stories are very good, but I didn't find anything risky inside. Like all anthologies, it has a couple extraordinary entries, as well as a clunker or two. I actually found one story subpar, but it may be that this story is the risky one and I just didn't get it. In which case, this entire paragraph is founded on false premises.
  
  The stories that I thought stood head and shoulders above the others were: "Monsters" by Stuart O'Nan; "The Jacaranda Smile" by Gemma Files; and " The WaterTower" by John Mantooth. Each of these stories deals with childhood fears and vulnerabilities and none uses supernatural elements to forward its plot. These were the stories that have stayed with me the longest.
  
  The Joe R. Lansdale and Marc Laidlaw stories, "Torn Away" and "Leng" respectively, I thought were good enough, but seemed slightly-lesser efforts from these otherwise stellar authors. We also find Peter Straub deep in his "New Horror" stage with "Variations on a Theme from Sienfeld."
  
  There are a few stories that overlap other collections: "What Happens When You Wake Up at Night" by Michael Marshall Smith; "The Crevasse" by Dale Baily and Nathan Balingrud; and "In the Porches of My Ears" by Norman Prentiss. These would be collected in one or the other of the Mammoth (Stephen Jones) or Best New Horror (Ellen Datlow) anthologies for 2010. I don't have these books at hand, so I'm sorry for the lack of specificity.
  
  A good collection, but this series hits its stride with later editions. If you are a fan of the series, go for it; if you are new to the series or the genre, start with the 2012 or later editions.
  
  One final note: some of the stories have editorial problems, most notably among these was "Halloween Town" by Lucius Shepherd. I otherwise loved this story, but found the lack of copy editing infuriating. (The protagonist, Clyde, is referred to as "Cliff" at one point.) Still, this is a thick anthology, so a few mishaps are inevitable, I suppose.
• 
  Sabrina

  This is a solid collection with some stories that I loved and none that I hated (although some I liked less, for sure). It’s such a huge collection that I can’t imagine anyone who enjoys horror or fantasy wouldn’t find some stories they like—I now have quite a list of authors whose works I want to read.
• 
  Caroline

  I really expected to enjoy this a lot more than I actually did. I had hoped it would be a throwback to the now defunct "Year's Best Fantasy and Horror" that we all used to know and love... but honestly there were so many selections in here that made no sense that I cannot say that there is very much similarity in quality.
  I've read other Guran-edited volumes that were a lot more cohesive and engaging than this one, so I will not give up on her by any means. I thought "New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird" was a great read, for instance.
  
  In this book, I enjoyed these stories in particular - however, I must note that I had already read them in other collections, for the most part.
  Leng, by Mark Laidlaw
  What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night, Michael Marshall Smith
  The Wide, Carnivorous Sky by John Langan, which I've seen in quite a few collections at this point
  Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film, Gary McMahon - great atmosphere.
  
  Best story that I had not previously seen was Sea-Hearts by Margo Lanagan. This woman creates simply gorgeous prose and you should seek out her work immediately.
  
• 
  Alex

  Highlights from the collection are:
  
  'Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre' by Seth Fried
  'Monsters' by Stewart O'Nan
  'The Wide, Carnivorous Sky' by John Langan
  'Certain Death For a Known Person' by Steve Duffy
  'The Water Tower' by John Mantooth
  'Nub Hut' by Kurt Dinan
  'The Crevasse' by Dale Bailey and Nathan Ballingrud
  'What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night' by Michael Marshall Smith
• 
  Caitlin

  Like any anthology, some stories appeal more than others. I was hoping for more fantasy than straight horror, though I did enjoy a few of the latter. Lots of open-ended disturbing kinds of stories, where you're not quite sure what happened.
• 
  Anna Marie

  The first book in this series, these are not the rivers of blood and piles of hacked up body parts found in your standard horror stories. These are much better... sleep with the lights on kind of scary.
• 
  Deborah Replogle

  Oh, yes. A very enjoyable read...if you like this kind of thing.
• 
  Andy

  I love big beefy anthologies, acknowledging that the stories are going to be hit-and-miss as far as taste, enjoyment, etc.
  
  This one was very hit-and-miss, and the misses were way way out there.
• 
  butterbook

  I loved John Langan's The Wide, Carnivorous Sky. Everything else was just ok.
• 
  Bill Borre

  "The Horrid Glory of its Wings" by Elizabeth Bear - Desiree has a discussion about her loneliness with a harpy and chooses to become a harpy.
• 
  James Reyome

  Holy smoke. Holy smoke! HOLY SMOKE! Okay, so maybe that's a bit of overkill, but be fair, this is the best anthology I've read in a long while, and it tops the 2011 edition EASILY. Yes, I know I read them out of order, sue me, I received them that way. Looks like this one will be an annual to keep on the Christmas list for many years to come. Horror purists will probably complain that there's not enough out-and-out scary stuff in these, but keep in mind, it's "Dark Fantasy and Horror" in the title, not the other way around. There are so many good catches in this collection that I can scarce name them all, but the ones that really stick out are Stewart O'Nan's "Monsters" (it's not what you think!), "Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre" by Seth Fried, which probably IS what you think, "The Water Tower" by John Mantooth, and "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" by Michael Marshall Smith. Vying for Best-Of-Show honors though are "Halloween Town" by Lucius Shepard and Maura McHugh's "Vic", quite possibly the most affecting story I've read in a very long time.
  
  Now then. My ONE complaint. This is two books from Prime which I own, and both of them have a significant number of typos. This edition didn't seem quite as bad as the 2011 book, but really...I know, it's a lot of pages, a lot of words, maybe it's just that in the rush to get a book out that copy editing is allowed to let slip. Please, Prime, don't allow this. Please. Hey, if you need an editor...call me. I work for free books!
  
  Wow. Wow! WOW! If you are a genre fan, chances are you already have it in your to-read list...if you don't, then run, do not walk, and get this book while it's still available!
• 
  Sheherazahde

  Introduction by Paula Guran
  The Horrid Glory of Its Wings by Elizabeth Bear
  Lowland Sea by Suzy McKee Charnas
  Copping Squid by Michael Shea
  Monsters by Stewart O'Nan
  The Brink Of Eternity by Barbara Roden
  Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre by Seth Fried
  Sea-Hearts by Margo Lanagan
  A Haunted House Of Her Own by Kelley Armstrong
  Headstone In My Pocket by Paul Tremblay
  The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
  Strange Scenes From an Unfinished Film by Gary McMahon
  A Delicate Architecture by Catherynne M. Valente
  The Mystery by Peter Atkins
  Variations of a Theme from Seinfeld by Peter Straub
  The Wide, Carnivorous Sky by John Langan
  Certain Death for a Known Person by Steve Duffy
  The Ones Who Got Away by Stephen Graham Jones
  Leng by Marc Laidlaw
  Torn Away by Joe R. Lansdale
  The Newhere Man by Sarah Pinborough
  The Bone's Prayer by Caitlin R. Kiernan
  The Water Tower by John Mantooth
  In the Porches of My Ears by Norman Prentiss
  The Cindrella Game by Kelly Link
  The Jacaranda Smile by Gemma Files
  The Other Box by Gerard Houarner
  White Charles by Sarah Monette
  Everything Dies, Baby by Nadia Bulkin
  Bruise For Bruise by Robert Davies
  Respects by Ramsey Campbell
  Diamong Shell by Deborah Biancotti
  Nub Hut by Kurt Dinan
  The Cabinet Child by Steve Rasnic Tem
  Cherrystone and Shards of Ice by Ekaterina Sedia
  The Crevasse by Dale Bailey and Nathan Balingrud
  Vic by Maura McHugh
  Halloween Town by Lucius Shepard
  The Long, Cold Goodbye by Holly Phillips
  What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night by Michael Marshall Smith
• 
  Travis Heermann

  This anthology is a smorgasbord of naughty, delicious delectables. And just like a feast, there are some dishes more to one's taste than others. There is some absolutely jaw-dropping writing here, most notably Lucius Shepard's novella, "Halloween Town", so full of lush prose, truth, insight, and weirdness that I am left shaking my head in wonder.
  Other high points include:
  "Copping Squid" by Michael Shea, a brilliantly creepy Lovecraftian tale.
  "Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre" by Seth Fried, a stunning piece of almost literary, almost speculative prose that has something very dark, scary and true to say about the human race.
  "Monsters" by Stewart O'Nan, an everyday slice-of-life horror, an amazing exploration of the old cliche, "You'll shoot your eye out!"
  "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky" by John Langan, an creepy, gritty vampire-story-meets-modern-war story.
  "Leng" by Marc Laidlaw, another Lovecraftian tale that HAUNTS.
  Of course not all of these were to my taste. I have little patience for the kind of writing where the narrator is so unreliable and the language so surreal and disjointed that it obfuscates rather than illuminates, resulting in a chunk of pretty vagary that signifies nothing. There were a couple of stories like that here.
  But by and large, 90% of the stories here are well worth their ink. Highly recommended.
  
• 
  Justine

  This book seemed to have more depressing than horror or dark fantasy stories. There were several that I could not get through, but the good stories boosted the rating.
• 
  J

  The title is missing some punctuation. It should say "Dark, Fantasy, & Horror" since many of the stories contain no elements of either fantasy or horror, but may be called dark. Though I define genres broadly and have a very liberal view on what could be considered fantasy or horror, some of these stories really had none of that, even by a stretch. Some were hardly even dark.
  
  Catherynne M. Valente is the best in this book. Having no context, with a few pages left in her story I figured out exactly where it was going and was thrilled to see it through. Brilliant. Definitely dark fantasy and horror in that story. A Delicate Architecture is probably my favorite of this whole collection.
  
  Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan was also quite good, though it was unclear what was going on for quite a lot of the story.
  
  Respects by Ramsey Campbell seemed a bit racist, and Guren's comment on that story was especially so.
  
  Overall these stories were decently written, but mostly didn't fit the title's genres.
• 
  Amy

  There was some stuff in here that was really creative, but some of the stories just went on and on and never got anywhere. Hey, I know writing short stories take some skill and work. I finally had to quit when I was in the middle of a story reading about a former writing professor who said that he taught his students not to write complexity for its own sake, but the story just kept adding more complexity and never resolved.
• 
  Wendopolis

  This book is not titled correctly. The first half of the book consists of stories that the editor included just because she liked them, as her annoying and dumb remarks at the conclusion of each story attest. The latter half of the collection is better, but still not up to par with other similar collections such as The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (any edition).
• 
  Shana

  I really thought I was going to be disappointed throughout the entire book. My thoughts were, "who decides what is the 'best' of the year?' and 'I must be way off the beaten path then if This is what is considered dark fantasy and horror." [return][return]However, I have encountered a handful of short stories within the bindings of this book that have caught my attention.
• 
  Darcy

  I only read the Kelley Armstrong and Holly Black stories. They were pretty good. Black's story made me wish it was a full length book, I really wanted to know more about the world that the story was set in.
• 
  Jordan Peacock

  Excellent:
  Leng
  The Wide, Carnivorous Sky
  Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre
  Lowland Sea
  
  Good:
  What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night
  Nub Hut
  White Charles
  Headstone in my Pocket
  The Mystery
  A Delicate Architecture
  The Brink of Eternity
  Halloween Town
  The Water Tower
• 
  LoudVal

  I'll confess I didn't read these all, but I came across a few stand-outs:
  
  Holly Black / Coldest Girl in Coldtown - read it before, and always delighted.
  Michael Marshall / ...When you wake up in the night - so wonderfully unexpected.
  Caitlin Kiernan / The bone's prayer - so atmospheric.
  
• 
  Lótë (Iris)

  The writing in this book was good, but I wasn't so much into all the stories.
  I'd only recommend it if your into the horror genre a lot. It does have a lot of creative stories in it, I think; they just weren't my kind of cupcake.
• 
  Michael Samerdyke

  I got about halfway through this book. There were a couple of stories I liked (but didn't love), such as the Shea and the Langan, but by far, most of the stories in this book just annoyed me. And I decided not to finish the book.
• 
  Andrew

  what a great collection! I had no idea people were writing such great supernatural fiction these days. So many great young writers. Will be looking to read the latest anthology hopefully edited and arranged by Paula Guran.