The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One

by Ellen Datlow (Editor)

Overview

An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend... who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor's guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch's candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them...

What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year.

Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597802413
Publisher:	Night Shade Books
Publication date:	10/01/2009
Series:	Best Horror of the Year Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	350
Sales rank:	599,519
File size:	528 KB

About the Author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over 25 years. She was the fiction editor of OMNI magazine and has edited more than 50 anthologies. She was named the recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for “outstanding contribution to the genre.” She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Summation 2008 Ellen Datlow 1

Cargo E. Michael Lewis 35

If Angels Fight Richard Bowes 47

The Clay Party Steve Duffy 71

Penguins of the Apocalypse William Browning Spencer 87

Esmeralda Glen Hirshberg 109

The Hodag Trent Hergenrader 125

Very Low-Flying Aircraft Nicholas Royle 135

When the Gentlemen Go By Margaret Ronald 145

The Lagerstätte Laird Barron 153

Harry and the Monkey Euan Harvey 177

Dress Circle Miranda Siemienowicz 189

The Rising River Daniel Kaysen 197

Sweeney among the Straight Razors JoSelle Vanderhooft 211

Loup-garou R. B. Russell 213

Girl in Pieces Graham Edwards 221

It Washed Up Joe R. Lansdale 241

The Thirteenth Hell Mike Allen 243

The Goosle Margo Lanagan 245

Beach Head Daniel LeMoal 257

The Man from the Peak Adam Golaski 267

The Narrows Simon Bestwick 279

Honorable Mentions 311

About the Authors 315

Editorial Reviews

After 22 years of pulling the horror content for the now-discontinued Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series, Datlow (Lovecraft Unbound) goes solo with this stellar start to a new “best of” annual. As in the past, her picks confirm that “horror” is a storytelling approach with endlessly inventive possibilities. In E. Michael Lewis's “Cargo,” a haunting Twilight Zone–type tale, an airplane picks up something otherworldly as part of its latest transport. Euan Harvey's creepy “Harry and the Monkey” turns an urban legend into reality. R.B. Russell's “Loup-garou” is a highly original shape-shifter story with a subtle psychological twist, and Daniel LeMoal's “Beach Head” a bracing conte cruel with a Lord of the Flies cast. In addition to the richly varied stories, Datlow provides her usual comprehensive coverage of the year in horror in an introduction that's indispensable reading for horror aficionados. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Adult/High School—This extraordinary compilation can be read as a coherent, unified text. Mainly composed of slow-burning tales with a deep sense of historical/political setting, the collection focuses on the horror to be found in the mundane facts of life, particularly family life: relatives who have died, broken homes, families struggling to hold together. The stories also challenge the traditional connection between horror and the supernatural. Many of them, such as Margo Lanagan's chilling "The Goosle," have no elements of the supernatural at all, and those that do, such as Steve Duffy's exquisite, heartbreaking "The Clay Party," often feature neutral or actively positive interactions with the Beyond. Instead, in almost every story, the horror comes directly from the evil or misguided intentions of humans. Inevitably, the pieces vary in quality, and one might have preferred a more critical introduction from Datlow, but this collection is not to be missed.—Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA

School Library Journal

Praise for Ellen Datlow and The Best Horror of the Year Series:

“Award-winning editor Ellen Datlow has assembled a tasty collection of twenty one terrifying and unsettling treats. In addition to providing excellent fiction to read, this is the perfect book for discovering new authors and enriching your life through short fiction.”—Kirkus Reviews

“For more than three decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. . . . and the anthologies just keep getting better and better. She's an icon in the industry.”—Signal Horizon

“Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year series is one of the best investments you can make in short fiction. The current volume is no exception."—Adventures Fantastic

“As usual, Datlow delivers what she promises, ‘the best horror of the year,’ whether it’s written by the famous (Neil Gaiman) or the should-be famous (Laird Barron and many others).”
—Washington Post

“You just can’t have a list of recommended speculative anthologies without including an Ellen Datlow anthology. It’s. Not. Possible. The line-up in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight is absolutely stupendous, featuring the most frighteningly talented authors in horror fiction.”—Tor.com

"Once again, [Ellen Datlow supplies] an invaluable book, featuring excellent short fiction and, in addition, providing as always precious information about what happened in the horror field last year.”—Mario Guslandi, British Fantasy Society

Praise for Ellen Datlow and The Best Horror of the Year Series:

“Award-winning editor Ellen Datlow has assembled a tasty collection of twenty one terrifying and unsettling treats. In addition to providing excellent fiction to read, this is the perfect book for discovering new authors and enriching your life through short fiction.”—Kirkus Reviews

“For more than three decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. . . . and the anthologies just keep getting better and better. She's an icon in the industry.”—Signal Horizon

“Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year series is one of the best investments you can make in short fiction. The current volume is no exception."—Adventures Fantastic

“As usual, Datlow delivers what she promises, ‘the best horror of the year,’ whether it’s written by the famous (Neil Gaiman) or the should-be famous (Laird Barron and many others).”
—Washington Post

“You just can’t have a list of recommended speculative anthologies without including an Ellen Datlow anthology. It’s. Not. Possible. The line-up in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight is absolutely stupendous, featuring the most frighteningly talented authors in horror fiction.”—Tor.com

"Once again, [Ellen Datlow supplies] an invaluable book, featuring excellent short fiction and, in addition, providing as always precious information about what happened in the horror field last year.”—Mario Guslandi, British Fantasy Society

From the Publisher