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Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror volume 4 edited by Paula Guran

The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, vol. 4 edited by Paula Guran

PYR 2023

ISBN:  978-1645060673

Available : Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:   Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

 

Editor Paula Guran is one of the two American women (the other one being Ellen Datlow) who keep providing every year the best short fiction that appeared in print the year before in the area of horror and dark fantasy.

 

The present, hefty volume includes twenty-one “best” tales. Frankly. to me 2022 doesn’t appear to have been such a great year for horror and dark fantasy, at least in the short form, because only a few among the selected stories were able to impress me and entertain me.

 

“Red Wet Grin” by Gemma Files, is a very dark, unsettling story where a nurse working in a care home witnesses a series of weird events.

 

Stephen Graham Jones contributes “Men, Women and Chainsaws” an engrossing, although a bit puzzling story, revolving around an old Camaro endowed with dangerous properties.

 

“The Voice of a Thousand Years” by Fawaz Al-Matrouk is a dark fable about an old man endeavoring to give life to an  automaton, while “ How Selkies are Made” by Cassandra Khaw is a splendid fairy tale featuring a beautiful, unhappy bride.

 

“Challawa” by Usman T. Malik  is a powerful, outstanding piece with a distinctive exotic taste, in which ancient gods take possession of an American tourist.

 

“The Long Way Up” by Alix E. Harrow is a disturbing allegory where a woman retrieves her dead husband in a deep chamber, and convinces him to return to the world of the living.

 

AC Wise provides “Sharp Things, Killing Things”, an obscure but intriguing story in which a group of youngsters have to deal with some unexpected deaths.

 

These are my favorite stories. Other readers could make a different selection, but these are the rules of the game and such a huge volume has plenty of material to offer.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on November 16, 2023 by , Reply

Book Links: Stoker Awards 2018 Final Ballot for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Well, we didn’t get all reviews for every category in before the Stoker Awards were actually announced, but I finally can provide you with links to reviews to all the books nominated for the category of Superior Achievment in a Fiction Collection. The award went to Eric J. Guignard for That Which Grows Wild on Saturday, and you can check out our review of his book, as well as those of the other nominees, by clicking on the links below.  Congratulations to all the nominees, and well done, Eric!

 

That Which Grows Wild  by Eric J. Guignard

Garden of Eldritch Delights  by Lucy A. Snyder

Coyote Songs  by Gabino Iglesias

Spectral Evidence  by Gemma Files

Dark and Distant Voices  by Tim Waggoner

 

 

We still have one more review of a Stoker nominee (in the Long Fiction category) to publish, so keep your eyes peeled for that and for the links to all the reviews for the nominated titles in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.

Enjoy!

Posted on May 13, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Trepidatio Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 1947654181

Available:  Paperback, Kindle, Nook

Spectral Evidence is a short story collection that has a bit of something for everyone: old gods, vampires, witchcraft, and even a few stories about monster hunters saving ordinary humans from the deadly extraordinary. The stories, with the exception of “Spectral Evidence”, flow smoothly together, anchored well by short stories about an antagonistic alliance between a mountain witch and two female hunters that are scattered throughout the work.

It is clear in the dialogue of her characters that Ms. Files does extensive research in each story’s subject matter, from a doomed archaeologist describing the architectural structure of an ancient temple in “A Wish from a Bone”, to the incident report-like format of “Spectral Evidence”, to the medically specific ways a zombie-turning drug affects the protagonists in “Imaginary Beauties.” This attention to small details gives a vivid credibility to each storyline.

There are no wholesome protagonists in these stories: even the hunters are significantly flawed, which actually creates a more realistic portrayal of the archetype than in other works. While Sam and Dean’s illegal activities are opaquely glossed over in Supernatural (e.g., stolen credit cards, fake IDs, trails of bodies), for example, Ms. Files’ hunters embrace them, even flaunt them. The opening story of the witch Allfair Chatwin and the hunters Samaire and Dionne (!) Cornish begins in the maximum security unit of a female penitentiary.  “Crossing the River” is about the planning of a prison break, and, while there are no heroes here, the character development was compelling enough that I was excited when I realized “Black Bush”, placed two stories later, picked up where “Crossing the River” left off.

“Spectral Evidence” is a unique short story. As mentioned, it is in an incident report format, describing photographs and other evidence of an investigation gone horribly wrong. Descriptions do leave more to the imagination, but this choice over actual pictures resulted in a few re-readings to get a complete understanding of what was going on. I admire the attempt of the experimental storytelling, but its format made the story feel out of place with the rest of the selections. It may have been better served in another collection.

Spectral Evidence is recommended for all horror fans. There are many strong female protagonists in these stories, which may appeal to specific audiences.

Contains: gore, graphic sex, violence, witchcraft

 

Reviewed by Wendy Zazo-Phillips

 

Editor’s note: Spectral Evidence is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Award in the cagegory of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. 

Posted on May 5, 2019 by , Reply