Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin J. Gran, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Ann

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection

Edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant

St. Martin's, Aug 2005, $19.95

ISBN: 0312341946

This forty-four story anthology runs the vast gamut within the fantasy and horror sub-genres. All the contributions are good , but the pure horror entries seem overall stronger than the fantasy or cross-genre hybrids (sort of like two interlocking Venn circles). The authors are a who's who of the two genres as some of the most highly regarded writers have contributed short stories though the tome as in previous compilations introduces the reader to new scribes that appear to have quite the future. Overall the collection is a tribute to 2004 as a powerful year and well worth reading over a few weeks but keep in mind that the horror selections are better than the solid fantasy tales with those being the ones that fans will reread.

Harriet Klausner