Notable Novels

Dead Lines by Greg Bear (Ballantine) is a terrific novel about a maker of porn films whose adolescent daughter was murdered by a serial killer a couple of years before the book opens. He is approached by a young, energetic businessman who is raising investment funds for a new type of phone called the trans. Unfortunately, this remarkable device does more than help the living to communicate more easily. There are some genuinely creepy bits.

Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart (Small Beer Press) is an absorbing story about a Texan loser paralyzed by his life-long ability to see ghosts. William (Dead) Kennedy's wife left him soon after their child was born and Kennedy has spent the next twelve years haunted by dead relatives and refusing to grow up or take control of his life. But his sloppy complacency is about to be challenged when in desperation he agrees to meet a cousin and the cousin's ghost.

Iron Council by China Mieville (Del Rey/Ballantine Books) is about revolution and mythmaking. A rich industrialist dreams of building a great railroad to connect New Crobuzon to the rest of the land. The workers are made up of a motley of races, volunteers, conscripts. The story took awhile to get into this reader's bones the way Perdido Street Station and The Scar did, but it does build and there are dazzling moments of beautiful and shocking images.

Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo translated from the Finnish by Herbert Lomas (Grove Press) is a terrific story about a photographer who takes home a troll cub being abused by a gang of vicious teenagers. It's a quick read and has a lot of troll lore. Published in the UK in 2003 under the title Not Before Sundown. Co-winner of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.

Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatas (Night Shade Books) is an excellent first novel that combines the "beats" of the 50s and their experiences on the road with the Cthulhu mythos. Imagine that the Elder Gods are taking over America, city by city and only the alcoholic emotional wreck Jack Kerouac, his junkie friend Bill Burroughs, and Neal Cassady are between them and human annihilation. It's a crazy idea and it works by the sheer force of will and by the marvelous ability of Mamatas to capture the voices of the beat trio (with a guest appearance by Allen Ginsberg.).

London Revenant by Conrad Williams (The Do-Not Press) is an absorbing and grim contemporary urban novel about two Londons: the one that narcoleptic Adam Buckley inhabits with friends who are becoming increasingly alienated from their city, and a mysterious underground one, with one of its denizens pushing people riding the tube (subway) under trains.

Stevenson Under the Palm Trees by Alberto Manguel (Canongate) is a brief, nicely dark fantasy blending bits of biography and fiction about Robert Louis Stevenson's final months on Samoa, where he encounters a missionary who preaches brimstone and hellfire against the natives. Stevenson also faces his own repressed desires as a rash of violence breaks out.

The Arcanum by Thomas Wheeler (Bantam) is a first novel in the tradition of William Hjortsborg's Nevermore and Alan Moore's graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. A dangerous book has been stolen from the British Museum and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle enlists his colleagues Harry Houdini, H.P. Lovecraft, and Marie Laveau to save the world. Some nice touches. Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas (S&S Touchstone) is a richly detailed, entertaining debut, with two interesting characters: an inquiry agent and the young, desperate man he hires as an assistant. They are soon called upon to solve a brutal murder that may signal a rise in anti-Semitism in Victorian London.

Chasm: A Weekend by Dorothea Tanning (The Overlook Press) is more a novella than a novel about an increasingly surreal and sinister weekend spent on an isolated ranch owned by an arrogant, controlling creep.

Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin (William Morrow) an excellent dark western based on true events taking place in 1897 in rural southwestern Alabama. A group of men create a secret gang to avenge the death of a friend and bring terror to the whole area until they're stopped by the law. First novel by the author of the acclaimed collection Poachers.

A Carnivore's Inquiry by Sabina Murray (Grove Press) is about a monstrous young woman whose only interesting characteristic is an obsession with (and predilection for) cannibalism, apparently inherited from her crazy mother. The book picks up a bit about halfway through, but by then it's too late.

Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand is a dark, sumptuously written novel about a dangerous woman who is muse to writers, artists, and musicians over two centuries. The book moves back and forth between time and between worlds and draws the reader into each one with ease.

Single-Author Collections

Elvisland by John Farris (Babbage Press) is the second collection by the author of The Fury, All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By, and Son of the Endless Night, and the classic 50s sex and high school novel Harrison High. Elvisland has thirteen stories, four of them original to the collection. One, "Hunting Meth Zombies in the Great Nebraskan Wasteland" is reprinted herein.

A Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon Bestwick (Ash-Tree Press) is an excellent first collection of supernatural stories that's going to make a splash come award time. Nine of the fourteen stories are original to the collection and most of them are terrific. Joel Lane wrote the introduction. The ghoulish jacket art is by Paul Lowe. The title story is reprinted herein.

Out of His Mind by Stephen Gallagher (PS Publishing) collects twenty-two stories and novelettes published since 1985, with one, finely rendered original tale. Gallagher's a terrific storyteller and this first collection is long overdue. Some of the stories have been reprinted in previous volumes of YBFH. The introduction is by Brian Clemens, a television scriptwriter and director. The author's end notes explain the genesis of each story.

Demonized by Christopher Fowler (Serpent's Tail) is a partly original collection by the multi-award winning author of numerous disturbing stories. It includes "The Green Man," reprinted in an earlier YBFH and "American Waitress," winner of the British Fantasy Society award. The originals are all strong and one "Seven Feet," is reprinted herein.

Fears Unnamed by Tim Lebbon (Leisure) contains four novellas, including the brilliant, award-winning "White" (reprinted in an earlier edition of YBFH) and a very well wrought and thought-provoking original called "Remnants," about the discovery of a "city of the dead" in the desert.

The Machinery of Night by Douglas Clegg (Cemetery Dance) contains almost 250,000 words of Clegg's short fiction, including the novella Purity and a harrowing, stand-alone prequel to his novel, The Hour Before Dark. Thirteen of the stories made up the paperback collection The Nightmare Chronicles. Ten poems, vignettes, and stories are original to the collection. One story is reprinted herein.

Nocturne by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton) is an excellent collection of traditional supernatural stories by the noted Irish crime writer. Some of the stories were first broadcast on BBC radio, and a few have appeared on his website but many are original to the book.

Use Once, Then Destroy by Conrad Williams (Night Shade Books) is a selection of the author's stories over the past ten years. Williams is expert at portraying depressives in bleak surroundings. There are three new stories, including "The Owl," which is reprinted herein.

Compositions For the Young and Old by Paul G. Tremblay (House of Dominion) is an impressive first collection by a talented newcomer. Seven of the stories are original to the collection. The attractive cover art is by David Ho and the cover design is by Luis Rodriquez.

Angel Road by Steven Savile (Elastic Press) is an excellent collection of eleven stories and two poems, about half of which are published for the first time. Savile writes with grace and originality. The cover art is by Robert Sammelin.

Darren Speegle had two very good collections published in 2004: Gothic Wine (Aardwolf Press) and A Dirge for the Temporal (Raw Dog Screaming Press). It's rare for a relatively new writer to have written enough good stories to create one satisfying collection let alone two in one year. Yet Speegle had forty stories--eleven published for the first time--and each is well-written, with control over the material. He's someone to watch. Dancing on Air by Frances Oliver (Ash-Tree Press) showcases ten ghostly, well-told and spooky stories, written over four decades by this still active writer. Two of the stories are originals, including the haunting title story, which is reprinted herein.

The Fear Report by Elizabeth Massie (Bloodletting Press) is a hefty overview of Massie's career so far, with twenty-nine reprints, including the Stoker award winning "Stephen," and one chilling original. The jacket art and three interior illustrations by Cortney Skinner are nicely rendered. Unfortunately, the publisher neglected to provide publication information on the reprints. Nor is there an introduction to the collection or commentary by the author.

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan (Allen &Unwin, Australia) is a marvelous collection that dances gracefully between the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. Very Australian in language and tone, Lanagan is a writer to watch. One of the stories "Singing my Sister Down" is included herein.

Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean Press) is a really wonderful mix of genres from a man who can write everything from nourish crime fiction to steampunk. The book includes a collaboration with Andrew Vachss, another collaboration with Karen Lansdale, his wife, and a very odd original novella.

Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms by Suzy McKee Charnas (Tachyon Books) is a retrospective of Charnas's all too rare short fiction, including her award-winning short story "Boobs," her classic sf novelette "Listening to Brahms," six other stories, and two essays about adapting fiction for theater. Introduction by Paul Di Filippo. Jacket art by John Picacio.

Trujillo by Lucius Shepard (PS Publishing) is a huge collection of eleven stories comprising about 250,000 words and includes one original, the novel-length Trujillo. The novelettes and novellas were all originally published after 1999 and the book leads off with "Only Partly Here," Shepard's powerful 9/11 story (reprinted in YBFH #17). Michael Swanwick wrote the introduction. The cover art is by J. K. Potter.