Monster Island by David Wellington (Thunder's Mouth Press) is an intelligent, well-told zombie novel about a worldwide epidemic of zombiefication. A former UN arms inspector, his daughter having been taken hostage by a Somali warlord who needs AIDS medication to survive, travels with child soldiers to Manhattan in order to get the drugs from the one place he knows still has them--the UN. But the island is overrun by zombies, and at least two of them have an intelligence that allows them to plan, organize, and control the rest of their mindless compatriots. It's got enough blood and guts for the more bloodthirsty zombie lovers and some intriguing (but not wholly convincing) plot turns to entertain the rest of us.

The Keep by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A. Knopf) is a complex and entertaining contemporary gothic about a wildly successful man who invites his ne'er-do-well cousin--who he hasn't seen in years-- to help renovate a falling down castle in Eastern Europe that he means to transform into a spiritual retreat. The schlub is lost without his digital connections and feels guilty for a long ago prank gone wrong played on his now-rich cousin. A mad (and possibly ghostly) baroness protects her ancestral home by whatever means necessary. And then the reader discovers that the tale of the two cousins is actually a story within a larger story.

The Stone Ship by Peter Raftos (Pandanus Books, Australia) is an imaginative dark fantasy about a suicidal man saved by a vengeful ghost and the quest the ghost bullies him into performing. The best scene takes place in a library where massacre and mayhem are perpetrated by feral librarians.

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas (Vintage, Australia) is a 2005 title that was recommended by Australian friends. It's an absorbing story about a gay Greco-Australian photographer who, while traveling in Europe, struggles to make sense of the discoveries he makes about his family's--and Europe's--evil past. Although there are ghosts, a curse, a vampire--all done up elegantly, subtly, and frighteningly--the story is more than anything else a metaphor for what cannot be left behind in the homeland.

The Unblemished by Conrad Williams (Earthling Publications) is the author's first out-and-out horror novel, and depicts a nightmarish London filled with human and non-human monsters, desperate characters, suspense and terror, and blood and gore done up in a gorgeously literate style that keeps you reading despite events so horrific that you long to turn away. London is the home to an ancient race of insectoid creatures that for a very long time have been planning on a return to power. The ending doesn't come together quite as well as I'd have liked but the book is a very good read.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (Atria) is about a twelve- year-old whose mother dies after a long illness in the mid-1940s. When the boy's father remarries and fathers a new addition to the family, the twelve-year-old, in addition to being grief-stricken becomes angry and bitter. One night he hears his mother calling to him and wanders into a darkly fantastic realm behind their home. There he encounters people and creatures out of traditional fairy tales turned inside out. What happens to him there and how he grows up makes up the bulk of the rest of this charming, dark novel.

The Keeper by Sarah Langan (Harper Torch) is a promising debut about a dying mill town in Maine and how the rotten underpinnings of its very existence transform a young woman into a monster.

The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson (Coffee House Press) is about a troubled teenager obsessed with the history of fringe Mormons. Searching for his own identity, he reaches out to his estranged stepbrother and a girl whose family was brutally murdered, setting in motion a disturbing series of events. This one creeps up on the reader and leaves a nasty tingle.

The Exquisite by Laird Hunt (Coffee House Press) is a book to immerse oneself in, as its structure moves fluidly through time with an unreliable narrator who either killed or did not kill someone. A young indigent is embraced by a group of strangers who set up fake murder scenarios for money. The ringleader is a mysterious elderly man who loves herring, and may be somehow related to the cadaver in Rembrandt's famous painting The Anatomy Lesson. The book is similar in feel to the work of Ted Whittemore and Jack O'Connell.

Anthologies

Lords of the Razor, edited by Bill Sheehan and William Schafer (Subterranean Press) is a very good anthology celebrating Joe R. Lansdale's grisly god of darkness who takes possession of those unlucky enough to become owners of a deadly razor. The best piece is Bradley Denton's new Blackburn novella, but there are other good stories by P. D. Cacek, Lansdale, Hugh B. Cave, Stephen Gallagher, and Christopher Golden. The limited edition is a beauty, with black and gold marbled endpapers, jacket art by Timothy Truman, and interior illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne.

Shrouded by Darkness edited by Alison L. R. Davies (Telos) is a non-theme horror anthology published to raise money for a U.K. charity on behalf of people with a genetic skin disease. Of the twenty-three stories nine are original and the best of those are by Paul Finch, Simon Clark, Darren Shan, and a collaboration by Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis. Clive Barker provides an illustration of a Cenobite, and the reprints include a varied roster of excellent stories by Christopher Fowler, Justina Robson, Graham Masterton, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Marshall Smith, and Poppy Z. Brite. Simon Clark's story is reprinted herein.

In the Dark: Stories from the Supernatural, edited by Myna Wallin and Halli Villegas (Tightrope Books) is an excellent, mostly mainstream anthology about hauntings and ghosts. Published in Canada, it includes contributions from genre writers Gemma Files, Michael Kelly, and Brett Alexander Savory.

Alone on the Darkside, edited by John Pelan (Roc) is the fifth in this all original, non-theme horror series. Overall it's a very good one, with standouts by Brian Hodge, Paul Finch, Joseph A. Ezzo, Lucy Taylor, d. g. k. Goldberg, and Hank Schwaeble.

Mondo Zombie, edited by John Skipp (Cemetery Dance) is the long awaited third volume of the series that started the literary, George Romero-inspired flesh eating zombie craze with Book of the Dead back in 1989 and Still Dead in 1992. The first two volumes edited by Skipp and his writing partner at that time, Craig Spector, featured all original stories, several of which have become classics. In the interim there has been an explosion of zombie anthologies and movies, so in order to make a mark a story has to be pretty special. Mondo Zombie does a respectable job. Despite the unlikelihood that any of this new batch of eighteen originals (out of twenty-seven, total) will become classics, there are some good stories, including what might be one of Robert Bloch's last efforts, plus others by Robert Devereaux, Dana Fredsti, Nancy Kilpatrick, Buddy Martinez, Simon McCaffery, and two collaborations: one by Terry Morgan and Christopher Morgan and the second by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem.

Read by Dawn volume 1, "hosted" by Ramsey Campbell (Bloody Books), is the first of a projected series of annual anthologies from a new imprint of the U.K. publisher Beautiful Books. The first volume has notable stories by Rayne Hall, David Hutchinson, Jeff Jacobson, Michele Lee, Ralph Robert Moore, Lavie Tidhar, and Ramsey Campbell. Oddly, in addition to providing no bios for the contributors, their names aren't even in the table of contents. Presumably, the latter omission is a production glitch. Campbell introduces the volume and sends it off with a brief end note.

Dark Arts, edited by John Pelan (Cemetery Dance), is the first official HWA anthology published since 2001. The theme--art and horror-- is broader than those of most past volumes, which is a good thing, and the strongest original stories (there are two reprints in the book) are by Charlee Jacob, Michael Kelly, Tim Lebbon, Peadar O Guilin, John Pelan, John Rosenman, Michelle Scalise, Lorelei Shannon, Steve Rasnic Tem, and a collaboration by Matt Cardin and Mark McLaughlin.

Dead Cat's Traveling Circus of Wonders and Miracle Medicine Show, edited by Gerard Houarner and GAK (Bedlam Press) emanates from a silly joke story published several years ago, and has surprisingly turned into an entertaining anthology series. This newest volume of original tales and poetry and art about a dead cat who has adventures includes some terrific stories by Houarner, Trey Barker, and Jeffrey Thomas, with imaginative artwork by GAK, Alan M. Clark, Chad Savage, and Erik Wilson.

Hardboiled Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror, edited by James Ambuehl (Dimension Books, an imprint of Elder Signs Press), is a pretty good anthology (sixteen of the twenty-one stories are original) of stories about private eyes dragged into Lovecraftian horrors. The odd story out is about a barbarian bent on revenge that is neither hardboiled nor Lovecraftian other than tossing in a couple of elder god names. The editor not only includes a story of his own, but he places it in the first slot, something usually reserved for one of the strongest stories. Some critics see nothing wrong with editors of original anthologies publishing their own work. I do; to me it often indicates a lack of editorial judgment.

Poe's Lighthouse, edited by Christopher Conlon (Cemetery Dance) has the problem that most very narrowly defined theme anthologies have: the least interesting stories are those that stick religiously to the theme. In this case, all the stories must be based in some way on a fragment penned by Edgar Allan Poe. Despite this, there are some good stories in the book. In addition to the horror tales, there are two odd sf renderings by William F. Nolan and Paul Di Filippo, respectively.

Another Poe-inspired anthology came out in 2006 and was published by Arkham House: Evermore, edited by James Robert Smith and Stephen Mark Rainey. The fifteen stories (all but four original) are lacking the variety in tone and treatment they'd need to make this a truly standout anthology but there are notable stories by Fred Chappell, Trey R. Barker, Ken Goldman, Charlee Jacob, and F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre.

Shivers IV, edited by Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance), is a pretty good entry in this ongoing series of non-theme horror. In this volume there are twenty stories, all but five published for the first time. There's strong work by Gemma Files, Al Sarrantonio, Keith Minnion, Norman Prentiss, Tim Curran, and Stephen Mark Rainey

Damned Nation, edited by Robert N. Lee and David T. Wilbanks (Hellbound Books Publishing), is a decent all original anthology of twenty-two stories about hell on earth. About one third of the contributors run far enough with the theme to carve out some new territory. Some of the best stories are by R.W. Day, Gerard Houarner, A.H. Jennings, Paul McMahon, and Norman Prentiss.

Candy in the Dumpster: New and Used Stories, edited by Bill Breedlove (Dark Arts Books), features twelve stories (three each) by Breedlove, John Everson, Jay Bonansinga, and Martin Mundt. A few of the originals are utterly tasteless and utterly hilarious, particularly one each by Martin Mundt and Bill Breedlove.

Masques V, edited by J. N. Williamson and Gary A. Braunbeck (Gauntlet Press), is the last of the Williamson edited series (Braunbeck took over when Williamson died in the middle of the editing process) and has notable stories by Richard Christian Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Tim Waggoner, Judi Rohrig, Gary A. Braunbeck, Poppy Z. Brite, Mort Castle, Ron Horsley, Christopher Conlon, Thomas F. Monteleone, and Tracy Knight.

In Delirium, edited by Brian Keene, was conceived as a thank-you to Shane Ryan Staley (Delirium Books) by the contributors to his horror list. Fourteen of the twenty-two stories are original to the anthology and the best new ones are by Tom Piccirilli and a collaboration by Jeffrey and Scott Thomas. GAK did the jacket art.

Straight to Darkness: Lairs of the Hidden Gods, Volume Three, edited by Asamatu Ken with an introduction by Robert M. Price (Kurodahan Press), contains seven Lovecraftian stories and novellas by Japanese writers. Collectively, they're an interesting take on the mythos from another culture's point of view. There's also an essay on "Cthulhu metal"--music by Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, and other bands that were obviously inspired by Lovecraft.

Book of Shadows, Volume One, edited by Angela Challis (Brimstone Press), showcases forty pieces of flash fiction published by Shadowed Realms, the only Australian professional dark fiction online magazine, from the webzine's debut in 2004 through 2005. It also includes four original flash pieces, the best by Mikal Trimm.

Aegri Somnia edited by Jason Sizemore and Gill Ainsworth (Apex Publications) has twelve original dark stories by an array of writers, both from within and outside of the horror field. The title is Latin for a "sick man's dreams" or "man's darkest nightmares." The strongest stories are by Christopher Rowe, Steven Savile, and Lavie Tidhar. The cover art is by Michel Bielaczyc.

When Graveyards Yawn, edited by Sean Wright (Crowswing), pays homage to August Derleth with new stories about revenge beyond the grave. There are good stories by Gary Fry, Geoffrey Maloney, Michelle Ponto, and David A. Sutton. The attractive cover art is by Gabe Chouinard.

DeathGrip: Exit Laughing, edited by Walt Hicks (Hellbound Books Publishing), has twenty-eight original stories of black humor. Combining humor and horror is a risky enterprise and that even a few of the stories succeed is praiseworthy. Those stories are by Dennis Lathem, Terry Bramlett, Dayle A. Dermatis, and Mark Zirbel.

Gods and Monsters, edited by Jason Andrew and Michael Dyer (simianpublishing), is a theme anthology about updating myth and monsters of fourteen stories, nine new. Good stories by Gary McMahon and Michael Nethercott.

Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, edited by Gary Couzens (Elastic Press), is a strong, mostly dark anthology of stories connected to music. In between each story is a few pages commentary by a contemporary songwriter. The stories I liked the best are by Tony Richards, Rosanne Rabinowitz, Marion Arnott, Becky Done, Andrew Humphrey, and Tim Nickels.

Arkham Tales, edited by William Jones (Chaosium), is, according to the editor's introduction, the first anthology in which " . . . each story . . . is realized in Chaosium's adaptation of the cosmic horror sub-genre." In other words, if I understand correctly, each story is inspired directly by an actual aspect of the "Call of Cthulhu" Role playing game published by Chaosium Press. Despite this, the stories do stand alone and some do some nice riffs on the mythos, including those by C. J. Henderson, Brian M. Sammons, and John Goodrich.

Night Visions 12, edited by Kealan Patrick Burke (Subterranean), continues the tradition of showcasing three writers, in this case Simon Clark, Mark Morris, and P.D. Cacek. All three writers provide good work; Cacek's novella about an arrogant psychotherapist and one of his patients is the standout. With an introduction by the editor and jacket art by Russell Dickerson.

Dark Doorways: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction, edited by James Cooper (Prufrock Press), has eighteen stories, all but four original. The strongest originals are by Brandon Alspaugh, Davin Ireland, James Cooper, Steven Pirie, and Paul Edwards.

H. P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural, edited by Stephen Jones (Pegasus Books), is the second volume of stories inspired by Lovecraft's recommendations in his famous essay "The Supernatural in Literature." There are twenty stories and an introduction by Jones.

Annual Macabre 2005: Haven't I Read This Before?, edited by Jack Adrian, looks at a number of writers whose work appears either to have been influenced by, or influenced the work of others. The introduction discusses plagiarism and literary and musical theft. Included are stories by W. W. Jacobs, Andrew Lang, and A.M. Burrage.

Fear of Four (Borderlands Press) is a mini-anthology of four writers: Richard Chizmar, Brian Freeman, Brian Keene, and Thomas F. Monteleone. The book consists of three reprints by Chizmar, two reprints and an original by Freeman, two original stories by Brian Keene, a comic script co-written by Brian Keene and Tim Lebbon, and a screenplay adapted from a short story by Tom Monteleone.

Northwest Horrors, edited by Jonathan Reitan and James R. Beach (Northwest Writers Professional Press), showcases ten stories by eleven writers residing in the northwest United States, (three published for the first time) including such authors as Jemiah Jefferson, Elizabeth Engstrom, Bruce Holland Rogers, and Carlton Mellick III, among others.

Shadow Regions, edited by Cesar Puch (Surreal Books), is an entertaining non-theme horror anthology of twenty new stories. The strongest are by Bonnie Mercure, David Bell, and Gary A. Braunbeck.

Mixed-Genre Anthologies

Eidolon 1, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy G. Byrne (Prime), is the first of a projected series of original anthologies to be edited by the team that edited the acclaimed Australian magazine of the same name in the 1990s. This first book, with fifteen original stories and two reprints, by Americans, Australians, and one Scot, is heavy on fantasy, with a few dollops of dark fantasy and horror and a wee bit of science fiction. Among the darker stories, the standouts are by Margo Lanagan, Chris Lawson, and Holly Phillips. The Outcast: the Anthology of Exiles and Strangers, edited by Nicole R. Murphy, is the seventh anthology of sf/f/h stories published by the Canberra Speculative Fiction Society of Australia. Of the twenty stories, about one third are dark enough to be considered horror (a few are sf/horror) and the notable ones are by Martin Livings, Richard Harland, Maxine McArthur, Cat Sparks, Kaaron Warren, and Monica Carroll.

Retro Pulp Tales edited by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean) is a terrifically entertaining original anthology, with everything from westerns and war stories to monster tales, detective and crime fiction, supernatural tales and science fiction, by twelve contemporary writers. The best dark stories are by F. Paul Wilson, Alex Irvine, Stephen Gallagher, Norman Partridge, Kim Newman, Bill Crider, and Al Sarrantonio. Agog! Ripping Reads edited by Cat Sparks (Agog! Press) has a good cross-section of up- and-coming Australian writers of fantastic fiction, with a few American writers thrown into the mix. There were good dark stories by Dirk Flinthart, Paul Haines, David J. Kane, Andrew Macrae, Anna Tambour, and Margo Lanagan, whose "A Pig's Whisper," was reprinted in YBFH#20.

Tesseracts Ten, edited by Robert Charles Wilson and Edo Van Belkom (Edge), has a bit of horror, with notable dark tales by Sarah Totton, Greg Bechtel, and Rhea Rose. Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate Robert E. Howard, edited by Scott A. Cupp and Joe R. Lansdale (MonkeyBrain Books and F.A.C.T.), is a celebration of the centenary of Howard, and was published for the 2006 World Fantasy Convention in Austin, Texas. The book is filled with a variety of stories, some light, others dark--many taking place in the worlds Howard created. There are notable dark tales by Jessica Reisman, Scott A. Cupp, Lawrence Person, and Howard Waldrop.

Jabberwocky, edited by Sean Wallace, is the second issue of this attractive and quirky perfect bound 'zine with 147 pages of gorgeous prose and poetry, much of it tending towards the dark side. Some of the better known contributors are Catherynne M. Valente, Laurel Winter, Richard Parks, Jane Yolen, Mike Allen, and Theodora Goss.

From the Trenches: An Anthology of Speculative War Stories, edited by Joseph Paul Haines and Samantha Henderson (Carnifex Press), is dark, as one would expect war stories to be. The stories range from historical to futuristic, and there's even a tale of psychological warfare on an agri-business pig farm. There's notable work by Steve Vernon, Pati Nagle, Amil Menon, and Kameron Hurley. Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 2, edited by Dean Francis Alfar (Kestrel), presents nineteen stories, some of them horror. Dark Dreams II: Voices From the Other Side, edited by Brandon Massey (Dafina), has seventeen stories of horror and suspense by black authors including Tananarive Due and L. A. Banks. The Alpine Fantasy of Victor B and Other Stories edited by Jeremy Akerman and Eileen Daly (Serpent's Tail) has original stories by seventeen of Britain's leading artists. There are notable dark ones by David Batchelor and Chris Hammond.

Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel (Tachyon), attempts to define the term "slipstream," first coined by Bruce Sterling in 1989. Forget the introduction, forget the proclamations, just read the stories, which skip from fantasy, science fiction, and horror--because they're very good. Most of them were originally published in genre publications, and there's one excellent original by M. Rickert.

The British Fantasy Society: A Celebration, edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan (The British Fantasy Society), is, as suggested by its title, a celebration of the Society. This anthology of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories is excellent, with six of the twenty stories original to the volume. The best of the originals are by Chaz Brenchley, Mark Chadbourn, and Christopher Fowler.

Single Author Collections

The Lost District and Other Stories by Joel Lane (Night Shade), the author's second collection, is filled with exquisitely imagined stories of urban decay and despair. The twenty-four stories (including six published for the first time) are bleak and dark, the language stark, with minimal embellishment. Readers who can handle it are in for a treat.

Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear by Terry Dowling (Cemetery Dance) is Dowling's fifth collection, but only the second (the SFBC published one about fifteen years ago) to be published in the United States. Although some of the stories have already been reprinted in earlier collections, hopefully Basic Black's American publication will bring Dowling a much deserved wider readership. Now if only someone will reprint the book (already out of print in hardcover) as a paperback. Seven of the eighteen stories in the collection were chosen for previous volumes of YBFH (one for the fantasy side) and one of the two originals is reprinted herein.

American Morons by Glen Hirshberg (Earthling Publications) is the author's second collection, after Hirshberg's lauded The Two Sams. The new book contains seven stories and novelettes, including two previously reprinted in our Year's Bestanthologies. While this one may not be as dazzling, it clearly demonstrates that Hirshberg continues to entertain and disturb with his marvelous short stories. The three originals are excellent, and I was torn between "Devil's Smile" and "The Muldoon," finally choosing the latter for the current volume.

Unbecoming: and Other Tales of Horror by Mike O'Driscoll (Elastic) is a terrific first collection by this always surprising British creator of obsessed, sometimes scary but always believable characters who uneasily inhabit the noir cities he envisions. One of the thirteen stories appears for the first time and it's a good one.

Dark Corners by Stephen Volk (Gray Friar Press) is another excellent first collection, this one by the British screenwriter who created Ghostwatch, a notorious Halloween hoax for BBC-TV. Volk's fiction has been published in Postscripts, All Hallows, Crimewave, and in various anthologies. Four of the sixteen stories appear for the first time--one is a written as a short script--and they are all good. Tim Lebbon wrote an introduction, and the author wrote and brief story notes. One story "31/10," is reprinted herein.

Havoc Swims Jaded by David J. Schow (Subterranean), the author's seventh collection of short fiction, showcases thirteen stories by an expert wordsmith. Three of the stories are original to the collection. Schow obviously loves popular culture and writes about pulp monsters, creeps, and ordinary people. The cover and interior art is by Frank Dietz. Also from Subterranean: Reassuring Tales by T.E.D. Klein features nine stories and a novella, some previously uncollected. Klein wrote some outstanding stories, one impressive novel, The Ceremonies (based on the novella in this collection) and has pretty much stopped writing. Although a couple of the later stories are minor, most pack a nice wallop. The jacket art is by Jason Eckhardt. Screaming Science Fiction: Horror From Outer Space by Brian Lumley collects nine sf/h stories plus a new almost 20,000-word novella called "Feasibility Study." Jacket art and interior illustrations are by Bob Eggleton. Alabaster by Caitlin R. Kiernan is a collection of five stories about the haunted albino teenager, Dancy Flammarion. Jacket art is Ted Naifeh.

Birthday by Koji Suzuki (Vertical) features three from the famous Japanese Ringu trilogy. I only read the first, and it doesn't really bring much new to the story. So if you've already seen the movie series, you might want to skip this.

Clinically Dead & Other Tales of the Supernatural by David A. Sutton (Crowswing) is the first collection by Sutton, better known for his multi-award winning editing than his fiction. But he's been writing and publishing short stories since the 1960s. Ten stories from between 1990 and 2006 are showcased here, including two original tales and a novella. The attractive cover art is by Harry O. Morris. Also from Crowswing comes The Impelled and Other Head Trips by Gary Fry, eighteen stories, almost half published for the first time in 2006. Introduction by Ramsey Campbell and an Afterword of brief story notes by the author. The excellent cover art and design is by Robert Sammelin.

Bloodlines: Richard Matheson's Dracula, I am Legend and Other Vampire Stories, edited with preface, introductions, and an appendix by Mark Dawidziak (Gauntlet Press), contains three short stories from the fifties, the entire novel and a screenplay version of I Am Legend, plus a Dracula treatment and screenplay. Also included are appreciations by various fans and/or friends of Matheson, including Ray Bradbury, John Carpenter, and Rockne S. O'Bannon.

The Man From the Diogenes Club by Kim Newman (MonkeyBrain) is a marvelous book collecting the Richard Jepperson stories and novellas about a secret British law enforcement institution that investigates strange happenings in Newman's entertaining alternate 1970s.There's one original novella.

Unholy Dimensions by Jeffrey Thomas (Mythos Books) has twenty-seven Lovecraftian stories, two original, one of which "The Young of the Old Ones" is very good. The stories were published over a period of about fifteen years and appeared in a variety of small press venues. The stories are nicely illustrated in black and white by Peter A. Worthy.

Thundershowers at Dusk by Christopher Conlon (Rock Village Publishing), the author's excellent second collection (the first was mainstream), contains four contemporary gothic stories and the titular novella. The novella and "Bathing the Bones, the other story published for the first time are beautifully written and powerful. Gary A. Braunbeck provides an introduction.

Eros Interruptus by P. D. Cacek (Diplodocus Press) is one of two collections published by S.P. Somtow's new press. Showcased here are fifteen of Cacek's erotic horror tales, including the Stoker-winning "Metalica."

Thing of Darknes by G.G. Pendarves (Midnight House 2005) is the first of two projected volumes of the British writer's ghostly tales, originally published in Weird Tales during the 1920s and '30s. Edited and with an introduction by Mike Ashley. Also Darker Tides: The Weird Tales of Eric Frank Russell. edited by John Pelan and Phil Stephensen-Payne, contains twenty-four stories, including all those in the original collection by the same title published over thirty years ago, and many others written in the same vein.

Punktown: Shades of Grey by Jeffrey Thomas and Scott Thomas (Bedlam Press) is a new, very good collection of Punktown stories, taking place in the future--a mostly ugly urban jungle created by Jeffrey Thomas--in which the denizens just get by (or don't). There are eight stories by Jeffrey Thomas, two original, and seven by Scott Thomas, all original. Not all the pieces are fully realized stories; some are vignettes, but with its aliens and monsters the world of Punktown is one of the best examples of sf horror currently out there.

Destinations Unknown by Gary A. Braunbeck (Cemetery Dance) is a welcome new original collection of two short stories and a novella all centering around the road. The richly detailed novella "The Ballad of Road Mama and Daddy Bliss" creates a new mythology: the road as a God--and the sacrifices it demands. The dust jacket art is by Deena Warner. Also from Cemetery Dance: Four Octobers by Rick Hautala featuring four novellas that take place around Halloween, two of them new, both very good. The first original is Bradburyesque (the author dedicates the whole volume to Bradbury) in its depiction of an idyllic childhood marred by a mysterious disappearance and messages from the future. Glenn Chadbourne created the effectively horrific jacket art.

Fine Cuts by Dennis Etchison (PS Publishing) brings together twelve of Etchison's Hollywood stories by a brilliant short story writer who has been far too quiet of late. Two of the twelve were reprinted in earlier editions of this anthology series. Introduction by Peter Atkins.

Thirteen Specimens by Jeffrey Thomas (Delirium Books) is a mixed bag of thirteen pieces, all but two original. There are a few brief, entertaining space-fillers, but the strongest stories are the five longer ones, particularly the Punktown novella "Monsters," about a doctor trying to help a female alien who has been punished by her family for having engaged in premarital sex. Also very good are "Close Enough," about aliens who "direct" humans to commit atrocities so that they (the aliens) can voyeuristically view them from afar, and "The Mask Play of Hahoe Byeolsin Exorcism," about a middle aged man stranded for a few days in Korea who encounters frightening Korean masks.

Geek Poems by Charlee Jacob (Necro Publications) contains seven stories and one novella, all published for the first time, by an intriguing and ambitious writer. The black-and-white interior illustrations and cover art are by Travis Anthony Soumis. Well worth reading.

The Passion Play and Other Ghost Stories by Antony Oldknow (Ash-Tree) is the first collection of stories by a relative newcomer who only began to write his Henry James-inspired ghost stories about eight years ago. Four of the ten stories are original.

Doorways for the Dispossessed by Paul Haines (Prime) is a very strong first collection of twenty dark, edgy stories (two original to the collection) from this relative newcomer, who grew up in New Zealand and now lives in Australia. One of the stories in the book won the Aurealis and Ditmar awards.

The Female of the Species by Joyce Carol Oates (Harcourt) collects recent crime and horror stories about women by this prolific purveyor of dark fiction in multiple genres and the literary mainstream. The nine stories were originally published in magazines ranging from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine to The Kenyon Review.

Sheena and Other Gothic Tales by Brian Stableford (Immanion Press) contains ten dark stories, all published between 1990 and 2001 mostly in anthologies. In his fascinating introduction, Stableford designates the stories contes cruels, a type of dark fiction that is especially cynical and often ends unhappily.

The Fungal Stain and Other Dreams by W.H. Pugmire (Hippocampus Press) consists of fifteen stories and vignettes on Lovecraftian themes, with some new stories and a few published previously but completely rewritten for the volume. Despite Pugmire's distracting habit of mixing his studied archaic style with anachronistic contemporary terms his stories usually provide unusual and entertaining new variations on the mythos. If only he'd drop the "hey dude" and "wusses" his weird tales would go down a lot smoother.

Black Pockets and Other Dark Thoughts by George Zebrowski (Golden Gryphon) is the author's first collection showcasing his horror fiction, and includes the powerful titular original novella about a man given a "gift" by his most bitter enemy. The nineteen stories span Zebrowski's entire career, with the earliest published in 1972. The book is introduced by Howard Waldrop and has an Afterword by the author about his work and about the individual stories. The jacket painting is by Bob Eggleton.

Wild Things: Four Tales by Douglas Clegg (Cemetery Dance) is a mini-collection about predators, animal and human. Two of the reprints are hard to find, and the two originals are quite good, particularly "The Wolf," in which a hunter takes a young man with him to kill a wolf that is slaughtering sheep. The voice is pitch-perfect. The cover art of this attractive hardcover is by Caniglia.

The Faculty of Terror by John Llewellyn Probert (Gray Friar) has six original horror stories linked by interstitial material to emulate the old British anthology movies. The last two, and the finale are the best. With an introduction by Paul Finch.

From Tartarus Press: The Sense of the Past: The Ghostly Stories of Henry James has seventeen ghostly stories, and the unfinished novel The Sense of the Past, representing all of James's supernatural fiction. The material dates from the 1870s into the early twentieth century; The Man Who Could Work Miracles, a huge book collecting thirty-one supernatural tales by H.G. Wells. Brian Stableford's introduction discusses the stories and their context. The cover illustration is by Mike Kerins; Father Raven and Other Tales by A. E. Coppard has thirty-one of the author's fantastical and supernatural stories, and an introduction by Mark Valentine; The Pale Ape and Other Pulses by M. P. Shiel, originally published in 1911, features ten stories covering contes cruel, crime, and warped romance, published between the 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century. Brian Stableford wrote the Introduction; The Long Retreating Day: Tales of Twilight and Borderlands by John Gaskin features ten new stories by an excellent traditionalist whose work creates an eerie atmospheric, is well-written, and absorbing. The author's first collection, The Dark Companion was published in 2001.

Fiends by Torchlight by Wayne Allen Sallee (Annihilation Press) celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Sallee's first professional publication with twenty-three stories of urban horror from over his career; five stories are new.

'Nids and Other Stories by Ray Garton (Spiderweb Press) is an all-original collection containing one creepy novella about spiders and four short stories. Nice jacket art by Glenn Chadbourne.

Tarra Khash: Hrossak! and Sorcery in Shad by Brian Lumley (Tor) were both originally published by Headline in the U.K. in 1991. They are the second and third (final) volume in the Tales of the Primal Land, about the barbarian Tarra Khash.

Ash-Tree Press Occult Detectives Library brought out Shiela Crerar, Psychic Investigator by Ella Scrymour, edited and with an introduction by Jack Adrian. The book has six stories published between May and October in 1920 by this obscure author. Jason Van Hollander did the jacket art. Also from Ash-Tree: The Elemental by Ulric Daubeny, reprinting, for the first time in eighty years, the original 1919 collection of sixteen stories, adding the only other supernatural tale by the author. Introduction by Douglas A. Anderson. The jacket art reproduces the original.

Mixed-Genre Collections

Red Spike by Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin) is Australian Margo Lanagan's third collection, another winning combination of fantasy and dark fantasy, with ten stories published for the first time. She writes of children and their fears, how Christian missionaries destroyed Aboriginal families and tried to supplant the old gods of Australia. One of the stories, "Winkie," has been reprinted herein.

Map of Dreams by M. Rickert (Golden Gryphon) is the eagerly awaited first collection by one of the fantastic genre's rising stars. Her early stories have been mostly published in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; they are literate, graceful, imaginative, powerful, sometimes extraordinarily dark tales.

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (Morrow) is a mixed-genre assemblage of thirty-two stories and poems. Several of the stories are horror or dark fantasy, including the one story original to the collection.

The Empire of Ice Cream by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon) is Ford's second collection. He continues to dazzle with his mastery of all he assays. I'm biased, having published many of these stories. The one original, a Bradburyesque novella, "Botch Town" is brilliant in its depiction of a family getting by in the early sixties in suburban America--you can't go wrong with this collection.

Through Soft Air by Lee Battersby (Prime), the promising Australian writer's first collection, offers twenty-five stories, including one featuring his popular Father Muerte and eight stories original to the collection. Absolute Uncertainty by Lucy Sussex (Aqueduct Press) is part of the press's "Conversation Piece" series and has seven stories--three of them original to the collection, by an Australian writer equally adept at the full spectrum of genre fiction. Also included is an interview the author. One of the stories, "Frozen Charlottes" was reprinted earlier in this series.

Can't Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales by Michael Cadnum (Tachyon) is full of the author's trademark dark whimsy. Cadnum is better known for his adult and young-adult novels, but this first collection of his retold fairy tales showcase his irony. Five of the eighteen stories are original to the collection. The beautiful cover art is by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

The Line Between by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon) is a welcome collection of recent stories by this great American fantasist. Included among the eight stories are "Two Hearts"-- the charming Hugo Award-winning sequel to The Last Unicorn --plus two new stories, one a dark tale about the consequences of fooling with magic before you know what you're doing.

Other Edens by S.P. Somtow (Diplodocus Press) is a collection of five novellas, including the powerful, World Fantasy Award-winning "The Bird Catcher" and one original. Introduction by William Hjortsberg (author of Falling Angel).

In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss (Prime), Goss's first collection, has sixteen stories of fantasy and dark fantasy from 2002-2006--two original to the collection. Goss's fantasy is intelligent and elegantly written. Two of the stories were previously reprinted in our Year's Best series. The beautiful jacket art and design are by Virginia Lee and Luis Rodrigues, respectively.

The Chains that You Refuse by Elizabeth Bear (Nightshade) is a very mixed bag of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. All twenty stories (and one poem) have been published since 2003, and one was reprinted in one of our earlier volumes. The lovely cover art and design are by Samuel Bak and Claudia Noble, respectively.

Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley) is a diverse selection of fantasy, and more horror by the creator of the Anita Blake, vampire hunter series. Several of the fourteen stories appear for the first time, and one "Here Be Dragons," about a powerful young sociopath and the therapist brought in to control those powers, is especially good.

Pictures From an Exhibition by Alexander C. Irvine (Night Shade) is the author's second collection. Although better known for his novels A Scattering of Jades, The Narrows, and One King, One Soldier, Irvine has written some fine science fiction and fantasy, much of it dark.

Of Tales and Enigmas by Minsoo Kang (Prime) is a wonderful collection of fantasy and myth inspired by the author's Korean ancestry. Particularly good are the two ghost stories in the third and last section of the book. Troy by Simon Brown (Ticonderoga Publications), the Australian writer's second collection, is inspired by Homer's Iliad, although very loosely. The one original, "The Cup of Nestor," is a strong horror story about a young man psychically scarred by war, who is studying a beetle in the Amazon rainforest.

Realm of the Dead by Uchida Hyakken translated by Rachel DiNitto (Dalkey Archive) is a dreamlike series of dark, mysterious tales originally published in Japanese in 1922. Interesting if read a few at a time, but tiresome when read all in a row. Reserved for Travelling Shows by Trent Jamieson (Prime), the first collection of this Australian writer, has twenty-six science fiction and fantasy stories published in Australian venues between 1994 and 2004 and one original.

At the Molehills of Madness by Rhys Hughes (Pendragon Press) has twenty-five tales of fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, and just plain weirdness by this prolific Welsh writer, all but three published in the 1990s. Moby Jack and Other Tall Tales by Garry Kilworth (PS Publishing), showcases twenty-one varied stories, providing an overview of the author's short fantasy and horror output over the past twenty years. Robert Holdstock provides the introduction.

The Butterflies of Memory by Ian Watson (PS), the author's tenth collection, has seventeen stories, and brief story notes. Paul McAuley wrote the introduction. Streetcar Dreams and Other Midnight Fancies by Richard Bowes (PS), a powerful collection of six extraordinarily vivid pieces of fantasy fiction, includes the title World Fantasy Award-winning novella, and affords a fine entree to Bowes's work. With an introduction by Jeffrey Ford.

Saffron and Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand (M Press) is this genre-straddling author's third collection and while it includes three stories from her previous collection, Bibliomancy, there are also four previously uncollected stories and one new one. A few of the stories are horror, others are dark enough to please horror aficionados. Mortality by Nicholas Royle (Serpent's Tail) collects stories from 1990 to 2006 and contains mainstream as well as horror such as the chilling piece, "The Churring," the collection's one original, reprinted in i>YBFH#20.

Physician to the Universe: the Collected Stories of Clifford Simak, Volume II (Darkside) is the second of a projected twelve-volume series collecting all the author's short fiction. Although known as a science fiction writer, some of Simak's work is dark enough for horror readers to enjoy. The introduction is by Barry N. Malzberg, and cover art is by Allen Koszowski.

The World, the Flesh, & the Devil: Fantastical Writings Volume 1 by Gerald Kersh (Ash-Tree) is the first in a projected series of books collecting Kersh's short fiction. He is best known for his novel Night and the City, filmed a number of times. I first came across Kersh when I read his tremendously creepy story "Men Without Bones" as a teenager. Most of his work has been out of print for forty years. This long overdue project should change that, bringing Kersh new, appreciative readers. There are twenty-five stories in this volume, edited and introduced by Paul Duncan. The dust jacket painting is by Jason Van Hollander.

The Ocean and all its Devices by William Brown Spencer (Subterranean), the second collection by an excellent idiosyncratic writer whose novel Resume with Monsters helped breathe new life into the Cthulhu mythos, contains nine reprints and an introduction by the author.

Two-Handed Engine: The Selected Stories of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, edited and with an introduction by David Curtis, was originally published in a pricey edition by Centipede Press in 2005 and reprinted by the Science Fiction Book Club in 2006. The book includes thirty-seven stories, including their best-known ones such as "Shambleau," "The Twonky," and "Mimsy Were the Borogoves," as well as more obscure stories. Prime published two impressive collections by Simon Logan: Rohypnol Brides has nine stories and a novella, several original.

Nothing is Inflammable has seven stories and a short novel. Four stories and the novella are appearing for the first time. Logan writes really well, and even though his edgy, sometimes futuristic stories are filled with graphic sex and violence, it's always appropriate. Good show. Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy (Scribe, Australia) has fourteen stories, all published previously, by this award-winning Australian. Some are dark, particularly the excellent "Cold Snap." Collected Stories by Roald Dahl (Everyman Library) contains all fifty-one of Dahl's stories for adults.