Horror: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition [Paperback]

Sean Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006 | Series: Horror: The Best of

The best stories of the year: here is a collection of the best horror prose written in 2005, by some of the genre's greatest authors, and selected by two of horror's most respected editors. In this volume you'll find stories by Joe Lansdale, Jack Cady, Holly Phillips, Nicholas Royle, Joe Hill, Caitlin Kiernan, M. Rickert, Richard Bowes, Barbara Roden, Clive Barker, Laird Barron, Jeff VanderMeer, Ramsey Campbell, Nick Mamatas, Michael Marshall Smith, Simon Owens and David Niall Wilson.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The 17 stories Betancourt and Wallace have assembled for the inaugural volume of horror fiction's third "best of" annual series make for a slimmer selection than either Stephen Jones's Best New Horror or Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror omnibuses, but they show that horror, when well written, is equally potent in small doses. Richard Bowes's "There's a Hole in the City," a haunting tale of the supernatural, captures the desolation and desperation of downtown Manhattan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Caitlín Kiernan's "Le Peau Verte" is, by contrast, a surreal absinthe dream about an encounter with an otherworldly race. A number of tales reside in the no-man's land between supernatural and psychological horror, including Joe Hill's "The Cape," in which wild talents push a sibling rivalry into psychopathology. Additional contributions by Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, Jeff VanderMeer, Michael Marshall Smith and Joe R. Lansdale help this book become less the new kid on the block than a contender among its competitors. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The 2006 Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, not out yet, could do worse than reprise half or more of this series-launching partial competitor's contents. Perhapsthe standout, among 17 stories in all, is Holly Phillips' "The Other Grace," about a teenager who instantaneously loses her personality, but Barbara Roden's spirit-of-the-woods creep-out, "Northwest Passage," and Michael Marshall Smith's Cockney thief's tale, "Fair Exchange," are strong runners-up. It's a toss-up as to which fantasy of flight herein--Joe Hill's "The Cape" or M. Rickert's "A Very Little Madness Goes a Long Way"--is more unsettling, though the sudden malevolence in Hill's story is hugely shocking because of its quiet, unforeseen arrival. Nicholas Royle's "Sitting Tenant" gives the haunted house story an icy fillip, Nick Mamatas' memoir with "one false claim" (he says) pokes delicious fun at radical youth, and until its unsatisfying ending, Caitlin R. Kiernan's "La Peau Verte" is impeccably written. For action, try Laird Barron's blood-curdling bounty-hunter caper, "Proboscis." Meanwhile, Ramsey Campbell's Poe-esque "Unblinking" shows him better at short stories than novels. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809556480
• ISBN-13: 978-0809556489
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,015,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good stories, but little horror, October 12, 2006

By 

Bruce Boeck "Fearless Reader" (Normal, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horror: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition (Paperback)

Understand that I recall the Karl Edward Wagner series alluded to on the cover and was hoping for something equivalent. What we have here are good stories, don't get me wrong, suspense, yes, creepy, yes--but horror? I think not. There are some good stories here, and I hope the series continues and evolves into being more like the Wagner-style collection that we've not had since, what, 1993?

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak, December 7, 2006

By 

Donald L. Reeser "Iconoclastic Curmudgeon" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horror: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition (Paperback)

Although its a nicely made book (stout paper, nice typeset) it lacks anything to recommend it outright. It was more or less ho-hum from the get go (skip right past the Joe R. Landsdale story that opens this anthology, or any anthology his work appears in). With the possbile exception of "Haeckel's Tale" by Clive Barker, this anthology was a snoozer. Three stars is generous since 2.5 was not an option.

5.0 out of 5 stars For The Horror Fan That Requires A Literary Challenge!, November 5, 2009

By 

Waide A. Riddle "poet & writer" (West Hollyood, Ca.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horror: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition (Paperback)

This is 'high- end' horror at it's best. Grab your dictionary and all other useful reading tools because your gonna need them. Complex, but effective. Never boring, but patience is recommended. This is horror without the quick endings and dumb- dumb plots. It's like a great glass of wine... savor every moment and second... then, ponder the experience.