Paula Guran

Join twenty-five masterful authors and talented newcomers with more than 400 pages of the disturbing, unnerving, haunting, and strange. This outstanding annual exploration of the year’s best dark fiction delivers tales of deathly possession, the weirdly surreal, mysterious melancholy, and frighteningly plausible futures. Confront your own humanity and the fears that stir you—from the darkly supernatural and painfully familiar to the disquieting terror of the unknown.

Volume One

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror

Dave | Storyphoria

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What surprised me the most about this collection was how little horror seemed to be represented here. While there are a few stories that feel slightly horror-esque, most fall into the realms of dark fantasy/fiction. Thankfully it’s a genre I enjoy, but if you are hoping for some good old fashioned horror, you’ll likely be largely disappointed.

It’s a very solid anthology featuring a nice variety of story “types” that ultimately hits the mark most of the time. While the lack of true “horror” or anything that actually brings the scare factor to the forefront might turn some people off, if you imagine the word “horror” in the title was replaced with the word “fiction” your expectations will be better aligned with the stories within.

This is one I can whole heartedly recommend to any fan of the dark fantasy/fiction genres, and maybe even to those fans that want something to read that feels a little creepy at times but it won’t keep you awake fearing the monsters in the dark at night.

It’s not perfect, but it’s highly enjoyable.

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror Volume One

Reviews