A review by leesmyth
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror by Paula Guran

3.0

Overall, I liked it. For me, the standout was "Iseul’s Lexicon" by Yoon Ha Lee. The heroine is a spy in occupied territory, where the occupiers have forbidden use of the native language and are confiscating books in that language. She learns that the censors are not destroying the books, but are instead compiling a lexicon. And yes, they have a breath-takingly nefarious purpose in mind.

I also really liked "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" by Brandon Sanderson and "A Little of the Night (Ein Bisschen Nacht)" by Tanith Lee. The core idea of Tanith Lee's story inverts the usual monster trope in a particularly lovely way.