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A review by alexvb
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2014 by Paula Guran
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Recieved this from NetGalley to review.
This was so long. But I had a bunch that I really enjoyed! So I will write them here!
This colleciton is great if you wanna try out some very well known authors (and even new authors) and getting a taste of their style and thinking before attempting one of their books or series. I really liked and was surprised by how mich bipoc and lgbt there was in this collection even though it's so old.
The Good Husband by Nathan Ballingrud: gripped me and was great.
The Soul in the Bell Jar by KJ Kabza: The climax was a little confusing and never really answered the uncle's intentions with the baby but I loved the writing a lot and will be checking our their other stuff.
The Prayer of Ninety Cats by Caitlin R. Kiernan: The writing was really good. I just couldn't understand why she was writing a fake review of a movie with half the script in it. It was queer though and is based off a real person (who was horrifying btw). I'll be looking into her other works.
Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson: OF COURSE I LOVED THIS ONE AND WAS LEFT WANTING MORE!
The Plague by Ken Liu: Too short! The use of present tense was interesting and the point of the story was quick and well done. Very impactful but I need more!
The Gruesome Affair of the Electric Blue Lightning by Joe R. Lansdale: It was very much Sherlock meets Frankenstein meets Dracula kind of. I'd be interested to try their novels.
Let My Smile Be Your Umbrella by Brian Hodge: I felt so fucking called out in this one at the beginning. It was so good and so hooking. The ending was confusing but I still enjoyed it non-the-less! Trigger warnings though for anorexia, suicide, suicide idolisation, eating disorders.
Air, Water, and The Grove by Kaaron Warren: At first this seemed like The Purge but it went sci-fi and it's so interesting. I will look for more of her books. The ending was so chilling and so wild.
A Little Of the Night by Tanith Lee: Beautiful prose.
Our Lady of Ruins By Sarah Singleton: This was so good and so interesting!! I want to know more!
Dark Gardens by Greg Kuruzawa: This was really good. The ending and the build up. Even the tension was really good!
Rag and Bone by Pirya Sharma: *spoilers*
Me at the beginning: the mc is a woman
Part way through: everyone says HE to them. I am super confused because they speak and think more like a woman than a guy and I thought this was a female character the entire time.
Towards the end: reveals they cross dress and pass a man -- OMG I FUCKING CALLED IT and she had sex with sally!!! It's gay!!!! YESSSS! One of my favs from the entire story!! I am defo gunna be looking into her stuff more! OMG And I loved the kinda distorted old Liverpool/England. Like Oliver Twist with a twist. OMG THE ENDING!! I hope she's alive. But omg the twist with her momma too!! I loved it!!
To Die for Moonlight by Sarah Monette: This was so good and so weird.
The Dream Detective by Lisa Tuttle: Was a GENIUS IDEA! I kick myself for not coming up with it! I need to know what happened. Is there more! Does he have to dig her up in the dream world to revive her?! OMG this was great!
Event Horizon by Sunny Moraine: We have a trans/non-binary character and queer characters in this?! Ohhhhhh this was so good and the gender fluidity and the house was so freaky. I really enjoyed it!!
Moonstruck by Karin Tidbeck: You think it's gunna go one way with the girl and then it twists. It was really really good. Captivating, tense, mysterious, I enjoyed it!
The Ghost Makers by Elizabeth Bear: This was so good too! I loved the world and the charcacters immedaitely. I loved the banter already between the two characters. For a second I thought there was a gay relationship going on... Glad I enjoyed Bear's writing here! Now I can try out their other stuff! Also their author's bio was GREAT.
"Elizabeth Bear was born on the same day as Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but in a different year." I love it!
Iseul's Lexicon by Yoon Ha Lee: You could tell and feel the Korean influence right away. I think I was too dumb for this. It was interesting but the magic system and the ideas were too vast for a short story. And it was the longest, and put right at the end. I think it'd would've been better at the beginning or middle. I liked the writing though so it's good to know I can check out her other stuff too in the future!
This was so long. But I had a bunch that I really enjoyed! So I will write them here!
This colleciton is great if you wanna try out some very well known authors (and even new authors) and getting a taste of their style and thinking before attempting one of their books or series. I really liked and was surprised by how mich bipoc and lgbt there was in this collection even though it's so old.
The Good Husband by Nathan Ballingrud: gripped me and was great.
The Soul in the Bell Jar by KJ Kabza: The climax was a little confusing and never really answered the uncle's intentions with the baby but I loved the writing a lot and will be checking our their other stuff.
The Prayer of Ninety Cats by Caitlin R. Kiernan: The writing was really good. I just couldn't understand why she was writing a fake review of a movie with half the script in it. It was queer though and is based off a real person (who was horrifying btw). I'll be looking into her other works.
Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson: OF COURSE I LOVED THIS ONE AND WAS LEFT WANTING MORE!
The Plague by Ken Liu: Too short! The use of present tense was interesting and the point of the story was quick and well done. Very impactful but I need more!
The Gruesome Affair of the Electric Blue Lightning by Joe R. Lansdale: It was very much Sherlock meets Frankenstein meets Dracula kind of. I'd be interested to try their novels.
Let My Smile Be Your Umbrella by Brian Hodge: I felt so fucking called out in this one at the beginning. It was so good and so hooking. The ending was confusing but I still enjoyed it non-the-less! Trigger warnings though for anorexia, suicide, suicide idolisation, eating disorders.
Air, Water, and The Grove by Kaaron Warren: At first this seemed like The Purge but it went sci-fi and it's so interesting. I will look for more of her books. The ending was so chilling and so wild.
A Little Of the Night by Tanith Lee: Beautiful prose.
Our Lady of Ruins By Sarah Singleton: This was so good and so interesting!! I want to know more!
Dark Gardens by Greg Kuruzawa: This was really good. The ending and the build up. Even the tension was really good!
Rag and Bone by Pirya Sharma: *spoilers*
Me at the beginning: the mc is a woman
Part way through: everyone says HE to them. I am super confused because they speak and think more like a woman than a guy and I thought this was a female character the entire time.
Towards the end: reveals they cross dress and pass a man -- OMG I FUCKING CALLED IT and she had sex with sally!!! It's gay!!!! YESSSS! One of my favs from the entire story!! I am defo gunna be looking into her stuff more! OMG And I loved the kinda distorted old Liverpool/England. Like Oliver Twist with a twist. OMG THE ENDING!! I hope she's alive. But omg the twist with her momma too!! I loved it!!
To Die for Moonlight by Sarah Monette: This was so good and so weird.
The Dream Detective by Lisa Tuttle: Was a GENIUS IDEA! I kick myself for not coming up with it! I need to know what happened. Is there more! Does he have to dig her up in the dream world to revive her?! OMG this was great!
Event Horizon by Sunny Moraine: We have a trans/non-binary character and queer characters in this?! Ohhhhhh this was so good and the gender fluidity and the house was so freaky. I really enjoyed it!!
Moonstruck by Karin Tidbeck: You think it's gunna go one way with the girl and then it twists. It was really really good. Captivating, tense, mysterious, I enjoyed it!
The Ghost Makers by Elizabeth Bear: This was so good too! I loved the world and the charcacters immedaitely. I loved the banter already between the two characters. For a second I thought there was a gay relationship going on... Glad I enjoyed Bear's writing here! Now I can try out their other stuff! Also their author's bio was GREAT.
"Elizabeth Bear was born on the same day as Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but in a different year." I love it!
Iseul's Lexicon by Yoon Ha Lee: You could tell and feel the Korean influence right away. I think I was too dumb for this. It was interesting but the magic system and the ideas were too vast for a short story. And it was the longest, and put right at the end. I think it'd would've been better at the beginning or middle. I liked the writing though so it's good to know I can check out her other stuff too in the future!