| Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, 11th Annual Collection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Martin's Press, 502 pages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A review by Steven H Silver
As always, Datlow and Windling have done an exceptional job combing through both the
traditional sources (F&SF, Realms of Fantasy, Asimov's), but also
have looked for fantasy and horror in the non-traditional sources
(The Paris Review, Bridges, The New Yorker). Their desire and
ability to look so far afield continues to make this series one of the most beneficial and
fresh anthologies in the speculative fiction field. It brings the reader's attention
to several stories the reader might otherwise have missed because the works were published
in regional magazines or publications which the typical fan may have overlooked. At the
same time, the anthology does not read like a best of the SF magazines, many stories of which
already are in the collections of the SF fan.
Windling's introduction paints the fantasy field as a strong and spreading concern, infiltrating
the mainstream section of your local bookstore. Datlow is not as enthusiastic about the
horror field, seeing the cutbacks at White Wolf and lack of horror at most major SF publishers
as a severe limitation on the market. Although she doesn't point it out, an application
of Sturgeon's Law reveals that with fewer pieces of horror being published, 90% still remains
junk and the quality work being published includes fewer pieces. Both editors have elected
to use headings to divide their introductions into segments: magazines, anthologies,
novels, etc., which is a nice touch and makes skimming the introductions for information much easier.
In addition to the main editors' introductions, horror author and Locus reviewer Edward Bryant
offers a look at the media in 1997. Bryant does not seem to feel the need to limit his comments
to the fantasy and horror field, but looks across the spectrum of what Hollywood released. To be
fair, it is frequently difficult to point to a movie and say whether it was SF
anymore. Since so much of SF films is special effects, why not include special effects
bonanzas Titanic or Con Air in his summation? Seth Johnson's comics summation
is exceedingly brief, almost giving the impression that comics are dying. The final summation
is always the saddest. James Frenkel's obituary column notes those who have left us, ranging
from beat authors William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg to SF author/editor
Judith Merril. Although the majority of those listed in Frenkel's obituary are only tangential
to the SF field, losing such legends as Jimmy Stewart still hurts.
The overlap between this collection and the Dozois or Hartwell best-of-year collections is less than
in many years, although this is to be expected since those anthologies focus on science fiction and this
focuses on fantasy and horror. However, frequently the genres overlap. The only story chosen by
Windling to appear in one of those collections (Dozois) is John Kessel's short "Gulliver at Home," a clever
piece which tells of Lemuel Gulliver's homelife after his return from his fourth voyage and the Land of
the Houyhnhnms. Kessel did a good enough job with this story that it may be read even by those
who have not yet read Gulliver's Travels.
Some of science fiction and fantasy's big names have stories appearing here.
Paul McAuley and Kim Newman's "Residuals" is an examination of the long range consequences
of being one of the humans to make first contact. This strong story looks at Andy Warhol's concept
of fifteen-minutes of fame and is made more poignant by being written as a series of flashbacks. From
the pages of another Datlow and Windling anthology, Black Swan White Raven, "The Black Fairy's Curse" by
Karen Joy Fowler continues that author's examination of self and identity in a short, but powerful, dream-like story.
Many names which are not familiar to genre readers are also included in the anthology. Emma Donoghue's
Irish fairy tale, "The Tale of the Skin," opens the anthology with a genre which has been proven near and
dear to the editors' hearts. Donoghue's rendition of the fairy tale in the first person by one of the
principals is an interesting treatment, not least of all because it treats the events seriously, as opposed to
many first person retellings which satire the traditional form. Steve Stern's
satirical "The Sin of Elijah" envisions the prophet using his supernatural powers to spy on mortals' intimate moments.
Of course, the contents vary widely, and what one reader enjoys, another reader will wonder why it was
included. For instance, I could do without the poetry Terri Windling continues to intersperse between
the stories, but this is a personal preference and the eight poems in this edition may have ousted a single
short story, so no great harm is done. Similarly, I'm not a fan of Thomas Canty and wouldn't mind
seeing the covers done by several different fantasy artists. However, the Canty covers do help
provide the works with an exterior identity that other best-of-year anthologies lack.
As in previous years, epic fantasy, which forms such a large part of the novel market, and sword-and-sorcery
fantasy are missing from the anthology. It isn't clear whether this is due to a lack of
quality traditional (in the genre-sense) fantasy being published or whether it merely represents a matter of the taste
of the specific editors. However, the breadth of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror still
makes it the leader in the "Year's Best" category. Given the range of
sources Datlow and Windling examine, much of the material will be new, even to the most avid
reader. Similarly, the stories Datlow and Windling select seem less likely to be
widely reprinted, despite their quality.
Steven H Silver is one of the founders and judges for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. He sits on concoms for Windycon, Chicon 2000 and Clavius in 2001 and is co-chair of Picnicon 1998. Steven will be serving as the Programming Chairman for Chicon 2000. In addition to maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website, Steven is trying to get his short stories published and has recently finished his first novel. He lives at home with his wife and 3200 books. He is available for convention panels. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
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