THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR
Sixth Annual Collection
by Ellen Datlow & edited by Terri Windling
Another colossal compendium, comprising 48 stories (although the late Angela Carter's ``Alice in Prague, or the Curious Room'' is included but not listed) and five poems (though two poems by Margaret Atwood are listed but not included). Among this splendidly eclectic bunch are some wonderfully diverse fairy tales (Emma Bull, A.S. Byatt, Grozdana Olujic, James Powell, O.V. de L. Milosz), two prime Vietnam chillers (Joe Haldeman, Peter Straub), and the obligatory demon dentist yarn (Christopher Fowler's horridly effective ``On Edge''). An impressive array of famous names also make worthy contributions: M. John Harrison (a strange character), Charles de Lint (bones), Robert Silverberg (a seductive vanishing house), Garry Kilworth (a Chinese method of defeating one's enemies), Judith Tarr (Christmas), Joyce Carol Oates (psychological horror), Lucius Shepard (music of the dead), Gene Wolfe (animals and myth), Clive Barker (Halloween), Graham Masterton (families), John Brunner (WW I and folklore), and Lisa Tuttle (displacement). Elsewhere, the themes range from dreams, black humor, zombies, angels, Japan, movies, surrealism, superstition, love, and booze to photos, fires, coming of age, and several magic-realism variants. Add on the various summations (Fantasy, Horror, TV and movies, obituaries, Honorable Mentions) and the result is another generous, appealing anthology, with much fine work and something to please all tastes.