The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six

The unifying theme between these stories generally seems to be as a rule an attempt at creating artistic character studies with some paranormal bent almost as an afterthought. Little, if anything, really happens in most of these stories and one gets the sense of pandering that you are in the universally slow slice of life dramas parading through the Oscars each year. Some of them escape this or have intriguing concepts and are universally well written with rich description. This heavily layered prose and inward looking focus to the character's thoughts and feelings comes at the expense of actual horror which tends to get lost in the shuffle. The Tin House, Majorlena, Halfway Home, and The Same Deep Waters As You are all much welcomed exceptions.Traditional horror fans would likely be better served by the Black Book of Horror series.

I've been a fan of Ellen Datlow's work for years as she continues to put out solid anthologies of horror fiction. Best Horror of the Year Volume 6 is no exception. It is perhaps even better than some of her previous entries in the series. The lineup contains an all star roster of modern horror fiction writers along with some lesser known authors. The stories are:"Apports" by Stephen Bacon"Mr. Splitfoot" by Dale Bailey"The Good Husband" by Nathan Ballingrud"The Tiger" by Nina Allan"The House on Cobb Street" by Lynda E. Rucker"The Soul in the Bell Jar" by K.J. Kabza"Call Out" by Stephen Toase"That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love" by Robert Shearman"Bones of Crow" by Ray Cluley"Introduction to the Body in Fairy Tales" by Jeannine Hall Gailey"The Fox" by Conrad Williams"The Tin House" by Simon Clark"Stemming the Tide" by Simon Strantzas"The Anatomist's Mnemonic" by Priya Sharma"The Monster Makers" by Steve Rasnic Tem"The Only Ending We Have" by Kim Newman"The Dog's Paw" by Derek Künsken"Fine in the Fire" by Lee Thomas"Majorlena" by Jane Jakeman"The Withering" by Tim Casson"Down to a Sunless Sea" by Neil Gaiman"Jaws of Saturn" by Laird Barron"Halfway Home" by Linda Nagata"The Same Deep Waters as You" by Brian HodgeThey were all fantastic stories. I don't think there was a single one I didn't like at all. If I had to pick some of my personal favs, I'd probably go with "Apports", "Mr Splitfoot", "The House on Cobb Street", "The Soul in the Bell Jar", "Stemming the Tide", and "Jaws of Saturn". Overall, a very solid collection.

I have provided an overall review of the book as a whole followed by individual summary reviews of each story. You may need to pop some popcorn before you start this review – it may take a while to get through! Disclaimer: the following is strictly a reflection of my own personal (unconventional?) tastes and may or may not reflect the views of others. In other words, if you don’t agree with my opinions, that’s cool! That’s what makes us all unique – it’s a beautiful thing.This e-book begins with a lengthy summation of the year’s most notable horror contributions that were reviewed by the editor in preparation of this collection. I admittedly skipped over this section as it was of little interest to me. Simply put, I was unabashedly eager to get to the meaty carnage of the horror as quickly as possible. So, I settled down in my comfy chair, wrapped myself in a fleecy blanket and prepared to be scared.I had never read any of the five previous The Best Horror of the Year volumes, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Actually, I’ll take that back – I fully expected a bone-chilling fear-fest, but that’s not exactly what I got. I would classify only a handful of these stories as horror – the majority would be better categorized as paranormal, sci-fi and/or fantasy. In order for me to be satisfied when reading or watching horror, I need it to scare the living bejesus out of me, or at the very least leave me with a serious feeling of the heebie-jeebies for the remainder of the night. Most of these stories just didn’t do it for me. For those reasons, I immediately deducted one star from my rating right off the top. Having done that, I based the remainder of my rating on the overall quality and likeability of the individual stories themselves, regardless of what genre I felt they fit in to.Overall, this was a respectable assortment of 24 short stories (including one poem), although, as previously mentioned, most did not satisfy my entirely subjective definition of horror. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not a hater of paranormal or science fiction. While my go-to preference is horror, I do also enjoy paranormal or sci-fi offerings that are well-written and compelling. But when I read horror, I need it dark and dirty, raw and gritty – the scarier, gorier and more disturbing the better. If I were to use an analogy to describe this collection, I would call it a sheep in wolf’s clothing – advertised as a formidable work of horror (the year’s best??) but lacking the fangs to back it up.If you tend to gravitate more towards science fiction, supernatural or even mild horror, then you will undoubtedly enjoy the majority of this collection. However, if you’re like me and consider yourself more a fan of the Jack Ketchum or Stephen King novels, or you can’t get enough of the Saw, Hostel or Hannibal Lecter gore-fests on the big screen, then you may be left desperately wishing for more.**SPOILER ALERT** Following are short summaries and individual ratings of each story (out of 5 stars) which may contain spoilers. Skip this section if you want to maintain an element of surprise.The Good Husband (by Nathan Ballingrud): This story was my favorite out of the entire collection. A woman commits suicide in the bathtub while her husband, who has watched her battle depression for many years, stands by and does nothing to help her. The woman, apparently not realizing she’s dead, then continues to exist in the house with her husband as she slowly deteriorates both physically and mentally. Is this zombie-state in retaliation for her husband’s callous disregard for his wife in her hour of need? Appropriately creepy and unsettling. [4.5 stars]Fine in the Fire (by Lee Thomas): Although this was not a tale of horror in the fictional sense, the horrific type of treatment depicted in this story was prevalent in the U.S. from the 1940s through the early 1970s. Set in modern day but with flashbacks to the 1950s, this story illustrates just how far a devoted and religious father is willing to go in order to “cure” his eldest son of what he considers a significant yet treatable mental disorder. Exceptionally well-written and poignant. [4.5 stars]Halfway Home (by Linda Nagata): A chilling and captivating read. A strong, confident woman on a flight home from the Philippines to L.A. boasts to the chatty yet mysterious woman next to her about her willingness to do whatever it takes to overcome life’s challenges. Halfway to its destination, the plane suddenly crashes into the Pacific near a small uninhabited island. As the only survivors, the two women and one small child make it safely to land. There are some incredibly dark forces at play here as one of these women is not what she seems. Faced with a cataclysmic decision, and with rescue in sight, the L.A. woman must now demonstrate if she indeed has what it takes to overcome this final catastrophe. [4.5 stars]The Anatomist’s Mnemonic (by Priya Sharma): A stimulating tale with a shocking ending. A middle-aged, single man with a robust hand fetish goes on a seemingly innocent search for the perfect woman who must, of course, have flawless hands. He soon finds himself visiting the home of two sisters – one with a captivating personality but imperfect hands and the other with a less intriguing persona but impeccable hands. Which sister does he choose to woo and how does he persuade her to openly welcome his advances? [4 stars]The Fox (by Conrad Williams): Mysterious and frighteningly compelling – a real page-turner. A happily-married couple takes their two small children to a rural English farm for a cold-weather camping vacation. (Why they chose to go camping in winter is beyond me, but I digress.) In the morning, the family checks the chicken coop for eggs only to discover missing (and presumably dead) chickens. Later in the day, tensions mount as they come across a deceased fox (…or is it??). We soon learn of a despicable act that the husband, as a teenager, perpetrated on a mother fox and her kits decades prior. Is the fox finally exacting her revenge after all these years? [4 stars]Call Out (by Steve Toase): A small-town veterinarian is lured under false pretenses to a bucolic horse barn where he becomes trapped inside with an evil and hungry barghest (a terrifying wolf-goblin hybrid creature). The writing style of this story was disturbingly convincing – it just ended much too abruptly. [3.5 stars]The Dog’s Paw (by Derek Kunsken): This story reminds me of the old Twilight Zone series from the 1960s, when many of the episodes ended with some sort of profound message for the greater good of humanity. Set in an Arabic nation, a young girl brings shame on her family by being seen in the company of an unrelated man. This disgrace manifests itself by turning her father’s arm into a dog’s paw. The only way he can rectify this aberration is through the honor killing of his beloved daughter. With strong outside forces intervening, will he decide to uphold his family’s honor and reverse his disfigurement or will he choose to save the life of his only daughter? A compelling and sinister morality check. [3.5 stars]The Same Deep Waters as You (by Brian Hodge): In this gripping novella, a popular TV “animal whisperer” has been recruited by U.S. Homeland Security as a consultant on a top-secret mission. She reluctantly travels to an undisclosed island off the Pacific Northwest coast in order to attempt communication with mysterious sea-like creatures who were once human. These beings have been held captive on the island in an outdated GITMO-like facility since the 1920s. The mission is one of urgency as these creatures seem to be suddenly mobilizing toward some unseen force somewhere in the ocean depths. The author’s imagery and descriptive writing style really held my attention throughout, and the happenings on the very last page truly shocked me. [3.5 stars]Apports (by Stephen Bacon): In this supernatural tale, the main protagonist searches for, with the intent of executing, the despicable man who years earlier had killed his own young son in a botched murder-suicide attempt. He finally locates the man – who claims he is being viciously terrorized by the ghost of his son – now living in the British equivalent of the “projects”. He almost immediately realizes that the man’s current miserable and pathetic existence might just be a more satisfying revenge than actually ending his life. Although the outcome was quite predictable, it was still an enjoyable, descriptive read. [3 stars]The House on Cobb Street (by Lynda E. Rucker): A young couple moves to Georgia and begins renovations on a large, ramshackle house that they quickly realize is haunted by evil spirits. Apparently driven mad by the spirits, the husband soon commits suicide in the back yard. The woman, following the predictable course of your standard haunted house story, continues to live in the home and eventually determines that the house “makes people disappear”. This story jumps back and forth between published news articles describing various supernatural occurrences at the house over the years (apparently to provide a semblance of realism) and the real time accounts of the young wife. Although it didn’t have any type of good “gotcha” moment at the end, it was still a well-written, fairly interesting ghost story. [3 stars]Stemming the Tide (by Simon Strantzas): A well-written albeit somewhat perplexing zombie tale. A couple takes a touristy day-trip to a very specific location in Eastern Canada to watch the tide roll in, as it does punctually every 6 hours and 13 minutes. After the rest of the onlookers have long since departed the beach, the couple remains as if they are waiting for something more to occur. Although I’m still unclear how they knew what was coming on that particular day, or why they wanted to witness it to begin with, the incoming tide brings with it scores of the undead who attempt to break through the surrounding gates designed to contain the evil. [3 stars]The Monster Makers (by Steve Rasnic Tem): Young siblings with a special “gift” of mind-control carry out horrific acts of violence on random strangers, simply for their own malicious entertainment. A metaphorical take on the harsh level of cruelty that a child can inflict, regardless of whether or not the child intends to be cruel or if he even fully comprehends the potential consequences of his actions. [3 stars]Majorlena (by Jane Jakeman): A handful of U.S. soldiers narrowly surviving an ambush of their convoy in Iraq come across an unfamiliar survivor among the wreckage – Major Lena – a female officer who outranks the other members of the small group. While taking cover from enemy snipers, members of their clan begin to mysteriously die one by one. Is the seemingly honorable Major something more sinister than what she seems? [3 stars]The Tin House (by Simon Clark): An isolated, beachfront house made of tin holds an appalling secret instilled many decades earlier by its original builders who were heavily involved in the African slave trade. Can the vengeful spirits that inhabit this house finally be vindicated? The paranormal storyline was compelling enough if you could look past the somewhat unimaginative writing style. [3 stars]The Withering (by Tom Casson): Set in the late 19th century, a young college-educated woman continues her dead father’s commitment to bring justice to those who have been wrongly accused. In this tale of necromancy, deceased victims of unsolved homicides can be reanimated for short periods of time in order to name their killers or detail the manners in which they died. Can an innocent young man falsely imprisoned for a gruesome murder be freed and the real killer brought to justice before it is too late? [3 stars]Bones of Crow (by Ray Cluley): A vile, chain-smoking woman finds a nest containing gigantic eggs on the rooftop balcony of her apartment building. Unable to contain her curiosity she touches one of the eggs, causing the baby bird inside to die. Needless to say, the momma bird is none too happy and eventually takes her revenge on the woman. Is the woman’s violent demise symbolic of her dismal existence during life? Although the storyline had potential, it reminded me of one of those ‘B’ horror movies from the 1950s and 60s – utterly ridiculous plot and weak script but you can’t stop watching nevertheless. [3 stars]That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love (by Robert Shearman): This is an overly disturbing tale about the abnormally close relationship between a young girl and her older brother whom she allows to brutally “execute” her beloved dolls so that he doesn’t have to compete for her love and affection. I would describe this as a pseudo-horror blue-plate special with a side order of incest. To say this creepy story left me feeling “icky” pretty much sums it up. [3 stars]Down to a Sunless Sea (by Neil Gaiman): An elderly, forlorn English woman, still grieving decades later over the loss of her sailor son who was cannibalized by the surviving members of their capsized sailing vessel, carries an eerie memento on a chain around her neck. An interesting and descriptive tale, but much too short (even for a short story); this could easily have been teased out a few more pages for an even more dramatic ending. [3 stars]The Tiger (by Nina Allan): A recently released ex-convict who was wrongly imprisoned for a child’s murder moves into an apartment over a small tavern that’s owned by a family with a young son. Trying to make a fresh start for himself after 10 years of captivity, he befriends a peculiar group of people who claim they want to help him get re-acclimated into society. He soon learns that these people may have other more dastardly ulterior motives. The choices made by the ex-con at the end of the story could have gone one of two ways – either dark and horrifying or sympathetic and considerate. For me, the author made the wrong decision by taking the moral high-road – not really what I’m looking for in a horror story. I would have given the story at least 3 stars had it not been for the disappointing ending. [2.5 stars]The Only Ending We Have (by Kim Newman): An homage to many of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic films. An actress working as a body-double for Janet Leigh on the Psycho movie set becomes disillusioned with the industry and is no longer able to cope with Hitchcock’s overtly sexual advances towards her. The author goes into great detail describing Hitchcock as a cruel and sexually deviant person – apparently alluding to The Birds star Tippi Hedren’s very public disclosure that Hitchcock was a “creepy old pervert who made [her] life a living hell”. I personally didn’t care much for this story. The main character had way too many first-person conversations with herself, which I found rather annoying. There were also a number of grammatical and spelling errors throughout. However, serious devotees of the Hitchcock films might find this story enjoyable. [2.5 stars]Jaws of Saturn (by Lair Barron): Living in a dilapidated hotel, a powerful, malevolent sorcerer poses as a struggling hypnotist to help an attractive female neighbor quit smoking. Filled with jealous rage, her hit-man boyfriend decides to put an end to their mysterious relationship, but encounters greater resistance than he bargained for upon confronting the hypnotist. The main thing that stood out for me was the sexually explicit nature of this story. I’m not a person who is easily offended by depictions of graphic sex or violence, but it seemed to be included simply for the purposes of shock and awe – it didn’t really add any context to the story and was basically just a distraction. Also, the ending was weirdly vague – I’m still not exactly sure of the actual outcome. [2.5 stars]The Soul in the Bell Jar (by KJ Kabza): In this fantasy/sci-fi story, a young girl visits the estate of her eccentric great-uncle, Dr. Dandridge, while her parents are on an extended trip around the world. The doctor is well-known for his work reanimating dead animals by physically stitching them together with their disembodied souls, a process known as vivification. The majority of this story was fairly well-written, but I felt the ending seemed hurried, anti-climactic and somewhat confusing. [2 stars]Mr. Splitfoot (by Dale Bailey): A tiresome, exceptionally un-scary paranormal tale about an aging 19th century medium and her odd, death-bed interactions with a ghostly spirit. [1 star]Introduction to the Body in Fairy Tales (by Jeannine Hall Gailey): An extremely short, three-stanza poem that attempts to illustrate the human body through various fairy tale references. There isn’t even enough substance here for me to adequately provide a review. I’m not exactly sure why it was included in this collection – apparently the editor had an extra page and a half in her quota that needed filling. [0 stars]

This book had such a long Preface, Summation, etc. before the first story began that I thought that that the book was just a review of all these stories. There R / 150 pages of intro before the first story!! Ridiculous, and turned me off to the book completely!

I won't say I'm losing faith in Ellen Datlow. I'm not. But this volume is one of the weaker anthologies I've read in the past year. Maybe the horrors in the actual world are simply stealing the stuff of nightmare slipped into the seams of things, and the urge to face them have lessened, I don't know. I still love the look of this series, and I always like Datlow's long summation at the beginning. People don't talk enough about how a book looks these days... these volumes are well made with a great type face, easy to read, and look great on the shelf. And usually the stories are pretty good too. This volume isn't bad, it just isn't good. Almost every story fell into that 'pretty good' category for me. Standouts were "The Good Husband" by Nathan Balingrud, "Call Out' by Steve Toase, "The Only Ending We Have" by Kim Newman was probably my favorite, with "The Same Deep Waters as You" by Brian Hodge a close second. Laird Barron's "Jaws of Saturn" kind of goes without saying. A decent way to pass the time while the blood drains out of your latest victim.