THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR 13

Fans of horror fiction will no doubt read special auguries in this dependable anthology series tallying its "lucky" 13th volume. Like all previous incarnations, though, the book distinguishes itself simply by offering a cross-section of what Jones, one of the genre's most enthusiastic cheerleaders, reckons the best short horror fiction of the previous year. More than before, the contents seem to fall into categories that are easily discerned if not explicitly advertised. Travel to alien lands full of mystery and menace is a theme shared by a several stories, notably Graham Joyce's "First, Catch Your Demon," a fever dream of erotic fantasy and creepy physical transformation for a visitor to the Greek isles, and Ramsey Campbell's "All for Sale," which extrapolates its stranger-in-a-strange-land premise into the ultimate traveler's nightmare. Horrors seem to grow just as easily from the everyday in Charles L. Grant's "Whose Ghosts Are These," in which the ennui of small-town life transmutes into sociopathy; Thomas Ligotti's "Our Temporary Supervisor," which finds a supernatural consciousness behind routines that ensnare the average office drone; and Donald Burleson's "Pump Jack," a dandy bit of dark folklore involving ubiquitous oil wells in the American southwest. A high number of selections-by Tanith Lee, Chico Kidd (two stories), Michael Chislett and Conrad Williams-reference well-known supernatural works and showcase the recent resurgence of interest in horror's classic tradition. Jones's comprehensive summary essay and eloquent reflections on horror fiction's importance in the wake of the international events in 2001 help to make this volume one of horror's best.Fantasy Award for best anthology.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another year, another horror annual from tireless editor Jones. The thirteenth in this Mammoth series features stories by Chico Kidd, Ramsey Campbell, Poppy Z. Brite, and many others. It opens with a thorough review of horror in several different media, including graphic novels, movies, television, and even action figures. Highlights among the stories include Douglas Smith's delightfully creepy "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down," about a young woman who is driven by a mysterious hunger to sketch people and steal their life force as her horrified lover looks on. Brite's story, "O Death, Where Is Thy Spatula?" features her alter ego, New Orleans coroner Dr. Brite, who, unable to eat after the owner of her favorite restaurant is murdered, turns to voodoo to resurrect him. The book ends with a necrology of genre hands who died in 2001 and an annotated address list of publishers, magazines, book dealers, and other horror writers' markets. As always, a delight for horror aficionados. Kristine Huntley
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