The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 16

by Stephen Jones

  Also from Borderlands, the 12 Scary Guys Calendar featured Peter Straub (Mr January), Graham Joyce (Mr February), Geoff Cooper (Mr March), Thomas F. Monteleone (Mr April), F. Paul Wilson (Mr May), Rick Hautala (Mr June), Douglas E. Winter (Mr July), Kealan Patrick Burke (Mr August), Richard Chizmar (Mr September), Jon F. Merz (Mr October), Jack Ketchum (Mr November) and Stephen King (Mr December).

  From Small Beer Press, Sean Stewart’s Perfect Circle was about an unemployed man whose life was complicated by ghosts.

  San Francisco’s Tachyon Publications issued Suzy McKee Charnas’ first print collection, Stagestruck Vampires & Other Phantasms, as an attractive trade paperback featuring eight reprint stories and two original essays, with an Introduction from Paul Di Filippo and cover art by John Picacio. From the same publisher, Stable Strategies and Others collected twelve stories by Eileen Gunn along with introductions by William Gibson and the author, a poem by Michael Swanwick and an Afterword by Howard Waldrop.

  Bumper Crop from Golden Gryphon was a collection of twenty-six “best” stories by Joe R. Lansdale, selected with a Foreword by the author. With an Introduction by Jeffrey Ford, Secret Life was another attractive “best” collection, containing twenty-three tales (three original) by Jeff VanderMeer, including a new story set in the author’s fictional world of Ambergris. In the UK, the author’s earlier Ambergris collection, City of Saints & Madmen, was reprinted in a “definitive” version by Tor that added two new stories.

  Breathmoss and Other Exhalations collected seven long stories and an Introduction by Ian R. MacLeod. The 100-copy limited slipcased edition was signed by the author and cover artist Bob Eggleton and contained an additional chapbook.

  Charles Stross’ The Atrocity Archives featured the previously serialized novel about a covert branch of British Intelligence battling Lovecraftian monstrosities, along with a bonus novella-length sequel, “The Concrete Jungle”.

  It was also a busy year for Night Shade Books. Nick Mamatas’ debut novel Move Under Ground involved “Beat Era” authors Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs battling the minions of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos in the California of the early 1960s. The book was also available in a signed edition of 100 copies.

  Conrad Williams’ collection Use Once, Then Destroy contained seventeen stories (three original), while The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories featured eighteen stories (one original) by Liz Williams. An additional story was available in the signed hardcover limited to 100 copies.

  The discovery of a wrecked ship sent men mad in Lucius Shepard’s short novel Viator, published in a trade edition and a 150-copy limited edition. With an Introduction by John Clute, The New Universal History of Infamy contained nineteen stories by Rhys Hughes. It was additionally available in a signed edition limited to 100 copies.

  Edited by Forrest Aguirre, Leviathan 4: Cities contained ten stories (one reprint) by Jay Lake, K.J. Bishop and others.

  The House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious Places was the second volume in Night Shade’s matching “The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson” set, edited by co-publisher Jeremy Lassen. Besides the title novel, the attractive volume included nine stories about Carnacki the Ghost-Finder and a further eleven tales of mystery and suspense, along with a historical Introduction by the editor and notes on the text.

  Night Shade’s reissue of M. John Harrison’s 1992 novel The Course of the Heart was also available in a 150-copy signed edition that included an added story.

  From Headpress imprint Diagonal, Ports of Hell was a picaresque novel by punk musician Johnny Strike that came with praise from William S. Burroughs, Geoff Nicholson and John Shirley.

  Edited and introduced by Bill Sheehan, Night Visions 11 from Subterranean Press featured three original novellas by Kim Newman (a new “Richard Jeperson” tale), Tim Lebbon and the always-excellent Lucius Shepard. A 250-copy limited edition was signed by the contributors.

  Partial Eclipse and Other Stories was the first short fiction collection by Graham Joyce, while Songs of Leaving contained twelve reprint stories by Peter Crowther, along with an Introduction by Adam Roberts and extensive story notes by the author. It was published in signed editions of 500 numbered copies and twenty-six lettered copies.

  Caitlín R. Kiernan’s The Dry Salvages was a short dystopian science fiction novel set in a bleak and frozen Paris at the beginning of the twenty-fourth century, where the last survivor of an interplanetary mission was forced to confront her repressed and fragmented memories. It was also available in a 250-copy signed edition with an additional chapbook.

  Poppy Z. Brite and Christa Faust’s Triads was a fix-up novel that involved two Asian boys and a vengeful ghost. It was available in a signed hardcover edition and a 250-copy limited edition containing an extra story by each of the authors.

  The Girl in the Basement and Other Stories collected five tales by Ray Garton in a signed edition of 400 copies. A fifty-two copy limited edition contained an additional vampire novella.

  Also from Subterreanean, Brian Lumley’s Freaks was a slim but attractive hardcover volume that collected four obscure reprint tales and a new story, along with a brief Introduction by the author and illustrations by Allen Koszowski. It was published in signed editions limited to 750 numbered and twenty-six lettered copies.

  Another slim volume from Lumley was The House of the Temple, the second volume in the Endeavor Press Novelette Series. Containing the 1980 Lovecraftian novella and another reprint story, illustrated by Koszowski with a cover by Alan Clark, the nicely-produced hardcover was available in both a 300-copy signed limited edition or a signed lettered edition for $150.00.

  From Haffner Press, Seventy-Five: The Diamond Anniversary of a Science Fiction Pioneer celebrated 97-year-old Jack Williamson’s first publication with eleven stories, four novel excerpts, numerous articles by and about the author, and various photos, cover reproductions and even a comic-strip adaptation in an oversized hardcover volume. Featuring a Foreword by Connie Willis, an Introduction by Arthur C. Clarke and an Afterword by Williamson himself, it was available in a trade edition, a signed slipcased limited edition, and a deluxe lettered edition limited to twenty-six copies and costing $2,000.00!

  Despite being mistakenly copyrighted 2002 by Canada’s Red Deer Press, Iterations was Robert J. Sawyer’s first short story collection, containing twenty-two reprint tales, an Introduction by James Alan Gardner and story notes by the author.

  Swamp Witch Piquante and Scream Queen Bisque (Over a Bed of Rice) collected a short novel, “The White Trash Witches’ Coven” and the novella “Pavane for a Scream Queen” by M.F. Korn. The book was issued in both an electronic edition and as a trade paperback by Silver Lake Publishing.

  Published by Canada’s Ash-Tree Press, Acquainted With the Night was the latest anthology edited by publishers Barbara and Christopher Roden. Containing twenty-seven original stories by Don Tumasonis, Ramsey Campbell, Reggie Oliver, Melanie Tem, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Chico Kidd, Joel Lane, John Whitbourn, Steve Duffy, Rick Kennett, Paul Finch, John Pelan, Stephen Volk, Glen Hirshberg and others (including one of the editors), it appeared in a hardcover edition of 400 copies and an unlimited trade paperback edition with an eerie wraparound cover painting by Jason Van Hollander.

  Acquainted With the Night also included a story by Simon Bestwick, and Ash-Tree published the British author’s first book, A Hazy Shade of Winter. It collected fourteen ghostly stories (five reprints), along with an enthusiastic Introduction by Joel Lane, and was issued in an edition of 500 copies.

  Tales of the Uneasy was the first of two volumes edited by John Pelan that will reprint the complete supernatural fiction of Violet Hunt (1866–1942). The volume featured all nine stories from her 1911 collection of the same title, including a revised novella, along with a historical Introduction by the editor.

  Limited to 500 copies, Dancing on Air and Other Stories was a collection of ten ghost stories by Frances Oli
ver. From Ash-Tree Press’ series of “Classic Macabre” paperbacks, Oliver’s mystery novel Children of Epiphany was reprinted in a matching edition with a new Introduction by the author.

  Edited with an Introduction by James Doig, The Devil of the Marsh and Other Stories collected fifteen obscure tales by Australian-born author H.B. Marriott Watson (1863–1921).

  Edited with an Introduction by Barbara and Christopher Roden and limited to 600 copies, The Captain of the “Pole-Star”: Weird and Imaginative Fiction by Arthur Conan Doyle contained thirty-seven stories of the mysterious and the macabre and included a Preface by Michael Dirda. Featuring an Introduction by Mark Valentine, The Nebuly Coat was a 500-copy reprint of the 1903 mystery novel by John Meade Falkner (1858–1932), the author of Moonfleet.

  Also limited to 500 copies from Ash-Tree, with an Introduction by Christopher Roden, Satan’s Circus collected thirteen stories by Lady Eleanor Smith (1902–45).

  Living up to its title, Quentin S. Crisp’s collection Morbid Stories contained eight tales and a Foreword by Mark Samuels, from Tartarus Press. Limited to 300 copies, David Lindsay’s The Haunted Woman originally appeared in 1922 and contained a new Afterword by Douglas A. Anderson, while Arthur Machen’s Ritual & Other Stories collected a representative group of tales. From the same imprint came a new edition of M.P. Shiel’s 1901 novel The Purple Cloud, with an Introduction by Brian Stableford, and Frank Baker’s humorous 1940 fantasy Miss Hargreaves, introduced by Glen Cavaliero and limited to 300 copies.

  Originally published in 1889 as Stories Weird and Wonderful by “Dick Donovan”, J.E. Muddock’s The Shining Hand & Other Tales of Terror added a novelette to the twenty-three stories and an Introduction by editor John Pelan.

  Edited by the legendary Forrest J Ackerman, Dr Acula’s Thrilling Tales of the Uncanny was an anthology from publisher Sense of Wonder Press featuring stories by Gustav Meyrink, Arthur J. Burks, Hannes Bok and others. From the same imprint came a welcome reprint of Ackerman’s film book about Lon Chaney, Sr., Lon of 1000 Faces!.

  Yvonne Navarro’s Mirror Me was a supernatural serial killer novel limited to 500 copies from Overlook Connection Press. Published by Overlook in a trade edition, Lucy Taylor’s collection The Silence Between the Screams included four original stories and a reprint novella. It was also released under the title A Hairy Chest, A Big Dick, and a Harley in a signed edition limited to 1,000 copies and available only through specialty bookstores. The special edition featured original art for each story by Glenn Chadborne.

  Douglas Clegg’s The Attraction was about a roadside attraction that boasted an Aztec mummy. It was published in a signed edition of 500 copies and a twenty six-copy deluxe leatherbound edition by Delirium Books.

  Brian Keene’s Fear of Gravity collected eleven stories (four reprints) with an Introduction, Afterword and story notes by the author. It was published by Delirium in a 400-copy signed edition, along with a $175.00 deluxe leatherbound slipcased edition limited to twenty-six copies.

  Dreadful Delineations collected thirty stories (five original) by John Maclay, with an Introduction by William F. Nolan. In John Everson’s debut novel Covenant, a reporter investigated a series of teen suicides, while a man’s nightmares started to invade his waking world in Michael Laimo’s Sleepwalker. All three titles were published in signed editions limited to 250 copies.

  Two erotic-themed collections from Delirium were Honey is Sweeter Than Blood (seven stories, two reprints) and Shadows of Flesh (fifteen stories, nine reprints) by brothers Jeffrey Thomas and Scott Thomas, respectively. Both books were published in 250-copy signed editions and available together in a deluxe traycase limited to twenty-six copies for $300.00.

  From Florida’s Necro Publications, Patrick Lestewka’s novel The Preserve was about a group of Vietnam veterans hunting (and being hunted) by supernatural monsters in the wilds of northern Canada. It was published in a signed and numbered edition of 300 trade paperback copies and 100 hardcovers.

  Edited with an historical Introduction about the imprint by Necro founder David G. Barnett, Damned: An Anthology of the Lost contained twelve original “hardcore horror” stories by Gerard Houarner, Charlee Jacob, Jack Ketchum, Brian Hodge, Tom Piccirilli, Jeffrey Thomas, Edward Lee, Gary Bruanbeck and others, including a short novel by Doc Solammen. It was published in a hardcover edition of 400 signed and numbered copies and a thirteen-copy lettered deluxe edition.

  Apparently derived from a movie treatment, Christopher Fowler’s novella Breathe: Everyone Has to Do It from Telos Publishing was a rollicking good read about a corporate office block that was turning its workforce into homicidal, sex-crazed zombies. Billed as “The Office meets Night of the Living Dead” it was published in paperback and as a signed and numbered deluxe hardcover.

  Telos’ series of original horror novellas continued with Steve Savile’s Houdini’s Last Illusion, which was set at the end of the haunted magician’s life and expanded from the author’s award-winning short story.

  “Edited and annotated” by R.J. Carter and presented as if it were a lost manuscript by Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Journey Beyond the Moon featured the debut illustrations of Lucy Wright. Published as part of Telos’ Doctor Who Novellas series, Simon Clark’s The Dalek Factor featured a Foreword by Christopher Fowler, while the deluxe edition added a frontispiece illustration by Graham Humphreys.

  Lee Driver’s The Unseen was the third horror-mystery featuring Chase Dagger, from Full Moon Publishing, while Abandon All Hope was a first novel set in Hell by Tony L. Ford, published by Nephilim Books.

  The sixteen stories (seven reprints) in Darren Speegle’s Gothic Wine, from Aardwolf Press, all involved the juice of the grape and were set in Europe.

  From Medusa Press, Frank Chigas’ The Damp Chamber and Other Bad Places contained nineteen original stories illustrated by the author. F. Greg Gifune’s horror novel Saying Uncle was expanded from the short story of the same name and published by December Girl Press.

  Published by The Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild, Encounters: An Anthology of Australian Speculative Fiction edited by Maxine McArthur and Donna Maree Hanson contained twenty-two original stories by Richard Harland, Cat Sparks and others in a trade paperback illustrated by Les Petersen and Shane Parker.

  From Patrick Swenson’s Darkwood Press, Waiting My Turn to Go Under the Knife collected sixty poems by Bram Stoker Award-winning poet Tom Piccirilli. Illustrated by Caniglia with an Introduction by T.M. Wright, the attractive hardcover volume was published in a 250-copy signed and numbered edition.

  Meanwhile, The Women at the Funeral was a slim softcover volume of new and reprint poetry by Corrine De Winter, published by Space & Time Press.

  Published by Durto Press in an edition of just 333 copies, Death Poems by Thomas Ligotti came with marbled endpapers, gilt edges, a marker ribbon and a free Carpe Diem enamel badge produced especially for the book.

  Edited by Tom Roberts and published by Black Dog Books in association with Tattered Pages Press, A Memorial Tribute to Hugh B. Cave was a handsome sixty-four page chapbook limited to just 350 copies and distributed free at Ohio’s Pulpcon 33 in July. Contributors included Jack Adrian, Mike Ashley, Stephen Jones, Dave Drake, Milt Thomas, Bob Weinberg, Brian Lumley, Stefan Dziemianowicz and others, and the booklet also included a previously uncollected story by the late pulp author.

  Mercury (Atlanta, 1986) was a chapbook story by Caitlín R. Kiernan featuring her character Deacon Silvey, published by Subterranean Press. From the same imprint, the novella The Feast of St Rosalie by Poppy Z. Brite was limited to 750 chapbooks and 100 hardbound copies signed by the author.

  Available from Haunted Library Publications, Occult Sciences was the first appearance in print of a paper read by M.R. James in February 1881 at a meeting of the College Literary Society at Eton School.

  Don Koish’s Necessary Evil Press launched a series of signed, limited edition novellas with Dead Man’s Hand, the first book in the annual “Assassin Series” by Tim Lebbon (not
to be confused with the Nancy A. Collins collection of the same title). A weird Western about a demon-hunting gunfighter, it had an Introduction by Tom Piccirilli and an Afterword by the author. The first book in another new series from Kealan Patrick Burke, The Turtle Boy with artwork by Caniglia and an Introduction by Norman Partridge, was about a haunted community pond. Both titles were available in oversized 450-copy numbered hardcover editions and twenty-six metal traycased lettered editions signed by all the contributors.

  Horses Blow Up Dog City and Other Stories from Small Beer Press collected five stories (two original) by Richard Butner, while the same imprint distributed Family Reunion, a free comic written by Sean Stewart and beautifully illustrated by Steve Lieber to celebrate the publication of Stewart’s novel Perfect Circle.

  Chicago’s Iguana Publications launched a new series of no-frills chapbooks with Masque of the Small Town Oddball, edited by publisher John Weagly and featuring seven original stories by Adam Pepper, Tim Curren and others, including the editor. Only 100 copies were printed.

  Richard E. Dansky’s story Shadows in Green was available as a chapbook from Yard Dog Press, while Eschersketch by Stephen L. Antczak and James C. Bassett was published by Nth Degree/Big Blind Productions.

  Edited by Rabe Phillips, Darker Than Tin . . . Brighter Than Sin contained six original stories and two poems about angels and was published in support of the OWW-SF/F/H Scholarship Fund.

  From Wormhole Books’ “Contemporary Chapbooks” series, Bret Bertholf’s horror story Alfred Bester is Alive and Well and Living in Winterset, Iowa was illustrated by the author and featured an Introduction by Edward Bryant. Bryant also supplied the Introduction to Stewart O’Nan’s Something Wicked, a ghostly novella for Halloween excerpted from his novel The Night Country. It was illustrated with photographs by Thomas Meek and contained an interview with O’Nan and an Afterword by the author. Both titles were available in signed editions limited to 750 copies, 250-copy numbered hardcovers and 52-copy lettered editions.