The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20

by Stephen Jones (ed. )

  A sequel to A World Torn Asunder, Vampire Apocalypse: Descent Into Chaos by Derek Gunn was once again set in a world ruled by vampires and was available through KHP Industries/Black Death Books.

  From the same on-demand publisher, Bob Freeman’s Keepers of the Dead was the second volume in the “Cairnwood Manor” series.

  Self-published as a hefty paperback and e-book through iUniverse Inc., Unnatural Journeys Part One was the first of a planned four volumes containing two linked novels and sixty-four short stories by Australian writer John Ezzy.

  Rio Youers’ vampire novel Everdead was published by Graveside Tales. It was set on the island of Ibiza.

  The undead also turned up in V. M. K. Fewings’ Stone Masters: A Vampire’s Reckoning, from Canadian on-demand imprint Lachesis Publishing.

  Quite possibly the most important debut short story collection in the genre since Mark Samuels’ The White Hands and Other Weird Tales five years earlier, it was only appropriate that that author supplied the Foreword to Beneath the Surface by Canadian writer Simon Strantzas. Published as an unjacketed hardcover by Humdrumming Ltd., the book contained twelve superior stories (seven original).

  Also from Humdrumming, The Land at the End of the Working Day collected four very different stories by Peter Crowther, all set in the eponymous New York drinking establishment. Ian McDonald, Elizabeth Hand, Joe Hill and Lucius Shepard each contributed an Introduction to a story. It was published in hardcover as a 200-copy numbered edition signed by the author and fifty-two lettered and slipcased copies signed by all the contributors.

  Less Lonely Planet (Tales of Here, There & Happenstance) was a hardcover collection of thirty-two stories (nine reprints) by Rhys Hughes, who also supplied the Introduction and Afterword.

  Published by Humdrumming in 450 numbered copies signed by the author and a fifty-two copy lettered edition signed by both contributors, Tim Lebbon’s novella The Reach of Children came with a Foreword by Michael Marshall Smith and an interesting Afterword about how the story came to be written.

  Selected by Ian Alexander Martin, The Second Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories was (like The Black Book of Horror series) inspired by The Pan Book of Horror Stories. It contained fifteen previously unpublished tales by such authors as Conrad Williams, Gary McMahon, Simon Strantzas, Tim Lebbon, Rhys Hughes, Christopher Fowler, Gary Fry, Mark Morris, Sarah Pinborough and others. Despite the annoying contributor biographies, this was a far superior collection to the first volume.

  Unfortunately, Humdrumming announced in November that it was going out of business. The poor state of the economy and amount of money owed to the company were blamed.

  At the end of December, Andrew Hook also announced that he was closing down Elastic Press with immediate effect because the independent British imprint was “becoming a burden rather than a pleasure”.

  During the year Elastic Press published Subtle Edens, editor Allen Ashley’s anthology of so-called “slipstream” fiction, containing twenty-one original stories by Mike O’Driscoll, Joel Lane, David A. Sutton, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gary Fry and others, along with an article by Jeff Gardiner that attempted to make a case for labelling the diverse stories in the book such. The editor supplied an Introduction, and there was an uncredited Afterword by Nicholas Royle slipped in to the back of the book.

  Continuing its series of classic Ray Bradbury hardcover reprints, Peter Crowther’s PS Publishing issued 100 signed and numbered deluxe slipcased sets of the collections The Day it Rained Forever plus A Medicine for Melancholy, featuring introductions by Caitlín R. Kiernan and Jonathan Eller, respectively. Five hundred unsigned copies and 200 signed slipcased editions of The Day it Rained Forever were also available.

  Even better, as a Christmas present for Bradbury fans, PS reprinted The Halloween Tree, The October Country and Something Wicked This Way Comes in a special slipcased gift set limited to 274 unsigned copies and twenty-six signed by Bradbury. The deluxe editions featured matching text-free dust-jacket artwork by James Hannah over the original cover illustrations, and were introduced by James Lovegrove, Stephen Jones and Peter Crowther, respectively, with Afterwords by William F. Touponce.

  Ramsey Campbell’s latest novel, Thieving Fear, was about four cousins who were forced to confront an event in their past linked to the home of a Victorian occultist. The PS edition was introduced by Kim Newman and limited to 200 signed and numbered slipcased editions and 500 unjacketed hardcovers signed by the author.

  PS Showcase #2: Conscientious Inconsistencies collected five feminist fantasy stories (one reprint) by Nancy Jane Moore with an Introduction by L. Timmel Duchamp, while Robert T. Jeschonek’s Mad Scientist Meets Cannibal was PS Showcase #3 and contained five offbeat new stories along with an Introduction by Mike Resnic.

  Ramsey Campbell supplied the Introduction to Mark Samuels’ latest collection, Glyphotech and Other Macabre Processes, which was PS Showcase #4 and contained eleven stories (two original). PS Showcase #5: Impossibilia contained three novellas (one original) by Canadian author Douglas Smith with an Introduction by Chaz Brenchley.

  All four books were issued in editions of 300 unjacketed hardcovers signed by the authors and 100 jacketed hardcovers signed by both contributors.

  Published in editions of 500 unjacketed hardcovers signed by just the author and 200 jacketed hardcovers signed by all contributors, PS Publishing’s welcome novella series continued with Nicholas Royle’s Venice-set The Enigma of Departure with an Introduction by Robert Erwin; Living with the Dead, a surreal story from Darrell Schweitzer with an Introduction by Tim Lebbon; The Situation by Jeff VanderMeer, and The City in These Pages by John Grant with an Introduction by David Langford.

  A retired Nazi hunter contracted a strange disease and travelled into the heart of the Brazilian jungle to find a cure in Jack Dann’s hallucinatory novella The Economy of Light. It was published by PS in three states, including twenty-six lettered, slipcased hardcovers signed by the author, cover artist Vincent Chong and Michael Swanwick, who contributed the Introduction.

  From Earthling Publications, The Hellhound Heart: 20th Anniversary Edition contained Clive Barker’s original novella (the basis for the Hellraiser films), along with a Foreword by actress Ashley Laurence, an Introduction by screenwriter Peter Atkins, a reproduction of the first chapter of the manuscript, and illustrations by the author. It quickly sold out in all three editions, including a $650 signed, lettered and traycased edition that included an original sketch by Barker.

  Peter Atkins’ own Moontown was the fourth volume in Earthling’s Halloween Series. Involving an empathic student who went too deep into the dreamscapes of troubled patients, the novel was published in an edition of 500 numbered copies and fifteen lettered copies.

  From Cemetery Dance Publications, The Folks 2: No Place Like Home was a hardcover novella by Ray Garton issued in a 1,500-copy signed edition and a leatherbound lettered edition of twenty-six copies ($175.00).

  Norman Prentiss’ Invisible Fences, about a man confined by his fears, was the nineteenth volume in Cemetery Dance’s Novella Series, published in deluxe hardcover.

  Available from Canada’s Ash-Tree Press in a limited edition of 400 hardcover copies, Coffin Nails was an enjoyable collection of eighteen often amusing horror stories (eight original) by British writer John Llewellyn Probert that owed much of their inspiration to the work of R. Chetwynd-Hayes and the Amicus anthology movies. The author supplied both the Introduction and an interesting Afterword in which he detailed the origins of each tale.

  Also from Ash-Tree, Ghost Realm contained nine original stories by Paul Finch, based around the myths and legends of Britain, along with an Introduction and story notes by the author.

  Rope Trick: Thirteen Strange Stories was the first collection of Mark P. Henderson’s “quiet” supernatural tales (ten original).

  Shades of Darkness was the fifth in the Ash-Tree series of superior anthologies edited by Barbara and Christopher Roden. Available in both softcover and limited h
ardcover editions, the book as usual boasted a surreal cover painting by Jason Van Hollander and featured twenty-six stories by Steve Duffy, Paul Finch, Reggie Oliver, Mark Samuels, David A. Riley, Melanie Tem, Christopher Harman, Gary McMahon, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Joel Lane, Michael Cox, Glen Hirshberg and others, including co-editor Barbara Roden.

  Not quite as impressive was Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo edited with a Preface by Danel Olson. Despite the editor’s attempts to brand the twenty-four original contributions nouveau Gothic, it contained a decidedly mixed bag of horror fiction (and at least one SF story) from, amongst others, Steve Duffy, John Whitbourn, Nicholas Royle, Nancy A. Collins, Christopher Fowler, Reggie Oliver, Steve Rasnic Tem, Elizabeth Massie, Adam Golaski, Terry Dowling, Robert Hood and Barbara Roden. It was published as a 350-copy hardcover and an unlimited softcover.

  Published by Centipede Press, The Autopsy and Other Tales collected seven stories (one original) by Michael Shea, along with the 1984 Lovecraftian novel The Color Out of Time. It was issued in a signed edition limited to 500 copies, with an Introduction by Laird Barron and an Afterword by the author.

  Compiled by John Joseph Adams for Night Shade Books, the zombie anthology The Living Dead contained one original and thirty-three stories selected from other sources, including no less than six from the anthologies Book of the Dead and Still Dead. Among the impressive line-up of contributors were Stephen King, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg, Dan Simmons, Poppy Z. Brite, Joe R. Lansdale, Douglas E. Winter, Joe Hill and Nancy Holder.

  From Subterranean Press, Coraline was a 1,000-copy limited edition of Neil Gaiman’s young adult novel signed by the author and artist Dave McKean. A twenty-six copy deluxe lettered edition was also available for $400.00.

  Haggopian and Other Stories collected twenty-four Lovecraftian tales by Brian Lumley in a signed, limited edition of 1,500 copies. A twenty-six copy traycased, leatherbound lettered edition was also available from Subterranean for $200.00.

  Edited by Stefan E. Dziemianowicz, Skeletons in the Closet and Other Stories contained sixteen tales by the late Robert Bloch.

  Those Who Went Remain There Still was a short novel by Cherie Priest involving the extended family of Daniel Boone and a monster that lived in a Kentucky cave.

  Backup was a hardcover “Dresden Files” novella by Jim Butcher, featuring Harry’s vampire-incubus half-brother Thomas. It was available from Subterranean as a signed leatherbound edition of 500 copies and a lettered, traycased edition of twenty-six copies.

  The imprint also continued the Wandering Star series of Robert E. Howard limited editions with Kull: Exile of Atlantis, illustrated with colour plates and black and white illustrations by Justin Sweet. It was published as 1,500 slipcased copies signed by the artist, and as a fifty-copy deluxe leatherbound edition ($400.00).

  George R. R. Martin’s classic vampire novel Fevre Dream was a welcome reissue from Subterranean with new illustrations by Justin Sweet. It was available in a signed, slipcased edition of 448 copies, or a fifty-two copy traycased lettered edition for $200.00.

  The Shadow of the Wind was the title of a fictional book chosen by the Spanish protagonist of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s literary mystery, also reissued by Subterreanean.

  The Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories was a reprint of a 1990 compilation of Ray Bradbury’s classic stories that included facsimile manuscripts for theatrical versions of “The Fog Horn” and “En la Noche”. It was published by Subterranean as a 300-copy limited collector’s edition and in twenty-six signed and lettered copies ($750.00).

  Published by Comma Press, The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease edited by Sarah Eyre and Ra Page challenged fourteen authors to write fresh fictional interpretations of what the uncanny might mean in the twenty-first century. Contributors included A. S. Byatt, Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Priest and Nicholas Royle.

  From Tachyon Publications, The New Weird edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer, with an Introduction by the latter, contained sixteen stories (two original, including a round-robin tale) and nine essays (seven original) supposedly reflecting the spurious literary “movement” first identified by M. John Harrison in a 2003 online discussion. Contributors included Harrison, Clive Barker, Michael Moorcock, Kathe Koja, Thomas Ligotti, China Miéville, Jeffrey Thomas, Jay Lake, K. J. Bishop, Jeffrey Ford, Paul Di Filippo, Sarah Monette, Hal Duncan and Conrad Williams. The oldest story in the book dated back to 1979.

  Tachyon also published a newly-revised edition of Tim Powers’ 1989 literary vampire novel The Stress of Her Regard in a handsome trade paperback edition.

  Edited by Mark S. Deniz and Amanda Pillar, Voices from Swedish imprint Morrigan Books contained sixteen original linked stories set in the rooms of a haunted hotel. Although strangely not credited on the contents page, contributors included Robert Hood, Paul Kane and the incredibly prolific Gary McMahon.

  Also from Morrigan came How to Make Monsters, an impressive trade paperback collection of fourteen short stories (half of them original) by McMahon, with story notes and a brief Foreword by the author.

  McMahon also contributed an Introduction to The Exaggerated Man and Other Stories from The Exaggerated Press, which collected nineteen stories (one original) by Terry Grimwood.

  Christopher Teague’s Pendragon Press produced a stylish edition of The Reef by Mark Charan Newton, about the quest for a fabled lost continent.

  From the same imprint, Gary McMahon edited We Fade to Grey, an impressive anthology of original novellas by Paul Finch, Stuart Young, Mark West, Simon Bestwick and McMahon himself, with an illuminating Introduction by Mark Morris.

  McMahon also supplied the Introduction for Bull Running for Girls from Screaming Dreams, which collected twenty-one stories by Allyson Bird.

  Issued by Canada’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes edited by J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec contained eleven original stories by Barbara Hambley, Barbara Roden, Chris Roberson, Kim Newman and others (including one of the editors), along with a Foreword by David Stuart Davies.

  Published by Dead Letter Press as an 800-page hardcover limited to just 500 copies, Bound for Evil: Curious Tales of Books Gone Bad edited by Tom English contained an impressive sixty-six stories (thirty-seven original). Contributors included M.R. James, Simon Strantzas, H. P. Lovecraft, Fred Chappell, Ramsey Campbell, Gary McMahon, John Llewellyn Probert, Gary Fry, Barbara Roden and Rhys Hughes. Allen Koszowski supplied the numerous interior illustrations.

  A continuation of the magazine, Premonitions: Causes for Alarm was a paperback anthology from Pigasus Press edited by Tony Lee. It contained twenty stories and poems by Cardinal Cox, Andrew Darlington, Cyril Simsa, Steve Sneyd and others.

  Boyd E. Harris’ Texas-based Cutting Block Press issued Horror Library Volume 3 in trade paperback. Edited by R. J. Cavender, the anthology featured thirty original stories by Bentley Little, Kealan Patrick Burke, Michael A. Arnzen, John Everson, Jeff Strand, Lisa Morton and others (including a collaboration between the editor and publisher).

  Richard Satterlie’s Agnes Hahn from Medallion Press was about its titular damaged protagonist, while Gregory Lamberson’s Johnny Gruesome from the same publisher was even more firmly stuck in the world of 1980s slasher films.

  From Chaosium, The Strange Cases of Rudolph Pearson: Horripilating Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by William Jones was a linked collection of ten stories (four reprints) featuring the occult investigator of the title.

  California’s Dark Regions Press continued to keep the horror short story collection alive with a series of handsomely produced, signed trade paperback volumes and limited edition hardcovers that showcased a wide variety of contemporary authors.

  Shadows and Other Tales was a major retrospective of twenty-one world-spanning stories (one original) by Tony Richards, who also contributed a Foreword.

  Jeffrey Thomas’ Voices from Hades collected seven stories (two original) and
the author’s Introduction to the Taiwanese edition of his novel Letters from Hades, while Voices from Punktown contained ten stories (two original) and a graphic novel script set in the same author’s far-future colony.

  Meanwhile, Jeffrey’s brother Scott Thomas came up with eighteen new Victorian ghost stories set in either England or Massachusetts for The Garden of Ghosts.

  Dark Regions Press also issued Scott Nicholson’s Scattered Ashes, which contained twenty-two stories (three original) and an Introduction by Jonathan Mayberry, while J. C. Henderson’s Degrees of Fear and Others collected twenty mostly Lovecraftian and occult detective stories (two original), illustrated by Ben Fogletto. William Jones supplied the Introduction, and there was an Afterword by Joe Mauceri.

  From the same imprint, Ennui and Other States of Madness featured seventeen stories (three original) by David Niall Wilson with an Introduction by Brian Hodge, while Stephen Mark Rainey’s collection Other Gods contained sixteen stories (one original) with an Introduction by Elizabeth Massie.

  Simon Clark’s Stone Cold Calling was the third novella from Australia’s Tasmaniac Publications. Published in a 300-copy soft-cover edition and twenty-six lettered hardcovers, it came with an Introduction by Kealan Patrick Burke.

  Tales of the Callano Mountains was a self-published collection of thirteen Western horror stories by playwright and film-maker Larry Blamire, who also contributed the cover painting.

  Issued in hardcover by Baysgarth Publications with an Introduction by Garry Killworth, Fourfold contained a quartet of novellas (one reprint) by Michael Stone and was the British author’s first collection.

  Produced by Salt Publishing with financial assistance from the Arts Council of England, ’68: New Stories from Children of the Revolution edited by Nicholas Royle contained ten original stories by Toby Litt, Justina Robson, Christopher Kenworthy and others born in the transitional year of 1968.