This superb anthology is as valuable for its detailed summations of horror and fantasy in 1995 (in literature and in comics, television, movies, etc.), as for the 35 stories and 9 poems. Also useful for its exploration of the crossover genre known as "dark fantasy." Noteworthy authors include Peter S. Beagle, Ursula Le Guin, Stephen King, Lucy Taylor, Steve Rasnic Tem, Tanith Lee, A. S. Byatt, David J. Schow, and Joyce Carol Oates.

From Publishers Weekly
The delicious promise of the first piece, "Home for Christmas," a lyrical tale of modern-day magic by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, is fully realized in this year's offering of the best fantasy and horror by today's finest writers, including Terry Bisson, Joyce Carol Oates, A.S. Byatt, David Schow, Amy Tan and Jane Yolen. Editors Datlow and Windling should be congratulated for selecting a delightful blend that shows the variety of work created in both genres without compromising quality. The 46 short stories and poems range from the folkloric, such as "King of Crows" by Midori Snyder, which weaves the sorrowful tale of a musician who falls in love with a crow, to the truly terrifying as demonstrated in Stephen King's "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe," in which a crazed maitre d' turns what is already a tense situation into a bloodbath. Delia Sherman offers a brilliant 17th-century pastiche about a printer's apprentice created by an alchemist from a pile of papers and ultimately returned to that form. From ghosts to unicorns, from dragons to murder on the Internet, there are stories to enthrall and entertain any reader with a love of the bizarre, the mysterious, the frightening. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Omni editor Datlow and writer Windling selected 36 short stories and 11 poems as the best of 1995. Seasoned authors, including Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Patricia A. McKillip, Joyce Carol Oates, Amy Tan, and Jane Yolen, offer a mix of ghost stories, adult fairy tales, sword and sorcery, and magic along with straight-out horror pieces. Highly recommended for fantasy and horror collections.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
From 1995, another bumper crop of 35 stories, 11 poems, and the usual nonfiction roundups (``Summation 1995: Fantasy''; ``Summation 1995: Horror''; ``Horror and Fantasy in the Media: 1995''; and ``Obituaries''--none seen). One major disappointment: Terry Bisson is promised on the cover, but makes no appearance within. A sampling of the contents: Charles de Lint contributes one of his ``Newford'' urban fantasies; Peter S. Beagle writes, almost inevitably, about unicorns; Englishman Michael Marshall Smith offers nasty, creepily effective computer horror; Vivian Vande Velde retells the Little Red Riding Hood story; S.N. Dyer depicts England occupied by Napoleonic French; while Pat Cadigan's Zombies- inspired ``She's Not There'' appeared in Killing Me Softly (1995, ed., Gardner Dozois). Other themes range from contemporary magic, ghosts, poetry, sword and sorcery, James Dean, and reckless pranks to elephants, crows, and Henry V (part 2). And the famous names include Ursula K. Le Guin, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, S.P. Somtow, Robert Reed, and Patricia A. McKillip, along with distinguished mainstream contributors Joyce Carol Oates, A.S. Byatt, and Amy Tan. Indispensable. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"[The editors] have managed to pick stories from a variety of sources unparalleled by any other anthologists...This is a collection to expand your reading tastes if you're at all interested in fantasy or horror." --Locus

"Indispensable." --Booklist

"the most eclectic of the annuals, and the one that most often provides unexpected treasures." --Science Fiction Age

"Like its predecessors, this volume lives up to the boast of its title." --Publishers Weekly


Review
"[The editors] have managed to pick stories from a variety of sources unparalleled by any other anthologists...This is a collection to expand your reading tastes if you're at all interested in fantasy or horror." --Locus

"Indispensable." --Booklist

"the most eclectic of the annuals, and the one that most often provides unexpected treasures." --Science Fiction Age

"Like its predecessors, this volume lives up to the boast of its title." --Publishers Weekly


Review
"[The editors] have managed to pick stories from a variety of sources unparalleled by any other anthologists...This is a collection to expand your reading tastes if you're at all interested in fantasy or horror." --Locus

"Indispensable." --Booklist

"the most eclectic of the annuals, and the one that most often provides unexpected treasures." --Science Fiction Age

"Like its predecessors, this volume lives up to the boast of its title." --Publishers Weekly


Book Description
This renowned series, recipient of three World Fantasy Awards, continues to captivate and fascinate readers. Stories by such notables as: Scott Bradfield, A.S. Byatt, Pat Cadigan, Peter Crowther, Charles De Lint, Ellen Kushner, Tanith Lee, Ursula K. Le Guin, Patricia A. McKillip, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Douglas E. Winter, and thirty-three other acclaimed writers show off the very best of contemporary fantasy and horror, while comprehensive and exhaustive summations add critical depth to this unique anthology. This book is essential for all fans of the weird and wonderful.


About the Author
Ellen Datlow is the fiction editor of Omni magazine and has edited numerous anthologies, including Blood Is Not Enough, Alien Sex, Little Deaths, Off Limits, and the forthcoming Twist of the Tale: Stories of Cat Horror. A longtime resident of New York City, she has won five World Fantasy Awards for her editing.

Terri Windling is a five-time winner of the World Fantasy Award and a consulting fantasy editor for Tor Books. She has edited many anthologies, including White Swan, Black Raven (with Ellen Datlow) and The Armless Maiden. She also writes fiction for children and adults; her new novel is The Wood Wife. Windling lives in Devon, England and Tucson, Arizona.

ANNOTATION

The annual excellence that has garnered this series two consecutive World Fantasy Awards and a windfall of critical acclaim continues in an impressive new anthology. Comprehensive in its coverage of the year in horror and fantasy, this collection features works by Ellen Kushner, Pat Cadigan, Jane Yolen, and dozens of others.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This acclaimed series, winner of numerous World Fantasy Awards, continues its tradition of excellence with scores of short stories from such writers as Michael Bishop, Edward Byrant, Angela Carter, Terry Lamsley, Gabriel Garcia Marquex, A.R. Morlan, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Jane Yolen and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions -- all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This collection is short on fantasy and long on horror--with special emphasis on sadomasochism, which, in the hands of an author like Kathe Koja, can result in a darkly illuminating story about sexual fantasies sometimes better left unrealized. Not all writers are so gifted, however. Grant Morrison gives us an offensive story about a blind heroine who is urinated upon and slashed with a razor before being clamped to a ``Chair of Final Submission.'' But Datlow and Windling, who edited the earlier volumes in this series, offer entertaining fare as well, including several appearances by good old-fashioned vampires. K. W. Jeter's aged monster has needs that promise to make his daughter's life a horror for all eternity, while Jane Yolen pens a touching tale of a young girl whose love allows her undead mother to go to her eternal rest. Also included are some enjoyable new turns on famous characters, including Peter Pan, Robin Hood and Santa Claus. Deserving of special mention are Nancy Willard's magically real tale of a man who returns from the dead to retrieve his pets and Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth's suspenseful, literate tale of an archeologist on the trail of immortality. (Aug.)

Library Journal

This collection of over 40 stories and poems includes selections by Charles de Lint, Jane Yolen, K.W. Jeter, Fred Chappell, and others as well as essays on the state of fantasy and horror in 1991. Recommended for most libraries' anthology collections.

Realms of Fantasy

"The most extensive and reliable guide to the field available."

Kirkus Reviews

The variety of this top-flight annual never fails to appeal, in part because it covers so much material, including, along with the best stories, obituaries of writers whose files have closed, a review of the year's best fantasy in film, television, and comic books, and summations of the year's activities in horror and fantasy. The tales here encompass works both by such accomplished writers as Gabriel García-Márquez ("Caribe Magico"), Ron Hansen ("Wilderness"), Robert Olen Butler (with his absolutely classic, immensely moving "JFK Secretly Attends Jackie Auction"), Angela Carter ("The Snow Pavilion"), Robert Silverberg ("Diana of the Hundred Breasts"), and by stylish standbys like Thomas Ligotti ("Teatro Grottesco") and Graham Masterton ("The Secret of Shih Tan"). Among the most inspired and offbeat entries is a film script in iambic verse by Neil Gaiman, "Eaten (Scenes from a Moving Picture)," a raw, deeply erotic work not for the faint of heart. There are over 40 entries here, in a collection not to be missed by anyone seriously interested in fantasy or horror.