The 10th volume of this excellent annual anthology series not only collects 39 stories and 4 poems in these overlapping genres, but reports on the year's best in books, movies, and other media. The horror and dark fantasy tales are by Jay Russell (family ghost), Angela Carter (fairy tale ghost), Edward Bryant (aliens), Robert Silverberg (dark goddess), Yxta Maya Murray (Southwestern folklore ghost), Thomas Ligotti (secret society), Graham Masterton (macabre recipe book), Douglas Clegg (anguished love), Stephen Dedman (child lamia who knew Lewis Carroll), Terry Lamsley (monster "pet"), Isobelle Carmody (phoenix), Delia Sherman (witches and wolves), Lisa Russ Spaar (Rapunzel), Neil Gaiman (queen bee), Philip Graham (oppressive angel), Terry Dowling (monomania), Dennis Etchison (L.A. paranoia), Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg (ravaging bears), A. R. Morlan (rock 'n' roll sleaze), Michael Marshall Smith (entrapping relationship), and Ron Hansen (magic realism). All the dark tales are high quality, and a few are among the best in the series so far.

From Library Journal
The discerning editors selected 39 short stories and four poems as the best published in 1996 from genre and mainstream sources. The broad and inclusive coverage runs from traditional fantasy and horror to dark fantasy, magical realism, and surrealism from such well-known authors as Tanith Lee, Michael Bishop, Robert Silverberg, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Patricia A. McKillip, and Jane Yolen, among others. The editors' consistently good choices makes this an excellent purchase for all fantasy and horror collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From 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 Garc¡a-M rquez (``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. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"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." --Publishers Weekly

"Indispensable." --Kirkus Reviews

"The most extensive and reliable guide to the field available," --Realms of Fantasy


Review
"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." --Publishers Weekly

"Indispensable." --Kirkus Reviews

"The most extensive and reliable guide to the field available," --Realms of Fantasy


Review
"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." --Publishers Weekly

"Indispensable." --Kirkus Reviews

"The most extensive and reliable guide to the field available," --Realms of Fantasy


Book Description
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 Bryant, Angela Carter, Terry Lamsley, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 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.


About the Author
Ellen Datlow has edited numerous anthologies, including Blood Is Not Enough, Alien Sex, Little Deaths, Off Limits, and the forthcoming Twist of the Tale. The longtime fiction editor of Omni magazine, she lives in New York City.

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 The Armless Maiden, she has also written fiction for children and adults; including most recently The Wood Wife. She lives in Devon, England and Tucson, Arizona.

FROM OUR EDITORS

If you read one anthology of fantastic fiction this year, it has to be this one. Datlow and Windling have shown, over this past decade, that they have an unerring eye for the fantastic that is at once literate and accessible, which is no mean feat. I particularly liked the Wrede and the McKillip, but almost all of the stories are worthy of note. Highly recommended.
—Michelle West

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.)

VOYA - Alison Kastner

The editors present a veritable feast of fantasy and horror, some of which readers will relish, and others of which, in the grand tradition of the genres, may turn stomachs. Gems such as Charles DeLint's Crow Girls, the story of a woman in crisis who is inexplicably moved by a chance encounter with two enigmatic girls, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's reminiscences of Surinam in Caribe Magico, make the collection one worth having. As in past years, the editors give a taste of a wide variety of styles, from the magic realism of Patricia Preciado Martin's Plumas to the B-movie horror style of Terry Lamsley's Walking the Dog. Those who have enjoyed rewritings of fairy tales will be drawn to Tanith Lee's The Reason for Not Going to the Ball, in which the "wicked stepmother" exonerates herself in a letter to the now-grown Cinderella. Jane Yolen's story The House of Seven Angels, about a rabbi who studies in the company of angels, begs to be read aloud. The summations of the year in fantasy and horror will make this a useful tool for those offering reader's advisory. Other chapters include "Horror and Fantasy in the Media" and "Obituaries." VOYA Codes: 3Q 3P M J S (Readable without serious defects, Will appeal with pushing, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

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.