SUMMATION 2016

Here are 2016’s numbers: There are twenty-one stories and novelettes in this year’s volume, ranging from 500 words to 14,400 words. They were chosen from anthologies, print magazines, webzines, single-author chapbooks, and single-author collections. Eleven of the contributors live in the United States, one lives in Canada, and eight in the United Kingdom. One writer grew up in Indonesia, one in New Zealand (as well as England). Six contributors are female, fourteen male (two novelettes are by one male writer). The authors of eight stories have never appeared in previous volumes of my year’s best.

AWARDS

The Horror Writers Association announced the winners of the 2015 Bram Stoker Awards® May 14, 2016, at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The presentations were made during a banquet held at the inaugural Stokercon. The winners:

Superior Achievement in a Novel: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, (William Morrow); Superior Achievement in a First Novel: Mr. Suicide by Nicole Cushing (Word Horde Press); Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel: Devil’s Pocket by John Dixon (Simon & Schuster); Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel: Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury: by Sam Weller, Mort Castle, Chris Ryall, & Carlos Guzman (editors) (IDW Publishing); Superior Achievement in Long Fiction: “Little Dead Red” by Mercedes Yardley (Grimm Mistresses, Ragnorak Publications); Superior Achievement in Short Fiction: “Happy Joe’s Rest Stop” by John Palisano (18 Wheels of Horror, Big Time Books); Superior Achievement in a Screenplay: It Follows by David Robert Mitchell (Northern Lights Films); Superior Achievement in an Anthology: The Library of the Dead edited by Michael Bailey (Written Backwards); Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection: While the Black Stars Burn by Lucy A. Snyder (Raw Dog Screaming Press); Superior Achievement in Nonfiction: The Art of Horror by Stephen Jones (Applause Theatre Books and Cinema Book Publishers); Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection: Eden Underground by Alessandro Manzetti (Crystal Lake Publishing).

The Specialty Press Award: Borderlands Press.

The Richard Layman President’s Award: Patrick Freivald and Andrew Wolter.

The Silver Hammer Award: Michael Knost.

Mentor of the Year went to Tim Waggoner.

Life Achievement Awards: Alan Moore and George R. Romero.

The 2015 Shirley Jackson Awards were given out at Readercon on July 10, 2016, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Jurors were Robert Shearman, Bev Vincent, Livia Llewellyn, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and Kaaron Warren.

The winners were: Novel: Experimental Film by Gemma Files (ChiZine Publications); Novella: Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing-UK/Open Road Media-US); Novelette: “Even Clean Hands Can Do Damage” by Steve Duffy (Supernatural Tales #30, Autumn); Short Fiction: “The Dying Season” by Lynda E. Rucker (Aickman’s Heirs); Single-author Collection: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (Scribner); Edited Anthology: Aickman’s Heirs edited by Simon Strantzas (Undertow Publications).

The World Fantasy Awards were presented October 30, 2016, at a banquet held during the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio. The Lifetime Achievement recipients, David G. Hartwell and Andrzej Sapkowski, were previously announced. The judges were Laird Barron, Rani Graff, Elaine Isaak, Kay Kenyon, and Konrad Walewski.

Winners for the best work in 2015: Novel: The Chimes by Anna Smaill (Sceptre, UK); Long Fiction: “The Unlicensed Magician” by Kelly Barnhill (PS Publishing); Short Fiction: “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong (Nightmare magazine, October 2015); Anthology: She Walks in Shadows edited by Silvia Marino-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles (Innsmouth Free Press); Collection: Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney (Mythic Delirium Books); Artist: Galen Dara; Special Award, Professional: Stephen Jones for The Art of Horror (Applause Theatre Books and Cinema Book Publishers); Special Award, Non-Professional: John O’Neill for Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature.

NOTABLE NOVELS OF 2016

Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley (Little, Brown) is the long-awaited sequel to the brilliantly entertaining The Rook, about the Checquy, a top secret group of supernatural operatives working out of the British government. In this book, Mythwany Thomas, who is The Rook, plays a secondary role to two young women who couldn’t be more unalike. One is a member of the Checquy. The other is a Grafter, the Checquy’s centuries long enemy. Although deeply distrustful of each other, the two are forced to work together when the tenuous peace is seemingly being sabotaged. Murder, mayhem, humor, and a fascinating look at diplomacy on a supernatural scale.

The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey (HarperCollins) is the first in a new dark fantasy series by the author of the celebrated Sandman Slim novels. One thing is immediately apparent: angels are assholes. The plot revolves around a box that a low-ranking but ambitious angel is ordered to use to destroy the world. Alas, the angel loses the box and has been stuck on Earth for thousands of years, searching for it. But the book is really about Coop, a thief immune to magic who is coerced into stealing the box back. Violent and full of action, the novel is also very funny.

The Perdition Score by Richard Kadrey (HarperCollins) is the eighth Sandman Slim novel about Stark, a Nephilim (half human/half angel), who has saved the world multiple times, escaped from Hell more than once, been Lucifer, and continues on his merry way to wreak havoc in our Los Angeles, and the one underground. Stark is forced to deal with the Wormwood Corporation when they cook up a little something called Black Milk, which makes angels into Berserkers and can make mortals immortal. Entertaining and violent dark fantasy.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (HarperCollins) combines the harrowing horror of 1950s Jim Crow America with the supernatural horror of the Lovecraftian Mythos. In 1954, an African American man goes missing and his war veteran son sets out from Chicago with two companions to search for him. Each chapter tells a separate story that builds into a complete whole exuding an acute sense of dread—almost more from the rampant racism than the monsters conjured up by a cult of sorcerers. But even so, this is most definitely a Lovecraftian story, with all the paranoia, conspiracies, family secrets, and cosmic horror that readers could hope for.

It’s the perfect companion to Victor LaValle’s novella (see under chapbooks), The Ballad of Black Tom.

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones (William Morrow) is a gorgeous dark and moving coming-of-age story about a young, not-yet werewolf being brought up by his grandfather, aunt, and uncle who are all tasked with teaching him how to be a werewolf—what a werewolf can and can’t do, what can harm or kill it. Moving gracefully back and forth over a period of several years, clues are sprinkled throughout to the history of the family.

Flicker by Theodore Roszak (Summit Books) was published in 1991. It’s one of those books I should have read when it first came out but never got around to. Friends have been urging me to read it for years and I’ve bought more than one copy since it was published, forgetting I have one. So . . . I finally decided to take a break from 2016 novels and see what all the fuss was about. A movie lover’s dream, Flicker just might be the lost movie/auteur/secret history/conspiracy novel that started the subgenre. Told from the point of view of a film critic who in the 1960s becomes obsessed with a minor filmmaker named Max Castle and where this obsession leads—to an exploration of the hidden depths beneath the surface of film, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, and a group of death cultists named the orphans of the storm, who are intent on the destruction of humankind.

Hard Light by Elizabeth Hand (Minotaur) is the third noir novel featuring Cass Neary, a former New York punk known for her transgressive photography, not to mention her very bad behavior. After fleeing Reykjavik on a stolen passport, she waits in London for her lover, and when he doesn’t show up, is easily enticed to attend a party hosted by a gangster, becoming involved in dirty dealings in antiques, ancient instruments of movie making, beautiful and dangerous losers, and, of course, drugs and alcohol. The plot is complicated, but even if the reader might occasionally become lost in the intricacies of who did what to whom, the experience of reading this gorgeously written novel fully makes up for it.

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor) is one of the most unnerving novels I’ve ever read. A small town in upstate New York is cursed by a witch from the seventeenth century—a witch with her eyes and mouth stitched up. What is especially unnerving is that the witch mysteriously appears and disappears around town at will: in the street, in shops, in homes. Everyone in town knows there are rules that must be obeyed or harm will come to them or those they love. One of those rules is that outsiders must never know of the curse, so the town is basically quarantined from the rest of the world. When a new family ignorantly moves into town despite all attempts to discourage them, a string of events begin to drive the whole town batshit crazy.

Most novel-length supernatural horror doesn’t work for me, as my suspension of disbelief usually falls away at some point. Hex manages to avoid this—perhaps because it’s both supernaturally and psychologically horrific.

The Fisherman by John Langan (Word Horde Press) is the terrific second novel by an author who has been making his reputation in the horror field by producing consistently powerful and literate stories for the past several years. In a perfect origami of stories within stories, a fisherman relates a tale of another kind of fisherman, who is seeking more than mere fish.

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was originally published by Tartarus Press in 2014 and won the prestigious Costa First Novel Award in 2015. It’s a gorgeously written, powerful gothic novel about events that take place during three Catholic families’ religious retreat to the wild northern coast of Lancashire, an area known as the Loney. They go to find a cure for the disabilities of the narrator’s brother, as the area is known to be ghost-ridden, full of Mystery, and sometimes the provider of miracles. But there’s a cost. There’s always a cost. Literary horror at its best.

Fellside by M. R. Carey (Orbit) is a ghost story about a severely burned junkie sent to prison for murder after her apartment went up in flames, killing a child in the building. The woman’s prison is privately run and corruption reigns. Wracked with guilt, the woman initially tries to starve herself, something the administrators would love as they really don’t want this high profile monster/celebrity to bring attention to Fellside. But the ghost of the dead child appears and changes everything.

I Am Providence by Nick Mamatas (Night Shade Books) is a biting satire about convention-goers and fans, particularly those of H. P. Lovecraft. A writer is murdered during a horror convention. Is it related to the mysterious and rare copy of a book he was planning to sell? Or did he just annoy the wrong person one time too often? A fast, entertaining read but the best thing about the book is the commentary by the faceless murder victim/narrator, whose body is decomposing in the morgue.

Only the Dead Know Burbank by Bradford Tatum (Harper Perennial) is about a young girl who survives her death from the Spanish Flu only to be cursed with an immortality that keeps her the same age as when she died. In Berlin, she becomes obsessed with the new technology of movie-making and with her experience of death and the dark, homes in on emerging horror cinema—becoming involved with the early German expressionists and later moving to Hollywood where she meets some of the actors and directors we consider icons from that period of horror. Moving and entertaining, although it occasionally feels too contrived, as it touches on every flashpoint of early movie history. Maddy Ulm is Zelig-like in her ubiquity—never noticed but always present.

Stranded by Bracken Macleod (Tor) is an engrossing horror thriller that immediately pulls in the reader with its foreboding atmosphere in the arctic cold. A resupply ship en route to a drilling platform is caught in a storm that leaves the crew stranded within a weird fog, instruments useless. Several men leave the ship to find help, encountering something that cannot be—a ship very like the one they came from.

The Grief Hole by Kaaron Warren (IFW Australia) is a wrenching horror novel about the despair and paralysis caused by grief. The “grief hole” is both a place and a state of mind. A social worker sees ghosts showing how people will die, and she attempts to prevent these deaths. After one disastrous intervention, she quits, hoping to find peace. But when she discovers that a teenage cousin who died had been hired by a charismatic singer to draw dying youths in a derelict building, dubbed the grief hole, she’s forced to take action. The novel won the Australian Shadows Award.

We Eat Our Own by Kea Wilson (Scribner) is an absorbing imagining of the making of the infamous movie Cannibal Holocaust. A struggling actor is lured to the Amazonian jungle in civil war–torn Colombia for a movie about which he is told nothing. Revolutionaries have infested the jungle, along with drug dealers. The director is a maniac obsessed with verisimilitude and at a certain point in the narrative the movie crew and the reader are forced to wonder how far he’s willing to go for it.

Down on Your Knees by Lee Thomas (Lethe Press) is a short, brutal, and entertaining supernatural crime novel with a gay gangster as the anti-hero. Denny Doyle gets out of prison, expecting to take up where he left off, but there’s a new big boss in town—a sadistic, formerly low-level thug who seems to have more than gun power to aid in his rise to power.

ALSO NOTED

In late 2015, Penguin Classics reissued three titles of supernatural weird fiction with forewords by contemporary writers in the genre. The three were Ray Russell’s short novel, The Case Against Satan, with a foreword by Laird Barron; a collection by Charles Beaumont, Perchance to Dream, with a new afterword by William Shatner; and Thomas Ligotti’s collection containing both Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe, with a foreword by Jeff VanderMeer. Paper Tigers by Damien Angelica Walters (Dark House Press) is a first novel about a young woman mutilated in a fire who becomes obsessed with an antique photo album that makes promises she finds difficult to ignore. The Binding by Nicholas Wolff (Gallery Books) is the first supernatural novel written pseudonymously by a “New York Times bestselling” novelist about a cocky psychiatrist in a small Massachusetts town who is approached by a frightened father whose children have manifested odd behavior, leading all but one to commit suicide. Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay (William Morrow) is about a thirteen-year-old who vanishes in the woods of a state park and the slowly revealed secrets that hint at what happened to him. The plot takes a while to get going but picks up steam in the last third of the book. The Last One by Alexandra Oliva (Ballantine) is about a reality show contestant whose life changes irrevocably when devastation occurs in the real world unbeknownst to her and her fellows. Zombies continue to terrorize us with Day by Day Armageddon Ghost Run by J. L. Bourke (Gallery Books) and Everybody Dies Tomorrow by Matt Howarth (The Merry Blacksmith Press). Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg (Tor) is a worthy sequel to Motherless Child, a novel about how a couple of regular young women get caught up in a deadly nest of vampires as a result of an unfortunate encounter with one of them. The climax was shocking. Although Good Girls is a sequel, it can stand on its own. The aftermath takes off from those events, with the survivors of the final conflict left with grievous wounds, both physical and psychological. The Devourers by Indra Das (Del Rey) is brutal and bloody with moments of grace. Horror readers would do best to ignore the American cover which is a bit too placid and pretty to do justice to this powerful horror novel about shapeshifters known by different names around the world: ghuls, werewolves, et al., and their relationships with humans. Lost Gods by Brom (Harper Voyager) is about a young man who journeys to Purgatory to save his wife and child. Includes illustrations by Brom throughout. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Thomas Dunne Books) is a fast-paced novel about a Mexican street kid who encounters a vampire on the run from a rival family that wants to kill her. The introduction of various nationalities/myths of vampires from around the world into one setting is intriguing. Shadows in Summerland by Adrian Van Young (ChiZine Publications) is a promising first novel about spiritualism and murder in 1859 Boston. Keith Donohue’s The Motion of Puppets (Picador) is a weird little thing about a newlywed who, after falling in love with a marionette in a shop window, is herself transformed into a marionette. Her husband searches for her while she learns about life as a puppet. Beneath Ash & Bone by D. Alexander Ward (Bedlam Press) is a short, supernatural novel taking place just before the Civil War in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A boy disappears during a winter storm and the sheriff is tasked with finding him. The Apartment by S. L. Grey (Blumhouse Books/Anchor Books) is about a South African couple traumatized by a break-in, who swap apartments with a couple in Paris in order to get away. But their ideal vacation goes horribly awry. Phantom Effect by Michael Aronovitz (Night Shade Books) is about a vicious serial killer being stalked by the ghost of one of his victims. The Vampires of Dreach Fola: A Non-Narrative of Extreme Horror by Scáthe Beorh (JWK Fiction) is a mixture of letters, notes, lists, and essays that allow the reader to experience the book in any order they like. The Harrowing by Robert E. Dunn (Necro Publications) is a dark fantasy about a biker recruited by an archangel to rescue the innocent from Hell. Heartsnare by Steven B. Williams (Lethe Press) is about a town in Yorkshire, England, plagued by monsters. A Brutal Chill in August by Alan M. Clark (Word Horde Press) is a fictionalized portrait of Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, the woman believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper. Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry (Penguin Original) is a first novel about a woman traveling from London to visit her sister in the country only to discover her murdered in her home. The Wretch of the Sun by Michael Cisco (Hippocampus Press) is a complex tale about a haunted house, written in Cisco’s unique style. Weird and dark. Almost Dark by Letitia Trent (ChiZine Publications) is about the aftermath of an accident in an abandoned textile factory that kills one twin and leaves the other wracked with guilt. Lily by Michael Thomas Ford (Lethe Press) is about a young girl who can see how others will die, by touching them. This ability makes her a target for those who want to take advantage of it. The Devil’s Evidence by Simon Kurt Unsworth (Doubleday) is a sequel to Unsworth’s fine first novel, The Devil’s Detective. Thomas Fool, a man with no memory of what damned him to Hell, has been promoted to command the Information Office of Hell, and must track down those setting a series of deadly fires there. The Fireman by Joe Hill (William Morrow) is about a plague of spontaneous combustion triggered by strange gold and black tattoos that are highly contagious. The Feast of Souls by Simon Bestwick (Solaris) is about a woman who after having gone through traumatic life changes, returns to the house outside of Manchester, England, where she spent her student years, hoping to find peace. She does not. The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books) takes place in rural England during the mid-1860s where superstition is rampant, in contrast to cosmopolitan London. A young woman is killed by her husband, who is only trying to save her from the fairies. Her cousin decides to investigate what actually happened, putting his own wife in danger.

MAGAZINES, JOURNALS, AND WEBZINES

It’s important to recognize the work of the talented artists working in the field of fantastic fiction, both dark and light. The following artists created dark art that I thought especially noteworthy in 2016: Steven G. Gilberts, Lynette Watters, Matt Bissette-Johnson, Sandro Castelli, Vincent Sammy, Adam Katsaros, Dave Senecal, Richard Wagner, Martin Hanford, Ben Baldwin, Vince Haig, Steve Santiago, Rod Julian, Kirsi Salonen, Jeffrey Collingwood, Bill Rutherford, Yana Moskaluk, Paul Lowe, Tran Nguyen, Natalia Drepina, Victor Stepushkin, John Coulthart, Harry O. Morris, Michael Bukowski, Maggie Chiang, Kim Lennard, Cindy Mochizuki, Brenda Bailey, Mikio Murakami, Marcela Bolivar, Ian MacLean, George Cotronis, Andrew McKiernan, Steve McDonald, and Daniele Serra.

BFS Journal edited by Allen Stroud is a nonfiction perk of being a member of the British Fantasy Society. It’s published twice a year and includes reviews, scholarly articles, and features about recent conventions. BFS Horizons is the fiction perk. Issue #3 was edited by Jared Shurin and #4 was edited by Helen Armsfield. During 2016, there was a strong dark story by Archie Black.

The Green Book: Writings on Irish Gothic, Supernatural and Fantastic Literature edited by Brian J. Showers used its first issue in 2016 to publish contemporary writings about Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising—the violent, controversial rebellion for independence. There’s no genre slant in the works published by Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Machen, Dorothy Macardle, and others but there are the usual book reviews.

Black Static edited by Andy Cox continues its reign as one of the best horror magazines in the field. In addition to fiction, the bi-monthly regularly includes interviews, book and movie reviews, and commentary by Stephen Volk and Lynda E. Rucker. In 2016, there were notable stories by Ralph Robert Moore, Robert Levy, Kristi DeMeester, Michelle Ann King, Priya Sharma, Harmony Neal, Stephen Hargadon, Steve Rasnic Tem, Charles Wilkinson, Lisa Tuttle, David Hartley, Simon Avery, Carole Johnstone, Mark Morris, V. H. Leslie, Tyler Keevil, Stephen Graham Jones, and Damien Angelica Walters. The Levy is reprinted herein.

Nightmare magazine edited by John Joseph Adams publishes online monthly and by email subscription. Each issue includes two original and two reprinted stories plus nonfiction. During 2016, there were good dark stories by Lisa Goldstein, Adam-Troy Castro, Livia Llewellyn, Sandra McDonald, David Tallerman, Dennis Etchison, Gavin Pate, Nadia Bulkin, and Marc Laidlaw. The Bulkin is reprinted herein.

Supernatural Tales edited by David Longhorn is a regularly published repository of supernatural fiction with both fiction plus book and movie reviews. In 2016, three issues were published, with notable stories by S. M. Cashmore, Jane Jakeman, Tom Johnston, Keith Colman, and Kathy Stevens.

Cemetery Dance edited by Rich Chizmar brought out two issues in 2016. They included notable stories by Amanda C. Davis, Glen Hirshberg, Ian Rogers, K. S. Clay, JG Faherty, Joe Hill (novella), Bruce McAllister, and Keith Minnion. On the nonfiction side, there was an interview with Ray Garton, plus book reviews and regular columns (one column by me).

The Dark edited by Jack Fisher and Sean Wallace was a quarterly until May 2016, when Fisher left and Wallace took over the helm, moving the webzine onto a monthly schedule. Two of the four monthly stories are original, the other two reprints. The fiction runs more to dark fantasy than horror. In 2016, there were strong dark stories by Amber van Dyk, Kali Wallace, Cassandra Khaw, Carrie Laben, Gregory Bossert, Rhonda Eikamp, A. C. Wise, and Kristi DeMeester. The Bossert is reprinted herein.

The Lovecraft eZine published by Mike Davis and edited by Alex Kreitner and Matthew Carpenter published one print issue during 2016, with notable stories by Michael Griffin, Raven Daemorgan, Marcus Grimm, Jonathan Raab, and a collaboration by Benjamin Knox & Toby Bennett.

Weirdbook edited by Doug Draa published a second year in its new incarnation of the long-running magazine published for many years by W. Paul Ganley. It concentrates more on dark fantasy than horror but, in 2016, there were notable horror stories by John R. Fulz, Taye Carroll, P.R. O’Leary, and Kelda Crich.

The Horror Zine edited by Jeani Rector is a monthly zine that has been publishing since 2009, and includes fiction, poetry, art, interviews, and news. The fiction features reprints by prominent horror writers and original stories by newer writers.

MIXED-GENRE MAGAZINES

Shimmer published by Beth Wodzinski, edited by several people, comes out every other month and usually contains a good mix of fantasy and dark fantasy, with the occasional science fiction story. During 2016, there were notable dark stories by Megan Arkenberg, Kay Chronister, K. L. Morris, Nicasio Andres Reed, Jessica May Lin, and Gwendolyn Kester. Dark Discoveries is meant to be a quarterly edited by Aaron French, but only brought out two issues in 2016. There was a good poem by Linda Addison and notable stories by Nick Mamatas, Angela Slatter, and Cameron Pierce. There was also an interview with Laird Barron. One issue was Bizarro themed. Not One of Us edited by John Benson is one of the longest-running small press magazines. It’s published twice a year and contains weird and dark fiction and poetry. In addition, Benson puts out an annual “one-off” on a specific theme. The theme for 2016 was “Go Now.” In 2016, there were strong dark stories by Erik Amundsen, Tim L. Williams, Nicole Tanquary, and Patricia Russo. Aurealis edited by Dirk Strasser, Stephen Higgins, Annika Howells, and Michael Pryor is one of only a few long-running Australian mixed-genre magazines. In 2016, there were strong dark stories by Si Wang, Annika Howells, Michael Johnston, and Marlee Jane Ward. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by C. C Finlay is bimonthly, and always provides a generous mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The best of the darker stories published in 2016 were by David Gerrold, Bruce McAllister, John P. Murphy, Bennett North, Sarah Pinsker, Steven Popkes, and Joseph Tomaras. Conjunctions 67: Other Aliens edited by Bradford Morrow and Elizabeth Hand includes interviews of Samuel R. Delany, Kelly Link, and John Crowley, a selection of letters by James Tiptree, Jr. written to Joanna Russ, plus original science fiction and horror by a varied assortment of mainstream and genre writers including Brian Evenson, Lavie Tidhar, Jeffrey Ford, Valerie Martin, Leena Krohn, Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, and others. The Straub is included herein. Shock Totem: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted edited by K. Allen Wood published one issue in 2016, and announced it was folding. There were notable stories by Thana Niveau and Paul H. Hamilton. On Spec, Canada’s best known genre magazine, is published quarterly by a revolving committee of volunteers since 1989. The only story from the three 2016 issues that I’d consider horror was by Lynne MacLean. Tor.com publishes new sf, fantasy, and horror weekly edited by several in-house editors and several consultants (I’m one). In 2016, there were notable horror and dark fantasy stories by Brian Hodge, Theodora Goss, Melissa Marr, Angela Slatter, Stephen Graham Jones, Glen Hirshberg, and David Nickle. Uncanny edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damien Thomas is a monthly ezine publishing sf and fantasy mostly, but occasionally darker stories. In 2016, there was notable dark fiction by Brooke Bolander, Kat Howard, Alyssa Wong, E. Lily Yu, Carmen Machado, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Pinsker, JY Yang, and Catherynne M. Valente. Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams is a staple in the sf field but occasionally publishes quite dark fiction. In 2016, there were notable dark stories by Esther M. Friesner, Bruce McAllister, Ian Rogers, and Sandra McDonald. The Audient Void: A Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy edited by Obadiah Bird is a new small press print zine that brought out two issues in 2016 (I only saw one). Its featured artist for that issue was Allen Koszinski. It publishes poetry, prose, and nonfiction, and there was notable work by Daniel Pietersen, K.A. Opperman, and David Barker.

ANTHOLOGIES

Lovecraftian fiction still rules with several mythos-inspired anthologies published in 2016.

Tomorrow’s Cthulhu: Stories of the Dawn of Posthumanity edited by Scott Gable and C. Dombrowski (Broken Eye Books) features twenty-nine sf/h Lovecraftian stories. The strongest are by Clinton J. Boomer, A. C. Wise, Kaaron Warren, Damien Angelica Walters, Lynda E. Rucker, Samantha Henderson, and Desirina Boskovich.

Cthulhu Lies Dreaming: Twenty-Three Tales of the Weird and Cosmic edited by Salome Jens (Ghostwoods Books) has some fresh takes on the mythos with strong stories by Matthew Chabin, Gethin A. Lynes, Brian Fatah Steele, Lynn Hardy, Lynnea Glasser, and Matthew J. Hockey.

Autumn Cthulhu: Tales of Lovecraftian Horror edited by Mike Davis (Lovecraft eZine Press), with eighteen new stories and one reprinted poem, has notable work by Laird Barron, Gemma Files, John Langan, Orrin Grey, Daniel Mills, Scott Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., S. P. Miskowski, and Robert Levy. The Files is reprinted herein.

The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu edited by Paula Guran (Robinson) has twenty-four Lovecraftian-influenced stories (all but one original) and a nonfiction piece. The best stories are by Laird Barron, Brian Hodge, Amanda Downum, Lisa L. Hannett, Usman T. Malik, Helen Marshall, Norman Partridge, John Shirley, Michael Wehunt, and A. C. Wise. The Hodge is reprinted herein.

Children of Lovecraft edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books) is an all original anthology of fourteen Lovecraftian stories by a variety of writers including Laird Barron, Livia Llewellyn, Siobhan Carroll, Brian Hodge, Brian Evenson, Richard Kadrey, and nine others. Stories by Llewellyn, Hodge, and Carroll are reprinted herein.

Tales of Cthulhu Invictus edited by Brian M. Sammons (Golden Goblin Press) features nine dark fantasies about battling Cthulhu in ancient Rome.

Black Wings V: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror edited by S. T. Joshi (PS Publishing) continues the series created by Joshi, a major Lovecraft expert. There were notable stories by Cody Goodfellow, Darrell Schweitzer, Caitlín R. Kiernan, John Reppion, and Donald Tyson.

CthulhuSattva: Tales of the Black Gnosis edited by Scott R. Jones (Martian Migraine Press) features fifteen stories, mostly new.

Gothic Lovecraft edited by Lynne Jamneck and S. T. Joshi (Cycatrix Press) features thirteen Lovecraftian stories (all but one, new) based on classic gothic tales. A gimmick that works some of the time, although too many stories stay closer to the original then they should. There was good work by John Shirley.

The Hyde Hotel edited by James Everington and Dan Howarth (Black Shuck Books) is a mostly original (with one reprint) anthology featuring eleven stories taking place in a nondescript hotel in an unnamed British city. I would have preferred more variety in the tales, but there are notable ones by Simon Bestwick, Amelia Mangan, and Ray Cluley.

Black Candies: Gross and Unlikeable Guest edited by Natanya Ann Pulley (SSWA Press) presents twenty-eight horror stories by women, all but one new. Although quite short, many of the stories pack a punch. The best are by Jennifer Manalili, Danielle Renino, Cait Cole, Marie Johnson Parrish, Kayla Miller, and Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman. This latter, the author’s first publication, is quite impressive.

Fright Mare: Women Write Horror edited by Billie Sue Mosiman (DM Publishing) has twenty stories, four of them reprints. The best of the originals are by Lucy Taylor, Kathryn Ptacek, and Loren Rhoades. The book itself is one of the most poorly produced anthologies I’ve read: no page numbers in the table of contents and the actual stories aren’t in the order of the contents. Also, there are bios for only some of the contributors.

Peel Back the Skin edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson (Grey Matter Press) is an all original anthology of fifteen stories, broadly themed around monsters, some of them supernatural. There are notable stories by Yvonne Navarro, Durand Sheng Welsh, Joe McKinney, Lucy Taylor, Jonathan Maberry, William Meikle, and Erik Williams.

Borderlands 6: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction edited by Olivia F. Monteleone and Thomas F. Monteleone (Borderlands Press) is a non-themed anthology of twenty-one new stories and one reprint. There were notable stories by Steve Rasnic Tem, Bob Pastorella, Peter Salomon, Rebecca J. Allred, and Jack Ketchum. The Tem is reprinted herein.

Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories edited by Doug Murano and D. Alexander Ward (Crystal Lake Publishing) is a loosely themed anthology (beauty at the heart of darkness) featuring fifteen stories and one poem, three of the stories reprints. There are notable darker stories by Amanda Gowin, Richard Thomas, and Brian Kirk.

Great British Horror 1, Green and Pleasant Land edited by Steve J. Shaw (Black Shuck Books) is a strong, all-original anthology of eleven horror stories taking place in rural areas and small towns of Great Britain. There are notable stories by A.K. Benedict, Adam Millard, Jasper Bark, V.H. Leslie, James Everington, Ray Cluley, and Simon Kurt Unsworth. It’s the first in a proposed annual series of anthologies featuring ten British writers and one international contributor. The Cluley is reprinted herein.

Eternal Frankenstein edited by Ross E. Lockhart (Word Horde Press) features sixteen original stories paying tribute to Mary Shelley’s novel. The best stories stray furthest from the original, as with many anthologies influenced by a specific piece of fiction. The strongest stories are by Siobhan Carroll, Michael Griffin, Damien Angelica Walters, and Kristi DeMeester. The DeMeester is reprinted herein.

The 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories edited by Joseph Rubas (Spectral Press) is the third volume in the British non-theme, all original anthology series inspired by the Pan Books of Horror. This volume has twenty stories and one poem. The best are by Lisa Morton, Richard Farren Barber, and Dan Wellington.

Lost Signals edited by Max Booth III and Lori Michelle (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing) presents twenty-four stories (three reprints) about radio and other kinds of transmissions. There are notable stories by Josh Malerman, George Cotronis, John C. Foster, Michael Paul Gonzalez, and Tony Burgess.

The Cold Embrace: Weird Stories by Women edited by S. T. Joshi (Dover Publications) features nineteen stories originally published between 1830 and 1922.

Murder Mayhem Short Stories (no editor credited, Flame Tree Publishing) presents a generous helping of forty-five stories (eight originals). The reprints include stories by Doyle, Hodgson, Poe, Bierce, Chesterton, Dickens, and Nesbit. The best of the originals is by Dean H. Wild.

What the #@&% is That? edited by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen (Saga Press) is an entertaining all-original anthology of twenty stories, mostly about monsters. There’s a gimmick—each story has to use the phrase of the title. Luckily the gimmick doesn’t get in the way of the stories. The best of the darkest stories are by Alan Dean Foster, Christopher Golden, Isabel Yap, Terence Taylor, Seanan McGuire, John Langan, Laird Barron, and Maria Dahvana Headley. The Golden is reprinted herein.

Five Stories High edited by Jonathan Oliver (Solaris) is an anthology of five dark novellas, all related to one building that at various times has been an asylum or a private home, always haunted. The novellas are by Nina Allan, Tade Thompson, K. J. Parker, Robert Shearman, and Sarah Lotz.

I Can Taste the Blood edited by John F.D. Taff and Anthony Rivera (Grey Matter Press) contains five varied dark novellas based on the eponymous graffito found on a wall. The strongest is by Josh Malerman.

Now Playing in Theater B edited by Adrean Mesmer (A Murder of Storytellers) is an anthology of twenty-seven brief tales written in the style of B horror movies.

All That Darkness Allows: Thirteen Tales of Horror and Dread edited by Anton Umali, Maggie Adan, and Lio Mangubat (Summit Books) is an anthology of thirteen new dark stories by Filipino writers.

The Beauty of Death edited by Alessandro Manzetti (Independent Legions Publishing) is an un-themed anthology of forty-one stories, seven of them reprints. There’s notable work by Mike Lester, Tim Waggoner, Daniel Braum, Erinn Kemper, Thersa Matsuura, Kathryn Ptacek, Daniele Bonfanti, and a collaboration by Bruce Boston and Marge Simon.

Cemetery Riots: A Collection of Dark Cautionary Tales edited by T. C. Bennett and Tracy L. Carbone (Awol From Elysium Press) is an anthology of twenty-one stories, four reprints. There are notable stories by Lisa Morton, Chet Williamson, Karen and Roxanne E. Dent, and Dennis Etchison.

Into Painfreak edited by Gerard Houarner (Necro Publications) is an original anthology inspired by a story written by Houarner twenty years ago about an international club dedicated to fulfilling people’s deepest sexual needs and appetites. Pain as entertainment. Sexual horror to the extreme. While some of the stories are merely tableaux of gore lacking much plot, there are some notable stories by Edward Lee, Lucy Taylor, Colleen Wanglund, Chesya Burke, Jeffrey Thomas, and a poem by Charlee Jacob and Linda Addison. Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 1 edited by Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax (Comet Press) collects nineteen stories of extreme horror, originally published in 2015, many featuring graphic violence and gore during torture and mutilation. The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight edited by Ellen Datlow (Night Shade Books) has twenty stories with a list of Honorable Mentions and an extensive summary of the year in horror. The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016 edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books) has thirty stories originally published in 2015, plus a list of Honorable Mentions and a summary of the year. Three stories overlapped with my own Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight. Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume Three edited by Simon Strantzas and series editor Michael Kelly (Undertow Publications) reprints nineteen stories published in 2015. Some are dark, some are not. Only one story overlaps with my anthology, and only one with Guran’s. Best New Horror #27 edited by Stephen Jones (PS Publishing) has seventeen stories, with two overlapping with my anthology and two overlapping with Guran’s.

MIXED-GENRE ANTHOLOGIES

New Orleans Noir: The Classics edited by Julie Smith (Akashic) contains eighteen reprints, with the authors ranging from Tennessee Williams, O. Henry, and Eudora Welty to Poppy Z. Brite, James Lee Burke, and Nevada Barr. Clockwork Phoenix 5 edited by Mike Allen (Mythic Delirium Books) is a crowd-funded, un-themed anthology of twenty stories, mostly sf and fantasy. There are a few notable darker stories by A. C. Wise, Barbara Krasnoff, and Sonya Taaffe. Dead Letters: An Anthology of the Undelivered, the Missing, the Returned . . . edited by Conrad Williams (Titan Books) is built around an intriguing idea. Each contributor was sent something in the mail and was asked to write about it. So we have seventeen stories of fantasy, science fiction, or horror. The best dark stories are by Adam L. G. Nevill, Kirsten Kaschock, Ramsey Campbell, Steven Hall, Christopher Fowler, Angela Slatter, Lisa Tuttle, Nicholas Royle, and Joanne Harris. The Nevill is reprinted herein. The Dragons of the Night edited by Nick Gevers (PS Publishing) is an un-themed anthology of twenty-three mostly new stories of fantasy, dark fantasy, and a bit of horror. The best dark stories are by Stephen Bacon, Scott Edelman, Robert Guffey, Cate Gardner, John Grant (two good ones), Andrew Hook, and Darrel Schweitzer. In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Art of Edward Hopper edited by Lawrence Block (Pegasus Books) has seventeen original stories by mostly crime and mystery writers—some are dark, with the best by Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Kris Nelscott (a pseudonym for Kristine Kathryn Rusch), and Robert Olen Butler. The Shadow over Portage and Main: Weird Fiction edited by Keith Cadieux and Dustin Geeraert (Enfield & Wizenty) has fifteen weird and sometimes horrific stories inspired by Winnipeg. Unfortunately, one doesn’t really get a feel for the capital of Canada. The strongest stories are by Zacharie Montreuil, Keith Cadieux, Richard Crow, and Brock Peters. Clowns: The Unlikely Coulrophobia Remix is a really good one-shot from Bernie Mojzes and A. C. Wise, the people who bring you the magazine Unlikely Stories . . . of twenty-two strange tales and interstitial bits for clown lovers—and haters—everywhere. Most are new, a few are reprinted from the webzine. Grave Predictions: Tales of Mankind’s Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian and Disastrous Destiny edited by Drew Ford (Dover Publications) is an anthology of sixteen science fiction (and sometimes horror) reprints by authors ranging historically from Eugene Mouton’s “The End of the World,” published in 1872, to Carmen Maria Machado’s “Inventory,” published in 2013. With an introduction by Harlan Ellison. The Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Volume 1 edited by Robert Stephenson (Altair) is an all original anthology of eighteen stories from around the world (although most are from the US). There’s one very good dark story by Sarah Totton. Chiral Mad 3 edited by Michael Bailey (Dark Regions Press) is the third entry in the series. This volume is un-themed and a mixed bag featuring twenty poems and twenty-one stories. The strongest dark stories are by Richard Thomas, Michael Paul Anderson, Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Scott Edelman, Erinn L. Kemper, Josh Malerman, Max Booth III, and a poem by Marge Simon. The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (Saga Press) presents eighteen retold fairy tales, fantasy and dark fantasy. There are notable dark stories by Seanan McGuire, Stephen Graham Jones, Margo Lanagan, and Jeffrey Ford. In Your Face edited by Tehani Wessely (Fablecroft Publishing) features eighteen original and four reprinted science fiction stories intended to be provocative. Some are, but a few are retreads of themes considered provocative thirty years ago. The best of the stories evoking horror are by Craig Cormick, Claire McKenna, Jason Nahrung, Cat Sparks, and Kaaron Warren. The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories Volume One edited by James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle (Valancourt Books) features fifteen strange and sometimes horrific tales chosen from the publisher’s catalog of classic collections, which span two hundred years, plus two new stories. Out of Tune Book 2 edited by Jonathan Maberry (JournalStone) presents fifteen original dark fantasy and horror stories based on traditional folk songs and murder ballads. The strongest are by James A. Moore, Rachel Caine, Dan Abnett, Laura Anne Gilman, and Nik Vincent-Abnett. Something Remains: Joel Lane and Friends edited by Peter Coleborn and Pauline E. Dungate (The Alchemy Press) is an anthology tribute to the late British writer Joel Lane. The stories and poems within were all inspired by fragmentary notes Joel left behind when he died unexpectedly in 2013. More than thirty writers took these notes and spun them into a worthy tribute. Some notable dark stories are by Steve Savile, Terry Grimwood, Chris Morgan, and John Llewellyn Probert. The Madness of Dr. Caligari edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. (Fedogan & Bremer) features twenty-two original stories of weird and dark fiction inspired by the 1920 expressionistic classic movie, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. There are notable stories by Orrin Grey, Gemma Files, John Langan, Michael Cisco, Richard Gavin, Robert Levy, Maura McHugh, Damien Angelica Walters, David Nickle, and Paul Tremblay. Asian Monsters edited by Margrét Helgadóttir (Fox Spirit) follows the 2015 anthology African Monsters. This one features twelve stories and illustrations plus two illustrated texts. All but four appear in English for the first time. The best of the new stories are by Eve Shi, Eliza Chan, and Yukimi Ogawa. The End: The Extinction Event edited by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin (Jurassic London) is a fitting farewell to the five-year run of this small press. It’s a mix of reprints and new stories, and while none of the new stories are dark enough to be considered horror, there are reprints by Robert W. Chambers, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and contemporary writer Sophia McDougall. Nicely illustrated by an array of fine artists. Ghost Highways edited by Trevor Denyer (Midnight Street Press) has fourteen stories (three reprints) on the theme of roads and highways (occasionally using a very broad definition) and an introduction by Paul Finch. The best of the dark stories are by Ralph Robert Moore, David Surface, and Thana Niveau. Uncertainties Volume I & II edited by Brian J. Showers (The Swan River Press) are two beautifully produced volumes of deliciously strange tales focusing on the fragmenting of reality, which actually provides a broad range of dark fantasy and horror. The first volume of eleven stories has a foreword by John Connolly and notable dark fiction by Maura McHugh, Lynda E. Rucker, Sarah LeFanu, Martin Hayes, and John Reppion. The second volume is introduced by the editor and features fourteen stories. The most notable dark fiction in it is by Reggie Oliver, Peter Bell, R. B. Russell, Steve Duffy, Mat Joiner, Gary McMahon, and Adam Golaski. The McMahon and Duffy are reprinted herein. Dreaming in the Dark edited by Jack Dann (PS Australia) is an all-original anthology showcasing the variety of contemporary Australian science fiction, fantasy, and horror with twenty-one stores, following up the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology from 1998, Dreaming Down-Under co-edited by Dann and Janeen Webb. There are three notable dark stories by Richard Harland, Simon Brown, and Kirstyn McDermott. A Midwinter’s Entertainment edited by Mark Beech (Egaeus Press) is a charming mix of twenty-one old and new tales and poems of dark fantasy and occasional horror. There’s notable new horror by Tina Rath, Alison Littlewood, and Avalon Brantley. Heroes of Red Hook edited by Brian M. Sammons and Oscar Rios (Golden Goblin Press) is an anthology of eighteen cleverly entertaining Lovecraftian stories taking place during the jazz age. Although there’s not much horror in the volume, the best of the darker tales are by Edward M. Erdelac, W. H. Pugmire, and William Meikle. Also from Golden Goblin Press is the very pulpy Dread Shadows in Paradise edited by Brian M. Sammons and Oscar Rios and consisting of nine stories taking place in the Caribbean. The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows 3 edited by Rosemary Pardoe (Sarob Press) has twelve stories intended to be sequels of a kind to classics by M. R. James. A fascinating project that when it works, works quite well, although some of stories suffer from a bit too much ambiguity. Each story stands on its own without having read the original. There are notable dark stories by Peter Bell, David S. Sutton, Mark Valentine, Steve Rasnic Tem, and John Howard. Finnish Weird 3: Enter the Weird edited by Toni Jerrman is a sampler of five Finnish sf/f, and dark fantasy stories. New Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean edited by Karen Lord (Peekash Press/Akashic/Peepal Tree) has a good mix of eleven sf/f/dark fantasy and horror written by Caribbean writers and infused with the spirit of the land. The Bestiary edited by Ann VanderMeer (Centipede Press) is a gorgeous little hardcover book illustrated throughout by Ivica Stevanovic and with an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer. It’s a fantastical bestiary of non-existent animals, with contributions by writers including Karen Lord, China Mièville, Rikki Ducornet, Stephen Graham Jones, Brian Evenson, Karen Tidbeck, and many others. Only a few of the entries are dark, but it’s still a fun book (published late 2015). Pagan Triptych by Ron Weighell, John Howard, and Mark Valentine (Sarob Press) is a mini-anthology of three stories written in tribute to “The Ghost Man” by Algernon Blackwood. A wonderfully haunting book, with some words about each story by its author. Iraq + 100: Stories from Another Iraq edited by Hassan Blasim (Commapress) is an anthology of ten mixed-genre stories by Iraqis living in Iraq and those in diaspora, imagining what life in their country might be like in 2103, after a century of invasions by the US and Great Britain. Nightscript II: An Anthology of Strange & Darksome Tales edited by C. M. Muller (Chthonic Matter) is a nicely packaged all-original anthology of twenty-one weird tales, some of them quite dark. The strongest are by John Reppion, Charles Wilkinson, Gordon White, Matthew M. Bartlett, Kristi DeMeester, Malcolm Devlin, Ralph Robert Moore, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Eric Guignard.

COLLECTIONS

Shadow Games and Other Sinister Stories of Show Business by Ed Gorman (SST Publications) collects the 1993 novel Shadow Games along with four stories originally published between 1990 and 2007.

Furnace by Livia Llewellyn (Word Horde Press) is the author’s second collection, featuring fourteen stories, one new. Llewellyn is in the forefront of contemporary writers excelling in the horror short form. Psychosexual, provocative, sharp, and complex.

Wrapped in Skin by Mark Morris (ChiZine Publications) is this British horror writer’s third collection. It includes fourteen powerful stories, three new, one reprinted in an earlier volume of my Best Horror of the Year.

Interior Darkness by Peter Straub (Doubleday) is a compilation of sixteen stories and novellas published over twenty-five years and culled from Straub’s three collections. Three of the stories and novellas are previously uncollected.

All the Dark, All the Time: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene (CreateSpace) is the second volume in a series collecting all of the author’s short fiction.

Malevolent Visitants by C.E. Ward (Sarob Press) is the author’s fine third collection of ghost stories, containing eight tales, two new. The author admits to being strongly influenced by M. R. James and, truly, his work could be considered more traditional than modern in outlook and in tone—not a bad thing in this case. One is reprinted herein.

A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson (Coffee House Press) contains seventeen stories reprinted from a range of venues including McSweeney’s, Granta, and Conjunctions to horror anthologies (including one of my own). One story first came out in 2016.

Zoopraxis by Richard Christian Matheson (Gauntlet Press) is a gorgeous looking new horror collection of primarily short-shorts by a writer known best for that form. Twelve of the twenty-two pieces are new, and although not all work, enough do to show off Matheson’s talent. Illustrated and with jacket art by Harry O. Morris, interior design by Dara Hoffman-Fox.

Arkham Nights: Tales of Mythos Noir by Glynn Owen Barrass and Ron Shiflet (Celaeno Press) is a co-written collection of eight Lovecraftian hardboiled detective stories, all reprinted from various anthologies originally published by Rainfall Books.

Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors by Adam L. G. Nevill (Ritual Limited) collects eleven early stories, originally published between 2002 and 2011. These have never been collected before. Several were chosen by me for the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and The Best Horror of the Year.

Ragman & Other Family Curses by Rebecca Lloyd (Egaeus Press, Keynote Edition I) is a limited edition mini-hardcover collection of four impressive new novelettes. “Ragman” and “For Two Songs” are both disconcertingly horrific. The former is reprinted herein.

Sylvan Dread by Richard Gavin (Three Hands Press) is the author’s fifth collection of uncanny weird and dark fiction. This excellent volume has twelve stories most originally published between 2009 and 2016. Two are new.

Phantasms: Twelve Eerie Tales by Peter Bell (Sarob Press) is an excellent selection of seven reprints and five new stories by a formidable writer of ghostly tales.

Rapture of the Deep and Other Lovecraftian Tales by Cody Goodfellow (Hippocampus Press) has twelve stories, ten reprints dating from 2005 and two of them new. Some are more obviously infused by Lovecraft than others, but Goodfellow makes each tale his own.

The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Tales by Susan Hill (Profile Books) is a strong mini-collection of four new creepy, well-told stories.

The Parts We Play by Stephen Volk (PS Publishing) reprints twelve strong horror stories published between 2006 and 2015. With an introduction by Nathan Ballingrud and story notes by the author.

The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious Press) reprints six stories, three originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery magazine, and one (providing the title of the collection) which first appeared in my anthology The Doll Collection.

You Can Never Spit It All Out by Ralph Robert Moore (Createspace) is the author’s fourth collection, this one containing ten novelettes, three of them new.

All That Withers by John Palisano (Cycatrix Press) is a debut collection of twenty-one stories, most first published between 2008 and 2015. Four are new, and a few were published in 2016. With a foreword by Lisa Morton and an afterword by Gene O’Neill.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion: A Tribute to Michael Shea edited by Linda Shea and S. T. Joshi (Hippocampus Press) is a moving posthumous volume of fiction and verse (with three previously unpublished stories from the early eighties) by the late, much missed, award-winning author. There are also reminiscences and testaments to Shea’s influence by Laird Barron, Cody Goodfellow, W. H. Pugmire, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, and other writers and friends. With illustrations.

Winter Children and Other Chilling Tales by Angela Slatter (PS Publishing) features twelve stories, one new, by this prolific writer of fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror. With an introduction by Conrad Williams.

Lovecraft Alive!: A Collection of Lovecraftian Stories by John Shirley (Hippocampus Press) contains ten stories, one new. The reprints were originally published between 1993 and 2016, mostly in anthologies.

Splatterspunk: The Micah Hayes Stories by Edward Lee and John Pelan (Necro Publications) includes five “humorously disgusting, erotic horror stories” about a sexually over-endowed police deputy. In perfect, bad taste.

The Devil Will Come by Justin Gustainis (Edge) has twenty-two stories about evil, three original to the collection.

Darkness, My Old Friend by John Pelan (Fedogan & Bremer) is a collection of eighteen pulp stories, two new. It includes all of the author’s non-collaborative short stories from 1998. With an introduction by Ramsey Campbell and cover and interior art by Allen Koszowski.

Lethal Birds by Gene O’Neil (Omnium Gatherum) collects five stories and novellas focusing on birds. With story notes by the author and an introduction by Eric Guignard.

Earth-Bound and Other Supernatural Tales by Dorothy Macardle (The Swan River Press) is a beautifully produced little hardcover reissue of nine stories originally published in 1924. Four additional stories are included in this new edition. They were written by the author while she was a political prisoner in Dublin, Ireland.

Swift to Chase by Laird Barron (JournalStone) is the author’s fourth collection, featuring twelve stories and novellas, one new. Barron’s short fiction ranges from horror and sword and sorcery to noir and dystopic, never moving too far from the dark, dark core he writes about so well.

The Monster, the Bad and the Ugly by Alessandro Manzetti and Paolo Di Orazio (Kipple) is a collection of twenty grotesque, supernatural western stories, tenuously interconnected, several solo, some collaborations. These two Italian writers create some impressive work.

13: A Collection of Horror and Weird Fiction by Michael Boatman (A Mystique Press Production) is the second collection of stories by the author (who is also an actor), and most of the stories focus on different dark aspects of the “American Dream.” Eleven of the stories are reprints from 2005–2013, and two are new.

Concentration by Jack Dann (PS Publishing) reprints seven harrowing horror stories taking place in Nazi Germany or emanating from the Holocaust. There is one new story. With an introduction by Marleen S. Barr.

Amaranthine and Other Stories by Erik Hofstatter (Createspace) has nine horror stories with notes on each by the author. Five of the stories are new.

MIXED-GENRE COLLECTIONS

The Bone-God’s Lair and Other Tales of the Famous and the Infamous by A. R. Morlan (Wildside Press) features twelve reprints by the late writer of sf/f/h. Djsturbia by David J. Schow (Subterranean Press) is the always entertaining author’s eighth collection, containing thirteen pieces of fiction and twelve nonfiction pieces. Five of the short stories are new ones. Within you will find monsters, ghosts, and nasty humans, plus critical essays, interviews, and editorials. Almost Insentient, Almost Divine by D. P. Watt (Undertow Publications) contains sixteen odd stories, all weird, some dark. Five were published for the first time in 2016. The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales by Daniel Braum (Grey Matter Press) is an impressive debut collection of twelve dark and weird tales, three new. A Long December by Richard Chizmar (Subterranean Press) is a thirty-five story retrospective of almost thirty years of Chizmar’s short dark fiction, much of it crime/psychological rather than supernatural. There are four new stories and one dynamite new novella. The book includes author notes on each story. Chizmar is also publisher of the long running Cemetery Dance magazine and press. Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt (Shock Totem Publications) is a debut collection of eleven weird, often dark stories by a promising new voice. Five were first published in 2016. You’ll Know When You Get There by Lynda E. Rucker (The Swan River Press), the author’s second collection, is mostly concerned with haunted houses. Of the nine unsettling stories, two appear for the first time. With an introduction by Lisa Tuttle. The Unheimlich Manoeuver by Tracy Fahey (Boo Books) is a debut collection of fourteen uncanny stories, half of them new. Tough Guys by Adrian Cole (Parallel Universe Publications) has three new novellas and a short story on dark themes. Echoes of Darkness by Rob Smales (Books and Boos Press) has thirteen horror stories, six of them new. A Feast of Sorrows by Angela Slatter (Prime Books) is the Australian author’s first collection published in the US. Of the fourteen dark tales, two are new and one of those is a novella. A Haunting in Germany and Other Stories by Darren Speegle (PS Publishing) contains six new stories and novellas, a few with the same protagonist. Literate and haunting, but not all that dark. Dead on the Bones: Pulp on Fire by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean Press) collects eight stories he wrote in tribute to the pulp tales he loved as a youth. Illustrated throughout by Timothy Truman. The Lure of Devouring Light by Michael Griffin (Word Horde Press) is a very impressive debut collection of weird, surreal dark fantasy and horror. It includes six reprints, four new stories, and one new novella. With an introduction by John Langan. Out of the Dark: A Storybook of Horrors by Steve Rasnic Tem (Centipede Press) features around seventy of the author’s previously uncollected stories. The book also included five new stories. Green Thoughts and Other Stories by John Collier (1901–1980, Tartarus Press) collects twenty-six stories in a limited hardcover edition. The Felicity of Epigones by Derek John (Egaeus Press, Keynote Edition II) is a limited edition mini-hardcover collection of six tales of decadence and the supernatural, one new. With seven illustrations by Hans Rigo Kluger. Meet Me in the Middle of the Air by Eric Schaller (Undertow Publications) is a debut collection, with nineteen stories of fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror originally published since 1995, with a few new stories. One story in the collection was reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. Singing with All My Skin & Bone by Sunny Moraine (Undertow Publications) is the mixed-genre debut collection of nineteen stories, published since 2011, two new. The Spider Tapestries: Seven Strange Stories by Mike Allen (Mythic Delirium Books) is the editor/publisher’s second collection of fiction. Six stories were originally published between 1999–2015, and one is new. Death After Death by Edmund Glasby (Shadow Publishing) has eleven supernatural stories inspired by the pulps. Eight appear for the first time. Brutal Pantomimes by Rhys Hughes (Egaeus Press) is another, wonderfully quirky collection of ten very weird (sometimes dark) tales by a master of them. Seven of the stories are new, and the book itself is a beautiful hardcover, lovingly produced with spot illustrations. American Nocturne by Hank Schwaeble (Cohesion Press) is the author’s first collection, with twelve dark fantasy and horror stories, seven published between 2007 and 2015. Five new. With an introduction by Jonathan Maberry. The Hidden Back Room by Jason A. Wyckoff (Tartarus Press) is the second collection of weird, and sometimes dark tales by the author. It has fourteen stories, ten of them published for the first time. The Winter Hunt and Other Stories by Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis (Parallel Universe Publications) contains fifteen dark fantasy stories, six of them new. Seven Sins by Karen Runge (Concord Free Press) is a debut collection with seven mixed-genre stories, four of them new. Haunted Graves by Ezeiyoke Chukwunongo (Parallel Universe Publications) contains eight stories of sf/f/h by a Ghanaian writer who uses the folklore of his country prominently. Four stories are new. Fables and Fabrications by Jan Edwards (Penkhull Press) features fourteen dark fantasy and horror tales and a handful of haikus. The stories are reprints; the haikus are new. The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett (Dunhams Manor Press) nicely combines weird fiction with horror in eight stories, two new. First Communions by Geoffrey Girard (Apex Publications) collects fifteen dark fantasy and horror reprints and one original tale. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi (Riverhead Books) is the first collection by the acclaimed author of White is for Witching and Mr. Fox. It contains nine stories (several new) revolving around keys, literal and figurative. Tribulations by Richard Thomas (Crystal Lake Publishing) is the author’s third collection of sf, fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror. It includes twenty-five reprints originally published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. The Girl with the Peacock Harp by Michael Eisele (Tartarus Press) is an impressive debut collection of fourteen weird stories and one poem, all published for the first time. A Natural History of Hell by Jeffrey Ford (Small Beer Press) is the author’s fifth collection. He’s one of the best writers of short sf/f/h short fiction today. I’m a huge fan of Ford’s work, which will be obvious to anyone who checks out the copyright page. Although he only occasionally writes horror, his dark fiction—always strange, always intriguing—might very well be of interest to horror readers. One of the thirteen stories in the collection is new. Creeping Waves: Broadcasts and Blasphemies by Matthew M. Bartlett (Muzzleland Press) is a novel of interconnected stories about Leeds, Massachusetts, and its inhabitants. With an introduction by Nathan Ballingrud. Black Propaganda by Paul St. John Mackintosh (H. Harkson Productions) is a debut collection of weird and dark fiction with thirteen stories, all but three new. A Twist in the Eye by Charles Wilkinson (Egaeus Press) has sixteen weird tales originally published in a variety of anthologies and magazines specializing in the weird. Some of the stories are dark, one is new. With an introduction by Mark Samuels. The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories by A. C. Wise (Lethe Press) is the author’s second collection, with fourteen stories of fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror. Four of the stories are new. Five Feathered Tales by Alison Littlewood and illustrated by Daniele Serra (SST Publications) is a lovely hardcover package of four new stories and one reprint. However, the only horror story is the reprint, “Black Feathers.” Bonsai Babies by Mary Turzillo (Omnium Gatherum) contains twenty-three science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, several of them new. Tough Guys by Adrian Cole (Parallel Universe Publications) presents three novellas, and one short story, all previously unpublished. Cole only occasionally writes horror but I picked one for reprint in my Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourth Annual Collection. Damage by Rosalie Park (PS Publishing) has twenty stories, some dark, many mainstream or fantasy. Six are new. When the World Wounds by Kiini Ibura Salaam (Third Man Books) is the author’s second collection (her first, Ancient, Ancient, won the James Tiptree Jr. Award). This one features five stories and one novella, all but one new.

POETRY JOURNALS, WEBZINES, ANTHOLOGIES, AND COLLECTIONS.

Underwater Fistfight by Matt Betts (Raw Dog Screaming Press) collects more than sixty pieces, more vignette-like than poetry, more whimsical than dark. What I’m Afraid to Show You by Michael Tugendhat (Five Oaks Press) features twenty-four dark poems. Verses from a Deeply Darkened Mind by Mary Genevieve Fortier (JWK Fiction) is a prolific poet whose work has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. More than sixty are collected in this volume. The Seven Yards of Sorrow by David E. Cowen (Weasel Press) collects thirty-seven poems about death, all centered around the city of Galveston, Texas. Sacrificial Nights by Bruce Boston and Alessandro Manzetti (Collana Fuori) is a strong, mostly new collection of poetry and some prose in collaboration by Boston and Manzetti and occasionally singly. Brothel by Stephanie M. Wytovich (Raw Dog Screaming Press) contains almost two hundred brief poems about sexuality. Interesting, but only a few could be characterized as horror. Field Guide to the End of the World by Jeannine Hall Gailey (Moon City Press), the poet’s fifth collection, is filled with some wonderful dark poems with sf themes and about fairy tales, werewolves, vampires, and witches. Corona Obscura: Sonets Dark and Elemental by Michael R. Collings (Createspace) is a strong dark collection of forty-nine sonnets, twenty-three of them new. With an introduction by Linda D. Addison and an afterword by Michaelbrent Collings. Collings also published Dark Designs: Forms and Fantasies: Speculative Poetry (Createspace) covering ninety modes of poetry in 175 poems. In Favor of Pain by Angela Yuriko Smith (Createspace) presents twenty-seven short, dark poems, most published for the first time. Poems of My Night by Cynthia Pelayo (Raw Dog Screaming Press) is a masterful collection of all new poetry written in response to the work of Jorge Luis Borges. Rhysling Anthology 2016: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry of 2015 selected by the Science Fiction Poetry Association edited by Charles Christian (Science Fiction Poetry Association), is used by members to vote for the best short poem and the best long poem of the year. The volume includes seventy-three short poems and forty-four long poems originally published in 2015. The Horror Writers Association Presents Poetry Showcase Volume III edited by David E. Cowen (HWA) presents more than fifty new pieces of poetry chosen from HWA members in a juried competition in celebration of National Poetry Month (the first two volumes were open). Spectral Realms edited by S. T. Joshi is an important showcase specializing in weird and dark poetry. Two issues came out in 2016. In addition to original poems, there’s a section with classic reprints and a review column. There were notable poems by G.O. Clark, Jeff Burnett, Jennifer Ruth Jackson, Mary Krawczak Wilson, John J. Mundy, D.L. Myers, Darrell Schweitzer, Scott Thomas, K.A. Opperman, and W. H. Pugmire. Star*Line is the official newsletter of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. The journals regularly publish members’ poetry. Three issues came out in 2016.

CHAPBOOKS/NOVELLAS

The Tor.com novella program started publishing science fiction, fantasy, and horror in 2015, but the first actual horror novella was The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (acquired and edited by me). The author, who in his dedication relays his conflicted feelings about Lovecraft, reimagines “The Horror at Red Hook” with a young African American protagonist. Charles Thomas Tester is hired to deliver an occult book to an elderly woman in Queens, New York. By doing so he becomes involved in arcane, mythos-inspired doings. Other dark novellas published under the Tor. com novella imprint were by Cassandra Khaw, Seanan McGuire, and Kij Johnson. The LaValle, McGuire, and Johnson were nominated for the Hugo Award. Dim Shores is publishing a chapbook line, with each story illustrated by a different artist. During 2016, there were chapbooks by Cody Goodfellow (art by James Quigley), S. P. Miskowski (art by Nick Gucker), and Kristi DeMeester (art by Natalia Drepina). Borderlands Press continued its “Little Book” program with A Little Ochre Book of Occult Stories by Karl Edward Wagner and A Little Blue Book of Bibliomancy by Chet Williamson. The Wagner, edited by Stephen Jones, is very personal. Jones introduces the book with a lovely letter to his absent friend and includes poetry, stories, and one previously unpublished article about H. P. Lovecraft. The Williamson is all nonfiction except for one original story. Shadow Moths by Cate Gardner (Frightful Horrors) is a two-story chapbook, with two strong horror stories, each very different from the other. With an introduction by Simon Bestwick. Nicholas Royle’s Nightjar Press brought out four new story chapbooks in 2016: Rounds by Wyl Menmuir, Jackdaws by Neil Campbell, The Numbers by Christopher Burns, and Fury by DB Waters (the latter two reprinted herein). White Noise Press published the Victorian tale “The Winter Tree” by Alison Littlewood as a chapbook. Earthling Publications has been publishing a series of Halloween specials for a number of years now. Briton Sarah Pinborough’s short novel They Say a Girl Died Here Once is the twelfth. It’s about a teenage girl and her family moving to a new town, after a traumatic event. Man with No Name by Laird Barron (JournalStone) has two reprints, a supernatural crime novella which gives the chapbook its title, and a story originally published in The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination. The Grieving Stones by Gary McMahon (Horrific Tales Publishing) is a novella about a grief therapy group that, during a special weekend meeting, stirs up something ancient. With an introduction by Nathan Ballingrud. Muscadines by S. P. Miskowski (Dunhams Manor Press) is a nasty little brew about a monstrously dysfunctional family with a secret recipe for wine. Bloody Hull is a chapbook of three winning entries to the Dead Pretty City writing competition inspired by British crime writer David Mark’s novels taking place in Hull. Each story uses the phrase “dead pretty.” The Wrath of Concrete and Steel by John Claude Smith (Dunhams Manor Press) is a chapbook of three weird and dark tales set in cities.

NONFICTION

Hobgoblin Apollo: A Life of My Own, The Autobiography of Donald Sidney-Fryer (Hippocampus Press) covers the poet and author’s life and relationships and includes almost fifty poems, most previously unpublished. Cult Cinema: The Arrow Video Companion edited by Anthony Nield (Arrow Films) is an illustrated book of thirty essays, more than half on horror with five chapters encompassing key cult movies, directors, actors, and an historical overview of the history of cult film. The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema’s Biggest Monsters by Jason Barr (McFarland) is a critical examination of Kaiju considering the entirety of the genre—the major franchises, along with lesser-known films. The author discusses how Kaiju has crossed cultures from its original folkloric inspirations in both the US and Japan and how the genre continues to reflect national values to audiences. Sudden Storm: A Wendigo Reader curated by Larry Fessenden contains thirteen essays exploring Wendigo mythology from a cryptozoological point of view. Included is full-color artwork by prominent illustrators.

H. P. Lovecraft: Letters to J. Vernon Shea, Carl F. Strauch, and Lee McBride White edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (Hippocampus Press) presents letters covering a wide range of subjects, from movies, books, and stories to Lovecraft’s racism and anti-Semitism. The Age of Lovecraft edited by Carl H. Sederholm and Jeffrey A. Weinstock (University of Minnesota Press) includes eleven critical essays including work by scholars such as Gothic expert David Punter, historian W. Scott Poole, musicologist Isabella van Elferen, and philosopher of the posthuman Patricia MacCormack. Also with a foreword by Ramsey Campbell. A Strange Little Place: The Hauntings and Unexplained Events of One Small Town by Brennan Storr (Llewellyn Publications) is about the author’s family’s hometown in British Columbia, Canada. Haunted Bridges by Rich Newman (Llewellyn Publications) showcases over three hundred bridges in the United States that are known for strange happenings occurring on or near them. Italian Horror Cinema edited by Stefano Baschiera and Russ Hunter (Edinburgh University Press) covers the heyday of Giallo between 1950s and 1980s. In the Mountains of Madness: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of H. P. Lovecraft by W. Scott Poole (Soft Skull) acts as a biography of Lovecraft and a discussion of his place in history and culture. Scored to Death: Conversations with Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers by J. Blake Fichera (Silman-James Press) is a compilation of interviews with composers John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi, Claudio Simonetti, Jeff Grace, Charles Bernstein, members of the band Goblin (which scored for Dario Argenti), and others. The interviews include the composers’ musical background, the process of scoring film, and the relationship between the composers and directors. Beware the Moon: The Story of An American Werewolf in London by Paul Davis (Cult Screenings) is a textual adaptation of the author’s 98-minute documentary on the making and legacy of the movie. Interviews galore and over 300 photographs throughout. Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with His Monsters: Inside His Films, Notebooks, and Collections by Roger Clark, Guy Davis, and Paul Koudounaris (Insight Editions) is a companion volume to a traveling exhibition of Del Toro’s work and collections. Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby (Signum) analyzes more than one hundred key films, starting in the aftermath of World War I and winding up with the video revolution of the early 1980s. The Gothic Works of Peter Straub by John C. Tibbets (McFarland) is the first biographical/critical work on Peter Straub since William Sheehan’s 2000 volume At the Foot of the Story Tree: An Inquiry into the Fiction of Peter Straub. With a foreword by Gary K. Wolfe. The Monster Book: Creatures, Beasts and Fiends of Nature by Nick Redfern (Visible Ink) is an almost four-hundred-page compendium of monsters, presented in sections such as “Unearthly Cats, Deadly Dogs, Werewolves,” “Nature Gone Mad,” “Reptilians, Amphibians, Dinosaurs, and Worms,” “Flying Beings,” and several others. It presents monsters from around the world and includes some first-hand reports of monster sightings. A fun book to dip into. Ghostland: An American History of Haunted Places by Colin Dickey (Viking) is a rarity: a fascinating, well-written, remarkably uncheesy book of reported hauntings around the country. Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of the Man Who Wrote Dracula (Liveright Publishing Corporation) is a hefty biography of the Irishman who created a monster for the ages (possibly) based on his own anxieties and fears. It includes new material such as some of his sexually ambiguous poetry and letters to Walt Whitman, printed in full for the first time—one letter that he waited four years to send. Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth: Studies in the Horror Film edited by Danel Olson (Centipede Press) is the study of these two movies in relation to each other, with essays, interviews with those involved in making each film, photographs, and concept drawings. With a preface by Ivana Baquero (Ofelia in Pan’s Labyrinth), introduction by del Toro, and an afterword by Fernando Tielve (Carlos in The Devil’s Backbone). Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (Liveright Publishing Corporation) is only the second biography of Jackson. The first, Private Demons by Judy Oppenheimer, was published in 1989. This new one adds to our knowledge of Jackson with newly found correspondence and interviews. It contextualizes her life within the time she lived and her work firmly within the gothic tradition.

ART BOOKS AND ODDS AND ENDS

The Damage Museum by Vincent Sammy (SST Publications) is the first book of this South African artist’s art, which has appeared in publications such as Black Static, Interzone, Something Wicked, and on book covers during the past ten years. He specializes in beautiful dark and often macabre art in both color and black and white.

In Fairyland: The World of Tessa Farmer edited by Catriona McAra (Strange Attractor Press) is a book about the artist and her work, which incorporates various (dead) insects as participants in her brilliant, often grotesque art. I first came across her insect tableaux at a special exhibit of her work at the Brighton World Fantasy Convention, and they’re astonishing. The critical essays connecting her vision to Arthur Machen and fairy art are okay, but the black and white and sixteen color photographs of her work are what’s important. The only thing missing is an interview with the artist.

The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic by Joanna Ebenstein (The Morbid Anatomy Museum/Dap) is a detailed investigation of wax female figures used for teaching anatomy, particularly the marvelous life-sized wax figure dubbed the Anatomical Venus, created 1780–1782 by Italian sculptor Clemente Susini. She was given human hair and glass eyes and created so as to avoid regular dissection of dead bodies, with seven anatomically correct layers, including a fetus curled in her womb. There are several models made in late eighteenth century Florence that can still be found in medical museums. The book intersperses plentiful illustrations with the history of these renderings of “slashed” female anatomy. Beautiful and disturbing.

Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash by the great Dave McKean (Dark Horse Books) is a gorgeous (of course) rendition of the life of surrealist painter Paul Nash, who was traumatized by his time of fighting during WWI and made art out of those experiences.

Sirenia Digest has been published by Caitlín R. Kiernan for several years and might be considered an early iteration of Patreon. Sponsors pay a set amount for this monthly digest of excerpts, new stories, vignettes, and other bits springing from the mind of this excellent writer. Subscribe and enjoy.

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras & Ella Morton (Workman) is a beautifully rendered travel guide to some of the most interesting places on Earth. It includes (with pictures) natural and architectural wonders and events. This is a book to cherish and dip into whenever you feel like escaping out of everyday life.

Animal Kingdom: Stereoscopic Images of Natural History by Jim Naughton (Prestel) is a beautiful book of animal specimens photographed by Naughton from two different angles, which when looked at through the viewer included with the book, appear as 3-D. Included is a brief history of stereoscopy (the original word for 3-D viewing) and commentary about many of the images. The book is divided into five chapters: sea creatures, reptiles, birds, mammals, and primates.