In a nutshell, this year has been something else. While it’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of 2020, Halloween is just around the corner. Readers who need a little help getting into the holiday spirit can turn to The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Vol. 1 by Paula Guran. Readers can easily pick it up and put it down without the necessary investment of ongoing plots or character storylines. 

Guran has edited/curated a few dozen anthologies over the years, along with annual collections of The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. I wasn’t sure what to expect other than the seemingly obvious – a collection of scary stories personally chosen by Guran. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I got that and so much more.

All the authors featured in this anthology are talented and offer a mix of creepy, eerie, dark, disturbing, surreal, and troublesome narratives. On the other hand, while dark, I found some of them to be a bit comforting as well. Usually I’m hesitant to read short stories because they often offer no closure and leave the reader wanting more. While the stories featured in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Vol. 1 are no exception, I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this book. 

The book has a total of 25 short stories (plus some recommendations by Guran). I’m not going to summarize or tease the plot for each one, as I usually do in my reviews. I will, however, list my favorites among them (in order of appearance).

• “The Fourth Trimester is the Strangest” by Rebecca Campbell
• “Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart” by Sam J. Miller
• “The Surviving Child” by Joyce Carol Oates
• “About the O’Dells” by Pat Cadigan
• “Thoughts and Prayers” by Ken Liu
• “A Strange, Uncertain Light” by G. V. Anderson
• “Glass Eyes in Porcelain Faces” by Jack Westlake
• “Phantoms of the Midway” by Seanan McGuire
• “Boiled Bones and Black Eggs” by Nghi Vo
• “In That Place She Grows a Garden” by Del Sandeen
• “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” by Sarah Pinkser
• “Some Kind of Blood-Soaked Future” by Carlie St. George
• “Read After Burning” by Maria Dahvana Headley

Trust me that the stories listed above are worth grabbing yourself a copy, which is available for purchase on October 20th. Paula Guran joins the list of authors featured in our Cantina Conversations, where she talks about her process for choosing which stories will go in her anthologies and why she gravitates towards the dark and horrific. Stay tuned for the interview in an upcoming episode and pre-order The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Vol. 1 today.