Ellen Datlow

Reviewed by Charles Tan

Ellen Datlow has been an editor for over thirty years, first in book publishing, but mostly editing short stories for OMNI Magazine and webzine, EVENT HORIZON, a webzine, and SCIFICTION, the fiction area of SCIFI.COM. She now edits original and reprint anthologies. Ellen Datlow is a born and bred New Yorker, although she travels a lot. Here's Ellen Datlow's website.

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For other anthologies edited with Terri Windling, see our Terri Windling page.

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror — (1988-2009) With Terri Windling, Kelly Link, Gavin J. Grant. Publisher: For twenty years this award-winning compilation has been the nonpareil benchmark against which all other annual fantasy and horror collections are judged. Directed first by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling and for the past four years by Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, it consistently presents the strangest, the funniest, the darkest, the sharpest, the most original — in short, the best fantasy and horror.

book review The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Ellen Datlow anthology

fantasy book reviews Ellen Datlow The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007

In many ways, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007 anthology is a difficult book to review. For one thing, to me and a lot of my reading/writing circle, this is easily the definitive bible when it comes to short stories of the genre. For another, many of the stories that are included in this collection have been featured in other anthologies as well, so there's an overlap in terms of stories featured. But I'll try and talk about what makes this anthology unique from other similar anthologies.

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror is quite comprehensive about its subject matter, not just featuring short stories but poems and articles. The first dozen pages are articles summarizing the important events that happened in the two genres including the obituaries of the previous year. That’s really quite valuable from an archiving standpoint, and you won't get that anywhere else.

When it comes to the story selection — well, that honestly depends on your taste and how well it aligns with the editors’. I'm not that familiar with the horror genre but I did enjoy Ellen Datlow's choice of stories. As for the fantasy stories, while I enjoyed Kelly Link’s and Gavin J. Grant's selection, I find that my personal tastes are more aligned with those of editor Rich Horton (The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy and Fantasy: The Best of the Year). That is not to say the choices in this collection aren’t great (and in fact many of the stories, as I said before, do overlap).

Overall The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007 is a great read, and while there are some stories I don't feel strongly about, they are for the most part well written and competent. What I can't deny however is the book's thoroughness. Any serious speculative fiction fan should include this tome in their collection. The size might be intimidating but I'd like to think the quality of the stories more than makes up for it. Anyone who's looking into what the genre can offer should give this book a try, although people looking for more mainstream fantasy might want to look elsewhere. —Charles Tan
FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review.

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008

For me, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008 has been a two-headed beast. On one hand, it's an eagerly anticipated book by people involved in the industry, usually for the summation at the front of the book and the honorable mentions list at the back. The various editors are quite thorough and detailed when it comes to this part. The other aspect is, of course, the story/poetry selection, which is what will likely attract the casual reader.

So, how does it actually fare? Well, with regards to the first aspect, there are no disappointments. When covering the highlights of the previous year (and alas, the obituaries) and the various media (comics, movies, and music) in which either fantasy or horror plays a part, the book has it covered. The writing is functional and achieves what it sets out to do.

With regard to the stories and poems, this is a welcome ensemble. I wouldn't say that every story struck me with amazement, but there are certainly a lot of noteworthy and terrific stories. Staples from the previous year such as Daniel Abraham's "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" and Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" are included and should satisfy even the most critical of readers. There's also terrific work from the likes of Karen Joy Fowler, Nathan Ballingrud, Delia Sherman, Catherynne M. Valente, Joyce Carol Oates, Garth Nix, Terry Dowling, and Kij Johnson, to name a few. Having said that, here are my top three stories.

While the anthology opened with a strong and effective piece from Abraham, it is followed by "Vampires in the Lemon Grove" by Karen Russell, which is equally impressive and for entirely different reasons. From the magic-realism elements to the setting details, this is a wonderfully-written piece that not only reinvents vampires for a literary readership but also combines powerful images with character tension. This is certainly a real gem that could have been easily overlooked by the genre community.

This isn't the first time I encountered Elizabeth Hand's "Winter's Wife" but it's a story that satiates even upon multiple re-readings. Hand’s attention to detail and characterization rises to the forefront as she creates several larger than life characters that matter to the very human narrator. The build-up is slow, steady, and consistent, making the reading endeavor seamless and pleasant.

Rounding up The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008 is "Closet Dreams" by Lisa Tuttle. The author ensnares you with the illusion of the narrative that slowly builds up the horror. What I particularly liked about this story is that it's a difficult piece to pull off, yet Tuttle succeeds in doing so. It's a refreshing read that dares to be different.

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008 isn't a perfect anthology but it's certainly a terrific one and manages to accomplish so many things in just one book. Stories from Abraham, Chiang, and Russell are worth the price of admission all by themselves, while the nonfiction section is invaluable. Definitely a must-buy for any serious fantasy/horror fan. —Charles Tan
FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review.

Other anthologies:

Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe — (2009) Publisher: Compiled by multi-award winning editor, Ellen Datlow, this collection commemorates the second centenary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth. It features Poe-inspired tales by some of the finest talents in the field, including Kim Newman, PatCadigan, Sharyn McCrumb, Lucius Shepard, Laird Barron, Suzy McKee Charnas and others. This all-star line-up has several Hugo, Edgar, Tiptree and British Fantasy Award winners.

Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Whether you're aligned with the literary academia or an unabashed genre reader, the name Edgar Allan Poe commands much respect. I think it's only fitting that a modern anthology inspired by the author's body of work should be released on his 200th anniversary. Kudos to Solaris Books for taking on the task of publishing such a book, which all comes together with the firm editorial direction of Ellen Datlow. Datlow, for me, has been an editor who's less impressed with literary fireworks or verbal acrobatics but focuses more on the meat and bones of the story, its fundamentals if you will. In that respect, Poe lives up to that promise. That's not to say the stories will immediately grip you. In fact, a good chunk of them take time to develop. But for the most part, the patience and the struggle are well worth the wait, and what's consistent among them — and what I've come to associate with Poe — is that in the first few pages of each story, there's a sense of foreboding.

The paperback's size is deceptive. This is actually a very thick tome encompassing nineteen well-developed stories. Of the nineteen, there are only one or two stories that I have some reservations about, and even those stories have an impact nonetheless. An example of the latter is "Flitting Away" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It's actually a personal and disarming piece, but I feel the author tips her hand by excessive repetition of the protagonist's "gratefulness," which prevented it from being as flawless as it could be.

Having said that, most of the stories are real gems and whether the consistent quality is due to the authors’ skills or the editor's whip-and-leash, the reader benefits nonetheless. I'll make a confession: I haven't read Poe. I know of him from pop culture but I haven't really actually read any of his texts. And I say that because hey, even if you feel you're an ignoramus for not being familiar with Poe, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy this anthology. I certainly did, although I expect more well-read readers will appreciate the afterword at the end of each story and readily spot the Poe associations. That said, here are my top three:

"Truth and Bone" by Pat Cadigan is very readable and while initially it seems that the story revolves around the conceit, the author holds back the endless well of ideas and instead focuses on what draws me in as a reader: the character. Cadigan pitches many concepts – each one easily a narrative of its own – but if you dig deep into the story, it's about the humanity of the protagonist. Cadigan writes not only a convincing teenager but a convincing family. And remember what I said about Poe eliciting a sense of foreboding? "Truth and Bone" captures that certain sense of tragic inevitability.

"Kirikh'quru Krokundor" by Lucius Shepard is one of the longer stories but doesn't feel draining. It's certainly classic Shepard with his depth and characterization, but there's also a certain sense of restraint on his part that makes the story tighter, cleaner, and quicker-paced. There's lots of excitement and tension, stemming from multiple sources, which is steadily doled out. Perhaps this isn't a story you read to be scared but rather more for the emotional impact it leaves you at the end.

And the story that sent jolts all over my body, one that I'd readily proclaim as one of my favorites for 2009 (or at least under consideration), is "Technicolor" by John Langan. I don't even know where to begin. As far as language is concerned, Langan immediately wins me over and this is one of the most compelling stories in the anthology. What's truly remarkable, however, is how Langan catches your attention in the length of the work and you find yourself living through the biographies of two different people even when you started out in what seems like a class lecture. Combine that with the Poe element and the deft execution of his ending, and you have a truly excellent story that I honestly have no idea how a lesser writer could succeed in pulling off.

There's actually a diverse set of stories here, whether you're looking for a moody Poe or a more modern piece (and if you just want current-day relevance, nothing is more apt than "Lowland Sea" by Suzy McKee Charnas). Heck, "Illimitable Domain" by Kim Newman is funny while at the same time retaining a different kind of dread. I think what makes this anthology special is that while the contributors are inspired by Poe, they're not attempting to blindly mimic him. There are definitely Poe elements, but each work is definitely identifiable as the author's own. "The Reunion," for example, feels like a Nicholas Royle story, albeit one with Poe influences. Poe is one of those anthologies where most, if not all, of the stories are sophisticated and well-written. It sets a high bar for other horror or speculative fiction anthologies.
—Charles Tan FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review.

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