3.5 stars--somewhere between liked and really liked. However, I'm bumping this up to 4 stars due to the strength of the historical shipwreck story "Haunt." This story, about the slave trade, guilt, and personal responsibility, blew me away. (And so timely.) It echoed a lot of Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and was absolutely stunning; it made me tear up.Another standout for me was "The Donner Party." Yes, it's about eating people, but not how you think--this is an English Regency roma...

This is a collection of outstanding horror short stories and novellas published in 2018. I've read many anthologies that are edited by the prolific Datlow and they're usually top-notch so I went to this book with certain expectations. Suffice it to say that it exceeded these. In fact this is among the best I've had this year, and yes I've devoured a lot.The Summation focuses on exceptional horror/dark fiction and non-fictional written in 2018. It only covers literary works, so while poetry colle...

Not my favorite volume. It was really hit or miss for me. So I either LOVED a story, or HATED a story, with a few in-between. Here are my favorites (and yes, I have a co-written story in here, but I also teach this for my Advanced Creative Writing Workshop, so I wanted to at least mention the stories I liked best):Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester You Are Released by Joe Hill The Jaws of Ouroboros by Steve Toase Split Crain Stitch by Steve Toase The Donner Party by Dale Bailey Masks by Peter Sutton

A particularly good entry in this annual series that is always a treat. My fave story is probably "Thumbsucker" by Robert Shearman. "Favorite" in the sense that I find it most unsettling.

A collection that disappointed more than I expected. Many of the stories seemed to be included not because of the merits of the work itself, but because of the merits of the author. Some were brilliant, but I'd avoid this one unless you can get it from the library. The audio version made some of the stories difficult to follow as well; read it, don't listen, if you've the option.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.Not only does this volume contain 26* horror stories that do a great job of covering various aspects of the genre and a list of honorable mentions, a look at the year in horror and dark fiction is included. The winners of the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and World Fantasy awards are listed. Also included are lists of notable novels, novellas, chapbooks, magazines, webzines, anthologies, collectio...

The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 11 is definitely an interesting read. It has everything one can want in horror from the monstrous villains to psychological mind twisting. I actually really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to the next volume in this series. I read a previous volume which had Kelley Armstrong (I don't know what volume that was) and read a few other stories, thinking I may or may not read another volume, but after reading this book, I can honestly say I am now looking

It feels odd reviewing a "Best of" compilation, because, well, you have to assume it's not going to suck.It doesn't suck because...see above sentence.Standouts included 'You Are Released' by Joe Hill, one of the scariest short stories I have ever read."A Brief Moment of Rage" by Bill Davidson"My Year as a White Woman," by DJimon HounsouOkay, that last one doesn't exist, but it should.

Some of these stories blew my mind! Some truly terrific talent in here. Everyone has an opinion of what constitutes horror and what stories were the best of the year. I don't think anyone can dispute, however, the quality of the writing contained in this book. I primarily read it as a fan of the genre and some of the authors inside, but the best stories were by authors I had not read before but look forward to reading more from.

I love short horror stories and although I have not read all 11 volumes of The Best Horror Of The Year, Volume 11 stands out as my favorite among the few that I have read. There are stories that are quite disturbing (Thumbsucker by Robert Shearman and The Donner Party by Dale Bailey for example) and stories that are frightening (Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester) But my absolute favorites were those that featured people away from their homes facing strange customs such as in "White Mare" by Thana Ni...

The thing I like about these anthologies of short stories is it get me out of my comfort zone and introduces me to a lot different authors and types of stories be it horror, fantasy, sci fi, thriller or as is shown here horror in one of the above categories. This was a good selection and there was a couple of disturbing stories one I will touch on briefly in style because that is what it is: the ending part Painted Wolves was meant to be as nightmarey ambiguous but definite as possible, of cours...

Twenty-six short tales make up the Best Horror of the Year Volume Eleven.Ghosts and vampires are if course present in a compendium of horror tales. Surprisingly, there are also stories about thumb suckers and a town where it really is raining men.Of course, with an short story anthology, there will always be some stories you like, others you love, and a few which are just not for you. However, it is hard to imagine any horror fan that dislikes stories by Laird Barron and Joe Hill. Plus, all the

You know the drill with these.I Remember Nothing – Anne BillsonA woman wakes up with no memory of the night before, next to a man she doesn't know and draws the obvious conclusions, which turn out to be wrong. Gorier than I usually like, although I appreciated the nightmare urgency and confusion of the whole scenario. Surreal body horror, emphasis on the horror (and the bodily fluids). From an anthology of stories inspired by Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures - I think we're running out of anthol...

In memory of Gardner Dozois? He passed away? I had no idea. The world of anthologies is bereft of its master. I'll be reviewing each short story as I finish it so future me will thank past me in a well-earned time travel handshake. Each short story's review is structured as follows: 1) A description of the genre2)An overall view of my taste or distaste at the story3) Some useful star ratings.Wait, Gardner Dozois passed away last year? That's horrible. I had no idea. The world of antho

Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year as summer turns to autumn, I start reading all the horror novels and short stories I can get my hands on. I sit out on my porch on cool fall evenings reading whatever chilling, spooky bit of fiction (or even non-fiction) has come to hand. This year, my horror season started early as I discovered story anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow. OMG....how did I miss these?? Datlow has been editing fantasy, sci-fi and horror anth...

Stellar. One of my favorites in this series—so many stand-outs:“Painted Wolves” by Ray Cluley“The Donner Party” by Dale Bailey“Thin Cold Hands” by Gemma Files“Golden Sun” by Kristi DeMeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters, and Michael Wehung“Haunt” by Siobhan Carrol“Sleep” by Carly HolmesAnd many others I enjoyed.

This book just wasn’t as good as in previous years. Lots of stories fell flat. Some didn’t even seem like horror stories. The ones I liked were: Golden Sun—best story in the entire book—, Monkeys on the Beach, The Donner Party, You Are Released, Painted Wolves, Split Chain Stitch, and No Exit

I REMEMBER NOTHING by Anne Billson - WTF? Incredibly creepy and I don't really understand it but I liked it just the same. 3 stars.MONKEYS ON THE BEACH by Ralph Robert Moore - This was terrible. It made no sense and wasn't scary, just weird. 2 stars.PAINTED WOLVES by Ray Cluley - I did not like this story one iota. Rape and threats of rape are not plotlines. Just lazy, misogynist writing. The second-person POV was incredibly irritating, as well. No stars for you.SHIT HAPPENS by Michael Marshall

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.I really enjoyed this collection of stories. A lot of my favorite authors. Some that are included that the stories stood out for me were....Joe Hill, Kristi DeMeester, John Langan, Gemma Files, and Siobhan Carroll. Definitely a must read for horror lovers. These books make great gifts!😉

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I love anthologies. There’s always something for everyone. Even if you don’t like all the stories, you’re bound to like some of them. And it gives you a taste of some author’s writings, some you may not have heard of before. My favourite stories in the collection were Haunt, Shit Happens, The Donner Party, You Are Released, and Red Rain. Highly recommend. I will definitely be checking out the other anthologies from this e...