Schrodinger's Bookshelf

If someone were to assign awards to the roundup of Year’s Best books that invariably grace the shelves during the middle of each year, those volumes edited by Silverberg or Hartwell or Datlow and Windling or other sundry people, then it’s a sure bet the Datlow/Windling collection, now a most respectable fifteen volumes in strength, would be a shoo-in for the MVP award. Or perhaps Best In Show. And by that, I mean that while any collection can take a dozen or two dozen stories published in the previous year and assign them such qualities as to call them “the best,” only this particular collection goes above and beyond, nay, transcends duty with its accomplishments.

For therein lies the truth. Anyone can make up a Year’s Best list of stories. Tastes are subjective and personal enough that no one will agree with all of the stories all of the time. What one editor might consider worthy, another might dismiss. What one reader might devour, another might yawn at. Terri Windling has the right of it in this volume when she states, “Fantasy readers are the winners here, presented annually with the treasures provided by two anthologies, each covering somewhat different ground.” She wrote this in relation to the launch of the David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer Year’s Best series, but it can just as easily be applied to the Robert Silverberg-edited volume, or even to the Gardner Duzois companion volume also released by St. Martin’s which covers the Year’s Best Science Fiction.

This lengthy introduction, thus, is my disclaimer: All stories collected henceforth in this volume are done so with an editorial bias, and may or may not be the best as you, or I, or anyone else, sees them. This is by no means a bad thing. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling haven’t made it this far for no good reason. They are supremely skilled at sifting through anthologies, magazines, e-zines, journals, and publications both widespread and obscure, selecting rare treasures, hidden gems, overlooked works, and things that the average reader likely never saw in print the first time around. So to begin with, you’ll find any number of stories or poems for the first time within these pages.

Certain names are all but guaranteed to be in the table of contents. Charles de Lint is a mainstay of the series; this year, it’s his werewolf love story, “Trading Hearts at the Half Kaffe Cafe” that makes the cut, pulled from the anthology Single White Vampire Seeks Same . Maybe not one of his best ever, but a typically strong, enjoyable story nonetheless. Michael Chabon, best known for mainstream works like The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay, is represented with “The God of Dark Laughter”, taken from The New Yorker. Jane Yolen’s “The Barbarian and the Queen: Thirteen Views” is an oddly surreal piece first published in Starlight 3, edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden. Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Bones of the Earth” first appeared in her own collection, Tales from Earthsea. Tanya Huff’s “Oh, Glorious Sight” was first seen in the anthology Oceans of Magic. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Hand’s darkly erotic, oddly disturbing story, “Cleopatra Brimstone,” comes from the boundary-straining anthology, Redlight.

There’s more, much more. Gene Wolfe, Barry N. Malzberg, Graham Joyce and S.P. Somtow. Caitlin Kiernan, Gregory Maguire, Gala Blau, and Kelly Link. The stories come from SCIFI.COM, Interzone, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Strangehorizons.com, literary journals and poetry journals, anthologies and single-author collections, chapbooks and online magazines. They’re collected from genre publications, mainstream publications, and things that can’t even be classified. With dozens of authors and just as many works to choose from, running the gamut of fantasy and horror and the uncomfortable spaces overlapping between, there’s enough to please just about any tastes, even as one shakes his head and wonders what anyone ever saw in Story X. It’s certainly one of the biggest, most fascinating, most eclectic Year’s Bests out there, considering as it does so many different sources.

In honesty, the stories are almost like an afterthought compared to the prologue. Only a volume like this could dedicate five hundred pages to fiction, and another one hundred and twenty-some to summing up the year in general. It’s like the cream filling in an Oreo: the best part, one that can be savored on its own.

As always, Terri Windling produces a scholarly, extensively thorough look at the year in fantasy. From her opinions on the top twenty books (in alphabetical order), to note-worthy first novels, from imaginary world fantasy to contemporary fantasy, from historical to humorous, from mainstream to other genres, she looks at dozens of books, giving them each a brief blurb of commentary, honest to a fault. When she likes it, she’ll say so. When something needs improvement, it’s noted as well. She covers children’s fantasy (a new favorite sub-genre of mine), single-author collections, anthologies, magazines (on the bottom of page xxxvi, Green Man gets a blurb), art, picture books, nonfiction, folklore and fairy tales, music, and awards. Can I just say that this summary could double as a shopping list for any fantasy buff? It’s that extensive. I’m of a mind to go hunting.

Not to be outdone, Ellen Datlow tackles the subject of horror in 2001. Her lengthy essay covers every facet of horror, from books to magazines (my disappointment was in not seeing vampire magazine Dreams of Decadence get a nod), art to anthologies (and she was particularly, honestly, harsh on the quality and effectiveness of a few of these; my favorite quote, regarding Bubbas of the Apocalypse, was “hey, why don’t we put on a show in this ole barn and invite some of our friends?” I have this anthology. Ask nice, I may review it someday). Of particular usefulness is the listing of small press addresses she includes at the end of the summary.

Edward Bryant sums up the year in the media. His purview is “Media of the Fantastic,” meaning he looks at fantasy, horror, even science fiction as it pertains to permutations such as movies, television, and even toys. Again, useful. Again, thorough. By no means as comprehensive as the other essays, it still manages to give a pretty good look at how the field has been represented in live action, animation, and at the box office.

New to the Year’s Best series this year is famed artist Charles Vess, whose collaboration with Neil Gaiman produced Stardust, and whose four-issue comic book series The Book of Ballads and Sagas hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention. This, naturally, makes him ideal to review fantasy and horror in comics. To be honest, he cheats a little; not everything he mentions came out in 2001. In fact, he starts off with a brief history of the field as it applies to the genre, by way of orienting his readers. For a comic afficiendo like myself, this section is both enlightening (oh, that looks good) and frustrating (how the heck did I miss that?). Here’s hoping Vess sticks around for future volumes.

Also new to the series is noted author Joan D. Vinge, who tackles the twin topics of manga and anime, which have been enjoying a fast-growing popularity in America for some time now. (Between the Cartoon Network’s wholesale importing of series, and the Sailor Moon/Pokemon crazes, that popularity has become more of an obsession, in my opinion.) She’s kind enough to write her column as though to the uninitiated, starting off with a series of Frequently Asked Questions. Things like “Why do so many characters look like Americans?” and “What’s with all the T and A?” and “So about those delicate, beautiful young men…” So I paraphrased just a little. She’s very good at clueing in the newcomer, before launching into a discussion of what’s worthwhile, where to find it, and how to learn more about it. Anime and manga have irrevocably become part of the fantasy/horror/science fiction field, so it’s good to see a collection like this acknowledge the fact.

Finally, series packager and respected editor in his own right, James Frenkel, has the last word on the last words of those who’ve gone to the great convention in the sky, with the regular obituary column. Every year, the field loses a sobering number of those who were crucial, or related to it, and he pays his respects. In 2001, we saw the passings of Poul Anderson, Douglas Adams, William Hanna (of Hanna-Barbera animation fame), Gordon Dickson, Jenna Felice (a Tor Books editor who was much beloved by those who worked with her), Dan DeCarlo (best known for creating Josie and the Pussycats) and dozens more, from publishing, film, fandom, comics, and more. The scope of Frenkel’s attention on who is, was, and used to be part of the field in all its many manifestations is both impressive and disturbing; how many of these people have we even heard of today? But as he puts it, “Perhaps you’ll find inspiration in the works of those whose names aren’t familiar.”

After all that, at the end of the book, we have the Honorable Mentions, for those books and stories that were deemed worthy of mention, but which couldn’t be included for other reasons, such as space consideration. At 250,000 words, the book already weighs in fairly heavily. That Datlow and Windling take the time to list all these others is astounding.

Last but not least, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the typically gorgeous cover by Thomas Canty, who’s done quite a bit towards helping present the series as a uniform whole. The only problem I see with the covers he’s provided for each volume is that, after a while, they all start to look alike from a distance. But that’s a small price to pay for the exquisite job he does each year.

In the end, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror Fifteen is as strong as the rest in the series. Word for word, you get more for your money than any other Year’s Best collection on the shelf, with the assorted summaries being well worth the price just on their own merits. I recommend this book without hesitation, especially if you have any interest in the field beyond just reading stories.

Terri Windling has a Web site, The Endicott Studio, which Green Man highly urges you to check out. Charles Vess can be found at www.greenmanpress.com, which is another reason for us to like him. Ellen Datlow is currently the editor for Scifiction.com. You can check out the St. Martin’s Web site at www.stmartins.com . While our reviews of Datlow and Windling collections are too numerous to be mentioned here, you may access them all from our “authors” index page. Also see our interview with Terri Windling. Ellen Datlow has a most excellent Web site here.

“Good evening, Ms. Datlow, Ms. Windling. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to compile a volume dealing with the best of the fantasy and horror genres for the year 1999. Not only must you pick out the best short fiction of the year, you must also provide rundowns and wrap-ups of the genres as applied to movies, television, magazines, the Internet, comic books, music, and more.

“You may pick additional members of your team as necessary. Assistant editors Richard and Mardelle Kunz. Library scout Bill Murphy. The noted artist Thomas Canty. Editor/packager James Frenkel. St. Martin’s editor Gordon Van Gelder. The folks at Endicott Studio.

“We predict you’ll need a large team to properly carry out your mission.

“As always, if you or any of your team are captured or killed, SFWA will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This contract will self-destruct in five seconds.”

Every year, editors Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow scour the globe to bring us the best examples of fantasy and horror fiction. This volume of their annual quest is lucky number thirteen, and most assuredly doesn’t disappoint.

Certainly, it’s not an easy job. There’s just so much produced… scattered amongst magazines, anthologies, collections, and media… that it’s hard to believe anyone could keep track of it all. Yet somehow, they succeeded. The fiction offered in the Year’s Best has been collected from a wide variety of sources, from Realms of Fantasy to the Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, from Prairie Schooner to The Hudson Review, from convention programs to chapbooks, from single-author collections to anthologies. While many stories come from genre magazines, just as many stem from out-of-the-way sources that most fantasy readers would never even dream of looking at.

Not only does Year’s Best offer the best by way of fiction, it devotes extensive space to offering yearly roundups of the field in other media. Summations. Top Twenty. First Novels. Urban Fantasy. Imaginary World Fantasy. Historical and Alternate Worlds. Mythic Fiction. Humorous Fantasy. Mainstream. Oddities. Animal Tales. Children’s Fantasy. Single-Author Collections. Anthologies. Poetry. Comic Books. Magazines. Art Books. Nonfiction. Mythology and Folklore. Music. Conventions and Awards.

And that was just the write-up for fantasy. Terri Windling is one of the most knowledgeable editors in the field regarding fantasy, and she proves once again that she knows her stuff. If it happened, she’s got it covered here, pointing out hundreds of books and stories and the like that are worthy of notice. It’s worth picking up Year’s Best for the summaries alone, as Windling adeptly turns the spotlight on all manner of hidden or overlooked treasures.

Ellen Datlow does the same for the horror field, speaking knowledgeably about such categories as Books and Magazines, Novels, Anthologies, Collections, Artists, Small Presses, and the like. Though she has fewer categories overall than Windling, she goes into the same sort of skillfully written details regarding her chosen field. If it’s worth mentioning, and related to horror or really dark fantasy, chances are you’ll find a brief write-up in her section.

Not to be outdone, Edward Bryant turns in a study of fantasy and horror as relating to the media. Movies, in all their many forms, from the bad B-Movies to the greatest blockbusters to the quirks of animation, are his focus, although he also looks at television and even music. (The Dixie Chicks? Go figure.)

Seth Johnson contributes a relatively shorter piece on comics, which are by their very nature a welcome haven for fantasy and horror. This being one of my favorite fields, it’s nice to see comics getting noticed for more than superheroes and spandex.

James Frenkel, the creator of the Year’s Best concept, turns in one of the sadder essays of each volume, the Obituaries. Each year, we have to cope with losing people involved in the field, and it’s fitting that they should be paid one last bit of tribute here. The major names that passed on in 1999 included Shel Silverstein and Marion Zimmer Bradley, as well as Stanley Kubrick, Joseph Heller, and John Broome. But Frenkel also lists dozens of others who have had an impact on the field, no matter how small. Authors, editors, artists, actors, producers, cinematographers, even stuntmen, critics, booksellers and long-time fans. Anyone who made their mark has been honored here.

After all of that (and believe it if you will, but everything up to this point is numbered in Roman numerals, up to cxxvi!), we finally get to the stories. The lead fiction piece is a haunting, evocative new Earthsea tale, “Darkrose and Diamond,” from Ursula K. Le Guin, a prime example of the quality that’s the hallmark of the Year’s Best series.

After that, there’s Ian MacLeod’s “The Chop Girl,” which is about ghosts and jinxes in the superstitious setting of a British airfield during World War II. Part love story, part ghost story, it’s beautiful and sorrowful at the same time.

Kelly Link turns in “The Girl Detective,” a surreal story which takes the very best of Nancy Drew, fairy tales, myth, and pop culture, throws it in a blender with some ice, mixes, and serves chilled with a lemon slice. There is no possible way to properly explain this one, save to say that it starts in all the obvious places, and ends in a tree.

There’s a story from Patricia McKillip, plucked from the Datlow/Windling collection, Silver Birch, Blood Moon, a bizarre and sensual retelling of the Princess and the Frog fairy tale. Kim Newman, known for his series of alternate-world Dracula novels, is represented with “You Don’t Have to Be Mad…” Gene Wolfe’s “The Tree Is My Hat” shows that this particular author’s still in fine style. Neil Gaiman gives us “Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story,” which is typically bizarre and thought-provoking. Love him or hate him, Gaiman is incapable of mediocrity. Jane Yolen contributes a poem entitled “Old Merlin Dancing on the Sands of Time.” Charles de Lint produces

“Pixel Pixies,” a chapbook which unites several of his popular characters, including Holly Rue and her used bookstore, the Wordwood, and the Kelledys. Would that every bookstore had a hob to keep it clean and tidy!

Those are just a very few of the many splendid, excellent stories and poems which fill this volume of the Year’s Best. With literally dozens to choose from, both big name authors and the most obscure of talents, there’s something to suit everyone’s taste and then some.

It’s impossible to read this book and remain stuck within your old boundaries. Datlow and Windling draw from such varied and esoteric sources that you’re bound to be exposed to something new and different. After thirteen such books, they’re unquestionably experts in the field, the authorities of note on what’s not just good, but exceptional, noteworthy, and unique. If it’s included in this book, it’s head and shoulders above almost anything else published in the fantasy and horror fields. They don’t just select good stories, they select ones that represent the endless room for variation and exploration and experimentation found in the genre. It’s not enough to be well-written, it has to have some sort of merit.

I can’t find anything bad to say about Year’s Best. It’s one of those books I’ve come to depend upon year after year to serve as a tour guide through the realms of fantastic and horrific literature of the year past. I might not like every story contained within, but I can’t fault their inclusion. Individual tastes make every anthology something of a crapshoot, and as always, your mileage may vary. But I will recommend The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror #13 wholeheartedly and without reservation. For the price, it gives you more than your money’s worth every time, both in fiction and in the aforementioned yearly summaries.

So what’re you waiting for? I’ll let you discover for yourself just what Datlow and Windling have to say about 1999. (As Windling notes, it was a disappointing year for novel-length fiction, but only because 1998 was a banner year, and many of the best authors who released books that year were thus absent from the new release shelves in 1999.) But you can discover all that and more in Year’s Best #13, available just about everywhere by now. Enjoy.