August 9, 2024
Datlow's latest themed anthology gathers 21 stories, all reprints that have previously appeared across the publishing landscape since 2000 (except for one, the penultimate story by the late Charles Birkin, which was originally published in 1964). Together, these tales illustrate the evolution of the psychological horror subgenre, moving these stories out of the hands of narrators with severe mental illness and into spaces where the fear can seep in from anywhere and anyone--a dinner party, your own family, random encounters, vacation. Things are clearly not as they seem, and the monsters are more human than anyone wants to admit. The anthology has plenty of big names to draw readers in, from Josh Malerman to Joyce Carol Oates to Stephen Graham Jones (whose previously out-of-print story, "Teeth," which closes the volume, is a worthy draw here in and of itself). But Datlow has racked up the awards because she is able to identify excellent stories from authors that readers may be less familiar with; here, she includes the intense, atmospheric unease of an overburdened caregiver in Priya Sharma's "My Mother's Ghost," the reality of a young girl's father terrifyingly unveiled by Hailey Piper in "Unkindly Girls," and the existentially unsettling "Cavity" by Theresa DeLucci, which lists the 32 times the main character has met a murderer, including her own. This collection is not for the faint of heart, but there are legions of fans of both psychological suspense and horror, meaning there is a built-in audience that will be eager to get their hands on this book. It also pairs well with the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Dark Matter Presents Human Monsters (2022), edited by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Sawyers, in which Malerman's story first appeared.
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September 20, 2024
This anthology's stories might lack in blood but will still get under readers' skin. Psychological horror features seemingly ordinary individuals doing truly monstrous things to each other while leaving a great deal of violence to the readers' imagination. Datlow (The Best Horror of the Year), an editor who has produced many well-regarded anthologies, has gathered together stories with a variety of settings, but are all linked by the depravity of their characters. While the most famous (or infamous) story in this anthology is "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, who knows psychological horror, Datlow has gathered a multitude of talents. This collection features tales from popular horror writers such as Stephen Graham Jones and Josh Malerman, along with other authors such as Bracken MacLeod and Ray Cluey, who should be more well-known but perhaps just need an anthology like this to introduce them to readers. VERDICT This might not be for those who prefer their horror to have a certain amount of creatures or carnage, but it's a must read for readers looking to explore human evil through fiction.--James Gardner
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