Crucified Dreams edited by Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon) is a reprint anthology of dark fiction with no really fixed theme as it ranges from sf by Octavia E. Butler, psychological horror by Harlan Ellison and Lewis Shiner to Lovecraftian fiction by Michael Shea, and a mainstream story about boxing by Lucius Shepard. Happily Ever After edited by John Klima (Night Shade Books) reprints thirty-two retold fairy tales and presents one original (by Robert J. Howe), some of them dark. Akashic’s noir series continues to publish a good mix of stories. Cape Cod Noir edited by David J. Ulin featured notable dark stories by Elyssa East, Paul Tremblay, and Jedediah Berry and Indian Country Noir edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martínez had more than its fair share of depressing tales about alcoholism and other addictions but did contain a few notable dark stories by Joseph Bruchac and Gerard Houarner. Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat has notable stories by Patrick Silvain, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, and Edwidge Danticat. New Jersey Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates has strong dark stories by Jeffrey Ford, Bradford Morrow, Sheila Kohler, Joyce Carol Oates, and a collaboration by Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini. The Urban Fantasy Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon Publications) is a reprint anthology divided into three sections entitled Mythic Fiction, Paranormal Romance, and Urban Noir with an overall introduction by Beagle, and introductions to each section by Charles de Lint, Paula Guran, and Joe R. Lansdale. Although it features an interesting mix of twenty stories, a few seem out of place in an “urban” fantasy anthology as they take place far from urban areas. When editors do this they have a responsibility to the reader to at least try to justify those choices. One original by Steven R. Boyett. The Monster’s Corner edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin’s Press) is mixture of original horror, dark fantasy, and crime stories. Although there are non-human monsters populating the anthology, as many of the monsters are human. It’s an interesting, not always successful mix but there are some very good stories by Sarah Pinborough, Jonathan Maberry, Tom Piccirilli, Tananarive Due, and Gary A. Braunbeck, Ghost Writers: Us Haunting Them edited by Keith Taylor and Laura Kasischke (Wayne State University Press) is an all original anthology of twelve ghost stories (mostly fictional, a few true encounters) by Michigan writers such as James Hynes, Nicholas Delbanco, Elizabeth Kostova (author of The Historian), and others. The stories are all readable but only a few are very dark and the best of those are by Steve Amick, James Hynes, and Anne-Marie Oomen. Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 edited by William Schaefer (Subterranean Press) has eleven original stories, most of the stories only somewhat dark — the darkest are by Joe Hill, William Browning Spencer, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Norman Partridge. Gutshot: Weird West Stories edited by Conrad Williams (PS Publishing) is an excellent all original anthology of twenty stories, with more than its share of horror. All the stories are good and well worth reading. Murmurations: An Anthology of Uncanny Stories About Birds edited by Nicholas Royle (Two Ravens Press), an anthology of thirty stories published to benefit the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, is an excellent mix of new and reprinted fiction. Only some are dark enough to be considered horror but they’re all entertaining. The book includes Daphne du Maurier’s classic “The Birds” plus excellent originals by Joel Lane, Tom Fletcher, Alison Moore, and others. Surreal South ’11 edited by Laura Benedict and Pinkney Benedict (Press 53) is the third volume in the series and features thirty surreal, weird, and sometimes very dark stories (including one with zombies). All but eight are new and the notable darker ones are by Jim Walke, James O’Brien, John Hornor Jacobs, and Josh Woods. Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives edited by Justin Gustainis (Edge) has only a few really dark stories in it, despite the title. The Master in Café Morphine: A Homage to Mikhail Bulgakov edited by D.T. Ghetu (Ex Occidente Press) has twenty-one stories, some dark enough to be considered horror. Philippine Speculative Fiction 6 edited by Nikki Alfar and Kate Osias (no publisher named) presents twenty-two science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories by Filipino writers. The notable dark ones are by Kenneth Yu and Victor Fernando R. Ocampo. 2011 Wilde Stories: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press) features dark fiction by Laird Barron, Chaz Brenchley, Joel Lane, and others. Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy edited by Ellen Datlow (St. Martin’s Press) contained dark stories by Holly Black, Peter Beagle, Nathan Ballingrud, Matthew Kressel, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and others.
