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The Year's Best Fantasy Stories #11
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 11
Contents:
* "Introduction" (Arthur W. Saha)
* "Draco, Draco" (Tanith Lee)
* "Harvest Child" (Steve Rasnic Tem)
* "Love Among the Xoids" (John Sladek)
* "Stoneskin" (John Morressy)
* "Unmistakably the Finest" (Scott Bradfield)
* "The Foxwife" (Jane Yolen)
* "Golden Apples of the Sun" (originally published as "Virgin Territory") (Gardner R. Dozois, Jack M. Dann and Michael Swanwick)
* "My Rose and My Glove" (Harvey Jacobs)
* "Strange Shadows" (Clark Ashton Smith)
* "A Little Two-Chair Barber Shop on Phillips Street" (Donald R. Burleson)
* "Taking Heart" (Stephen L. Burns)
* "The Storm" (David Morrell)
* "A Cabin on the Coast" (Gene Wolfe)
* "Introduction" (Arthur W. Saha)
* "Draco, Draco" (Tanith Lee)
* "Harvest Child" (Steve Rasnic Tem)
* "Love Among the Xoids" (John Sladek)
* "Stoneskin" (John Morressy)
* "Unmistakably the Finest" (Scott Bradfield)
* "The Foxwife" (Jane Yolen)
* "Golden Apples of the Sun" (originally published as "Virgin Territory") (Gardner R. Dozois, Jack M. Dann and Michael Swanwick)
* "My Rose and My Glove" (Harvey Jacobs)
* "Strange Shadows" (Clark Ashton Smith)
* "A Little Two-Chair Barber Shop on Phillips Street" (Donald R. Burleson)
* "Taking Heart" (Stephen L. Burns)
* "The Storm" (David Morrell)
* "A Cabin on the Coast" (Gene Wolfe)
238 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 5, 1981
57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 20, 2025
"Draco, Draco" by Tanith Lee
5.5/10
Brutal.
-
Uses of "here and there": 2
...
"The Harvest Child" by Steve Rasnic Tem
6/10
...
"Love Among the Xoids" by John Sladek
6/10
Odd concept. Unexpectedly somewhat dark.
-
Uses of "[this] here, [that] there": 1
-
Typo:
"'That right,' said an old man." (p. 70)
...
"Stoneskin" by John Morressy
5/10
The guy starts with a morning star, next thing you know, he's got a sword, then it's a two-handed sword; make up your mind. The climax features one of those clichéd trapdoor-in-the-center-of-the-room scenes that would never work in reality.
-
Uses of "here and there": 1
...
"Unmistakably the Finest" by Scott Bradfield
5/10
What did I just read?
-
Uses of "loom" (verb): 1
-
Typos:
"But you could leave another message, if you liked. . . ." (p. 107)
"The letters was concluded by Reverend Fanny's mimeographed scrawl." (p. 110)
...
"The Foxwife" by Jane Yolen
4/10
Nope. I'm sorry, but you just don't mess with a Japanese setting if you're not from there; it's never a good idea. You've got a character literally called "fox" (kitsune), and the narrative is like: "Jiro looked up but there was no fox. Only Kitsune...". It was painful to read.
...
"Golden Apples of the Sun" ("Virgin Territory") by Gardner R. Dozois, Jack M. Dann and Michael Swanwick
4/10
...
"My Rose and My Glove" by Harvey Jacobs
7/10
My second Harvey Jacobs story; he's got promise.
-
Uses of "here and there": 1
...
"Strange Shadows" by Clark Ashton Smith
4/10
An alcoholic develops a precognitive ability that allows him to see one's true nature and intent in their shadow. As soon as the accuracy of his power is confirmed, what does he do? He ignores it, determined to drink even harder...
-
Immediate repetition:
"It was all very simple. Nothing mattered in the least.
It was all very simple, and nothing mattered..." (p. 161)
...
"A Little Two-Chair Barber Shop on Phillips Street" by Donald R. Burleson
4/10
A weirdo with an overactive imagination gets a haircut. The End.
...
"Taking Heart" by Stephen L. Burns
5/10
...
"The Storm" by David Morrell
4/10
Oh, brother... A man, his wife, and their son all conveniently forget about an altercation between the man and an elderly Native American man that occurred only a few days before. The old man had threatened him with rain; that isn't something you forget. And when the rain comes to stay, nobody makes the connection?
-
A character "shudders, though not from the cold/wet": "I shuddered, but not from the water dripping off me."
-
Uses of "loom" (verb): 1
...
"A Cabin on the Coast" by Gene Wolfe
4/10
I couldn't follow the logic of the idiotic dialogue (which is practically all this story consists of). The punchline is pointless and generic.
...
5.5/10
Brutal.
-
Uses of "here and there": 2
...
"The Harvest Child" by Steve Rasnic Tem
6/10
...
"Love Among the Xoids" by John Sladek
6/10
Odd concept. Unexpectedly somewhat dark.
-
Uses of "[this] here, [that] there": 1
-
Typo:
"'That right,' said an old man." (p. 70)
...
"Stoneskin" by John Morressy
5/10
The guy starts with a morning star, next thing you know, he's got a sword, then it's a two-handed sword; make up your mind. The climax features one of those clichéd trapdoor-in-the-center-of-the-room scenes that would never work in reality.
-
Uses of "here and there": 1
...
"Unmistakably the Finest" by Scott Bradfield
5/10
What did I just read?
-
Uses of "loom" (verb): 1
-
Typos:
"But you could leave another message, if you liked. . . ." (p. 107)
"The letters was concluded by Reverend Fanny's mimeographed scrawl." (p. 110)
...
"The Foxwife" by Jane Yolen
4/10
Nope. I'm sorry, but you just don't mess with a Japanese setting if you're not from there; it's never a good idea. You've got a character literally called "fox" (kitsune), and the narrative is like: "Jiro looked up but there was no fox. Only Kitsune...". It was painful to read.
...
"Golden Apples of the Sun" ("Virgin Territory") by Gardner R. Dozois, Jack M. Dann and Michael Swanwick
4/10
...
"My Rose and My Glove" by Harvey Jacobs
7/10
My second Harvey Jacobs story; he's got promise.
-
Uses of "here and there": 1
...
"Strange Shadows" by Clark Ashton Smith
4/10
An alcoholic develops a precognitive ability that allows him to see one's true nature and intent in their shadow. As soon as the accuracy of his power is confirmed, what does he do? He ignores it, determined to drink even harder...
-
Immediate repetition:
"It was all very simple. Nothing mattered in the least.
It was all very simple, and nothing mattered..." (p. 161)
...
"A Little Two-Chair Barber Shop on Phillips Street" by Donald R. Burleson
4/10
A weirdo with an overactive imagination gets a haircut. The End.
...
"Taking Heart" by Stephen L. Burns
5/10
...
"The Storm" by David Morrell
4/10
Oh, brother... A man, his wife, and their son all conveniently forget about an altercation between the man and an elderly Native American man that occurred only a few days before. The old man had threatened him with rain; that isn't something you forget. And when the rain comes to stay, nobody makes the connection?
-
A character "shudders, though not from the cold/wet": "I shuddered, but not from the water dripping off me."
-
Uses of "loom" (verb): 1
...
"A Cabin on the Coast" by Gene Wolfe
4/10
I couldn't follow the logic of the idiotic dialogue (which is practically all this story consists of). The punchline is pointless and generic.
...
May 16, 2010
This anthology features some of my favorite authors, like Tanith Lee and Michael Swanwick. This is just another anthology with the best fantasy stories from a whole year (1985, I believe), this is (of course) very subjective to the editor who chose them, but I do agree that there are a few really good stories in this one.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews