The Year's Best Horror Stories XVIII

by Karl Edward Wagner (Editor)

Contents

13 • Introduction: From Horror Angst to Zombies • essay by Karl Edward Wagner
17 • Kaddish • (1989) • short story by Jack Dann
30 • The Gravedigger's Tale • (1989) • short story by Simon Clark
40 • Meeting the Author • (1989) • short story by Ramsey Campbell
55 • Buckets • (1989) • novelette by F. Paul Wilson
76 • The Pit-Yakker • non-genre • (1989) • short story by Brian Lumley
99 • Mr. Sandman • (1989) • short story by Scott D. Yost
115 • Renaissance • (1989) • short story by Chico Kidd [as by A. F. Kidd]
135 • Lord of Infinite Diversions • (1989) • short story by T. Winter-Damon
137 • Rail Rider • (1989) • short story by Wayne Allen Sallee (variant of Third Rail)
142 • Archway • (1989) • novelette by Nicholas Royle
162 • The Confessional • (1989) • short story by Patrick McLeod
178 • The Deliverer • (1989) • short story by Simon MacCulloch
190 • Reflections • (1989) • short story by Jeffrey Goddin
207 • Zombies for Jesus • (1989) • short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
216 • The Earth Wire • (1989) • short story by Joel Lane
231 • Sponge and China Tea • (1989) • short story by D. F. Lewis
236 • The Boy with the Bloodstained Mouth • (1989) • short story by W. H. Pugmire
238 • On the Dark Road • (1989) • short story by Ian McDowell
256 • Narcopolis • (1989) • poem by Wayne Allen Sallee
262 • Nights in the City • (1989) • short story by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
274 • Return to the Mutant Rain Forest • [Mutant Rain Forest] • (1989) • poem by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier
279 • The End of the Hunt • (1989) • short story by David Drake
291 • The Motivation • (1989) • short story by David Langford
309 • The Guide • (1989) • short story by Ramsey Campbell
324 • The Horse of Iron & How We Can Know It & Be Changed By It Forever • (1989) • short story by M. John Harrison
342 • Jerry's Kids Meet Wormboy • (1989) • novelette by David J. Schow

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies

367 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1990

About the author

Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into Whose Hands". He described his world view as nihilistic, anarchistic and absurdist, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to "an opera composer named Richard". Wagner also admired the cinema of Sam Peckinpah, stating "I worship the film The Wild Bunch".

Reviews

[Wilum Pugmire]

I loved being in this book with one of my wee prose poems. It would never occur to me to SUBMIT anything of mine to a Year's Best anthology -- but I met Karl when WFC came to Seattle,m and he urged me to send him something. I like doing the very short thing, prose-poems and vignettes, and I like to risk submitting them to professional horror editors, as I did when Poppy was editing LOVE IN VEIN. It's a wonderful literary form, & I've become quite addicted to working therein. Ah, how I miss Karl Wagner -- what a wonderful force he was!

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous. Must reads. Too bad there wasn't a way to get rights untangled and release all these in ebooks for the younger generation...

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, and necessarily, an uneven anthology.The Ramsey Campbell stories and "The Motivation" by David Langford are the most powerful and accomplished.

Drollest: "Nights in the City" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson

Worst taste: "Buckets" by F. Paul Wilson

[Skuli Saeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Þrátt fyrir lofsverðan titil á þessu smásagnasafni um að ritið innihaldi bestu hryllingssögur ársins þá fannst mér bókin ekki standa undir nafni. Sumar sögurnar voru hins vegar mergjaðar og fengu hárin til að rísa en aðrar fundust mér vera slappar þó þær séu sem betur fer í minnihluta.
Það má hins vegar segja að helsti kostur ritsins sé hve fjölbreyttar sögurnar eru og ólíkar í ritstíl og nálgun sinni við að vekja upp gæsahúðina.

[Bill Borre]

"Buckets" by F. Paul Wilson - The ghosts of children show up on Halloween night on the doorstep of the doctor who performed their abortions carrying the buckets their remains were disposed in.

"Kaddish" by Jack Dann - Nathan loses his wife and son and goes out into the sea on a speedboat to meet his end.

"On the Dark Road" by Ian McDowell - wc
"Mr. Sandman" by Scott D. Yost - wc

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standouts: The Gravedigger's Tale, Meeting the Author, Sponge and China Tea, and On the Dark Road

[Fatman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag of horror stories. A few good ones, a few that probably wouldn't make it into professional print these days. Overall, an enjoyable read.