The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII

by Karl Edward Wagner (Editor)

A nightmarish anthology of the finest horror tales of the year features contributions by Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, Dennis Etchison, Mark McLaughlin, and other masters of the genre. Original.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

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

[Jay Rothermel]

Outstanding stories by Pinn, Williamson, Campbell, Morton, Langford, Kilpatrick, Saplak, and Lamsley.

Bittersweet: this was the final volume of YBHS, and Wagner died about a month before publication, I think. In the last seven years I have read most of the volumes, most out of sequence. It has been a wonderful education.

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[Kevin Lucia]

Again, for anyone just starting out in the genre, I can't recommend these collections enough. They present such a variety of styles and tales, and really, Wagner's introduction to each writer is a little history lesson. It's also a sobering reminder: some of these fine writers I've never heard of. Maybe they never went on to "fame and fortune." Reminds you how fleeting the whole writing game is...

[Jenny Kay]

As is the nature of anthologies, this is a real mixed bag: some hits, some hard misses, a handful of adequate ones tossed in. Not all of them will please everyone, and that's how it should be, I guess, but the end result is lukewarm.

[Bill Borre]

"The Ripper’s Tune" by Gregory Nicoll - Jackie and the Rippers record a rock song "Lonely Nights in Whitechapel" which summons the spirit of Jack the Ripper to slay the girls.

"Resurrection" by Adam Meyer - wc
"Memento Mori" by Scott Thomas - wc
"The Bone Garden" by Conrad Williams - wc