One of my favourite things ever year is the release of the newest volume of The Best Horror of the Year which is put together by Ellen Datlow. It’s a short story collection encompassing a variety of authors and sub-genres of horror. I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with them but when I was looking at my Goodreads last month, I realized I’d actually skipped volume eleven and thirteen, as well as not reading fifteen and this year’s sixteenth volume. So, clearly, I am not that good at keeping up with them, and am just a liar.

So I’ve set out to get caught up!

One of the things I enjoy about these collections is that at the beginning, Datlow includes a list of “notable novels” of that year. This is always a good spot for me to go through and tick off the ones I’ve read, and see if there’s any I haven’t that could be of interest.

Since this volume is from the year 2018, we have some awesome novels that I really loved that I totally forgot came out that year:

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman which ignited my love for western horror.
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay - iconic, stomach punch ending, flawless, no notes.
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger which was a very fun read about a reality show crew investigating a mysterious cave in the Grand Canyon. Highly recommend!
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Absolutely fantastic read that you will devour in one sitting.
Ghost Wall - Sarah Moss. Bizarre, speculative, off-putting - AMAZING.

Some that were mentioned that I’m interested in picking up include I Am the River by T.E. Grau, The Night Market by Jonathan Moore, and The Mere Wife by Mariah Dahvana. If you’ve read any of these, let me know if I should read them!

Now, 2018’s collection of stories was not the strongest volume this time around for me. There is 25 stories in here. I rated 10 of the stories 5/5 and 6 stories 4/5. Which is not bad, it’s a passing grade for sure (probably, don’t check my math), but its Mom isn’t gonna put the results on the fridge for all to see.

My absolute favourite story in here is hands-down You Know How the Story Goes by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. I’m a sucker for urban legends and “a friend of a friend of mine once told me” tales, and this is exactly that. There was some genuinely terrifying moments in here.

“This lady, she filled the entire tunnel. So tall she was that she had to walk with her head bent forward. She spread her arms. Her no-nail fingers, pale and bare, scraping over the concrete walls on both sides of the motorway. Pulling grotesque shadows. She was singing. No, she was buzzing. Like a wasp.”

Another story of note was Shit Happens by Michael Marshall Smith which was absurd and funny and a nice dose of body horror. I also enjoyed Thin Cold Hands by Gemma Files which was a very spooky dark fantasy fairy story.

Red Rain by Adam-Troy Castro was a uniquely written traumatic story that made me gag. Big props to you! No Exit by Orrin Grey was right up my alley with a true crime cult but supernatural vibe. And lastly, Split Chain Stitch by Steve Toase was delightfully horrific.

“What scuttles in the shadows when the light of the sun is turned off? Why would we dream that we have seen but the tip of its great limb? It is in the shadow of the world, and it is in the shadow of our hearts. If we open ourselves up to the breath of the abyss, we will hear it whisper our name.”

Overall, it was nice to reflect back on 2018 and remember all the great horror novels that came out that year. That was also the year We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, Foe by Iain Reid, and The Hunger by Alma Katsu was released. It was a strong year for horror reading. And while this collection isn’t my favourite of the years, it’s up there in quality.

Now onto volume thirteen (2021)!