The World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award and International Horror Guild Award-winning series. This latest edition of the world's premier annual showcase devoted exclusively to excellence in horror and dark fantasy fiction contains some of the very best short stories and novellas by today's finest exponents of horror fiction. Also featuring the most comprehensive yearly overview of horror around the world, lists of useful contact addresses and a fascinating necrology, this is the only book that should be required reading for every fan of dark fiction.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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| INTRODUCTION: HORROR IN 2003 |
The Editor |
| FEAR THE DEAD |
Ramsey Campbell |
| THE HANGED MAN OF OZ |
Steve Nagy |
| MARA |
Michael Chislett |
| CELL CALL |
Marc Laidlaw |
| IN THE TUNNELS |
Pauline E. Dungate |
| HUNGER: A CONFESSION |
Dale Bailey |
| SEVEN FEET |
Christopher Fowler |
| THE CENTIPEDE |
Susan Davis |
| THE GOAT CUTTER |
Jay Lake |
| MAYBE NEXT TIME |
Michael Marshall Smith |
| STORY TIME WITH THE BLUEFIELD STRANGLER |
John Farris |
| HUNTER LAKE |
Gene Wolfe |
| MR. SLY STOPS FOR A CUP OF JOE |
Scott Emerson Bull |
| THE BEREAVEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER |
Steve Rasnic Tem |
| KISSING CARRION |
Gemma Files |
| THE WHITE HANDS |
Mark Samuels |
| WAYCROSS |
Caitlín R. Kiernan |
| LUCY, IN HER SPLENDOR |
Charles Coleman Finlay |
| DEAD BOY FOUND |
Christopher Barzak |
| THE HAUNTING |
Joyce Carol Oates |
| DANCING MEN |
Glen Hirshberg |
| BITTER GROUNDS |
Neil Gaiman |
| CHILD OF THE STONES |
Paul McAuley |
| THE SILENCE OF THE FALLING STARS |
Mike O'Driscoll |
| EXORCISING ANGELS |
Simon Clark & Tim Lebbon |
| NECROLOGY: 2003 |
Stephen Jones & Kim Newman |
| USEFUL ADDRESSES |
|
Nominated for the 2005 British Fantasy Award
Reviews
"The must-have annual anthology for horror fans—and for any readers whose minds are not closed to the idea of intelligent writing emerging from a much maligned genre."
—Nicholas Royle
TIME OUT #1790, December 2004
"The only year's best dedicated to horror and only horror returns with 25 terror-filled tales from 2003, plus Jones's invaluable annual overview of the field."
—LOCUS, December 2004
"The 25 short stories in this collection, which includes yarns by Neil Gaiman and Joyce Carol Oates, essay everything from aliens to the supernatural."
—George Gene Gustines
NEW YORK TIMES, October 28, 2004
"This is not a series that any horror fan can afford to miss . . . It's one of the most important books I've read this year, a testament to Jones' skill as an editor."
—Paul Skevington
SF CROWSNEST, February 2005
