Single-Author Collections
Occultation by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books) is the second collection by a writer with a sure hand and a memorable voice. If you want literary horror with a fair share of visceral chills and the occasional shock, you’ll find no better. The three originals—two novellas and a short story—are all excellent. One of the originals, “--30--” is reprinted herein. Several of the other stories have been reprinted in my earlier Year’s Best anthologies. One of the best horror collections of the year.
The Ones That Got Away by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime) is an important collection containing eleven powerful stories published since 2005 and two new ones. Jones’s work is visceral, violent, and disturbing. With an insightful introduction by Laird Barron and story notes by the author. Several of the stories were reprinted in various Year’s Best anthologies, including my own, and one of the originals, “Till the Morning Comes” is reprinted herein.
Lesser Demons by Norman Partridge (Subterranean Press) collects ten stories written since 2000, one brand new. Partridge is a writer who is equally at home in whatever genre his tale falls: hard-boiled western, contemporary noir, or monster tale. The title novelette, the Lovecraftian “Lesser Demons” is reprinted herein (it’s also in S. T. Joshi’s 2010 anthology Black Wings). Cemetery Dance published Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season, a second, briefer collection of work by Partridge. In it are seven stories, one new and an introduction by the author.
Lost Places by Simon Kurt Unsworth (Ash-Tree Press) is an excellent debut collection with eighteen stories, fourteen of them never before published. The stories are varied in tone, setting, and character. Several are particularly creepy. One of the best of the year.
Tenebrous Tales by Christopher Barker (Ex Occidente Press) is another fine debut collection that showcases the author’s talent for both the formality of the traditional gothic tale and for depicting disturbing graphic violence in more contemporary types of horror. Four of the ten stories are original to the collection.
The Bride Stripped Bare by Rachel Kendall (Dog Horn Publishing, 2009) is an amazing debut collection of twenty-three very brief but powerful and disturbing tales. More than half appear for the first time.
Undertow and Other Laments by Michael Kelly (Dark Regions Press) is number four in the publisher’s New Voices of Horror Series. Kelly’s work in this, his second collection is often quite effective and he’s a writer to watch. There are eighteen stories, four published for the first time.
Tragic Life Stories by Steve Duffy (Ash-Tree Press) showcases nine stories by a talented writer whose work has been published in various Best of the Year anthologies (including my own). I’ve often marveled at his fine writing and varied stories but this time out I feel there’s too much emphasis on the grim, bleak, and gray, and too much focus on brittle, deteriorating relationships. Six of the stories are new and they’re all worth reading—just not one right after the other. My favorite of the lot is the one that is the most different from the others: the novella, “The First Time.”
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King (Scribner/Cemetery Dance) is King’s third novella collection and his most recent since 1990’s Four Past Midnight. The four novellas are “1922,” “Big Driver,” “A Good Marriage,” and “Fair Extension.”
The Juniper Tree and Other Blue Rose Stories by Peter Straub (Subterranean) contains the four stories related to Straub’s Blue Rose trilogy of novels. The book includes an interview with the author by Bill Sheehan.
Stranger in the House: The Collected Short Supernatural Fiction, Volume One by Lisa Tuttle (Ash-Tree Press) covers stories written between 1972 and 1985 and is organized chronologically by the dates they were written. With an introduction by Stephen Jones.
Pieces of Midnight by Gary McMahon (Ash-Tree Press) is a fine collection of seventeen stories of contemporary supernatural fiction filled with the pain of loss, due to abandonment or death. Seven of the stories are original to the collection. There’s an introduction by Steve Duffy and McMahon has supplied notes for each story.
The Terrible Changes by Joel Lane (Ex Occidente Press) is an excellent collection published in 2009, but which I only received in 2010. It contains fourteen stories, twelve previously uncollected, two published for the first time. Lane’s foreword describes his evolution as a writer of weird fiction and the stories range over his so-far twenty-five-year career.
Futile Efforts by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery Dance) is a big (almost 500 pages) collection of sixteen stories, one novella, and forty-five poems. Each story is introduced by a notable writer. Piccirilli writes hard-edged, sometimes bloody stories in an always engaging voice. The one original story, while not horror, should still please his fans.
Literary Remains by R. B. Russell (PS) is the second collection of stories by a writer who in the past few years has been making a name for himself with his well-written weird and dark fiction, although he's still better known for being the publisher of Tartarus Press. The ten stories, eight new, are all well worth reading.
Souls Along the Meridian by Bill Congreve (Blade Red Press) features thirteen stories by the noted Australian editor, publisher, and writer, published between 1987 and 2010 in mostly Australian magazines and anthologies. One gruesome little tale is original to the collection.
The Old Knowledge & Other Strange Tales by Rosalie Parker (The Swan River Press) is a lovely little hardcover debut with eight uncanny stories, five of them published for the first time. The stories are more odd than frisson-producing and I felt some of the endings needed a bit more oomph to them. But still, a very readable collection.
This Way to Egress by Lawrence C. Connolly (Ash-Tree) has eighteen stories of horror, ghost, and mystery, plus a retrospective overview of the author's thirty-year career. One story is original to the collection.
Pelican Cay & Other Disquieting Tales by David Case (PS) is the author’s first collection in more than a decade. In it are seven stories, two of them previously unpublished novellas, one a new, very well-told conte cruel. Stephen Jones edited the collection and has provided an introduction. Randy Broecker’s black and white illustrations run throughout the book.
John Llewellyn Probert had two collections out in 2010: Wicked Delights (Atomic Fez), collecting eighteen stories, seven new, and Against the Darkness (Screaming Dreams), featuring Mr. Massene Henderson, a detective of the supernatural and his lovely assistant Samantha Jephcott in eleven entertaining stories, five of them new. The concluding novella is both horrific and charming, in equal measure.
Paul Finch had a productive year with three collections out in 2010: Craddock (Ghostwriter Publications) is an e-book collection of four novellas about a Victorian detective of the supernatural. The one original, “The Coils Unseen,” is very strong. One Monster Is Not Enough (Gray Friar Press) has eight novellas and novelettes, four original, and Walkers in the Dark (Ash-Tree Press) features five very good original stories and novellas.
Dark Regions published two collections by Paul Melniczek: A Haunted Halloween, with twelve tales, five original. Cover and interior art by Frank Walls and Monster, containing eight monster stories, all but two originals.
Slag Attack by Andersen Prunty (Eraserhead Press) features four interconnected stories about a grim, surreal post-apocalyptic world.
Seven Deadly Pleasures by Michael Aronovitz (Hippocampus Press) is a debut collection consisting of six stories and a long novella, four published for the first time. The best new story is “How Bria Died,” which was also published in the summer issue of Weird Tales. With a foreword by S. T. Joshi.
Nightmare-Touch by Lafcadio Hearn (Tartarus Press), edited and introduced by Paul A. Murray, is a fine introduction to the writer’s work and life. In addition to writing horror stories, world traveler Hearn wrote many books on Japanese culture and translated Japanese ghost tales. Included in the volume are thirty-five stories of fantasy, Chinese and Japanese ghost stories, “strange literature,” and a couple of Creole tales.
What Will Come After: The Complete Zombie Stories by Scott Edelman (PS) collects nine of the author’s zombie stories, with one new one, the title story, which is the strongest. Several of Edelman’s stories are quite poignant, as he delves into the emotional lives of those that return from death.
Wait for the Thunder by Donald R. Burleson (Hippocampus Press) has twenty-seven short stories, most published between 1974 and 2009, with two original to the collection.
Sub Rosa by Robert Aickman (Tartarus Press) is a reprint of the collection of eight tales originally published in 1968. With an introduction by Tartarus publisher Ray Russell. The volume is the first in a projected series of reprints of Aickman’s stories.
Unbound & Other Tales by David Dunwoody (Library of Horror Press) has a short novel and eight stories, five published for the first time.
The Beautiful Red by James Cooper (Atomic Fez) is the author’s second collection and contains twelve stories, five original to the collection. The others were mostly published in Black Static.
Do-Overs and Detours by Steve Vernon (Dark Regions Press) is part of their New Voices of Horror series. The volume has fifteen stories, five new. Some are dark, some weird.
Deadman’s Road by Joe R. Lansdale (Subterranean) is collection of five stories featuring the Rev. Jebediah Mercer, from his first appearance in Dead in the West to one new story called “The Dark Down There.”
As the Worm Turns by Brian Rosenberger (Blue Room Publishing) has twenty-two stories, seven of them published for the first time. Songs from Spider Street by Mark Howard Jones (Screaming Dreams) has twenty-five short shorts by the author, most new. Breaths in Winter by Donn Burgess (Naked Snake Press) has thirty-one stories, eight new.
Dark Awakenings by Matt Cardin (Mythos Books) follows his first collection Divinations of the Deep by presenting six formerly uncollected stories (with one original) along with some of his scholarly work about the genre, including two previously unpublished papers about George Romero’s Living Dead movies. Much of Cardin’s fiction focuses on cosmic horror.
Tempting Providence and Other Stories by Jonathan Thomas (Hippocampus Press) is the author’s second collection of twelve “strange”—rather than horror—stories. All appear for the first time.
In Concert by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (Centipede) is the second collection of collaborative stories by the Tems, including the award-winning novella “The Man on the Ceiling.” The book contains twenty-one pieces that cross genres from horror to sf to mainstream fiction. One novelette is new and it’s a good one.
In the Mean Time by Paul Tremblay (Chizine), with fifteen stories, presents a good and varied selection of the author’s short fiction since 2004, most of it dark. Four of the stories are new.
Beneath the Surface by Simon Strantzas (Dark Regions Press) is an expansion of the author’s collection with the same title, originally published in 2008 by Humdrumming Press. There is one new story.
The Best of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon) is a retrospective of Lansdale’s short stories and novellas from 1982 to 2007. It includes several of his Bram Stoker Award-winning stories plus The Big Blow.
The Secret Backs of Things by Christopher Golden (Cemetery Dance) is the author’s first collection and contains seventeen stories and one novella published between 1994 and 2007. The book is illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne and has a dust jacket by Alan M. Clark. With an introduction by Tim Lebbon.
Seven Ghosts and One Other by C. E. Ward (Sarob Press) heralds the welcome return of the press that shuttered its doors in 2007. The stories are M. R. Jamesian in tone and two are new. The volume comes with an afterword and brief story notes by the author.
Dear Dead Women by Edna W. Underwood (Tartarus Press) showcases the nine stories making up the supernatural and decadent fiction oeuvre of this American writer, who lived from 1873–1961. The book includes a story that has never been reprinted since its first publication in 1920. Introduction by S. T. Joshi.
Last Exit for the Lost by Tim Lebbon (Cemetery Dance) showcases over 550 pages of the British author’s work since 1999. In addition to seventeen reprints there are two new pieces, one a powerful novella about a woman taken prisoner by not so heavenly creatures who are convinced only she can save the world from apocalypse.
Cities of Night by Philip Nutman (Chizine Publications) collects ten stories published between 1990 and 2010, two original to the collection.
Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories (The Library of America) brings together into one compact volume the novels We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, plus all the stories from her collection The Lottery, and twenty-one additional stories and sketches of the macabre and of domestic life selected by Joyce Carol Oates.
Quill & Candle by Scott Thomas (Ghost House) is a collection of seventeen ghost stories about New England, all new, all taking place during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Darkness, Mist & Shadow: The Collected Macabre Tales of Basil Copper, Volumes One and Two edited and with an introduction by Stephen Jones (PS Publishing) as a set comes in at over twelve hundred pages.
In Sickness by L. L. Soares and Laura Cooney (Skullvine Press) has six stories by Soares, five by Cooney plus one novella-length collaboration. Three of the stories and the collaboration are new.
Wine and Rank Poison by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions) is Bird’s second collection and is concerned with revenge. There are three reprints, seven original stories, and one excerpt from a forthcoming novel.
Skull Full of Kisses by Michael West (Graveside Tales) has ten stories, two published for the first time.
The Collected Connoisseur by Mark Valentine and John Howard (Tartarus Press) brings together all the stories from two previous Tartarus volumes, In Violet Veils and Masques and Citadels, about an aesthetical detective and adds four, previously uncollected tales.
Nocturnal Emissions by Jeffrey Thomas (Dark Regions Press) has nine stories and novellas, three of them original to the collection.
Hellfire and Damnation by Connie Corcoran Wilson (Sam’s Dot) is thematically based on Dante’s Inferno and contains fifteen original and reprinted tales.
The Disappeared and Other Stories by Ray Garton (Camelot Books) contains four novellas and a new short novel. The book has two dozen black and white illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne.
Frank Belknap Long: Masters of the Weird Tale edited by John Pelan (Centipede Press) is a giant (over 1,000 pages) omnibus of Long’s work, with many of the stories reprinted for the first time. Profusely illustrated throughout with new illustrations by Allen Koszowski, Randy Broecker, and Gwabryel, and classic illustrations by Lee Brown Coye, Harry Clarke, Hannes Bok, and Virgil Finlay.
Occasional Demons by Rick Hautala (Cemetery Dance) is the author’s second collection. Its twenty-nine stories includes three collaborations and one original, each illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. A good-looking collectible for fans of the author’s work.
Little Things by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books) features twenty-three stories, all but six previously published. With an introduction by Mort Castle and story notes by the author.
Blood & Gristle by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books) has twenty stories, each illustrated by Daniele Serra.
A Host of Shadows by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press) is Shannon’s first collection in almost a decade. It contains twenty-five stories—a few of them new—an introduction by Rick Hautala, and story notes by the author.
Bone Soup by T. M. Wright (Cemetery Dance) subtitled, “This and That and Bric-A-Brac,” is an accurate title, mixing some of Wright’s poetry, his art, and his fine short stores in this first collection. Although better known for his novels and novellas, his best stories are powerful gems.