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Note, Jan. 11, 2015: Ive just edited this to correct two misspellings.Nov. 5, 2010Of several annual years best genre collections, editors Datlow and Windlings annual summation of the related, supernatural/magic-based fields of fantasy and horror enjoys one of the best reputations among library reviewers and serious fans. This is my first exposure to the series; I picked up this volume several years ago at a yard sale, and finally turned to it recently while I was waiting for an ILL book. Obviously, the overviews of 1994 developments in each genre, and of the treatments of both in the media and in comics in 1994, as well as the list of obituaries of genre writers dying in that year, are primarily of interest to very serious students of the field, who read each of these annual overviews as they come out and can set the trends in that context. I admittedly didnt read any of these, and dont plan to. (However, I did do enough skimming to tell that theyre detailed and substantial.)Out of 53 selections by 51 contributors (Jane Yolan and A. R. Morlan are represented twice) 47 are short stories, making up the bulk of the 542 pages here; there is one essay, and five poems. These odd forms, being easy to comment on as a group, were among the first selections I read (as usual with anthologies, Im not reading this one in order). Swanwicks essay, cast in the extended metaphor of a voyage through uncharted waters, is a creative and insightful exploration of what he calls hard fantasy, that is, works that are (when written, at least) sui generis, really unique in style, subject matter or approach. He has an eclectic and broad definition of fantasy, and his taste runs more to the surreal and experimental than mine does. Many of the works he profiles are new to me, and Im not tempted to read most of them. But his discussion is really educational and fascinating in itself, and written in a style as pleasurable to read as any work of fiction!Poetry, by definition, often communicates in a non-linear, intuitive way, characterized by much simile and metaphor, or symbolic imagery. This is especially true of poetry thats surreal, as are three poems here. But even surreal poetry is supposed to communicate; if the surreal quality of the imagery confuses communication rather than enhances it, the poem fails artistically. For me, that was true of The Village of the Mermaids. On the other hand, The Stone Woman by Native American writer Linda Weasel Head and Darrell Schweitzers He Unwraps Himself, though their imagery is surreal, are clearly metaphors for understandable realities that they succeed in making real and immediate. Yolens Marchen and Rachel Wetzsteons Bottoms Dream are both basically accessible and well crafted, but both are closely related to other literary works that form a context for understanding them; in the latter case, if you havent read or (as I have) seen A Midsummer Nights Dream performed, youll have some trouble understanding the poem.Turning to the stories, I started with most of the writers whose work Ive previously read and liked (though for Judith Tarr, Id only read a single story before). Bradburys Unterseeboot Doktor is not his best work; its (for me) the fictional equivalent of Bradleys poem above, a work that flops because its so surreal that it ultimately fails to communicate. Kings The Man in the Black Suit is as well-written as any of his tales Ive read, masterful in its you-are-there evocation of the early 20th century in his home state of Maine, and genuinely horrifying and scary. (Structurally, it has much in common with Dan Simmons Iversons Pits, another story I recently read; both have octogenarian narrators looking back to 1913-14, when as boys of nine or ten they encountered the supernatural and radical evil --here, the ultimate evil of Satan himself.) But King manages both to trivialize the Devil and give him too much credit. The real one has more profound purposes than simply eating humans like a ghoul, nor would a nine-year- old kid be apt to physically outrun him, even with luck; and the story itself will not bear the tacked-on weight of its existential despair/cosmic horror moral, any more than most stories with that theme successfully do. But de Lints Coyote Stories and Tarrs Mending Souls are masterpieces! The latter, with its skillful use of the Coyote motif, could give Bradbury lessons on how to use surrealism (like pepper in a stew, its best applied with a shaker, not a ladle); and its a poignant, heartbreaking but hopeful evocation of the modern urban Native American experience and a socially-constructive message that speaks to it from the heart of cultural tradition. This is a work that gives the lie to the canard that writers (and readers) of one race cant possibly understand the problems or culture of another. And Tarrs tale is a gem, set mostly in early 1800s Ireland, written in perfect Irish diction, and making wonderful, creative use of Irish folkloric elements. (Tarr is one of many writers I need --and want-- to read more of sometime, when I get through the list Ive already got!)Dec. 7, 2010On this round of reading, I finished six more stories, picking those by the remaining author whose work Id read some of before and liked (Kress), those with authors whose names I recognized (excluding the ones whose work Id sampled before and disliked), and one by a writer new to me, Emily Newland. They were definitely a mixed bag.Charles Grants Sometimes, in the Rain was the biggest disappointment, since Id heard a lot of good things about his work. This is an extremely dark, depressing tale of dead-ended lives, toxic family relationships, infidelity and malice that survives death, unrelieved by any optimism of any kind, and marred by gratuitous profanity. (Im still willing to give Grant another chance, but despite this story, not because of it.) Newlands Who Will Love the River God? draws, apparently, on folklore about waterbabies; but since the author presupposes an acquaintance with that lore that I dont have, the story lost a good deal for me, and the sexual aspect of it was handled in such a way as to be a major turnoff. (Im also not a fan of copout endings, that simply leave the protagonist with an unresolved choice.) Gaimans Snow, Glass, Apples, one of two stories out of the six that re-vision specific traditional fairy tales, is like Tanith Lees Red as Blood (1979) a reinterpretation of Snow White as a vampire story, with the princess as a child/teen vampire and the stepmother on the side of good. But where Lee powerfully depicts the triumph of redemption, Gaimans stylistic and technical skill (which, based on this story, is considerable) is used to create a very dark portrait of the triumph of evil. (This story also has a much more pervasive eroticism than Lees --and unlike hers, most of the eroticism here is decidedly warped.) For me, it disgusted rather than pleased.On the other hand, while McKillips Transmutations was a slow starter, in the sense that it drops you into the action en medias res and makes you deduce a full understanding of the setting and situation for yourself, that effort is worth it: this is a really engaging story that deals, in a very winsome way, with a fundamental philosophical issue. Jane Yolens De Natura Unicorni is an excellent medieval-flavored fantasy --and to my surprise (having read her Scientific Creationism), explicit Christian symbolism is the very heart of this story. Finally, Kress Words Like Pale Stones, a new look at the Rumplestilskin tale, is as stylistically sumptuous and emotionally evocative as the Gaiman story (and not Pollyanna-ish in its optimism --the storys resolution comes with painful cost), but it moves in a different and vastly more wholesome atmosphere. (Previously, Id read some of Kress SF short fiction; this work suggests that shes every bit as able with fantasy.)Jan. 4, 2011Modern writers who want to be considered literary by the critics, of course, dont sully themselves with genre fiction. But surrealism is a staple technique for this group, and some speculative-fiction genre editors will claim works in that vein; and certainly writers in this club also produce work that could at times be called fantastic and horrific (though devoid of any features like appealing characters, optimism, moral vision, and, usually, coherent plotting and resolution, which might brand it as disgustingly plebian). Tempted, probably, by the Lorelei-song of Literary Respectability, Datlow and Windling evidently collected quite a few stories in this vein, and this time around I suffered through five of them: The Brothers by Oates (whose win-loss record for short fiction, in my estimation, is now 0-3; Im discerning a pattern here); the ones by Jonathan Carroll and Nicholson Baker, both of which signally fail to achieve the willing suspension of disbelief thats essential for fiction if its to succeed; Pagan Kennedys Elviss [sic] Bathroom, which is redolent with moral and physical grunginess, and Leroy Quintanas La Promesa. If Quintana were an Anglo, his demeaning and stereotypical portrayal of Hispanics would be called racist; and he probably holds the distinction of being the worst prose stylist of his generation (hes the king of the overused parenthetical phrase).Jan. 30, 2011The highlight of this round of reading in the volume was definitely Gregory Feeleys Aweary of the Sun (Shakespeare buffs will recognize the Macbeth allusion). Set in the theatrical world of London in 1613 (which it brings to perfect life) it furnishes an imaginative gloss on obviously well-researched actual events. Textured, nuanced, filled with complex and vital characters who practically walk off the page, its a masterpiece. The only quibble one might make here is that it isnt clearly supernatural fiction, except for being published in a supernatural venue (the only way that plotted, well-written descriptive historical short fiction can see print nowadays --unless its a mystery!). One character is a self-described witch, and the viewpoint character believes her, but nothing in that premise or its outworking here departs from what could plausibly have happened in the Burning Times; theres no indication that her powers are real. (But with a story this good, who cares?)Alas, the other five stories I sampled (four I didnt finish) fell far short of Feeleys. David Garnetts A Friend Indeed (which I did read through) is marred by a completely implausible ending that doesnt ring psychologically true. If one takes it as veering into surrealism at the end (which might constitute its only claim to be horror; surrealism, of course, can now be passed off as any genre that offers a marketing prospect), then it doesnt ring artistically true --the abrupt abandonment of the completely realistic unfolding of almost the entire story comes across as a fraud or gyp perpetrated on the reader. I did skim Cuban-American writer Margarita Engles story, and understand (and even sympathize with!) what shes trying to do with this particular exercise in surrealism, and how shes trying to do it; it just doesnt work for me personally. (To me, the maids tales to the fifteen sisters, instead of being exciting, transformative, alluring, liberating, seductive/subversive, etc, etc., were just tedious, boring and pointless verbiage that I was glad to not wade through.) A. R. Morlans first story here and Nicholas Royles The Big Game both came across as too disgustingly obscene to finish --the first one because of an unremitting, every-sentence wallow in coarse smuttiness that grated like sandpaper, and Royles because of a subject matter dealing with violent, sadistic sex abuse. And Ian McDonalds Blue Motel finally descended into that territory as well --a particular disappointment, because it started off well as a clever and even witty riff on Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho.
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