Fantasy

Starred review from July 31, 2006
The 19 mostly excellent short stories in this latest addition to the growing field of annual "best of" fantasy anthologies include works by established stars like Pat Cadigan (the delightful, wry "Is There Life After Rehab?") and Peter S. Beagle ("Two Hearts," a deceptively simple tale about love, loyalty and magic, the short story sequel to his 1968 novel, The Last Unicorn
). In a nod to the "mainstream acceptance" of fantasy, Horton reprints George Saunders's twisted, satirical "CommComm," which originally appeared in the New Yorker
. Distinguishing this anthology are many stories that first appeared in small press venues , including Samantha Henderson's "Five Ways Jane Austen Never Died" and Theodora Goss's haunting "Pip and the Fairies." Horton has gathered a diverse mix of styles and themes that illustrate the depth and breadth of fantasy writing today.

May 28, 2007
Horton fittingly describes “lyricism” as the quality linking his selections for the best fantasy stories of 2006. The morosely poetic “A Fine Magic” by Margo Lanagan pits two attractive sisters against a spurned suitor’s wizardly wrath; Jeffrey Ford’s brilliantly understated “The Night Whiskey” is a dark fantasy gem about a rural village whose residents commune with the dead; M. Rickert’s dreamlike masterwork, “Journey into the Kingdom,” follows a forlorn man who becomes enamored with a mysterious painter and her fantastical history; Benjamin Rosenbaum’s contemplative “A Siege of Cranes,” arguably the anthology’s most poetic and profoundly moving entry, depicts an improbable journey of retribution across a devastated wonderland of magic and myth.