So sorry this will be the last volume of Best New Horror. My two favorite stories are the superlative “The Old Man in the Woods” by the always fabulous Reggie Oliver, exploring the dark secrets surrounding an old property in France and “The Burning Woods” a splendid, deceiving novelette with an unexpected outcome ,penned by the eclectic Michael Marshall Smith, depicting a loner taking refuge in a lake resort out of season. In the subtly unsettling “The Children of Medea” by Stephen Bacon, set in a small Greek Island, uncanny secrets and unusual pupils lead a temporary teacher to take action while in “Antripuu” by Simon Strantzas we meet horror at its peak, in the shape of a terrifying, hungry creature living in the woods. “Zombie-ish” by Scott Bradfield is an interesting story of urban horror, conveying to the reader a strong feeling of angst and insecurity, while “A Stay at the Shores” by Steve Rasnic Tem is the disquieting report of a long train ride towards an untraceable beach by an elusive ocean. Some stories are truly excellent and I will mention them below. What really matters is the quality of the tales, which, as always, is consistently good.
Actually, due to a delayed schedule, the stories therein have been all published in the year 2019, not in 2020. Once again he has collected the “best” short horror stories appeared in collections and genre magazines during the previous year. Stephen Jones is the winner of multiple World Fantasy Awards, the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Awards, British. Sadly this will be the final volume of a successful, long lasting series of anthologies compiled by distinguished British editor Stephen Jones.
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