The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011

The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror

by Liz Grzyb (Editor), Talie Helene (Editor), Angela Slatter

32 excellent tales by some of Australia's and New Zealand's biggest names as well as some emerging writers.
The second volume in this award-winning series. Includes a review of 2011 and a list of recommended stories.

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Horror, Steampunk, Short Stories, Fiction, Paranormal

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

I'm a reader, librarian, teacher, bellydancer, traveller and champagne-addict.

Reviews

[Don Midas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this anthology. Australian speculative fiction is up there with the world's best and the best here would fit amongst the best anywhere. That being said there were a couple stories (largely from the horror section) that didn't feel as strong. There are some big/ emerging big names here eg Sara Douglas, Terry Dowling, Margaret Mahy, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Lee Battersby and Kaaron Waaren

My three favourites, which I've already reread, were Reading Coffee by Panegyres, Miss Tapewka County by Hannett and The Coffinmaker's Daughter by Slatter. I actually haven't heard of any of them (maybe that's my fault) but I look forward to reading more from them all in the future.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Talie Helene told me in a Canberra pub that she had a new copy of Ticonderoga Press’s Years Best Fantasy and Horror 2011, I laid my last twenty bucks on the table, sight unseen. The first of the volume was such a diversely satisfying collection of recently published stories by Australian writers that there was no chance I was going to miss out on Part Two.

And what a collection it is. As chunky as a novel, what the current Year’s Best shows is how integrated the Horror and Fantasy genres have become among Australian writers now—we like a good dollop of darkness with our fantastic fiction, and the lines between are as blurred as the shadow that lurks in your room after the lights go out.

Ten to fifteen years ago, a fantasy collection would have heavily leant towards stories of the Tolkienesque and heroic D&D kind. We might still see a resurgence of this after readers get tired of the current media and literary fashion of dystopia and grimdark, but that’s still a way off, if our best published stories give any indication.

There are several standouts in this collection. Angela Slatter’s Gravedigger‘s Daughter, won this Year’s British Fantasy Award winner. She absolutely deserved it.. The tropes of ghosts and magic and dastardly dames are all eminently recognisable, yet a quirk of noir elevates a murderous tale into something else altogether.

Revenge seems to play a big part in a lot of these stories. A great many victims turn the tables on their oppressors, bad people get punished. Pure Horror sometimes doesn’t have this denouement, as he Final Girl often runs off only to fall into our monster/killer’s last trap. The fantasy element of this collection allows for a sweeter, more triumphal wrap-up of our sometimes hapless protagonist.

One final note, many of these stories were published overseas. As little as five years ago it was unfairly suggested that AU publications didn’t have the same robustness as say, UK and US markets. I’m happy to say that this comparison is no longer the case.

Elephant Stamp On The Hand Rating: - Good Work!

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.

[EveLyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book with beautifully written stories that would be perfect for anyone who is a fan of the Horror/fantasy genres!

[Ticonderoga Publications · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard Ticonderoga Disclaimer: We published this book because we loved it!

[Ticonderoga Publications · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standard Ticonderoga Disclaimer: We published this book because we loved it!