Synopsis
13 original tales to terrify in a brand new anthology showcasing the very best and bizarre in horror fiction.
Olivie Blake, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, Tim Lebbon, V Castro, Ally Wilkes, Rian Hughes, Lindy Ryan, Susi Holliday, Lily Kade, TL Huchu, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Clay McLeod Chapman
Be careful what you wish for.
Whether searching for love, fame, money or revenge, remember that everything comes with a price. From stepping into an unknown in nature to ignoring the warnings of locals, to finding your perfect match or facing the hidden horrors of your past, beware.
The thirteen stories in this brand-new anthology explore the dark side of human nature and take us into the hidden, terrifying recesses of a world we never see. Until it’s too late . . .
Review
Black Crow Books, for those you with your heads buried deep into the sand, have been smashing it out of the park with their gorgeous special editions. Including King Sorrow and Coffin Moon, it’s clear that what they are offering is key for horror book collectors.
So, I was very happy when I saw that they were publishing an anthology in the vein of Ellen Datlow’s collections, called BEST NEW HORROR VOLUME 1. Filled with original stories from speculative fictions top short story writers, each story collected within is unique, varied, and most importantly, fun to read! Some can be horrible, some are gory, and some have deep, lingering moral questions, but Black Crow has put together a truly entertaining collection of great bite-sized horror gems.
For this being the debut collection from the book group is impressive. Yes, the artists, editors, authors and other crew behind this are all professionals with years and years of experience (so it’s not a surprise), but it’s still so exciting to see a new and hopefully long-lasting series of anthologies be brought to life here. The dust jacket has a striking deep-crimson hue, the same with its sprayed edges and naked hardcover, which also has additional gold foiling, so even the physical package feels premium.
But the stories themselves – which, I’m sure, is what you actually want to hear about – are all brilliant. The standouts for me are Drop Shock by Ally Wilkes (a Survivor style show goes very wrong), It Gets Everywhere by Lisa Tuttle (this one made me feel ill), The Butcher of Puckley Village by V. Castro (a folkloric, village slash-‘em-up), Bow Knee Lake by Tim Lebbon (this one could easily be expanded into a full novel, there’s just so much story depth to this), and Backsliding by Clay McLeod Chapman (sad and terrifying in equal measures).
I am super excited for what Black Crow Books does next from their publishing side of things. This anthology shows just how much promise they have for future projects, and I hope that Best New Horror Volume 2 is just as good (I have no doubt it will be)!
Buy The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror Vol 1 directly from Black Crow Books! Click here!
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