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The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 4 cover art

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 4

By: Ellen Datlow - author/editor, Stephen King, Peter Straub
Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Rebecca Mitchell, Michael Healy, Stephen R. Thorne, Charlie Thurston
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Summary

The first three volumes of The Best Horror of the Year have been widely praised for their quality, variety, and comprehensiveness.

With tales from Laird Barron, Stephen King, John Langan, Peter Straub, and many others, and featuring Datlow’s comprehensive overview of the year in horror, now, more than ever, The Best Horror of the Year provides the petrifying horror fiction readers have come to expect - and enjoy.

The complete list of narrators includes Lindy Nettleton, Charles Carroll, Shaun Grindell, Angela Brazil, and Fred Sullivan.

©2012 Ellen Datlow (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

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Oh dear, what a disappointment.....

I can't give a full review of this title, because I couldn't get past the third story. For all I know, everything after that may be utter genius, but I was so bored after the third story that I gave up.

The initial story, by Stephen King, starts promisingly enough, but degenerates into almost laughable shlock horror. I miss the old Stephen King, who wasn't just phoning his stories in.

The second, while interesting to begin with, due to its setting among the First Nation peoples of the far northern Americas, lost my interest mainly because too much remained unsaid - I felt I was expected to be shocked, horrified and so on, but hadn't been given enough information about the culture to allow me to understand the nuances of what was happening.

The third, set on the hills of the Lake District, had a lot of promise. As I listened further, however, I found the characters rather two-dimensional. For example, the number of sentences which consisted solely of a single swear word left me feeling that the author couldn't think of any other way in which to convey the characters' emotions.

It may have been more enjoyable with a better reader - the person reading this story had a terrible sing-song style which alienated me even further. It gave the impression that the narrator didn't really care about what was happening to him and his companion, because every sentence sounded as though he was shrugging while saying it.

Definitely not recommended.

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3 people found this helpful

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Good introduction to new writers.

Would you try another book written by the authors or narrated by the narrators?

I would try other work by some of the authors, but run a mile from a couple !
The story by Simon Westick about mist on the moor was absolutely dire, and the narration even worse!
I have, however, now discovered Livia Llewellyn who has a story in this collection, and although it's graphic and shocking, it's at least introduced me to her work.

What did you like best about this story?

The imagery was amazing. It's not an easy story to listen to but stick with it.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I have got used to American narrators since joining audible, whereas previously I wouldn't have purchased a CD with an American narrator.

Do you think The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 4 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think a follow up book would be a good idea for showcasing new talent, but shouldn't have poor quality stories from more famous authors just to lure the reader into buying.

Any additional comments?

No.

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