#BookReview ‘The Black Crow Book Of Best New Horror Volume 1’

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 . . .

As soon as it was possible to do so, I had this book on pre-order. The table of contents reads like a who’s who of modern horror, and I have eagerly followed Black Crow PR, and engaged on blogtours and cover reveals with them over the years. For them to expand into publishing, is brilliant news for readers and writers alike and this anthology not only cements them as premier attractors of the biggest names, the cover, the end papers and design is bespoke and gorgeous (designed by contributer Rian Hughes!).

The contents of the ‘The Black Crow Book Of The Best New Horror Volume 1’ are-

It Gets Everywhere’ by Lisa Tuttle-You will never unplug a drain, plug hole or feel something in your mouth, again, without thinking of this story of love, loss and regret. But mostly hair.

Good LORD does this get dark! Think of the viral threads post the ‘Women Going Into Space’ debacle, crossed with reality TV and isolation on an island. How far will you go to win?

‘Muses’ by Lily Kade-Possibly my favourite in the anthology-if I was held at gunpoint to choose,but please don’t !-male authors and their fascination with youth keeping their ideas young and fresh,is given a nasty twist with vengeance being sweet and to be savoured.

A ghost experience which lingers far beyond this world, this takes the paranormal beyond our realm, but also brings something back with it. Privilege and class have rarely been skewered so neatly and viciously.

The migrant experience is given a completely new look courtesy of ancient, own voices terror and  rituals . Superb and haunting.

English folk horror with extra splatter, few do it better than V!

Fan service taken to the nth level, obssession and validation are seen through the eyes of an obsessed fan meeting her childhood crushnas an adult, and just how far delusion will take you to get what you want , and need, to own .

When a holiday goes horribly wrong, and you end up far from where you are supposed to, a half built hotel becomes the least of your worries, in this folkloric lay over from horror’s grand maester.

Memory and wanting to hold onto the feeling something gave you are explored to chilling effect in this tale of a book, half remembered, that takes the trope of being read to, as a child, to a chilling conclusion.

A Southern grande dame at the end of her days plans her funeral with her fellow nursing home residents. Short, sweet and satisfying as all hell!

First person narration from a male perspective as a man who felt he could never pull the girl of his dreams, changes beyond all recognition to accommodate his beloved.

A neo noir horror tale about being careful on nature hikes, enclosed within a tale of eco horror, I absolutely loved Tim’s contribution to the anthology!

A child’s perspective of how mental illness is changing her mother, or is it possession? A moving meditation on what whether her family are doing to contain her is symptomatic of patriarchal ownership, and acceptance of bodily change eg the menopause or whther possession by evil is the inevitable answer.

What I enjoyed so much about this anthology is the representation of non white, cis male authors and an even spread of people who identify themselves as women.

The way they stories flow into each other shows that a lot of care has been taken with how the rhythm of the story flows into the next one. They aren’t all on the same theme, all were commissioned for this anthology and will not have been read anywhere else.

This is a book made by true lovers of the genre and publishing as well, and I love it, roll on Book 2!!!

Following record breaking sales in horror fiction and the rise of new imprints focusing on the genre, the appetite for all things weird and wonderful is bigger than ever.

Both a new venture and passion project, The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror combines stories from the biggest and best authors writing today, brought to you by industry experts, uber nerds and fans.

Genre bookseller Matt Holland (The Broken Binding) and genre comms specialist Jamie-Lee Nardone (Black Crow PR) joined forces in 2024 to launch Black Crow Books; an agile and bespoke publisher and bookseller with a mission to publish the best new names in horror while also bringing out special editions of classics both old and new as well as subscription boxes.

The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror Volume 1 is their inaugural anthology.

Links-https://www.blackcrowbooks.co.uk/

                                                                                  Instagram @blackcrow_bks