"The Best Horror of the Year – Volume One" - читать интересную книгу автора (Datlow Ellen, Lewis E. Michael, Bowes Richard, Duffy Steve, Spencer William...)

Also Noted

This is not meant to be all inclusive but merely a sampling of dark fiction available during 2008.

The paranormal romance subgenre is booming with unending variations of vampires, werewolves, witches, and ghosts. Here's a mere sampling of some of the vampires novels: The Darkness is the newest in L. A. Banks's (St Martin's Press) vampire Huntress series; Chosen by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Press) is the third in a series of young adult vampire novels. The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason (Signet Eclipse) is the third in a series about a family of vampire slayers. The Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill (Berkley Heat) another series entry. Midnight Reign by Chris Marie Green (Ace) is the second book in a vampire series. The Vampire of New York by Lee Hunt (Signet), an 1860s murder mystery involving Dracula. Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula by Hideyuki Kikuchi (Del Rey), translated from the Japanese, is about Dracula in 1880 Japan. Vampire Interrupted by Lynsay Sands (Avon), about a vampire training to be a private investigator. The Ravening by Dawn Thompson (Love Spell) is part of a historical vampire romance series. The Undead Kama Sutra by Mario Acevedo (Eos) is the third in a vampire mystery series. Blood Colony by Tananarive Due (Atria) is the third installment of her Living Blood series. Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian (Dell) is a vampire romance. Even Aunt Dimity, of the cozy mystery series by Nancy Atherton, gets into the act with Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter (Viking). Staked by J. F. Lewis (Pocket) is a first novel about vampires and werewolves. Breaking Dawn, another in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown). Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston (Del Rey), fourth in the series about a vampiric private eye. Brides of the Impaler by Edward Lee (Leisure) is the first vampire novel by the prolific author. The Dracula Dossier by James Reese (Morrow) is about Bram Stoker's investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders in London, and using them later for inspiration in writing Dracula. Vampire Zero by David Wellington (Three Rivers Press), the third book in this continuing series. Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Atria) is the second of the Marie Laveau mystery series. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley) is sixteenth in the Anita Blake series. Vamps: Vampire American Princesses, Vamps: Night Life, and Vamps: After Dark by Nancy A. Collins (HarperCollins) introduces the creator of the Sonya Blue vampire series to the young adult market with the first three books of a new series. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is a new entry in the Sookie Stackhouse series. A Dangerous Climate, a new Count St. Germain novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Tor).

Other supernatural creatures are far less prevalent than vampires but still popular: Werewolves: The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy (Berkley Sensation). Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge (St. Martin 's) is the first book in a series about a werewolf cop. Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney (Ballantine) is the first novel of an urban werewolf trilogy. A new werewolf series by L. A. Banks debuted with Bad Blood (St. Martin 's). Ravenous by Ray Garton (Leisure) is about an infestation of werewolves in a small California town. The Wolfman by George Pekearo (Tor) is about a werewolf who trains himself to only hunt and kill those who are evil. It was the first novel by a young writer whose life was cut tragically short and died before the book's publication.

Witches: The Outlaw Demon Wails (Eos) is sixth in the series about a witch who is a private eye. Witch Blood by Anya Bast (Sensation) is part of a series. The 5^th Witch by Graham Masterton (Leisure) about an LA detective embroiled in a struggle against an international crime czar who uses a witch to enable him to take over LA. Fathom by Cherie Priest (Tor) is about an evil water witch who hopes to awaken mankind's long-sleeping enemy.

Demons: Beast of Desire by Lisa Renee Jones (Silhouette Nocturne) is a romance about demon hunters. The Devouring by Simon Holt (Little, Brown), a young adult novel about a girl confronted by demons that feed on fear. Another novel about creatures that feed upon fear is Mary SanGiovanni's Found You (Leisure), the sequel to The Hollower.

Ghosts: Ghost of a Chance by Kate Marsh (Obsidian) is the first book in a series featuring a ghosthunter. The Wicked Dead, the young adult series about ghosts by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton, continues (HarperTeen). Seer of Shadows by Avi (HarperCollins) is a young adult ghost story taking place in 1872. Ghost Walk by Brian Keene (Leisure) is about a haunted Halloween attraction.

Zombies, despite all the hype of 2007, seem to have died down in popularity, judging by the tiny number of novels published last year. Soulless by Christopher Golden (Pocket/MTV Books) is about what happens when a séance held in Times Square somehow summons up the living dead. Empire by David Dunwoody (Permuted Press) with the Grim Reaper as a hero, destroying zombies wherever he goes. Blood of the Dead by A. P. Fuchs (Coscom Entertainment), first in the Undead World trilogy.

Some other odds and ends in the novel category: Stephen King had a big new novel out, Duma Key (Scribner) and so did Dean Koontz with Your Heart Belongs to Me (Bantam). Stephenie Meyer's first adult novel, The Host, was published by Little, Brown. Orgy of Souls by Wrath James White and Maurice Broaddus (Apex) was a short novel as was Ray Garton's The Folks 2: No Place Like Home, follow-up to his early short novel The Folks (Cemetery Dance). The Midnight Man by Simon Clark (Severn House). Coffin Country by Gary A. Braunbeck (Leisure), which is a prologue to his Cedar Hill series and includes two reprinted Cedar Hill stories. Johnny Gruesome by Greg Lamberson (Bad Moon Books). The Academy by Bentley Little (Signet). Night Children by Kit Reed (Tor). The Economy of Light by Jack Dann (PS) about a retired Nazi hunter called in by authorities to identify what is thought to be Mengele's body in Brazil. Night Work by Thomas Glavinic, translated from the German by John Brownjohn (Canongate), is about a man who wakes up to find the world deserted. Starts off well but loses steam about halfway through. Contagious by Scott Sigler (Crown) is the sequel to Infected, reviewed above. The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd (Chatto amp; Windus) is another retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The always reliable Patrick McGrath's Trauma (Knopf) is about a psychiatrist trying to manage his own demons. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Walker) is the fictionalized re-creation of an infamous case of child murder taking place in 1860 and Scotland Yard Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher who attempted to solve it.