The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1 is Paula Guran’s 50th edited anthology. If you’ve read any of Guran’s other anthologies, you know she tries to present quality writing with a diverse range. The old cliche, “Something here for every taste,” certainly applies.

My tastes in fantasy tend toward the unexpected. Take P. Dieli Clark’s “If the Martians Have Magic” for instance. The Martians have invaded Earth three times and a collective Martian mind wants to help Humans resist the next invasion. They offer Martian Magic as a possible protection…but at a price. I also enjoyed Richard Parks’s “The Fox’s Daughter.” A member of royalty must travel away from her kingdom for six months. She asks her friend, the ruler of a nearby kingdom, to take care of her difficult teenage daughter. Reluctantly, he agrees. The teenage daughter has the power–like her mother–to turn into a fox or a woman. Challenges appear.

While I wasn’t familiar with P. Dieli Clark or Richard Park (although I’m planning on finding their books), I am familiar with James Enge and his “Drunkard’s Walk” possesses the same high level story-telling qualities of Enge’s The Tournament of Shadows trilogy.

I enjoyed many of stories in The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1. If you’re in the mood for an anthology with a variety of fantasy styles, this is the one to check out. Are you a fan of Fantasy stories? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS (alphabetical):

• Marika Bailey, “The White Road; Or How a Crow Carried Death Over a River” (Fiyah #18) — 122
• Elizabeth Bear, “The Red Mother” (Tor.com) — 140
• Tobias Buckell, “Brickomancer (Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories) — 252
• P. Djèlí Clark, “If the Martians Have Magic” (Uncanny #42) — 314
• Roshani Chokshi, “Passing Fair and Young” (Sword Table Stone: Old Legend, New Voices) — 195
• Varsha Dinesh, “The Demon Sage’s Daughter” (Strange Horizons 2/8/21) — 260
• Andrew Dykstal, “Quintessence” (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #324) — 211
• James Enge, “Drunkard’s Walk (F&SF 5-6) — 297
• Karen Joy Fowler, “The Piper” (F&SF 1-2) — 379

Introduction: Mirrors by Paula Guran — xi
• Carlos Hernandez & C. S. E. Cooney, “A Minnow, or Perhaps a Colossal Squid (Mermaids Monthly, April) — 334
• Kathleen Jennings, “Gisla and the Three Favors” (Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #43) — 189
• Allison King, “Breath of the Dragon King” (Fantasy #72) — 376
• PH Lee, “Frost’s Boy” (Lightspeed #128) — 77
• Yukimi Ogawa, “Her Garden the Size of Her Palm (F&SF 7-8) — 174
• Tobi Ogundiran, “The Tale of Jaja and Canti” (Lightspeed #135) — 96
• Richard Parks. “The Fox’s Daughter (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #344) — 354
• Karen Russell, “The Cloud Lake Unicorn” (Conjunctions:76) — 103
• Sofia Samatar, “Three Tales from the Blue Library” (Conjunctions:76) — 368
• Catherynne Valente, “L’Esprit de Escalier” (Tor.com) — 50
• Fran Wilde, “Unseelie Bros, Ltd.” (Uncanny #40) — 1
• Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, “Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts” (Apex #121) — 282
• Isabel Yap,“A Spell for Foolish Hearts” (Never Have I Ever) — 387
• E. Lily Yu, “Small Monsters” (Tor.com) — 26

About the Authors — 433

Acknowledgements — 440

About the Editor — 443