Library Journal (08/01/2011):
When the Great Days Come, Gardener Dozois

Whether a tale involving the repercussions of an American history that does not include Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox (“Counterfactual”) or a reflection on the past century in the persona of an old man faced with the possibility of recapturing his youth by transferring his consciousness to a machine (“Knight of Ghosts and Shadows”), the 18 stories in this collection span nearly five decades, from 1971 to 2010, and illustrate the author’s breadth of knowledge and storytelling mastery. Known primarily as an editor (“The Year’s Best Science Fiction”, Vols. 1–28; “Nebula Awards Showcase 2006”), Dozois is also an author of short stories, novels, and nonfiction. VERDICT These elegant and eclectic stories should delight sf readers of every persuasion.

Booklist (08/01/2011):
Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, edited by Paula Guran

As editor Guran freely admits in the introduction to this second volume in the annual series she launched in 2010, dark fantasy is a label that defies easy definition, yet most readers know it when they see it. Along with its obvious embrace of horror fiction, this gathering also includes stories that stray into sword and sorcery, folklore, and science-fiction territory. Weighing in at over 550 pages, the volume offers a generous variety of themes and narrative styles from chilling but inventive ghost stories to nightmarish tales of dystopian futures. An aging pensioner in a rundown lodge meets an old friend, long presumed dead, bent on dragging him down to a hellish hotel subbasement. A Portland teen discovers an old book of spells allowing him to invoke a rainstorm he then has difficulty ending. In a plague-ridden future American landscape, Cleveland becomes a zombie penal colony. Many of the authors here are established genre masters, such as Joe R. Lansdale and Neil Gaiman, whose consummate storytelling skills will provide hours of satisfyingly unsettling entertainment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Sean is not the only Prime winner, either. One of the editors of Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It (Mad Norwegian), winner for nonfiction, is Lynne M. Thomas who (writing as Dr. L. Marie Howard, MSLIS, PhD, Senior Archivist, Department of Rare Books, Samuel Mather Parrington Museum) introduces our new edition of The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette.

Congrats to all winners and nominees!

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