Best Paula Guran Books
Paula Guran is less a writer than a curator with a point of view — one of horror and dark fantasy's most trusted editors, responsible for shaping what the genre considers its best each year. Her Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror series is essential reading for anyone who wants a map of where the genre's edges are being pushed, and her themed anthologies — Vampires: The Recent Undead, Zombies: The Recent Dead, Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women — go beyond simple compilation. Each collection has an argument embedded in it, a perspective on what these monster archetypes actually mean. Guran's taste runs toward literary darkness: psychologically precise, tonally controlled, the kind of horror that lingers rather than shocks. Readers who want a knowledgeable guide into the genre's serious work, not just its most commercial, will find Guran indispensable.
Where to Start with Paula Guran
- Best entry point → Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women
- Best standalone → Zombies: The Recent Dead
- Start The Morganville Vampires: Extras #9 (Dead Man Stalking ) series → Vampires: The Recent Undead
- What readers keep coming back to → The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010
Best Paula Guran Books
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The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010
Kyle Murchison Booth • Book 4
by Paula Guran, Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black, Ramsey Campbell, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Joe R. Lansdale, Stewart O'Nan, Sarah Pinborough, Norman Prentiss, Barbara Roden, Lucius Shepard, Peter Straub, Michael Shea, Kelly Link, Ekaterina Sedia, Catherynne M. Valente, Gerard Houarner, Gemma Files, Kurt Dinan, Elizabeth Bear, Roby Davies, Maura McHugh, Dale Bailey, Deborah Biancotti, Gary McMahon, Holly Phillips, John Mantooth, Marc Laidlaw, Margo Lanagan, Michael Marshall Smith, Nadia Bulkin, Nathan Ballingrud, Paul Tremblay, Peter Atkins, Sarah Monette, Seth Fried, Stephen Graham Jones, Steve Duffy, Steve Rasnic Tem, Suzy McKee Charnas, John Langan
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Darkness lurks everywhere — in small-town picnics, behind dumpsters where harpies dwell, and in The Nowhere where lost things go — across stories that find horror in the mundane.
★ 3.84 Goodreads (431 ratings) - 2
Zombies: The Recent Dead
by Paula Guran, Steve Duffy, Max Brooks, Nik Houser, Andy Duncan, David J. Schow, Joe R. Lansdale, Neil Gaiman, Alice Sola Kim, Gary A. Braunbeck, Francesca Lia Block, Tobias S. Buckell, David Wellington, Tim Waggoner, Kit Reed, Brian Keene, Kelly Link, Gary McMahon, Scott Edelman, Kevin Veale, Michael Marshall Smith, Tim Lebbon, David Prill
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Twenty-three authors reimagine zombies as everything from Romero's living dead to dancing thrillers, proving these monsters adapt to any apocalyptic permutation.
★ 3.66 Goodreads (939 ratings) - 3
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, Volume Two
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror • Book 2
by Paula Guran
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From the supernatural to the all-too-real, this anthology proves modern horror writers are finding imaginative new ways to unsettle readers.
★ 3.85 Goodreads (89 ratings) - 4
Vampires: The Recent Undead
The Morganville Vampires: Extras #9 (Dead Man Stalking )
by Paula Guran, Albert E. Cowdrey, J.A. Konrath, Jeanne C. Stein, Karen Russell, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Newman, Mary Turzillo, Michael Marshall Smith, Nancy Kilpatrick, Nisi Shawl, Barbara Roden, Rachel Caine, Stephen Dedman, Susan Sizemore, Tanith Lee, Tanya Huff, Tina Rath, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Carrie Vaughn, Charlaine Harris, Charles de Lint, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Conrad Williams, Holly Black, John Langan
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From Charlaine Harris to Kelley Armstrong, twenty-six authors sink their teeth into vampire fiction that transcends traditional horror boundaries. The collection spans romance, mystery, humor, and science fiction with equal bite.
★ 3.60 Goodreads (958 ratings) - 5
Zombies: More Recent Dead
by Paula Guran, Mike Carey, Neil Gaiman, Kathleen Tierney, Stephen Graham Jones, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, Carrie Vaughn, Carrie Ryan, Matthew Johnson
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Literary horror's finest writers use zombies to explore survival, society, and what makes us human in the first place. The anthology avoids shambling clichés by focusing on character-driven stories that happen to feature the undead.
★ 3.63 Goodreads (212 ratings) - 6
Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women
by Paula Guran
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Female writers have shaped vampire fiction since Dracula's publication, reimagining the undead through uniquely feminine perspectives. This anthology celebrates their contributions to supernatural literature.
★ 3.54 Goodreads (314 ratings)