Weird Fiction

[nomadman]

Originally Posted by dask

Personally I look forward to introductory material in anthologies/collections and feel a little cheated if i's left out. Imagine DANGEROUS VISIONS with just stories...

I often buy collections and anthologies with at least one eye on the introduction, especially if I've read the bulk of the work before. Stories aren't static objects, and a really excellent introduction coupled with a body of stories that gel together or even play off each other can make the whole thing very much more than the sum of its parts. I don't know how true this is as an observation, but I often feel that editors don't put as much effort into this 'gelling process' as they should, preferring perhaps to chose the most popular or critically acclaimed stories over stories that work together well.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by nomadman

....I often feel that editors don't put as much effort into this 'gelling process' as they should, preferring perhaps to chose the most popular or critically acclaimed stories over stories that work together well.

I purchase quite a few anthologies Genre and non-Genre and have always found the choice of story and their arrangement on the whole to be very good. I don't know which Editors or associated publishers you may be referring to but I'm referring to the likes of Victor Golancz, Penguin, Norton, Library of America, NYRB, Harvill Classics etc. My point being that those publishers that have a strong reputation for publishing quality fiction also I notice generally tend to have excellent editors at the helm of their anthologies. There are always exceptions but that is the trend I have noticed, including several radio interviews I have heard where Editors have discussed their rationale in choice and arrangement of stories.