The Mammoth Book Anthologies Review

Hi readers,

I have always liked Woolly Mammoths. I guess there's just something about the way they look that I like. I've been interested in dinosaur and ancient animals since I can remember. I still have a few toy dinosaurs knocking around and I've a number of Woolly Mammoth soft toys. I wonder if they do mange to bring Mammoths back-as science has been looking into-what they'll actually be like and if they are just elephants with fur and longer tusks? Of course, they actually have nothing to do with this post, because the use of Mammoth in this content means huge. So, let's get to it.

I am reviewing The Mammoth Book Of .... series.   Now, because there is a LOT of these books covering fiction, non-fiction, photos (as I recently found out) and puzzles. across all genres and mostly in the format of short stories, extracts and novellas, I decided to just write about them as a whole and touch upon the ones I own. In trying to do some research about this series, I found that there wasn't much out there. I was hoping for a complete list of books or a history about where, why and how the series came to be, but I've been unable to find out the information I wanted. (if you can help, please comment below). Of course there is a list of currently available books that does differ in each or most of the Mammoth Books. Also an up to date one appears on the publishers website, which I've included at the end.

The books themselves are amongst the best anthologies I've read. No matter which one I pick up, they have a good range of stories in them, due to the variety of authors old and new from around the world and eras. The books also cover all genres and some like the Best New Horror and Best New SF  are published yearly with the latest stories of the year before appearing. That's what actually got me thinking about writing this post. I brought the Best New Horror 22 (2011) off Amazon last week and realized that I'd not wrote about a Mammoth Book before. I am not sure what my first Mammoth Book was, but its possible that I saw it in a library or someone brought me one. The chances are that it was one of the vampire or horror ones. Since then I've got a lot of them, though my collection contents only the books on vampires, supernaturals, horror, fantasy and romance. I also buy the SF ones for my dad as he really likes them, (though I don't really read them as I'm not into SF).

I'd love to actually go and find out which ones I had. Most of them are together on my shelf due to the fact I order my books more on genre then anything else. Anyway, the other reason why I like MB is because I can dip in and out of them and just read the stories in any order. They make a good break from a long novel or else if I know I'm going on a trip or holiday or weekend away and fear that I might need something to read. I'm a bit strange with my reading away from home as I don't like to read during traveling and whilst away I prefer to be doing other things. I guess I sort of take a break from reading at these times because I do so much of it at home. The size of the book doesn't make it difficult to pack either. They are all paperbacks and are about the same length of a normal book. They do have 500-600 pages, which does make them a little bulky, but that's normally no problem. Also, I have always found them to be cheap. Normally they sell for £7.99, which is about the same price as a normal novel and you always seem to pay a bit more for anthologies. However, if you spend a bit of time online or in a book store and you don't mind buying second hand, you can get them for a lot cheaper. Horror 22 cost me a 1p plus £2.60 P&P.

One slightly negative thing I would say about them is that sometimes the covers of certain titles can differ. As I found due to a reprint of a title that has been out of print for a few years. Or, they update the title by adding and removing stories, but they decided not to make a new anthology overall. Sometimes it also has to do with country it was published in. Really, though it's such a small thing, but I'm only bring it up because it caught me out with The Giant book of Vampires (1992) and The Mammoth Book Of Vampires (2006). The editor, Stephen Jones explains on his website (below) that the publishers wanted to reprint the first book but change some of the stories. I have to say though that both these books are on my favorite list of vampire stories and I've read them a lot. I am sure I've got all MB relenting to vampires. There is those two and then, Vampire stories by Women, Dracula, Vampire Romances 1 and 2. 

From Jones' website I was able to find out that that first Best New Horror anthology was published in 1990. There's has been a new one every year since then. I've actually just gone and brought this book on Amazon and had a look at some of the others. They are all available on Kindle, which is great because some are expensive second hand. So I might do a post about that in the future. It'll be nice to have them all actually, there is 24 all together. And I own only numbers 18 and 22, I believe. I have got some others like the ghost story ones, but yeah it would be nice to have some more of these. I just brought 1, 4, 5, 11 and 15 though! Yeah, I need to stop digressing and get on with the review.

Having a quick look through the titles, it seems that MB have published collection on everything and anything. There are some interesting titles and I would like to have Dark Magic and Celtic myths now. So MB really caterer to everyone's taste and fantasies! These books would make great presents and they would be useful for writers of that genre and also students/researches. In the book of Horror 22, there is a list of useful address for readers and writers to use, it contents publishers and magazines. (not sure if all MB do this though). There is also a Necrology chapter listing the deaths of writers, artists etc. The introduction is also packed with lots of information about the horror genre and the latest books to be published. So really, MB could be just the beginning for many readers and writers!

Overall, I would recommend Mammoth Book anthologies to everyone. There is a genre/topic to suit everyone. The books are cheap and great value. They take up just a bit more space then a normal book does on a shelf or in a bag/suitcase. They are good for dipping in and out of and great if you don't have a lot of time to spare. They are useful to writers as they can keep in touch with what's popular and find inspiration. There is an introduction to new writers and subjects. The covers are also well done and look very interesting. I would differently say I was addicted to reading and buying them!

Images:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/10301194/Climate-change-killed-the-woolly-mammoth-researchers-claim.html
http://stephenbacon.co.uk/2011/06/15/a-nod-to-the-editors/
http://www.stephenjoneseditor.com/article-sj-undead01.htm

Web Links:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?19097
http://www.stephenjoneseditor.com/book-01.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Athe+mammoth+book+of&keywords=the+mammoth+book+of&ie=UTF8&qid=1392572692&rnid=1642204031
http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&series=mammoth_books&home_page_feature=4