The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Vol. 2

Jenkins and Cagle return with another groundbreaking anthology of 21 contemporary international horror shorts, many of which appear here in English for the first time. Though sometimes uneven, the selection shines in its diversity of styles, subgenres, and countries of origin, from Indian weird fiction (Jayaprakash Satyamurthy’s “Shelter from the Storm”) to Argentinian body horror (Luciano Lamberti’s “The Nature of Love”). While serving as a testament to the cross-cultural foundation of human fear, the anthology’s at its best illuminating specific cultural contexts that shape nightmares, as in stories with political angles, like Haitian author Gary Victor’s “Lucky Night” and Polish author Wojciech Gunia’s “The War,” and those grounded in a strong sense of place, such as Nigerian author Dare Segun Falowo’s “Owolabi Olowolagba” and Icelander Steinar Bragi’s “The Bell.” Other standouts include the dreamily romantic and viscerally bloody “Whitebone Spirit” from Chinese author Zhang Yueran, and Greek author Konstantinos Kellis’s chilling domestic tale, “Firstborn.” Though not as consistently strong as the first volume, this compilation still stands to become a must-have for horror fans: it’s frequently mysterious, sometimes grotesque, and occasionally set-the-book-down scary. (Feb.)