21st-Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels Since 2000

Selected by a poll of more than 180 Gothic specialists (creative writers, professors, critics, and Gothic Studies program developers at universities), the fifty-three original works discussed in 21st-Century Gothic represent the most impressive Gothic novels written around the world between 2000-2010. The essays in this volume discuss the merits of these novels, highlighting the influences and key components that make them worthy of inclusion. Many of the pioneer voices of Gothic Studies, as well as other key critics of the field, have all contributed new essays to this volume, including David Punter, Jerrold Hogle, Karen F. Stein, Marie Mulvey-Roberts, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Tony Magistrale, Don D'Ammassa, Mavis Haut, Walter Rankin, James Doig, Laurence A. Rickels, Douglass H. Thomson, Sue Zlosnik, Carol Margaret Davision, Ruth Bienstock Anolik, Glennis Byron, Judith Wilt, Bernice Murphy, Darrell Schweitzer, and June Pulliam. The guide includes a preface by one of the world's leading authorities on the weird and fantastic, S. T. Joshi. Sharing their knowledge of how traditional Gothic elements and tensions surface in a changed way within a contemporary novel, the contributors enhance the reader's dark enjoyment, emotional involvement, and appreciation of these works. These essays show not only how each of these novels are Gothic but also how they advance or change Gothicism, making the works both irresistible for readers and establishing their place in the Gothic canon.

About the Author :
Danel Olson is professor at Lone Star College. He has compiled three collections of new Gothic stories from around the world: Exotic Gothic (2007), Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo (2008), and Exotic Gothic 3: Strange Visitations (2009).

Review :
Olson's anthology, which has a perceptive Foreword by horror scholar S.T. Joshi and an equally impressive Introduction by Olson, is an absolute must for university library collections, and for other libraries with an interest in the Gothic as a literary form. Not only does the volume include some of the pioneer critical voices in the Gothic field, but the up to date nature of the essays (studying novels which are so new as to have received little or no previous critical attention) makes the volume essential reading for anyone with an interest in the cutting edge of the field right now. Handsomely presented in pictorial glossy boards, the book is more attractive than the usual library cloth-bound edition without dustjacket, and is as attractive on the shelf as it is fascinating to read. Olson is to be congratulated for assembling such a stellar cast of contributors. A reading of 21st-Century Gothic will broaden the perspective an understanding of any student of Gothic and horror literature. Danel Olson’s impressive collection, 21st Century Gothic, aims to encourage critical attention towards Gothic novels published since the year 2000. Noting the global spread of Gothic in the twenty-first century, the editor has consulted over 180 experts on the subject to help him compile a list of the 53 most significant Gothic novels from the first decade of the new century....This book is likely to become a staple of contemporary Gothic courses and a useful reference for those conducting research in what is still a burgeoning field. Only time will tell whether the editor’s dreams for the collection will be realized, but for now it serves as a totemic declaration that a new era of the Gothic is upon us, deserving of critical attention as we seek to understand the fears and nightmares of a new century. 21st-Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels Since 2000 accomplishes exactly what its title proclaims. By way of polling over 180 specialists in the gothic field, such as critics, writers, and professors, Olson has compiled a collection of essays about 53 gothic novels published globally between 2000 and 2010. Far more than 53 gothic novels were published during that time, but Olson has chosen to present detailed analyses of over 5,000 words for each of the included novels rather than a brief overview of a larger number. . . . This text will allow readers and researchers to gain a feel for the field of gothic literature as well as serve as a specific resource for any of the included texts.