Literary fantastic, magical realist and weird fiction books
Review by William Grabowski By the time Aiko leaves, her footsteps echoing down the hallway, I’ve dug deep gouges in the door’s paint with my nails and teeth, my mouth full of her intoxicating scent. The key word in this anthology’s title is new, and if that doesn’t quicken your heart, a sampling of […] Read more »
I NEARED RICHMOND at five in the morning. I took the long way around to the Southside to check on Dad and Dorothy’s houses. I didn’t really expect to find them there, but I needed to see for myself. I couldn’t fully trust my own memories. Too many of them had been tampered with by […] Read more »
Review by William Grabowski Now he began spinning in circles—like a deranged dancer, or a whirling dervish, or a man inhabited by devils…. James Morrow explores ideas with visionary audacity and a satirical (yet nonetheless disturbing) bent perhaps unequaled since Philip José Farmer’s Riverworld series—as if directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. I like to imagine […] Read more »
(Missed the last chapter? Go to 55: Meltdown.) I DROVE UNTIL I found myself at Warrick. It was about three a.m., but I didn’t need to explain anything to Zora. The sight of me was enough. “Jesus, Lacy.” She pulled me into a warm hug. I felt a few tears trickle down my face. I think […] Read more »
Reviews of weird fiction on the web, by Lauren Colie Examine your feelings this week. Reflect on the wholesome (if obsessive) glow of a mother’s love, the writhing hate of love gone sour and the echoing loneliness of love that is pale and shallow. We’re traveling the whole spectrum – grab some tissues and a […] Read more »
(Missed the last chapter? Go to 54: Ride the Red Horse) I SHOVED MY way through the dense and—it seemed to me—hostile crowd around the dance pool. Stalled behind two pasty-skinned guys who were about as wide as they were tall, I saw Branson turn and slide an iridescent silver card through an access slot. […] Read more »
Review by William Grabowski “We had not planned for children,” Mission Control’s message ended. “We’re sorry.” With an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler, author Ellen Klages takes so-called hard Science Fiction, clasps its rigid hand, and leads it into fantastical narratives haunted by childhood summer camps, science projects, a Mars settlement, a corrupt […] Read more »
(Missed the last chapter? Go to 53: Bad Wifey) I FOUND MYSELF sprawled on my back, on the hood of the red mustang, staring up at the milky spray of stars above. It was strange. I’d been hit by a car, but neither the initial impact nor the impact of my fall had felt like […] Read more »
Review by Paul StJohn Mackintosh Un-Broken N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy needs no recommendation. The first book, The Fifth Season, won a 2016 Hugo Award. The second, The Obelisk Gate, is on this year’s Hugo shortlist. The third title, The Stone Sky, is due August 2017. I, like many others, am waiting on tenterhooks to […] Read more »
Review by William Grabowski …I was standing on my head…leaves were growing from my body, and roots were sprouting from my hands… Some novels seize—like hawk on mouse—an idea, zip through empty space and leave us whirling in turbulence. Han Kangʼs Man Booker International Prize-winning The Vegetarian achieves far more, and cultivates with infinite […] Read more »
Review by Paul StJohn Mackintosh Falling Towards the Weird Jeffrey Thomas will be familiar to many readers as the author of the Punktown series of stories – scratch that, Jeffrey Thomas is famous among weird and science fiction readers, RPG players, and even comic book fans, as author of the Punktown chronicles of bizarre […] Read more »
(Missed the last chapter? Go to 52: Liar Interuptus) John mutters phrases I can barely hear and understand even less. “Plant the six gifts. Eat the six. Eat for long life. The flower of the sixth.” The words sound familiar—a memory edging closer, filling me with fear. I try to pull away, but he holds […] Read more »
… and Other Ways Women Rule Reviews of weird fiction on the web, by Lauren Colie This week, women are depicted with agency and complexity (surprise!) Be it an ill-advised but wholly satisfying obsession with sex, a monster-slaying talent for badassery or the timely triumph over a rotten-hearted emperor, these ladies are making their own […] Read more »
(Missed the last chapter? Go to 51: Voices in the Rain. Feeling festive, I choose a strapless peach sheath that highlights my new tan, and a matching, embroidered half jacket. I stare at myself in the mirror. It’s like I’m wearing a costume. Lacy Strong, starring as The Socialite’s Wife. I have to admit I […] Read more »
Review by William Grabowski We’re not Post-Apocalyptic, we’re Post-Yesterday. It’s tempting and easy to compare writers, but this habit often is unfair to both object and subject. Example: thematically, and stylistically, the work of Jeremy Robert Johnson can be compared to that of John Shirley, Chuck Palahniuk (who lauds Johnson as “a dazzling writer”), or […] Read more »