The New Weird
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Ann VanderMeerEditor: Jeff VanderMeer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-01
ISBN: 1892391554
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Book Reviews of The New Weird
Book Review: Pseudoweirdos
Summary: 2 Stars
In speculative fiction there are many anthologies claiming to define a hot new sub-genre, with editors explaining why the selected stories fit the label, and why that label should be embraced by readers in the know. Such genre boosterism is usually a non-issue if the collected stories are memorable. But this particular anthology falls all over itself trying to define the supposedly groundbreaking new style to be called "The New Weird," and fails to come up with a believable definition or even a working collection of stories to fit the label. The book even contains a non-fiction section featuring various writers and editors trying to define "The New Weird" and to promote their own inclusion in it, while simultaneously whining about how harmful categorizations can be and how the unknowing mainstream is diluting their uniqueness.
The basic, loose definition of "The New Weird" is an edgy mix of dark fantasy and horror, with maybe a dash of sci-fi, and a kinship with the classic old "Weird Tales" and affiliated pulps. That's true of most of the stories here, but knowledgeable readers will know that such creative exercises are hardly new. (The sub-genre has claimed its own groundbreaking superstar, China Mieville, whose bodacious talents are worshipped by everyone else in this book nearly to the point of jealousy.) But the editors and commentators unnecessarily attempt to flesh out the underwhelming basic definition with some English-major gibberish like urban politicization and grotesque transformations of the body. But these attributes don't even appear in many of the stories here, proving that categorizations really are as problematic as these correspondents say they are.
As for the stories themselves, the editors could come up with just nine entries that directly qualify for the working definition of "The New Weird." A few of these are intriguing and memorable, but novel excerpts from Leena Krohn and Steph Swainston are nonfunctional as stand-alone stories, and the tales by Jeffrey Thomas and Jeffrey Ford (Gibson-esque cyberpunk and medieval fantasy, respectively) don't even conform to the sub-genre definition. The same pattern applies to the six other pre-definitional stories that start the book, selected as supposedly early influences on the new sub-genre. Here we have two more tales, by Michael Moorcock and Kathe Koja (alternate military history and psychological horror, respectively), that also don't fit the definition of "The New Weird." Though at least this section of the book is made worthwhile by Clive Barker's stupendous "In the Hills, the Cities" which is just as terrifying and disturbing as when it first dropped back in 1984.
And finally, the book ends nonsensically with a round-robin story by a series of authors, whom the editors admit are not even part of "The New Weird" movement. The story is a directionless and disordered collection of subplots, and it doesn't even have an ending, as for some incomprehensible reason the editors left the conclusion on an outside website. When all is said and done, one of the few commendable things about this book is the selective but far-reaching "Recommended Reading" section, which will launch interested and adventurous readers toward much more fulfilling experiences. [~doomsdayer520~]
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