The New Weird: Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer

The New Weird, as a genre, is described as the present-day version of the Lovecraftian era pulp novels, re-envisioned with contemporary storytelling, themes and situations. The New Weird, as an anthology, is a collection of both fiction and essay to describe and showcase the New Weird subgenre. The fiction here is penned by some of the more recognizable names in the New Weird movement, while the non-fiction portion of the book includes essays concerning what, exactly, is New Weird, from domestic opinion to foreign interpretation, as well an abbreviated version of the 'What is New Weird?" forum begun by M. John Harrison on his messageboard in 2003. The anthology is definitely a beginner's study in New Weird.

Standout pieces in this are unquestionably China Mieville's "Jack," a companion piece to his influential Perdido Street Station, "The Braining of Mother Lamprey," by Simon D. Ings and Clive Barker''s "In the Cities, the Hills." Darja Malcom-Clarke contributes a well-written crash course in New Weird in her essay "Tracking Phantoms," which serves as an excellent starting point for those unfamiliar with what constitutes New Weird.

As incredible as this anthology should be, it fails in almost every conceivable way. The essays are pretty much dedicated to pinning down a definition of what exactly New Weird is and, when it eludes description, the rallying cry of 'New Weird is unclassifiable! It's unique and defies description!" is sounded. This goes on and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Really, if you can't define your nichey little subgenre, you don't have a subgenre, you have a bunch of stories that read like a week's worth of dreams mixed for five minutes in a blender stuck on retarded and thrown against a page in the hopes something sticks. Add in the fact that co-editor Jeff Vandermeer is mentioned by name in four out of five essays and self-references twice (!) in the introductory essay, and that leads me to believe he's either written some of the most brilliant novels never read by the majority of mankind or he pleasures himself upon seeing his name in print. My advice is just go to Borders and read the pieces mentioned above over a cup of overpriced corporate coffee and spend your $15 on Richard Calder's Dead Girls or Mieville's aforementioned Perdido Street Station. Trust me, you'll thank me in the long run.
---------------------------------------
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Tachyon Publications (February 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1892391554
ISBN-13: 978-1892391551