Book Review: What The #@&% Is That? (Anthology)

This 2016 anthology from editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen showcases twenty short stories from twenty different authors, and each one is guaranteed to have a character ask the phrase "what the #@&% is that?" At the same time, most readers will read these stories and probably ask themselves the same question. Without becoming too derivative or homogeneous, this collection delivers twenty unique pieces of weird fiction, many of which dips into the realms of cosmic (or Lovecraftian horror). Others are more gothic in nature. A couple of these are science fiction. A couple are fantasy. Some stories are more literary than others. But all of them offer a touch of the surreal. It's bound to lose many readers, but for me this turned out to be a perfect selection.

Of course, some stories elicit more excitement than others. I'm largely unfamiliar with all of these authors, save for Alan Dean Foster, probably the most accomplished of the lot. The other writers are no slouches though, and many have impressive resumes. I appreciate the craft that went into most of these stories--there's a familiar pattern that emerges, in which each story sets up characters, tensions escalate, something bizarre is discovered, then there's an unsettling payoff.

My favorites of this collection include Scott Sigler's "Those Gaddam Cookies," Christopher Golden's "The Bad Hour," D. Thomas Minton's "Now and Forever," Grady Hendrix's "The House That Love Built," Adam-Troy Castro's "Framing Mortensen," Terence Taylor's "The Catch," and Foster's "Castleweep." Jonathan Maberry's "We All Make Sacrifices" is listed as a "Sam Hunter Adventure," which is a series I'm unfamiliar with--turns out it's about a werewolf PI. I gotta say though, I was genuinely hooked by its voice and content. Out of all these stories though, it is Seanan McGuire's "#connollyhouse #weshouldn'tbehere" that unsettled me the most--it's written entirely as a Twitter feed, but it plays around with the timestamps and hashtags to underscore a paranormal threat, and I'm personally awed that McGuire crafted the story so effectively using such minimalist techniques. Just about every story utilizes good narrative voices and structure to present unique ideas, and sometimes different techniques. Some of them are so fantastic they could make your head spin. All of them are quite edgy in terms of content and language. Many showcase mean-spirited characters, but I never reached a point where I wanted to punch any of them--most of the authors succeeded in finding balance, resonance, and depth to make even the cruelest character relatable.

Even the stories I liked less are pretty noteworthy. Laird Barron's "Mobility" has one of the strangest finales of the lot--it has to be read to be believed. Nancy Holder's "The Daughter of Darkness" bears some of the strongest Lovecraftian parallels, albeit without copycatting--it's quite effective. I can't help but to admire the characters and prose involved with An Owomoyela and Rachel Swirsky's "Whose Drowned Face Sleeps"--this piece oozed potent emotion and imagery. Amanda Downum's "Fossil Heart," Simon R. Green's "The Sound of Her Laughter," Desirina Boskovich's "Down in the Deep and the Dark," Isabel Yap's "Only Unclench Your Hand," Gemma Files' "Ghost Pressure," Tim Pratt's "Hunters in the Wood"--all of these have their inherent strengths in their respective stories, characters, and prose, even if I found them a little less exciting. That only leaves Maria Dahvana Headley's "Little Widow" as my least favorite, but it's probably more the case that I failed to grasp its meaning (although I do have to say, I found it rather disjointed).

There's a little bit of everything, but it's a largely dark and macabre collection with a lot of surreal twists and unusual monstrosities that will likely get under your skin. Some stories pack a surprising emotional punch, and others yet are just perfectly-paced. I found myself looking forward to reading each new selection, and I came out of most stories pleased. It's just the perfect blend of literature that's sometimes challenging, sometimes inspiring, but always fascinating.

As a writer seeking to pursue surrealism, cosmic horror, and weird fiction myself, this is exactly the sort of material I needed to read to gain an understanding of the genre and how to approach it. I have nothing but gratitude towards every author and the editors for this collection--it set a benchmark for me, and these stories are just the inspiration I needed right now.

9/10