Westward Weird

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Kerrie L. Hughes (Editor), Dean Wesley Smith

From a Western circus where monsters and heroes collide to a Civil War robot that clanks into battle to a mining family that encounters parallel universes, "Westward Weird" features 13 original stories that open the Old West to new frontiers of science fiction and fantasy.

“The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen,” copyright © 2012 by Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
“The Last Master of Aeronautical Winters,” copyright © 2012 by Larry D. Sweazy
“Lowstone,” copyright © 2012 by Anton Strout
“The Flower of Arizona,” copyright © 2012 by Seanan McGuire
“The Ghost in the Doctor,” copyright © 2012 by Brenda Cooper
“Surveyor of Mars,” copyright © 2012 by Christopher McKitterick
“Coyote, Spider, Bat,” copyright © 2012 by Steven Saus
“Maybe Another Time,” copyright © 2012 by Dean Wesley Smith
“Renn and the Little Men,” copyright © 2012 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
“Showdown at High Moon,” copyright © 2012 by Jennifer Brozek
"The Clockwork Cowboy,” copyright © 2012 by J. Steven York
“Black Train,” copyright © 2012 by Jeff Mariotte
“Lone Wolf,” copyright © 2012 by Jody Lynn Nye

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Westerns, Steampunk

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read The Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire because InCyptid - nice intro to Jonathan and Fran. I love their meeting and the Aeslin mouse (who is very sure of Fran's place even though Jonathan may not be).

I was a little bummed that the "monster" problem had to be resolved in the way it was, but I was glad that the person taking advantage was handled.

Quick and short story. Fun history into the Healy-Price family.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this without any expectations and ended up loving it. There are thirteen stories in this collection and while you might consider some stories better than others, as a whole this anthology has a great selection. There is not one universal theme unless you count the feeling of old West with a dash of supernatural as one. And that's just what it is - a feeling - because not all of these stories are set in the past, nor are all in the wild wild west.

This is just a reminder for me, but without real spoilers.
“The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen” by Jay Lake tells a story about a man accused of setting fires. He sets out to find the real cause.

“The Last Master of Aeronautical Winters” by Larry D. Sweazy
An illegitimate son of a king and his bodyguard enter New Ithaca created by Buffalo Bill to check the rumours of its inhabitants. The city is floating and they have to use an old elevator to board it.

“Lowstone” by Anton Strout
A woman gunslinger comes into a mining town and warns people to run. Following her arrival comes an inexplicable evil and she chooses to make her stand there.

“The Flower of Arizona” by Seanan McGuire 
This is a part of InCryptid series. If the series is half as entertaining as this story, I plan to read it. This story is great, fast paced and funny. How can I not love talking mice who say stuff like:

'“Hail, Priestess of Unexpected Violence!”'
==========
“Pursue!” shouted the mouse, right into Jonathan’s ear. He jumped. “I told you to stay in my pocket!” “You must pursue! The Priestess is running into danger!” The mouse gave his earlobe a sharp tug to illustrate the point.

“The Ghost in the Doctor” by Brenda Cooper is best described as be careful what you wish for. The story is about the doctor whose almost dead patients get better while the not so serious ones die.

“Surveyor of Mars” by Christopher McKitterick                              A story of Mars rebellion. One of my least favourite stories. The setting is great: western frontier-like Mars with the Company taking land and whatever they can from the settlers. I loved the setting, but not the let's all get along main character.

“Coyote, Spider, Bat” by Steven Saus
Coyote and Spider face a new threat that got chased away from Europe. A bitter-sweet story of revenge.

“Maybe Another Time” by Dean Wesley Smith
A couple finds out that crystals in а cave on their land can be used for a lot more than linear time travel in the past.

“Renn and the Little Men” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 
While I am not exactly a fan of teenage protagonists, sometimes you run into one that you like. Renn is one of those characters. The story is in the first person and Renn tells us how she met the fae.

“Showdown at High Moon” by Jennifer Brozek
A couple of Star-crossed Bandits gets a chance to earn gold by fighting a shapeshifter. Only, they haven't got a clue who the shapeshifter is.

“The Clockwork Cowboy” by J. Steven York or No good deed goes unpunished

'They call me Liberty Brass, because brass is what my head is made out of, and there’s a crack along the right side of my face where a cannonball grazed me in the War.

Liberty Brass takes a stand against a rich man who wants to limit his town's access to water. It Calliope Springs is the only place automatons can live freely, it is not surprising that there are a lot of freed automatons there. One of the saddest stories in this anthology.

“Black Train” by Jeff Mariotte
This story would have been perfect if there had been a romantic connection between Evan and Charlie. Even without that, it is original way of depicting a zombie-like infestation. I hated that unnecessary love triangle inserted into the story, but you can't have everything. Loved the ending.

“Lone Wolf” by Jody Lynn Nye
If you've read any werewolf story, you would know what is going on from the start. Especially when one of the characters spells it out right in the beginning. A girl has been taken away in the night and has been missing for a month. Now her brother and a wannabe beau are hunting for a wolf that might have killed her.

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review only for the InCryptid story included.

Rating 3.45 stars.

This is the story in which Jonathan Healy meets his future bride Frances Brown. Since I'm familiar with both the quotes from the novels and some of the short stories featuring her, I knew she was a delightfully violent woman but I didn't expect that level of violence from the start. There were moments when I wondered if she isn't some long lost member of the family because damn she makes the rest of them seem like pacifists. So many knives! She was custom made for joining the family :)

I wanted to know more about the Questing Beast and more specifically why is it named that way but I never got the answers I wished for. Also it seems Jonathan and I share an opinion about the heat! We both hate it! Note to self: Do not visit Arizona!

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of stories for the end of a long week, when you’re too tired to tackle serious literature and your attention span is that of a gerbil.

Somehow, the mixture of science fiction and fantasy with the western is a genre mash-up made in heaven. I enjoyed all the stories in the volume, but I had specially chosen it for the Seanan McGuire offering, The Flower of Arizona. McGuire did not disappoint, although I did think that if you were new to the InCryptid world, you might not have the Aeslin mouse knowledge to fully appreciate the story.

Bonus points for the cover art, which would have attracted me without my having any clue what waited inside.

[Jammies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some day, I will have a chance to use the phrase "Hail, Priestess of Unexpected Violence!"

I hope it's soon.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

And now, I proudly present *cough*

Westward Weird or How I Tricked Myself To Read Something I Had No Intention of Reading aka Forgive Me, It's 38°C Outside

(Not necessarily a review)

So, sometimes I pick a book based on a cover (at times, I'm shallow)

Here's an example ... I see this cover...





I immediately think of the movie Westworld ...




then obviously ...



followed by ...



and inescapably...




Then I start to hum ... and than sing

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "Goodnight and mean "Goodbye"?

... then I loose it ... (the neighbors may complain... but who cares)

Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With are arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we Dance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgVPn...

*cough*

See .... now I have to read it, resistance is futile.




So, I read the book. I had to, because... Yul Brynner (Oh, sue me .... I watched King and I 15 times)

Was it good? Well, as usually happens with anthologies .... a mixed bag. A few not so bad ones, a few ... meh, a few made sleepy. I found one that I liked above the bunch, “The Flower of Arizona” by Seanan McGuire. As it seems, it is the first story of the "InCryptid" series. Review of that story, soon.

Well, it wasn't that bad. Rating 3.5 overall.

Urgh, I still need to watch some Yul. Magnificent Seven, here I come.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for The Flower of Arizona - though this definitely looks like a great anthology, so I'll update this in the future with a full review.

A fantastic introduction to the series (even for someone who's not exactly new to it), to the family, and to the Aeslin mice (who I'm starting to suspect may be the common thread to all this..)

Edit: back in 2025 and I actually came back to update after reading the whole thing - only took me 8 years.

Overall a decent anthology, most stories around the 3 or 4 star mark. Nothing that was a total letdown; but also not much that stood out either.

One that did, though, besides The Flower of Arizona I came here for, was Coyote, Spider, Bat, by Steven Saus. Really well-written and enjoyable short.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read for the Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire, because INCRYPTID! :D

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What delightful little story this was. Rating 4.5




A spoonful of mystery, a sprinkle of wild west, a bunch of humor, a couple of likable leads an a bag full of adorable mice. Delicious.



“Your horse is named ‘Rabbit’?” asked Jonathan.
“Your mouse talks,” countered Fran. “I don’t think you get to say a word.”
“Fair enough,” Jonathan said. “Please continue.

Nice way to draw a reader into a series.

“All aboard for Phoenix, Prescott, Ash Fork, and all points east!”



The Adventure Begins...

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story, loved getting to know some of Verity's relatives! Can't wait to read more!

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology. My rating average is 3.42 stars which is better than I thought it would end up. So worth a read.

1. The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen by Jay Lake. This story was chock full of metaphors. As short of a story as it is, if you made a drinking game out of reading a metaphor you'd probably have alcohol poisoning. **

2. The Last Master of Aeuronautical Winters by Larry D. Sweazy. Entertaining story. I couldn't figure out whether Buffalo Bill Cody was a good guy or a bad guy. And the people in the town, made that way or visitors? ****

3. Lowstone by Anton Strout. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. Matthew 5:29 I just wish there was an explanation of who did the mechanical repair. ***

4. The Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire. Really good story about the grandparents (great) of the Cryptid books and how they met. Really enjoyed it. *****

5. The Ghost in the Doctor by Brenda Cooper. I really liked this story about a doctor who has the ghost of an American Indian that is directing whether his patients live or die. ****

6. Surveyor of Mars by Christopher McKitterick. A little preachy - a little too preachy actually. I think the author was inspired by Ray Bradbury. **1/2

7. Coyote, Spider, Bat by Steven Saus. What a different story in a good way. I've never read anything like it which is unusual since I read so much and for so long. I enjoyed it very much. *****

8. Maybe Another Time by Dean Wesley Smith. This started out good and then slowly went downhill to the final scene with the many waving children. **1/2

9. Renn and the Little Men by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Cute story. I couldn't figure out what the 2nd wish was, maybe instead of her brother it was her too. Anyway, I liked it. ***1/2

10. Showdown at High Moon by Jennifer Brozek. Different, but in a 'what the heck' way. ***

11. The Clockwork Cowboy by J. Steven York. An automaton (robot) in the West defends a town of his kind and the supposed "dregs" of society losing almost everything. ***

12. Black Train by Jeff Mariotte. Deadly mold and a man with daddy issues = a really weird story. Goes perfect with the name of this anthology. ***

13. Lone Wolf by Jody Lynn Nye. I really enjoyed this story. I loved that the brother was more upset about mom and dad being mad than about what happened to his sister. Almost like he couldn't wait to get home to tell on her. ****

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, entertaining and fun read. This anthology has a wide mix of stories in here that all involve the old west (cowboys) plus either horror or else sci-fi. The majority of the stories involve a wide variety of creatures, ranging from vampires to shape shifters to more exotic things. There's also a few aliens and even one involving a deadly mold! Out of the 13 tales in here, only about two of them didn't interest me too much but the majority of them were just fine.

I was also quite surprised at the wide variety of ideas in here that gave the old west a new "look". Some of them are startling, like columns of smoke holding up a town high in the sky. Then there's robots in the old west too! How did that happen?? I just never knew what I was going to find in here.

One story in here I didn't like was "The Temptation of Eustace Prudence Mcallen" and it's because I didn't understand the ending. Oh I understood what had happened...I just didn't understand WHY it worked the way it did. Logically to me it didn't make sense. This is the story about the devil and his barbecue.

And as for favorites, well, there are several I found fun! A few include: "The Ghost of Arizona", "Showdown at High Moon", "Black Train", "Renn and the Little Men" and "Lone Wolf". Maybe a few were a little predictable but I really didn't mind. They are still fun to read and if I can guess something I do seem to enjoy that. Mostly I favor the creature stories. And yes, I'm counting the mold story as a creature.

The book also has a story set on Mars. Yes, Mars can be the old west too inhabited by cowboys staking land claims, raising exotic cattle and having shootouts. This one too was a great, original tale. It's called "Surveyor of Mars".

All in all I had fun reading this.

[Nyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up specifically for The Flower of Arizona but decided to read all the stories.
Combined Rating: 3.85 (Rounded to 4)
Here are my thoughts:

The Temptation of Eustance Prudence McAllen by Jay Lake ~ 2 Stars ~ What was the point? There was minimal (if any) context for this story.

The Last Master of Aeronautical Winters by Larry D. Sweazy ~ 4 Stars ~ The title makes no sense, but the story was interesting enough for me to want more.

Lowstone by Anton Strout ~ 5 Stars ~ Bittersweet but still enjoyable. I'd love to see the Gunslinger return as the deliverer of justice in an alternate universe!

The Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire ~ 5 Stars ~ A.K.A. when Jonathan met Fran. I would have liked to know what happened after the little showdown toward the end, but it gets a high rating because of the unfair advantage of my already loving the characters.

The Ghost in the Doctor by Brenda Cooper ~ 3 Stars ~ Interesting enough to keep my attention, but left me feeling indifferent.

Surveyor of Mars* by Christopher McKitterick ~ 4 Stars ~ Cool. The ending was nice.

Coyote, Spider, Bat by Steven Saus~ 3 Stars ~ Brutally short.

Maybe Another Time by Dean Wesley Smith ~ 4 Stars ~ I was going to say this story was fascinatingly dull, but it turned out to be unexpectedly sweet.

Renn and the Little Men by Kristine Kathryn Rush ~ 3 Stars ~ I understand the misspelling and, to an extent, the secrecy of the name, but the hints for the readers fell flat. And the attempted betrayal toward the end made no sense at all. There were bits of appreciated humor. However, others felt juvenile. The best thing about the story was the suspension of the cardinal rule against additional wishes.

Showdown at High Moon by Jennifer Brozek ~ 5 Stars ~ The title made me chuckle, and the more I think about this story, the more I like it; I wish we could see the rest of their adventures.

The Clockwork Cowboy* by J. Steven York ~ 4 Stars ~ Aww, Man! But I liked this story...until that damn depressing ending. (Yes, I am pouting!)

Black Train by Jeff Mariotte ~ 5 Stars ~ So close! So very close! This is a good read! Once it grabs your attention, it doesn't let go.

Lone Wolf by Jody Lynn Nye ~ 3 Stars ~ While the invention was unique, the overall story was predictable.

* ~ I am not reflecting my disgust at the word chosen to describe a POC character in my rating because I generally enjoyed the story. Still, I dislike that word (whether used for authenticity or not) and found it uncomfortable.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirteen short stories in the paranormal steampunk science fiction genre with a theme of the Old West.

The Series
Seanan McGuire's "The Flower of Arizona" (Incryptid, 0.01)

The Stories
Jay Lake's "The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen"
It's a cowboy who has little to lose but a lot of hope. Using third person protagonist point-of-view, McAllen blends saving the town and the surrounding prairie by palavering with Lucifer in the Devil's own Kitchen.

It's a good yet sad tale that results in some good.

Larry D. Sweazy's "The Last Master of Aeronautical Winters"
Using first person protagonist point-of-view, Mr Lockwood and his bodyguard Raul Scarlato have suffered a "reversal of fortune" and need that money, ascending an unusual elevator that leads to an even more unusual town where their treasure lies.

It's an intriguing story that kept me reading if only to discover the big deal, and Sweazy kept me flipping those pages to discover the why, the escape, and that nasty betrayal.

Anton Strout's "Lowstone"
This was confusing as to who was who. Ya gotta keep reading to figure it out. I don't know if Strout was trying to be enigmatic or what. It was, eventually, an interesting female heroine. You'll especially enjoy this if you appreciate a gunfight. Against men and zombies.

Seanan McGuire's "The Flower of Arizona"
Those Aeslin mice. I do adore them. They're so excited by life, creating hymns and praising the Healys. In this instance, Jonathan is tracking a serial killer that appears to be part of a circus and discovers his bride.

The Characters
It's 1928 and Jonathan Healy of Michigan is a cryptozoologist hunting in Tempe, Arizona.

Frances Brown, a trick rider who's good with knives, is the star, the Flower of Arizona, of the Campbell Family Circus, which is owned by Paul Campbell. Rabbit is Frannie's horse. Bull is/was the strong man.

Brenda Cooper's "The Ghost in the Doctor"
Phew, this one was a pip with a doctor who's blessed and cursed by his skill being coopted by judgment. If it weren't for how this screwed Julian's life up, it could have been a righteous healing skill.

Christopher McKitterick's "Surveyor of Mars"
This was confusing and horrifying. It took awhile before I really grasped that the story was set on Mars as an "Old West" settlement. McKitterick was all over the place imparting information. Of course, the greed of the Company is quite similar to other Western tales.

I hated this part, but what really ticked me off was Captain Grunwold only taking action against the settlers instead of the real bad guy. What's with that?? Then there was all the whining John Mulberry did. Sure he had his heart in the right place, but it took McKitterick until the end before we finally found out why John took this attitude. Oy.

Steven Saus' "Coyote, Spider, Bat"
I really don't grasp the connection between time travel and the Indian avatars. Saus could have left that time "travel" schtick off. Another huge gap was how this "thing" managed to get from the port to Montana without a ruckus rising. I could also wish that Saus had made better connections between Coyote, Spider, and Bat. As for their purpose in this time? Who knows. I think Saus needs to go back and work on this one. It could be really good. It was sad too about Robert.

Dean Wesley Smith's "Maybe Another Time"
This tale finds a young couple exploring his family inheritance, a gold mine with oddities. It's a clever idea with even more clever conclusions — I'd be curious to try different timelines! But I would like to know how Brenda and Donnie Benson, using first person protagonist point-of-view, get back to 1870 in the first place and what triggered their desire to do research.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch's "Renn and the Little Men"
It's another tale of equality for women, although, it is possible that a man would have been banned as well. Anyway, it's that unexpected visit by wee men that changes everything for Renn — you'll find out later why she harps on her name, lol.

Jennifer Brozek's "Showdown at High Moon"
This was definitely an odd tale and also involves a carnival and a battle between creatures of circuits and light and shapeshifters. It will require several rescues and a treasure, all of which we see through third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Mena's and Will's perspectives.

J. Steven York's "The Clockwork Cowboy"
A sad tale about beings who require a refuge from the bigotry of the world until threats are issued and a couple of citizens step up.

York spends most of the story explaining about the steampunk beings, how they operate, their past histories, and why Calliope Springs is so valued. All told through first person protagonist point-of-view, from Liberty Brass' perspective.

Jeff Mariotte's "Black Train"
A weapon of mass destruction that could destroy the earth and revenge against family. It's a complex story with assorted motives that begin with mountain lion attacks. Mariotte uses third person protagonist point-of-view from Evan's perspective, a much more heroic character than Charlie!

Jody Lynn Nye's "Lone Wolf"
A woman has gone missing and there's a wolf out hunting in the night.

The Cover and Title
The cover combines Old West and steampunk with wooden saloon doors carved with the title with a black shadow outlining the letters in the top two and the bottom left door panels. The fourth panel details the editors' names in black with a light wood back light. Behind the doors is a white robot holding a gun in his right hand and a brown cowboy hat on his head, looking off to the left. To the left of his head is an info blurb in white.

The title reflects the tales within, for they are all Westward Weird.

[Aiyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little collection of Western stories... with a twist. Fantasy and science fiction fit in well with frontier-style storytelling. Highlights include J Steven York's "The Clockwork Cowboy," Christopher McKitterick's "Surveyor of Mars," and excellent contributions by Dean Wesley Smith and Seanan McGuire.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read the Incryptid short-story

Fran is really something :)

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, fun collection of 13 short stories set in the Ol' West but featuring something that one doesn't normally find in western literature. Some feature science fiction elements like robot sheriffs, or bounty hunters while others lean more toward horror in the form of some sort of supernatural presence that needs to be dealt with. Many readers pick up this volume only for the story, "The Flower of Arizona" by Seanan McGuire which is part of her InCryptid urban fantasy series. I haven't read any of those but having now read that piece, I am intrigued to pursue more.

As always with themed anthologies, some stories are better than others but I always find myself finding new authors to pursue.

[Tani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like so many others, I read this for the Incryptid short story, which didn't disappoint. I did read all of the other stories in the anthology as well. I took too long reading to really comment on them all, but nothing stood out as particularly great or particularly terrible. Favorites (weighted toward the end of the book since I read those this morning rather than 3 months ago) were "The Flower of Arizona" by Seanan McGuire, "The Ghost in the Doctor" by Brenda Cooper, "The Clockwork Cowboy" by J. Steven York, and "Black Train" by Jeff Mariotte.

[Amyiw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire

This is the only one I read which is an Incryptid short about Johnathan Healey investigating The Campbell Family Circus and strange deaths happening. He meets Fran, a horse riding, knife throwing, performer and they figure out what or who has been killing near the circus. Best was the Aisling mouse that was along for the ride.

Very short.

[CatBookMom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this to read the Seanan McGuire "The Flower of Arizona" story from her Incryptid series, found myself reading all the stories. As with any anthology, some are better than others. One of the stories I particularly liked was the J. Steven York story "The Clockwork Cowboy", about a town of mechanical people fighting a human rancher's threat of cutting off their water supply.

[Brok3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonathan and Fran Healy

To begin, let me lay out what I will be reviewing here. Seanan McGuire's website has a page entitled Incryptid Short Stories. About two dozen stories are listed here. These stories are also listed as books in the Goodreads Incryptid Series page. Neither of these lists is complete: McGuire has also published many stories on her Patreon site. They can be found in the Bibliography page on her site. I don't know if the Bibliography is complete with respect to Patreon stories.

Most of the stories on the Short Stories page are available for free download there. Some of them, however, were published in anthologies, and to get these you need to buy or borrow the book. For access to the Patreon stories you need to sign up as a supporter at Patreon. The minimum charge is $1.50. That's a recurring charge, but you only need to sign up once for access to all currently available stories. The Short Stories page is organized by the primary characters and time period. Here I will be reviewing the stories listed under the heading Jonathan Healy and Frances Brown (1928-1945). These are:

The Flower of Arizona (published in Westward Weird)
One Hell of a Ride (free download)
No Place Like Home (free download)
Stingers and Strangers (published in Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West)
Married in Green (free download)
Sweet Poison Wine (free download)
The First Fall (free download)
Loch and Key (free download)
We Both Go Down Together (free download)
Oh Pretty Bird (free download)
Bury Me In Satin (free download)
Broken Paper Hearts (free download)
The Star of New Mexico (free download)

As you can see, there's a lot of material here. Even though it is formatted as stories, the stories in totality (in the order listed) are pretty much a novel about Jonathan and Fran. Of the two anthologized stories, which you would have to buy or borrow, the first, The Flower of Arizona, is entirely dispensible. You will read most of it in the other stories. Stingers and Strangers, in contrast, is a substantial story and important both to the continuity of the Jonathan and Fran stories and to the Incryptid series as a whole. What's more, the anthology Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West is pretty good, with a star-studded list of science fiction authors. So, if you're going to buy or borrow something, I would recommend it.

Well, how are the stories? They're excellent, of course. If you really want the backstory on the Healy/Price family, this is the place to look. Although the stories focus on Jonathan and Fran (more Fran than Jonathan), Jonathan's parents Alexander and Enid Healy are important characters as well, and you will pick up several hints about their backstories. Fran doesn't have a regular family, but the members of the circus/carnival where she performed before Jonathan swept her away are also important characters.

Of the main Incryptid novels, I have only read Discount Armageddon, and I was a bit surprised by the Jonathan and Fran stories. They are not as light-hearted as Discount Armageddon. Although McGuire's trademark humor and irreverence permeate the stories, they are more somber than I expected. In fact, there is tragedy, especially in the so-short-it-is-barely-there Broken Paper Hearts. I was also surprised at how important the Aeslin Mice were. In Discount Armageddon they are mostly just comic relief -- delightful, but not terribly necessary to the plot. In the Jonathan and Fran stories I can think of at least three occasions where they play crucial roles in the plot. The most important occurs when Alice, The Exceptionally Noisy Priestess, is born.

So, yeah, if you're into the Incryptid books, you should definitely read these stories.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology is an alternate history/fantasy/science fiction presentation of tales of the Old West. Well, except when the Old West is actually a colony on Mars (go read L Neil Smith's Pallas). Or when there is a crystal cave with time traveling powers. But hey, I can roll with the general theme. Like most anthologies, there were really good and only mediocre stories collected together.

The back of the book did a pretty good job describing it. While there is an Old West theme going on here, nearly no one stuck to a particular formula. There are old gods, aliens, little people, clockwork horses, sentient mold, and Mars big-brand claim jumpers. And that is above and beyond the talking mice, snake-haired train conductors, and the odd werewolf or two. And believe me, they are odd.

As far as I recall, I've only ever met three of the thirteen authors before (Lake, McGuire, Nye) so it was nice to read some new voices. I'm not a big fan of steampunk, but found the "Clockwork Cowboy" story to be so perfectly fit to the short-western-story formula that I probably liked it the best. It was a "real" western, in the L'Amour and Brand kind of way. Everything else was just a modern story on a theme. My second favorite was the opening story, "The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen," partially for the story and partially for the voice of the narrator.

I picked it up because it has the prequel short story "The Flower of Arizona" to Seanan McGuire's new novel Discount Armageddon.

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed odd collections of short stories and likes steampunk, or likes stories about the good/smart/little guy (gal!) triumphing over evil, with some sacrifices to go along with that.

* This is where the old term "speculative fiction" really applies. There is no single modern category for this book.

[Sarah]

I'm not marking this as read or giving it a rating yet because I've currently only read one short story from the anthology. I do intend to come back to it and read the rest at some point though so I'll update this review when I get around to it.

4 stars for The Flower of Arizona by Seanan McGuire:
Read: 5th April 2016
Although The Flower of Arizona is the first story about Jonathan and Frances it's actually the third one I've read since I downloaded a couple of the freebies from Seanan McGuire's website before deciding to purchase the Westward Weird anthology. This is the story where it all begins though and I'm really glad I decided to go back and read it.

Fran is a stunt rider and the main attraction at a circus in Arizona, she has spent her whole life performing and it's something that comes very naturally to her. Jonathan has travelled all the way from Michigan to investigate a spate of mysterious deaths that have started occurring everywhere the circus visits. He knows someone from the circus is involved and Fran is his main suspect. It quickly becomes clear that Fran isn't involved in the murders but when she realises what is going on she jumps headlong into danger to help Jonathan investigate and her life is turned completely upside down.

I really enjoyed this short, it was great to see how this couple first met and the Aeslin mice that are travelling with Jonathan never fail to make me smile. I'm looking forward to reading more of the short stories featuring these two!

[Cathy]

I only got it out of the library to read Seanan McGuire's story, The Flower of Arizona. I saw it advertised when it was release, but weird westerns aren't really my thing, even though the author line-up seemed OK. It's hard for me to put away an anthology without reading it these days, but this one didn't tempt me too much. Seanan's story was a good meet-cute story for fans of her InCryptid series. The grandparents of the current generation of heroines and heroes, Jonathan and Francis, met in Arizona where she was the star attraction at a circus and he was investigating why there was a string of grizzly deaths following the circus wherever it went. I think fans of the series would enjoy the story because they'd get the jokes and nuances. But people who were reading the anthology who had no connection to the series might not get much out of it. It's strongly character based versus focusing on the the situation and without feeling a connection to the characters it might not do it for them.

[Hali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad anthology of science fiction/fantasy with an old west theme. I bought this book for one reason - to read Seanan Mcguires "Flower of Arizona" which is the .01 of the Incryptid series, the .02 and .03 being available on her website. That was the best read in the book as far as I was concerned. The rest were good, but none led me to want to go out and purchase any more of their authors books.

[Dr susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing a review for an anthology is difficult if some of the stories aren't your cup of tea. Seanan Mcguire's story is an hysterical 5-- the Aeslin mice are priceless.

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at least (2) times

I really like this story! I love the introduction to the previous generation of the Healy/Price cryptozoological EMPIRE... XD

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to know how Jonathan and Fran met. Wonder what it would be like in the old West. Can't wait to read more of Jonathan and Fran!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great selection of urban fantasy stories in a Wild West sort of setting. I need to look into some of these writers.

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* overall.

The Temptation of Eustace Prudence McAllen: I enjoyed this one. Good, consistent voice that really made it sound as if it were an oral story. A fun little story in the "devil gets outsmarted" tradition. (4*)

The Last Master of Aeronautical Winters: The first half of this story was jumbled and confused. The second part was fairly decent. The final part seemed to come nearly out of nowhere and was disappointing. (2.5*)

Lowstone: Fun cyborg woman and zombies. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, even if the writing style left something to be desired at times. (3.5*)

The Flower of Arizona: This is the reason I picked up this anthology. It was great. What a great intro to John and Fran. I'll be looking forward to continuing their story. (5*)

The Ghost in the Doctor Nope. There's something about "the mystical Indian" stories told by white people that just doesn't sit right with me at all. (1.5*)

Surveyor of Mars: I very much enjoyed this story, and John's internal conflict and the personification of it in Billy and his father. The theme that you should try to avoid fighting when you can and take a stand when you can't is one of my favourites. I also found myself wondering throughout if the ghosts were actually really there haha. (4.5*)

Coyote, Spider, Bat I would have enjoyed this much more if not for the typoes, tense errors, and occassional awkward phrasing. Other than all of that, I really did enjoy this one. (3.5*)

Maybe Another Time: Poorly written and I didn't see the point, except as another exploration of time travel. (2*)

Renn and the Little Men: This was great. Clever. It really encapsulated the tricky nature of fae, and Little Wren was a great character. (5*)

Showdown at High Moon: This was a lot of fun. I'm always a sucker for things related to Ancient Egypt. Good job. (4*)

The Clockwork Cowboy: Normally I'm not that into AI and robot stories, but I really enjoyed this one. The reveal at the end was especially touching. (4*)

Black Train: This is another great story. The latter half of this anthology really seems to be the stronger half. I really enjoyed Evan's growth, too, pun not (but kinda) intended. Boy I sure hope it resolves itself in a thruple. (3.5*)

Lone Wolf This was fun. It was just okay up until the discovery, and then it really took off with a hilarious kind of absuridism that was very refreshing. I also liked the idea of the Pettigrew's actually enjoying their curse. It's a nice change. (3.5*)