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The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade
A feeling has been tearing up the underground of the fiction world. It’s a nightmare reflection of the society you inhabit, a surreal explosion of pop, punk, and the post-apocalypse. Over the last decade, Bizarro Fiction has changed the definition of avant garde, it’s abolished the traditional prose of yesterday and established a new precedent for awesome. Collected in this anthology is some of the best weird fiction from the past decade. Award-winning writers, cult prodigies and burgeoning talents all collected together in one place. This is what you’ve done with the last ten years of your life.
With stories by:
D. Harlan Wilson, Alissa Nutting, Joe R. Lansdale, Carlton Mellick III, Kevin L. Donihe, , Ryan Boudinot, Vincent Sakowski, Cody Goodfellow, Amelia Gray, Robert Devereaux, Mykle Hansen, Athena Villaverde, Matthew Revert, Garrett Cook, Roy Kesey, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Aimee Bender, Ian Watson & Roberto Quaglia, Jeremy C. Shipp, Andersen Prunty, Jedediah Berry, Andrea Kneeland, Kurt Dinan, David Agranoff, Ben Loory, Kris Saknussemm, Stephen Graham Jones, Bentley Little, David W. Barbee, and Tom Piccirilli.
With stories by:
D. Harlan Wilson, Alissa Nutting, Joe R. Lansdale, Carlton Mellick III, Kevin L. Donihe, , Ryan Boudinot, Vincent Sakowski, Cody Goodfellow, Amelia Gray, Robert Devereaux, Mykle Hansen, Athena Villaverde, Matthew Revert, Garrett Cook, Roy Kesey, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Aimee Bender, Ian Watson & Roberto Quaglia, Jeremy C. Shipp, Andersen Prunty, Jedediah Berry, Andrea Kneeland, Kurt Dinan, David Agranoff, Ben Loory, Kris Saknussemm, Stephen Graham Jones, Bentley Little, David W. Barbee, and Tom Piccirilli.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
124 people are currently reading
627 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Pierce
54 books197 followersCameron Pierce is the author of eleven books, including the Wonderland Book Award-winning collection Lost in Cat Brain Land. His work has appeared in The Barcelona Review, Gray's Sporting Journal, Hobart, The Big Click, and Vol. I Brooklyn, and has been reviewed and featured on Comedy Central and The Guardian. He was also the author of the column Fishing and Beer, where he interviewed acclaimed angler Bill Dance and John Lurie of Fishing with John. Pierce is the head editor of Lazy Fascist Press and has edited three anthologies, including The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade. He lives with his wife in Astoria, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 2, 2015
Being a woman "of a certain age" (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean), I've read more than my share of "ladies' book club books." By that I mean, safe, innocuous reads, usually involving star-crossed lovers and WWII, or a heroine who beats insurmountable odds using only her mounds o' gumption and plucky good-natured wiles.
This book, praise Jebus, is nothing like that.
Here, the heroines are plucked, rather than plucky, and occasionally eaten by two-headed mammals. Star-crossed lovers are quickly doused with excrement and thrown under the wheels of passing monster trucks. Here, you get to learn what becomes of elderly firedogs, meet a woman whose bones are crawling with ants, and discover the hazards of being a door-to-door dildo salesman.
Seriously, doesn't it sometimes feel like you're reading the same DAMNED book over and over again?
If you're looking for something COMPLETELY different, something strange, something whacked, something that's going to hold you upside down and shake you, while at the same time providing racy fuel for your imagination....well, Bizarro might just be the answer. And this is a great introduction to the genre.
You'll either love it or hate it, and if you love it, you'll have a whole new list of authors and books to check out.
This book, praise Jebus, is nothing like that.
Here, the heroines are plucked, rather than plucky, and occasionally eaten by two-headed mammals. Star-crossed lovers are quickly doused with excrement and thrown under the wheels of passing monster trucks. Here, you get to learn what becomes of elderly firedogs, meet a woman whose bones are crawling with ants, and discover the hazards of being a door-to-door dildo salesman.
Seriously, doesn't it sometimes feel like you're reading the same DAMNED book over and over again?
If you're looking for something COMPLETELY different, something strange, something whacked, something that's going to hold you upside down and shake you, while at the same time providing racy fuel for your imagination....well, Bizarro might just be the answer. And this is a great introduction to the genre.
You'll either love it or hate it, and if you love it, you'll have a whole new list of authors and books to check out.
September 21, 2016
There’s a strange succession of events I’d like to write about in future that has led to me investigating bizarro more seriously—for now, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.
A cynical picture of bizarro might be that you take the words zombie, shark… basically just those two words, and you mix them about and write all-tell no-show not-that-funny things about whatever comes out. Just like any genre, the wealth of material found so categorised betrays the simplified shorthand the label implies, and this book is testament to that: bizarro is a rich and more-often-than-you’d-think profound source of stories about disaffection, the influence of pop culture, the hideousness of ennui, and that rarest of things in the literary landscape today: the unexplainable. In fact, bizarro might be the very home of the contemporary unexplainable, and when you think about all that literature has accomplished to date, it’s no wonder that its branch of what remains to be explained comes out so fucking weird and stays, often, as poorly understood once expressed as it did beforehand.
It’s everything to do with rebellion but not always to do with completely unstructured and reckless abandon in storytelling. It’s everything to do with psychic anarchy but, at least in this book’s case, nothing to do with poor writing. Between these pages you’ll perhaps be surprised to find stories by well-respected writers whose work you’ve been meaning to investigate, such as Blake Butler, who provides the most mind-blowing and unexplainable story of the whole collection, about a biblical-style plague that befalls the cast of Friends; Ryan Boudinot, who provides a beautiful story about a city with a heart that connects its population with arteries and veins; Amelia Gray, whose contribution is over too soon; and more than one story by Alissa Nutting, whose novel “Tampa” is set to be adapted for the screen by Harmony Korine—in case there was any doubt that “bizarro” did not mean “overly niche and never successful.” I don’t think “Tampa” could be considered bizarro, though, because of course, what’s so great about bizarro literature is that perhaps a definite feature of it is its unfilmability. (Cartoons, maybe: Rick and Morty comes closest.) So if you want to feel the things only bizarro can make you feel (I am a subscriber to Eugenides’ idea in Middlesex that emotions always come in a blend, and would add that new art brings out new blends, things unfelt), you should start reading it now, because you’ll be waiting indefinitely for the film—which is not true of all the other latest books I’ve successfully ducked having to read.
Bizarro is a legitimate and fascinating genre for the same reasons any genre might be: the works defined by it are doing what no other genre can, and at the same time, the label remains so elusive that what’s considered bizarro and what isn’t is in the eye of the beholder. Yes, the worst of it is indeed randomness for randomness’ sake—I don’t think there’s any denying that—but bizarro is no more sullied by nonsense than any other genre, which may be called “vampires for vampires’ sake”, “George R. R. Martin bullshit” or “UUUUGHHHHH.” If one gave in to cynical generalities ;)
Unlike most other genres, the “everything permitted, few things forbidden” nature of bizarro makes it particularly fertile ground for new modes of expression. And if you’re anything like me, you believe that unless literature is hitting you in the gut somehow, it isn’t worth reading at all.
A cynical picture of bizarro might be that you take the words zombie, shark… basically just those two words, and you mix them about and write all-tell no-show not-that-funny things about whatever comes out. Just like any genre, the wealth of material found so categorised betrays the simplified shorthand the label implies, and this book is testament to that: bizarro is a rich and more-often-than-you’d-think profound source of stories about disaffection, the influence of pop culture, the hideousness of ennui, and that rarest of things in the literary landscape today: the unexplainable. In fact, bizarro might be the very home of the contemporary unexplainable, and when you think about all that literature has accomplished to date, it’s no wonder that its branch of what remains to be explained comes out so fucking weird and stays, often, as poorly understood once expressed as it did beforehand.
It’s everything to do with rebellion but not always to do with completely unstructured and reckless abandon in storytelling. It’s everything to do with psychic anarchy but, at least in this book’s case, nothing to do with poor writing. Between these pages you’ll perhaps be surprised to find stories by well-respected writers whose work you’ve been meaning to investigate, such as Blake Butler, who provides the most mind-blowing and unexplainable story of the whole collection, about a biblical-style plague that befalls the cast of Friends; Ryan Boudinot, who provides a beautiful story about a city with a heart that connects its population with arteries and veins; Amelia Gray, whose contribution is over too soon; and more than one story by Alissa Nutting, whose novel “Tampa” is set to be adapted for the screen by Harmony Korine—in case there was any doubt that “bizarro” did not mean “overly niche and never successful.” I don’t think “Tampa” could be considered bizarro, though, because of course, what’s so great about bizarro literature is that perhaps a definite feature of it is its unfilmability. (Cartoons, maybe: Rick and Morty comes closest.) So if you want to feel the things only bizarro can make you feel (I am a subscriber to Eugenides’ idea in Middlesex that emotions always come in a blend, and would add that new art brings out new blends, things unfelt), you should start reading it now, because you’ll be waiting indefinitely for the film—which is not true of all the other latest books I’ve successfully ducked having to read.
Bizarro is a legitimate and fascinating genre for the same reasons any genre might be: the works defined by it are doing what no other genre can, and at the same time, the label remains so elusive that what’s considered bizarro and what isn’t is in the eye of the beholder. Yes, the worst of it is indeed randomness for randomness’ sake—I don’t think there’s any denying that—but bizarro is no more sullied by nonsense than any other genre, which may be called “vampires for vampires’ sake”, “George R. R. Martin bullshit” or “UUUUGHHHHH.” If one gave in to cynical generalities ;)
Unlike most other genres, the “everything permitted, few things forbidden” nature of bizarro makes it particularly fertile ground for new modes of expression. And if you’re anything like me, you believe that unless literature is hitting you in the gut somehow, it isn’t worth reading at all.
December 7, 2012
In a year crowded with excellent anthologies, The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade quickly rose to the top of my list of personal favorites. The thirty-five (!) stories collected herein not only exemplify the evolving Bizarro genre, but stand as masterful works of the short form, each story performing an precarious balancing act between strange, sad, funny, and beautiful. Stand-outs include Joe R. Lansdale's "Fire Dog," Alissa Nutting's "Ant Colony," Cody Goodfellow's "Atwater," Jeremy Robert Johnson's "The Sharp-Dressed Man at the End of the Line," Anderson Prunty's "The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island," and David Agranoff's "Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse," but there isn't a dud in the bunch. If you've been wondering what this Bizarro movement is all about, The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade makes for an excellent entry point. You won't be disappointed!
December 24, 2023
A great collection I'm happy to have picked up!
My five-stars stories are:
- Ant Colony - Alissa Nutting
- The Traveling Dildo Salesman - Kevin L. Donihe
- Cardiology - Ryan Boudinot
- Crazy Shitting Planet - Myke Hansen
- Caterpillar Girl - Athena Villaverde
- Ear Cat - Carlton Mellick III
- The Planting - Bentley Little
My five-stars stories are:
- Ant Colony - Alissa Nutting
- The Traveling Dildo Salesman - Kevin L. Donihe
- Cardiology - Ryan Boudinot
- Crazy Shitting Planet - Myke Hansen
- Caterpillar Girl - Athena Villaverde
- Ear Cat - Carlton Mellick III
- The Planting - Bentley Little
May 28, 2014
The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade is by far the best Bizarro anthology available at present, both for fans of the genre and as an introduction for those just getting to know what the genre is all about. It’s a better intro than even the Starter Kits. Almost all your usual suspects are represented right alongside some other big names who aren’t typically associated with Bizarro, like Joe R. Lansdale, Tom Piccirilli, Aimee Bender, and Stephen Graham Jones. I love about 95% of this book, and feel that it is wholly representative of the emerging genre over the course of the previous decade. In other words, it is just what the title says.
The volume contains many tales in full-on Bizarro territory including the absurd yet horrific “The Traveling Dildo Salesman” by Kevin L. Donihe, the too-creepy-for-words existential terror of “The Planting” by Bentley Little, the disturbing pop-culture subversion of “We Witnessed the Advent of a New Apocalypse During an Episode of Friends” by Blake Butler, the surreally absurd “A Million Versions of Right” by Matthew Revert, the otherworldly sh!tstorm of “The Crazy Sh!tting Planet” by Mykel Hansen, the nightmare landscape of “Atwater” by Cody Goodfellow, the impossibly Japanese weirdness of “The Moby Clitoris of His Beloved” by Ian Watson & Robert Quaglia, the Scooby-Doo perversion of “The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island” by Andersen Prunty, the stylized sadism of ‘Scratch” by Jeremy C. Shipp, and the uncomfortable dystopia of “Ear Cat” by Carlton Mellick III.
It also contains some, for lack of a better term, Bizarro-lite that is fun to read and may help scene outsiders ease into the strangeness, including “Fire Dog” and “Mr. Bear” by Joe R. Lansdale, “Ant Colony” by Alissa Nutting, “Cardiology” by Ryan Boudinot, “Hat” by Roy Kesey, and “The Octopus” by Ben Lorry.
If you’ve ever felt like Bizarro is too silly for you, or Bizarro is all the same, or Bizarro is all uberextreme, then this is a collection that can help to correct your misconceptions. And if you are looking for some great, nonconformist lit, this is your anthology.
The volume contains many tales in full-on Bizarro territory including the absurd yet horrific “The Traveling Dildo Salesman” by Kevin L. Donihe, the too-creepy-for-words existential terror of “The Planting” by Bentley Little, the disturbing pop-culture subversion of “We Witnessed the Advent of a New Apocalypse During an Episode of Friends” by Blake Butler, the surreally absurd “A Million Versions of Right” by Matthew Revert, the otherworldly sh!tstorm of “The Crazy Sh!tting Planet” by Mykel Hansen, the nightmare landscape of “Atwater” by Cody Goodfellow, the impossibly Japanese weirdness of “The Moby Clitoris of His Beloved” by Ian Watson & Robert Quaglia, the Scooby-Doo perversion of “The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island” by Andersen Prunty, the stylized sadism of ‘Scratch” by Jeremy C. Shipp, and the uncomfortable dystopia of “Ear Cat” by Carlton Mellick III.
It also contains some, for lack of a better term, Bizarro-lite that is fun to read and may help scene outsiders ease into the strangeness, including “Fire Dog” and “Mr. Bear” by Joe R. Lansdale, “Ant Colony” by Alissa Nutting, “Cardiology” by Ryan Boudinot, “Hat” by Roy Kesey, and “The Octopus” by Ben Lorry.
If you’ve ever felt like Bizarro is too silly for you, or Bizarro is all the same, or Bizarro is all uberextreme, then this is a collection that can help to correct your misconceptions. And if you are looking for some great, nonconformist lit, this is your anthology.
November 11, 2018
I didn’t know...
That Bizarro fiction doesn’t necessarily have to be Bloody, full of private parts or vulgar! There is quite a variety in this collection and I really enjoyed reading it. A couple stories I didn’t get like the Armadillo and the Penguin in the bar..but by far this has been my #2 fav anthology ever (the first spot is a zombie anthogy) lol and that means a lot coming from someone who Has a short attention span and dnf’s a lot of books because I try to read too many at once and forget about some. So 5 stars amazing Anthology!
That Bizarro fiction doesn’t necessarily have to be Bloody, full of private parts or vulgar! There is quite a variety in this collection and I really enjoyed reading it. A couple stories I didn’t get like the Armadillo and the Penguin in the bar..but by far this has been my #2 fav anthology ever (the first spot is a zombie anthogy) lol and that means a lot coming from someone who Has a short attention span and dnf’s a lot of books because I try to read too many at once and forget about some. So 5 stars amazing Anthology!
June 29, 2024
This is a fantastic collection of strange, funny, sad, and always bizarre stories for those who are sick of contemporary literature.
My personal favs?
Ant Colony by Alissa Nutting—due to limited resources on Earth, people have to share their bodies with a living organism of their choice. A model chooses to have an ant colony implanted. That's just the basic premise. The story itself goes into wild territory.
Crazy Shitting Planet by Mykle Hansen—a post-apocalyptic world of shit. Lots of shit. This one was disgusting and amazing and left me feeling weirdly hopeful about the world.
Caterpillar Girl by Athena Villaverde—In a world of human/insect hybrids, a caterpillar girl has a crush on a spider girl who eats butterfly boys. This one was beautiful, unique, and romantic, perfectly capturing the feeling of yearning.
My personal favs?
Ant Colony by Alissa Nutting—due to limited resources on Earth, people have to share their bodies with a living organism of their choice. A model chooses to have an ant colony implanted. That's just the basic premise. The story itself goes into wild territory.
Crazy Shitting Planet by Mykle Hansen—a post-apocalyptic world of shit. Lots of shit. This one was disgusting and amazing and left me feeling weirdly hopeful about the world.
Caterpillar Girl by Athena Villaverde—In a world of human/insect hybrids, a caterpillar girl has a crush on a spider girl who eats butterfly boys. This one was beautiful, unique, and romantic, perfectly capturing the feeling of yearning.
April 3, 2015
I love a bizarre story when it's good. These tend to be just weird for the sake of being weird or shocking, without much meaning or purpose. For me to give two stars to a short story collection is really saying something...
June 12, 2017
Yeah, this rocks. This collection completely satisfied my urge for the surreal, the unhinged, and the mind-blowing. Plus, the writing is top-notch. Don't miss this one.
February 12, 2020
My opinion on the stories from 1 to 5 stars:
• At the Funeral (D. Harlan Wilson) – 3*
• Ant Colony (Alissa Nutting) – 4*
• Fire Dog (Joe R. Lansdale) – 4.5*
• Candy-Coated (Carlton Mellick III) – 3*
• The Traveling Dildo Salesman (Kevin L. Donihe) – 4*
• We Witnessed the Advent of a New Apocalypse During an Episode of Friends (Blake Butler) – 2.5*
• Cardiology (Ryan Boudinot) – 2*
• The Screaming of the Fish (Vincent Sakowski) – 3*
• Atwater (Cody Goodfellow) – 1.5*
• The Darkness (Amelia Gray) – 3*
• Li’l Miss Ultrasound (Robert Deveraux) – 4.5*
• Crazy Shitting Planet (Mykle Hansen) – 3.5*
• Caterpillar Girl (Athena Villaverde) – 4*
• Cops & Bodybuilders (D. Harlan Wilson) – 3*
• A Million Versions of Right (Matthew Revert) – 4.5*
• Hellion (Alissa Nutting) – 3*
• Mr. Plush, Detective (Garrett Cook) – 1.5*
• Hat (Roy Kesey) – 3.5*
• The Sharp Dressed Man at the End of the Line (Jeremy Robert Johnson) – 2.5*
• Hotel Rot (Aimee Bender) – 3*
• The Moby Clitoris of His Beloved (Ian Watson & Roberto Quaglia) – 2.5*
• Scratch (Jeremy C. Shipp) – 3*
• The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island (Andersen Prunty) – 4*
• Inheritance (Jedediah Berry) – 5*
• Everybody is Waiting for Something (Andrea Kneeland) – 3*
• Ear Cat (Carlton Mellick III) – 4.5*
• Nub Hut (Kurt Dinan) – 1.5*
• Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse (David Agranoff) – 1*
• The Octopus (Ben Loory) – 4*
• You Saw Me Standing Alone (Kris Saknussem) – 4*
• Mr. Bear (Joe R. Lansdale) – 4*
• Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth (Stephen Graham Jones) – 1.5*
• The Planting (Bentley Little) – 4.5*
• Surf Grizzlies (David W. Barbee) – 1.5*
• The Misfit Child Grows Fat on Despair (Tom Piccirilli) – 3*
Favorite story: “Inheritance” (Jedediah Berry)
• At the Funeral (D. Harlan Wilson) – 3*
• Ant Colony (Alissa Nutting) – 4*
• Fire Dog (Joe R. Lansdale) – 4.5*
• Candy-Coated (Carlton Mellick III) – 3*
• The Traveling Dildo Salesman (Kevin L. Donihe) – 4*
• We Witnessed the Advent of a New Apocalypse During an Episode of Friends (Blake Butler) – 2.5*
• Cardiology (Ryan Boudinot) – 2*
• The Screaming of the Fish (Vincent Sakowski) – 3*
• Atwater (Cody Goodfellow) – 1.5*
• The Darkness (Amelia Gray) – 3*
• Li’l Miss Ultrasound (Robert Deveraux) – 4.5*
• Crazy Shitting Planet (Mykle Hansen) – 3.5*
• Caterpillar Girl (Athena Villaverde) – 4*
• Cops & Bodybuilders (D. Harlan Wilson) – 3*
• A Million Versions of Right (Matthew Revert) – 4.5*
• Hellion (Alissa Nutting) – 3*
• Mr. Plush, Detective (Garrett Cook) – 1.5*
• Hat (Roy Kesey) – 3.5*
• The Sharp Dressed Man at the End of the Line (Jeremy Robert Johnson) – 2.5*
• Hotel Rot (Aimee Bender) – 3*
• The Moby Clitoris of His Beloved (Ian Watson & Roberto Quaglia) – 2.5*
• Scratch (Jeremy C. Shipp) – 3*
• The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island (Andersen Prunty) – 4*
• Inheritance (Jedediah Berry) – 5*
• Everybody is Waiting for Something (Andrea Kneeland) – 3*
• Ear Cat (Carlton Mellick III) – 4.5*
• Nub Hut (Kurt Dinan) – 1.5*
• Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse (David Agranoff) – 1*
• The Octopus (Ben Loory) – 4*
• You Saw Me Standing Alone (Kris Saknussem) – 4*
• Mr. Bear (Joe R. Lansdale) – 4*
• Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth (Stephen Graham Jones) – 1.5*
• The Planting (Bentley Little) – 4.5*
• Surf Grizzlies (David W. Barbee) – 1.5*
• The Misfit Child Grows Fat on Despair (Tom Piccirilli) – 3*
Favorite story: “Inheritance” (Jedediah Berry)
May 31, 2020
I have read a handful of Bizarro fiction stories over the last few years and I absolutely love the genera.
There are some very talented writers in this book and I can hardly wait to get my hands on some more of these stories. (I just ordered three more books!)
My favorite stories in this, just to name a few, are:
"Candy-Coated" and "Ear Cat" by Carlton Mellick III. Every thing I have read by this guy has been gold!
"Crazy Shitting Planet" by Mykle Hansen.
"The Sharp-Dressed Man at the End of the Line" by Jeremy Robert Johnson.
And of course there are two stories by one of my all time favorite authors (in and out of the bizarro genera) Joe R. Lansdale. He wrote "Fire Dog" and "Mr. Bear." If you read the later one you will never again be able to look at a certain fire fighting bear icon the same ever again.
There are some very talented writers in this book and I can hardly wait to get my hands on some more of these stories. (I just ordered three more books!)
My favorite stories in this, just to name a few, are:
"Candy-Coated" and "Ear Cat" by Carlton Mellick III. Every thing I have read by this guy has been gold!
"Crazy Shitting Planet" by Mykle Hansen.
"The Sharp-Dressed Man at the End of the Line" by Jeremy Robert Johnson.
And of course there are two stories by one of my all time favorite authors (in and out of the bizarro genera) Joe R. Lansdale. He wrote "Fire Dog" and "Mr. Bear." If you read the later one you will never again be able to look at a certain fire fighting bear icon the same ever again.
March 23, 2020
My first foray into Bizarro
Excellent anthology delving into Bizzaro fiction. I read mainly horror but found this book looking for something new but familiar . Color me impressed . I found the majority of stories both strange , interesting and .......bizarre. So glad I found this book and discovered a new genre of story telling that keeps my interest. I would recommend this book for readers who appreciate horror and dark stories with a twist. I will be looking into more of these authors works. A solid 4.5 stars for this book.
Excellent anthology delving into Bizzaro fiction. I read mainly horror but found this book looking for something new but familiar . Color me impressed . I found the majority of stories both strange , interesting and .......bizarre. So glad I found this book and discovered a new genre of story telling that keeps my interest. I would recommend this book for readers who appreciate horror and dark stories with a twist. I will be looking into more of these authors works. A solid 4.5 stars for this book.
December 14, 2020
Great collection of bizarre fiction - the surrealist approach opens up a lot of doors and while every story may not get your wheels turning, more will than won't. If you've always wanted to try Bizarro Fiction, this is a great place to start!
June 13, 2022
Ahh.. The Best Bizarro fiction of the decade? I don't know about that. At the very least gives a wide selection od different flavours of Bizarro fiction. For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, but there was a few boring and incoherent ones.
February 14, 2018
Mixed, obviously—it’s an anthology—but neatly splits the magical realism and the gonzo splatterpunk.
February 27, 2018
Absolutely killer collection that shows off a wide variety of entries to the genre.
March 7, 2020
There's a lot of poorly thought out, under-edited material in the Bizarro genre but none of it is in this collection.
December 10, 2024
Some of these were amazingly written... Some made my skin crawl...
They all hooked me right in
4 stars
They all hooked me right in
4 stars
Currently reading
July 13, 2024"Cardiology" by Ryan Boudinot - wc
"Mr. Bear" by Joe R. Lansdale - wc
"Ear Cat" by Carlton Mellick III - wc
"A Million Versions of Right" by Matthew Revert - wc
"Caterpillar Girl" by Athena Villaverde - wc
"Mr. Bear" by Joe R. Lansdale - wc
"Ear Cat" by Carlton Mellick III - wc
"A Million Versions of Right" by Matthew Revert - wc
"Caterpillar Girl" by Athena Villaverde - wc
September 2, 2016
This was an enjoyable anthology of strange fiction. I've been seeking out, reading, and writing odd stories for a number of years now, but was never aware of the "Bizarro" genre label.
This collection was my first foray into the relatively current crop of bizarro authors. It's a very hefty collection containing 35 stories, and most are entertaining. A few of them weren't really up my alley since they seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird, or used their "weirdness" as a crutch to mask questionable writing, but the weaker stories are few and far between.
The gems in my opinion were "Crazy Sh!tting Planet", "Atwater", "Ear Cat", and "The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island". These alone are worth the price of entry.
If you're looking for something different that will make you laugh, possibly offend you, and occasionally make you scratch your head (what good books should do!) then this is worth a read.
This collection was my first foray into the relatively current crop of bizarro authors. It's a very hefty collection containing 35 stories, and most are entertaining. A few of them weren't really up my alley since they seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird, or used their "weirdness" as a crutch to mask questionable writing, but the weaker stories are few and far between.
The gems in my opinion were "Crazy Sh!tting Planet", "Atwater", "Ear Cat", and "The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island". These alone are worth the price of entry.
If you're looking for something different that will make you laugh, possibly offend you, and occasionally make you scratch your head (what good books should do!) then this is worth a read.
April 10, 2015
When you call a book the Best Bizarro Fiction Of The Decade you have a lot to live up to. So is it the best? It's pretty damn close and for fans of the genre this is a solid anthology that reminds us just how great this genre is. For anyone looking to check in and see what the genre is this is a great place to start. Each story is a great representation of what the genre is. Each story is well written and shows just how great and inventive this genre is.
These are authors who are still churning out bizaro tales and these are all biarro gold. For fans of the genre this is a great anthology to add to your collection. In an anthology like this you're bound to find a few clunkers but here you truly are getting the best of the genre. It's a solid collection that is a true must read.
These are authors who are still churning out bizaro tales and these are all biarro gold. For fans of the genre this is a great anthology to add to your collection. In an anthology like this you're bound to find a few clunkers but here you truly are getting the best of the genre. It's a solid collection that is a true must read.
July 9, 2014
This collection, as Cameron Pierce's collections are wont to be (see: In Heaven Everything is Fine), is fantabulous. This was the first bizarro collection I purchased when I was first getting into bizarro. It's a great place to start if you're new to the genre, covering a wide range of what bizarro is and can be. Every story here is amazing in a different way than the last, and you can get a feel for the styles of different writers of bizarro. That being said, long time bizarro fans will also get into this, with great bizarro stories by their favorite writers.
The only downside, of course, is that Pierce's own writing fails to appear in the collection. Which it should.
The only downside, of course, is that Pierce's own writing fails to appear in the collection. Which it should.
April 4, 2022
An excellent short story collection highlighting the best in bizarro. Alissa Nutting’s short ‘Hellion’ is the standout hit. I highlighted almost every paragraph and recommended it to anyone who was online and unable to escape my enthusiasm. This is what makes bizarro so entertaining - a ridiculous concept done in a very matter-of-fact way with absolutely average people. How could you not be sucked into a Hell where there’s only one bar and it serves nonalcoholic drinks?? Ugh…excuse me, while I go confess my sins and try to avoid that fate.
October 26, 2015
Great variety of bizarro. My taste runs towards a heavy blend of horror with my bizarre, and a solid handful hit the spot really well. Tons of other stuff too - funny, literary, just plain weird. I didn't finish every single story in this collection, stuck with ones that appealed to my tastes or widened my horizons, but I think anyone reading it would find a few stories they loved.
February 7, 2015
This is simply the best of the best short stories from all of the top writers in the bizarro genre. If you've been thinking about trying bizarro but don't know where to start you can experience all of the top writers at their very best right here.
January 17, 2017
Parts of this were difficult, parts were disgusting, parts were brilliant. I feel like some of the work in here, particularly the Blake Butler piece, speak to the influence that both Goosebumps and new-sincere post-modernism have had on gen y voices.
It was good and spooky
It was good and spooky
December 22, 2012
This was a great collection of stories and a must have for any bookshelf. I have to point out that "Inheritance" was my favorite.
July 25, 2013
If you like bizarro fiction then you owe it to yourself to read this work. Cameron Pierce has collected some superb work from some awesome writers. Well worth reading.
December 10, 2014
Hard to rate. I loved many of the stories in here but there were a few too many black jelly beans in this bag for me to round up from 3.5 to 4.0. 3.5 rounded down to 3.
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