Fitting In: Historical Accounts of Paranormal Subcultures

by Jeremy Zimmerman (Editor), Dawn Vogel (Editor), Stuart Webb

No one understands being an outsider like the people who have experienced it. Mad Scientist Journal has brought together twenty-six tales of people who have lived in a world that doesn't accept them. Some face their situation with humor, others less so. Vampires, werewolves, and changelings share space in these pages with gorgons, natukkong, jiangshi, and rokurokubi.

Included in this collection are stories from Ali Abbas, Marina Belli, Jimmy Bernard, Elisa A. Bonnin, Maureen Bowden, Darin M. Bush, Garrett Croker, Jordan Davies, Laura Duerr, Amelia Fisher, Sean Frost, Mathew Allan Garcia, Lucinda Gunnin, Rhiannon Held, Valjeanne Jeffers, Michael M. Jones, S. Qiouyi Lu, John A. McColley, Ville Meriläinen, Timothy Nakayama, Adam Petrash, Jennifer R. Povey, Darren Ridgley, Erin Sneath, J. C. Stearns, and Stuart Webb. Interior art is provided by Errow Collins, GryphonShifter, Amanda Jones, Shannon Legler, and Ariel Alian Wilson.

Genres: Anthologies, Fantasy

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2016

About the author

Jeremy Zimmerman is a teller of tales who dislikes cute euphemisms for writing like “teller of tales.” He is the author of the young adult superhero book, Kensei and its sequel, The Love of Danger. In his copious spare time he is the co-editor of Mad Scientist Journal. He lives in Seattle with a herd of cats and his lovely wife (and fellow author) Dawn Vogel.

Reviews

[CJ Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another anthology I loved. It's about alienation and 'othering' with monsters standing in as a metaphor for immigrant or marginalized communities. A lot of different angles on the topic, and I never felt like I was getting beaten on the head with the Message.
Favorite stories include
Cataclysm Child, Ville Merilainen, a mix of Frankenstein and Iron Man, a created being works at making a family of his own.
Someone's Checking You Out Right Now, S. qiouyi Lu, a very short piece, a quick punch in the form of an OKCupid profile.
Righteous Anger, Lucinda Gunnin, a were story made fresh by setting it in an angelic community.
Home by Hallowe'en, Michael M Jones, an interesting take on the Changeling story.
To Come and Go, Jimmy Bernard, a zombie romance that touches the heart.
And this is not to indicate that the rest of the stories are weak 'just filler'. This is a strong anthology.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed Mad Scientist Journal's anthology series of historical accounts, I eagerly backed the last two on Kickstarter, and I think this is the strongest one to date. Every story in this urban fantasy collection is at least loosely connected by the idea of the outsider, whatever that means for the story, and they managed to put together a great variety of quality pieces. Definitely check this out! A few standout stories:

“The Woman from Kisthene” – J. C. Stearns
“Home by Halloween” – Michael Jones
“Someone’s Checking You Out Right Now!” – S. Qiouyi Lu
“The Face on the Wall, and the Chainsaw” – Erin Sneath
“A Good Head on His Shoulders” – Stuart Webb

[Marina Belli · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the contributors, I had the opportunity of reading this anthology way before it was released. I may be biased, but I really enjoyed it. There's a wide variety of creatures, moods, themes and approaches to the base idea of paranormal creatures struggling to fit in a world that may not be made to accomodate them.
It's a good anthology that will have you cry and laugh and ponder. But, alas, I may be utterly biased in its favour. You'll have to try it for yourself!

[Tiamatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic anthology. It's all about using various creatures of myth and folklore as metaphors for the outsider experience. They're all first-person narratives from the perspectives of the creatures, but there are a couple particularly interesting variations. One, from a jiangshi (Chinese zombie, sort of), takes the form of a dating profile. Some of the stories are set in the "real" world, others are set in more fantastical locations. Most are set in modern times, though one or two are set in the past. Some of the creatures chosen are very interesting - a couple aren't really about creatures, as such, but are maybe even more fascinating for that. There's a lot of variety to the stories, which keeps things interesting.

This was a great read, and I highly recommend it.

[Lorilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! J.C. Stearns held me spellbound the entire time. At one point in time I physically jumped when the plot shifted.