Year's Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 5

by Robert Shearman, Michael Kelly (Editor)

WINNER OF THE BRITISH FANTASY AWARD!

Showcasing the finest weird fiction published in 2017, volume 5 of the Year's Best Weird Fiction is the final, triumphant volume in the acclaimed series. Editors Robert Shearman and Michael Kelly bring their knowledge and skill to this fifth and final volume of the Year's Best Weird Fiction.

Michael Kelly - Foreword

Robert Shearman - Introduction

Kurt Fawver - The Convexity of Our Youth

Ben Loory - The Rock Eater

Brenna Gomez - Corzo

Kathleen Kayembe - You Will Always Have A Triptych

Daniel Carpenter - Flotsam

Michael Mirolla - The Possession

Ian Muneshwar - Skins Smooth as Plantain, Hearts Soft as Mango

Claire Dean - The Unwish

Kristi DeMeester - Worship Only What She Bleeds

David Peak - House of Abjection

Helen Marshall - The Way She is With Strangers

Joshua King - The Anteater

Jenni Fagan - When Words Change the Molecular Composition of Water

Alison Littlewood - The Entertainment Arrives

Chavisa Woods - Take the Way Home That Leads Back to Sullivan Street

Carmen Maria Machado - Eight Bites

Eric Schaller - Red Hood

Rebecca Kuder - Curb Day

Adam-Troy Castro - The Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl

K.L. Pereira - Disappearer

Camilla Grudova - The Mouse Queen

Brian Evenson - The Second Door

Nadia Bulkin - Live Through This

Paul Tremblay - Something About Birds

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Weird Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2018

About the author

Robert Shearman has worked as a writer for television, radio and the stage. He was appointed resident dramatist at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter and has received several international awards for his theatrical work, including the Sunday Times Playwriting Award, the World Drama Trust Award and the Guinness Award for Ingenuity in association with the Royal National Theatre. His plays have been regularly produced by Alan Ayckbourn, and on BBC Radio by Martin Jarvis. However, he is probably best known as a writer for Doctor Who, reintroducing the Daleks for its BAFTA winning first series, in an episode nominated for a Hugo Award.

His first collection of short stories, Tiny Deaths, was published by Comma Press in 2007. It won the World Fantasy Award for best collection, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize. One of the stories from it was selected by the National Library Board of Singapore as part of the annual Read! Singapore campaign. In 2008 his short story project for BBC7, The Chain Gang, won him a Sony Award, and he provided a second series for them in 2009.

He is now at work on his first novel.

Reviews

[Karl]

Contents:

vii - Forward - Michael Kelley
xi - Introduction - Robert Shearman
003 - “The Convexity of Our Youth” by Kurt Fawver
027 - “The Rock Eater” by Ben Loory
035 - “Corzo” by Brenna Gomez
047 - “You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych” by Kathleen Kayembe
081 - “Flotsam” by Daniel Carpenter
095 - “The Possession” by Michael Mirolla
105 - “Skins Smooth as Plantain, Hearts Soft as Mango” by Ian Muneshwar
127 - “The Unwish” by Claire Dean
141 - “Worship Only What She Bleeds” by Kristi DeMeester
149 - “House of Abjection” by David Peak
165 - “The Way She is With Strangers” by Helen Marshall
181 - “The Anteater” by Joshua King
197 - “When Words Change the Molecular Composition of Water” by Jenni Fagan
209 - “The Entertainment Arrives” by Alison Littlewood
223 - “Take the Way Home That Leads Back To Sullivan Street” by Chavisa Woods
249 - “Eight Bites” by Carmen Maria Carmen Machado
267 - “Red Hood” by Eric Schaller
281 - “Curb Day” by Rebecca Kuder
293 - “The Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl” by Adam-Troy Castro
305 - “Disappearer” by KL Pereira
323 - “The Mouse Queen” by Camilla Grudova
329 - “The Second Door” by Brian Evenson
351- “Live Through This” by Nadia Bulkin
371 - “Something About Birds” by Paul Tremblay
395 - Contributors Notes
403 - Copyright Acknowledgements

[Suki St Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sorry to see that this is the last of the series-- I enjoyed these books a lot. I liked the idea of each volume having a "guest" editor, which gave the series a wider range than if a single person had chosen all the stories for every book.

[Merl Fluin · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can't expect to enjoy everything in an anthology. But I had hoped to enjoy more of this than I did.

I generally dislike familial sentimentality (Helen Marshall, Ian Muneshwar, Kathleen Kayemebe), ostentatious exercises in literary theory (David Peak), and stories where the "weird" element amounts to little more than an extended metaphor (too numerous in this volume to list – it seems to be the default notion of weird here).

That said, I finished the book a couple of days ago, and I'm surprised about which stories have stayed with me. They didn't all seem like standouts while I was reading them, but they kind of snuck up on me afterwards.

The "rewritten fairy-tale" format has become overused since Angela Carter, but Eric Schaller's "Red Hood" pulls it off to unsettling effect.

Camilla Grudova's "The Mouse Queen" sags in the middle (and is even, yes, a tad metaphorical) but still conjures a dark swirl of mystery and chaos.

Brian Evenson's "The Second Door" is hard to summarise, so let's just say the impression it made on me was probably enhanced by my reading it on a plane.

And Kristi DeMeester's "Worship Only What She Bleeds" is a total knockout, almost enough on its own to redeem the mediocrity of the rest.

Almost.

[Marie-Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong finish to this distinguished series.

While I still feel that Volume 2, edited by Kathe Koja, is the finest of the five, Shearman has assembled an excellent group of stories by a bevy of stylish, challenging writers and arranged them with care. Reliable favourites and recent phenoms like Brian Evenson, Carmen Maria Machado, Chavisa Woods, Nadia Bulkin, Helen Marshall, and Paul Tremblay are here but there are also lesser-known but equally intriguing authors like Eric Schaller, Kristi DeMeester, Camilla Grudova, Claire Dean, Kathleen Kayembe, and Ian Muneshwar. Shearman casts his net wide and his definition of "weird" might well be a bit too broad and diffuse for some readers of the genre, but I like this openess to strangeness in all forms and feel this has allowed him to put together a genuinely diverse and entertaining collection that rarely bogs down or takes itself too seriously. This was a pleasure to read and I'm genuinely sad there won't be any more in this series.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

More detailed notes and conversations at:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Favorites so far:
“You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych” by Kathleen Kayembe
“The Unwish” by Claire Dean
“Worship Only What She Bleeds” by Kristi Demeester
[Chavisa Woods and Carmen Machado re-visits]
"Red Hood" by Eric Schaller
“Disappearer” by KL Pereira
[Brian Evenson re-visit]

[Cookie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a part of me that loves to read weird fiction. Not horror, exactly, but kind of creepy, off stuff, and the stories in this collection fit the bill. They don't scare the bejeezus out of you, just leave you feeling a cold fingers up and down your spine feeling that's rather fun. As long as the lights are all on, the dog is curled up next to you and the usual number of people can be heard in the next room. Count them just to be sure.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always score short fiction out of 10 based on imagination, layers and enjoyment. Also just because a story didn’t work for me DOES NOT reflect its quality at all.

Jenni Fagin, Daniel Carpenter and Helen Marshall contributed my favourite stories. I have read Helen Marshall before and she never disappoints but the other two are new to me.

The Convexity of Our Youth - by Kurt Fawver (8/10)
The Rock Eater - by Ben Loory (4/10)
Corzo - by Brenna Gomez (6/10)
You Will Always Have Family - by Kathleen Kayambe (7/10)
Flotsam - by Daniel Carpenter (9/10)
The Possession - by Michael Minolta (5/10)
Hearts Soft as Mango - by Ian Muneshwar (5/10)
The Un Wish - by Claire Dean (7/10)
Worship Only What She Bleeds - by Kristi Demeester (5/10)
House of Abjection - by David Peak (7/10)
The Way She Is With Strangers - by Helen Marshall (8/10)
The Anteater - by Joshua King (7/10)
Composition of Water - by Jenni Fagin (9/10)
The Entertainment Arrives - by Alison Littlewood (8/10)
Back to Sullivan Street - by Chavissa Wood (7/10)
Eight Bites - by Carmen Machado (6/10)
Red Hood - by Eric Schaller (6/10)
Curb Day - by Rebecca Kuder (5/10)
The Narrow Escape of Zipper Girl - by Adam Troy Castro (4/10)
Disappeared - by KL Pereiar (5/10)
The Mouse Queen - by Camilla Grudova (8/10)
The Second Door - by Brian Evenson (8/10)
Live Through This - by Nadia Bulkin (7/10)
Something About Birds - by Paul Trembley (5/10)

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

my favorites (i should specify that i think my perspective is influenced more by the emotional impact of the story rather than the logic of the weird things going on):

- Corzo by Brenna Gomez - obsessed with the imagery of a torn-up heart in a jar & it puts into words how much it hurts to lose someone who's still here

- Eight Bites by Carmen Maria Machado - i really like her memoir & her short story collection, so maybe it's cheating to say this was one of my my favorites when i had already read this in her short story collection...but i love her writing style and this story is no different

- The Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl by Adam-Troy Castro - this is the most terrifying thing i've ever read not so much because of the threat of physical harm, but the possibility that someone can go through the motions of loving someone and then never love them at all

- The Rock Eater by Ben Loory - this was my absolute favorite! it has the most sparse language out of all the stories (like, the red wheelbarrow of short stories) but also has the strongest gut-punch in the end. what am i supposed to take from this? a metaphor for addiction? a warning that the things we love will always consume us? it can be both of those things and much more...i think these types of stories (my favorite types of stories) just unfold themselves over time and transform with you

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

To quote again from the Tremblay above:
“That’s the true power of story. That it can find the secrets both the writer and reader didn’t know they had within themselves.”
This book is a cornucopia of powers. An engulfing experience.
Sheer, man!

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.
Above is its conclusion.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite short stories in this collection of weird sci fi/horror short stories are: The Unwish by Claire Dean, The Way She is With Strangers by Helen Marshall, Take the Way Home that Leads Back to Sullivan Street by Chavisa Woods, Eight Bites by Carmen Maria Machado and The Mouse Queen by Camilla Grudova.

[Book lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was weird

A collection of short, weird science fiction stories. There were four or five interesting stories but the rest were not for me. I would urge sci-fi fans to give it a try.

[Sushie]

DNF- read the forward, the intro, and the first story, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Dunno if it was the intro's defensiveness or that the first story failed to wow me, but I began dragging my feet on picking it up again, so I took it back to the library. Maybe I'll try again another day.

[Ethan Demartelaere · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of these, disappointed this is the final volume.

[S.J. Townend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ermahgerd this one is so good.
Everyone should read this. Everyone.