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Weird Tales #364
A woman seduces a dragon, evil flowers attack the earth, and Bram Stoker reveals the horrific origins of Dracula, in this 364th edition of the worlds greatest magazine of Dark Fantasy. But that's not all! Edited by Jonathan Maberry, this issue features 13 works of horror and dark fantasy by masters of the craft. “Too Late Now” by Seanan McGuire (Short story) “Ellende” by Gregory Frost (Short story) “Lightning Lizzie by Marie Whittaker (Flash Fiction) The Beguiled Grave” by Marguerite Reed (Short story “The Last War” by Linda Addison (Poetry) “To the Marrow” by Rena Mason (Short story) “Feathers” by Tim Waggoner (Flash Fiction) “Last Days” by Dacre Stoker and Leverett Butts (Short story) “Trailer Park Nightmare” by Gabrielle Faust (Flash Fiction) “No One Survives the Beach” by Weston Ochse (Short story “Hats” by Joe R. Lansdale (Flash Fiction) “The Good Wife” by Lee Murray (Short story) “The Canal” by Alessandro Manzetti (Poetry)
139 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 21, 2020
14 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Maberry
518 books7,782 followersJONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 14, 2021
Weird tales 364
После позапрошлогоднего номера новой итерации журнала Weird Tales послушал последний, 364й выпуск. По сравнению с предыдущим тут стало меньше остроактуальных тем, как будто составители, раз показав миру, что странная фантастика еще огого и умеет в woke, вернулись к традиционным – я бы даже сказал посконно-палповым сюжетам зари существования журнала.
Что в номере:
• Too Late Now. Голодные игры в атмосфере экологического постапокалипсиса.
• Ellende. Поворот не туда в исчезнувшую деревушку, где реднеки поклоняются жабьему богу Цаттогуа. Очевидный оммаж одновременно Лавкрафту и К.Э. Смиту, но оттого не менее милый.
• The Beguiled Grave. Обидчивой ведьме в фэнтезийном сеттинге Конана насолил местный король, а она ему в ответ – наборщила.
• To the Marrow. В аризонской пустыне местный Индиана Джонс нашёл индейское капище с таинственными письменами, которые сводят с ума его подругу-лингвистку.
• Last Days. Из посмертных записок Брэма Стокера его сын узнаёт о событиях, участником которых был отец, а также настоящую историю Дракулы.
• Hats. Забавный флэш-фикшн о том, как на променаде можно забрести в старый магазинчик шляп, а выйти - продавцом магазинчика ужасов. Или не выйти.
• The Good Wife. Старая недобрая фантазия с обложек хэви-метала, где хрупкая, но выдающейся грудастости девица одним ударом убивает сразу двух зайцев: соблазняет дракона и обводит вокруг пальца своего мужа-абьюзера.
• + несколько стишков-прослоек и флэш-фикшна между рассказами, как маринованный имбирь между разными суси, позволяют передохнуть и снять послевкусие.
После позапрошлогоднего номера новой итерации журнала Weird Tales послушал последний, 364й выпуск. По сравнению с предыдущим тут стало меньше остроактуальных тем, как будто составители, раз показав миру, что странная фантастика еще огого и умеет в woke, вернулись к традиционным – я бы даже сказал посконно-палповым сюжетам зари существования журнала.
Что в номере:
• Too Late Now. Голодные игры в атмосфере экологического постапокалипсиса.
• Ellende. Поворот не туда в исчезнувшую деревушку, где реднеки поклоняются жабьему богу Цаттогуа. Очевидный оммаж одновременно Лавкрафту и К.Э. Смиту, но оттого не менее милый.
• The Beguiled Grave. Обидчивой ведьме в фэнтезийном сеттинге Конана насолил местный король, а она ему в ответ – наборщила.
• To the Marrow. В аризонской пустыне местный Индиана Джонс нашёл индейское капище с таинственными письменами, которые сводят с ума его подругу-лингвистку.
• Last Days. Из посмертных записок Брэма Стокера его сын узнаёт о событиях, участником которых был отец, а также настоящую историю Дракулы.
• Hats. Забавный флэш-фикшн о том, как на променаде можно забрести в старый магазинчик шляп, а выйти - продавцом магазинчика ужасов. Или не выйти.
• The Good Wife. Старая недобрая фантазия с обложек хэви-метала, где хрупкая, но выдающейся грудастости девица одним ударом убивает сразу двух зайцев: соблазняет дракона и обводит вокруг пальца своего мужа-абьюзера.
• + несколько стишков-прослоек и флэш-фикшна между рассказами, как маринованный имбирь между разными суси, позволяют передохнуть и снять послевкусие.
December 30, 2020
Issue 364 is definitely a step up in terms of talent and story/poetry selection compared to 363, which was just adequate/serviceable. It feels like they really stepped up their game and brought in some powerhouse artists of the writing craft.
Each poem flowed well and each story chosen was well written and in my opinion, gives a lovely ode to the content the magazine had in it's golden age, long ago. The cover art is also something to behold.
All in all, a great 2nd issue under the new house publishing this magazine! I look forward to issue 365 and more.
Each poem flowed well and each story chosen was well written and in my opinion, gives a lovely ode to the content the magazine had in it's golden age, long ago. The cover art is also something to behold.
All in all, a great 2nd issue under the new house publishing this magazine! I look forward to issue 365 and more.
October 28, 2025
"Too Late Now", by Seanan McGuire, is just what I expect from Seanan McGuire from reading her Wayward Children books: Young women trying, and often failing, to survive in a brutal world with a fantasy or SF backdrop. This one is essentially her take on Day of the Triffids, and of the two, hers is the superior story.
"Ellende", by Gregory Frost, seems to be a sort of spin on Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", where a couple happens upon a small rural town filled with deformed cultists. It wasn't bad.
"The Legend of Lightning Lizzie" by Marie Whittaker is flash fiction of some guys telling an urban legend that's actually real.
"The Beguiled Grave" by Marguerite Reed is the highlight of this issue so far. A powerful, immortal witch is sent to break a king out of his secret prison, using necromancy. Great world-building, character voice, and structure. Also liked her casual reference to the king's sexual parts even though there's no sex in the story. I would read more from this author.
"To the Marrow", by Rena Mason, was a little disjointed by jumping back and forth in time between the narrative and police reports of cell phone recordings from after the fact, but this was a strong, interesting archaeology story.
"Feathers", by Tim Waggoner, was written in 2nd person, casting me, the reader, as an unsympathetic psychiatrist. The only good thing about this was that it was flash fiction, and over fast.
"Last Days" is a story from Renfield's PoV from Dracula. It starts with a slavishly typical framing story as most supernatural stories used to do, with people insisting the story is true. But the characters here act like this has never been done, that it's a novel literary device, when they would have been very familiar with the idea if they read anything of that time period that involved the supernatural.
This was everything you could ask for from a Dracula prequel. It fit the tone of the original book and set up the events we know. It claims to be actual content cut from the original beginning of the book, but I doubt that. I don't care much for prequels when they don't have proper endings like this, but I didn't mind it so much here.
"No One Ever Survives the Beach" by Weston Ochse was a chaotic mess of references to factions and characters like Red Queen Mab, the White Worm, the Sky Isles, and more, all told in a revolting first person present tense with a breathless narrator spouting off to the reader like a war correspondent, sketching out the plot without giving any reason to care about its participants.
"Hats" by Joe Lansdale, about a magic hat shop, would make a good Twilight Zone episode (there was one like it, actually). Short, magic in modern day, with a predictable twist, but fun enough to read.
"Trailer Park Nightmare" by Gabrielle Faust is a tiny flash fiction about a woman experiencing a tentacled horror emerging in her trailer park. That's it. It emerges. The end. I don't like flash fiction.
"The Good Wife" by Lee Murray was an annoying story about a starving woman, an evil husband, and a lazy dragon. Everyone in this story (including the dragon) would logically have starved to death years ago because they don't lift a finger to get food for themselves even if they know where they can get it.
"The Canal" by Alessandro Manzetti is a poem. I'm not the audience for that.
Some good stories, some not, as expected. I'll read another of these most recent issues eventually.
"Ellende", by Gregory Frost, seems to be a sort of spin on Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", where a couple happens upon a small rural town filled with deformed cultists. It wasn't bad.
"The Legend of Lightning Lizzie" by Marie Whittaker is flash fiction of some guys telling an urban legend that's actually real.
"The Beguiled Grave" by Marguerite Reed is the highlight of this issue so far. A powerful, immortal witch is sent to break a king out of his secret prison, using necromancy. Great world-building, character voice, and structure. Also liked her casual reference to the king's sexual parts even though there's no sex in the story. I would read more from this author.
"To the Marrow", by Rena Mason, was a little disjointed by jumping back and forth in time between the narrative and police reports of cell phone recordings from after the fact, but this was a strong, interesting archaeology story.
"Feathers", by Tim Waggoner, was written in 2nd person, casting me, the reader, as an unsympathetic psychiatrist. The only good thing about this was that it was flash fiction, and over fast.
"Last Days" is a story from Renfield's PoV from Dracula. It starts with a slavishly typical framing story as most supernatural stories used to do, with people insisting the story is true. But the characters here act like this has never been done, that it's a novel literary device, when they would have been very familiar with the idea if they read anything of that time period that involved the supernatural.
"Is this some sort of literary conceit?" I asked. "Pretending that your creations are real?" I chuckled. "If so, I cannot decide if it's heavy-handed or a stroke of genius!"
This was everything you could ask for from a Dracula prequel. It fit the tone of the original book and set up the events we know. It claims to be actual content cut from the original beginning of the book, but I doubt that. I don't care much for prequels when they don't have proper endings like this, but I didn't mind it so much here.
"No One Ever Survives the Beach" by Weston Ochse was a chaotic mess of references to factions and characters like Red Queen Mab, the White Worm, the Sky Isles, and more, all told in a revolting first person present tense with a breathless narrator spouting off to the reader like a war correspondent, sketching out the plot without giving any reason to care about its participants.
"Hats" by Joe Lansdale, about a magic hat shop, would make a good Twilight Zone episode (there was one like it, actually). Short, magic in modern day, with a predictable twist, but fun enough to read.
"Trailer Park Nightmare" by Gabrielle Faust is a tiny flash fiction about a woman experiencing a tentacled horror emerging in her trailer park. That's it. It emerges. The end. I don't like flash fiction.
"The Good Wife" by Lee Murray was an annoying story about a starving woman, an evil husband, and a lazy dragon. Everyone in this story (including the dragon) would logically have starved to death years ago because they don't lift a finger to get food for themselves even if they know where they can get it.
"The Canal" by Alessandro Manzetti is a poem. I'm not the audience for that.
Some good stories, some not, as expected. I'll read another of these most recent issues eventually.
November 17, 2025
A great bunch of stories. Definitely worth a read.
January 30, 2021
I liked "The Beguiled Grave" by Marguerite Reed
May 31, 2022
Well, this was better than I expected.
I'm a big fan of the Vandermeer's epic anthology of weird fiction, The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, and saw that Ann used to be an editor for this magazine. There seems to have been some unpleasantness at the time she left between her and the other editors but this appears to be a fresh batch?
The magazine itself seems to have been running on and off for some time. The current version of the website took about a month to dispatch the two volumes I purchased such that I thought it might be a scam.
But no, they showed up and they look good: big and glossy.
So what about the content?
It's good, not great. I enjoyed all of the stories - most were more on the gory/horror side of weird but that's fine. It's definitely pushed me to read the other edition and seek out reprints of older tomes.
In general a good mag - now all they have to do is keep it running...
I'm a big fan of the Vandermeer's epic anthology of weird fiction, The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, and saw that Ann used to be an editor for this magazine. There seems to have been some unpleasantness at the time she left between her and the other editors but this appears to be a fresh batch?
The magazine itself seems to have been running on and off for some time. The current version of the website took about a month to dispatch the two volumes I purchased such that I thought it might be a scam.
But no, they showed up and they look good: big and glossy.
So what about the content?
It's good, not great. I enjoyed all of the stories - most were more on the gory/horror side of weird but that's fine. It's definitely pushed me to read the other edition and seek out reprints of older tomes.
In general a good mag - now all they have to do is keep it running...
December 9, 2021
I downloaded this on my library app and thought it was going to be a quick listen. I did like the format but unfortunately, all of the stories fell flat for me. The first couple of stories were okay enough to propel me through but I got real bored about halfway through. If I were to continue with any of these it will be physical copies only.
October 28, 2021
Good variety of stories
Some horror, some adventures, and the occasional poem. A nice throwback to the glory days of the original magazine that does it justice.
Some horror, some adventures, and the occasional poem. A nice throwback to the glory days of the original magazine that does it justice.
October 7, 2022
My favorite was the first story Too Late Now by Seanan MacGuire who has always been my favorite author of post-apocalyptic fiction, and this story intentionally compares itself to Invasion of the Body Snatchers about seeds from space that fall to earth, sprout, and transform into carnivorous flowers that wipe out almost all the animals and people, including fish that stream to close to dry land.
This collection also has a few stories about women taking advantage of paranormal forces to rid themselves of abusive husbands, and one novella about the late Bram Stoker reporting on a real-life vampire that triggered his inspiration for Dracula.
But overall, this was a mediocre book.
This collection also has a few stories about women taking advantage of paranormal forces to rid themselves of abusive husbands, and one novella about the late Bram Stoker reporting on a real-life vampire that triggered his inspiration for Dracula.
But overall, this was a mediocre book.
April 26, 2021
Review to come.
Disclaimer: We received a copy of this issue from one of the authors for review consideration.
Disclaimer: We received a copy of this issue from one of the authors for review consideration.
Read
August 10, 2022#363 was good, this, with the exception of about 3 stories, was garbage. I can see why Weird Tales went defunct again shortly after. The audio production is not so great either.
November 5, 2025
Weird Tales definitely delivers the creepy and horrific. I bought it for Linda Addison and Wes Oches, but was happy to see Lee Murray also included.
January 19, 2025
Always a pleasure. Some good, some I could do without.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews