Sunday, April 7, 2013

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird
edited by Paula Guran [813.08 Gur]

Inspired by the impact of the groundbreaking horror works of H.P. Lovecraft in the 20th century, this collection of 27 short works is a sampling of what is being referred to as "the new weird". The stories are not necessarily Lovecraftian in style -- although some have strong hints of that -- but they are modern, up-to-date takes on the kinds of themes and ideas that Lovecraft's stories touched upon 100 years ago. The stories in this collection vary in quality, but even at their weakest, they still exude a sense of otherworldieness -- humanity is still a small speck in the greater cosmos, and we appear to be sharing our small planet with fascinating and terrifying creatures beyond our imaginings. I highly recommend this collection, in part, due to the reputations of many of its contributors. The stories are all reprints from other sources, but you'd be hard pressed to find as good a collection featuring such an esteemed variety of contributors, including: Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Kim Newman, John Shirley and Sarah Monette. If you have even the slightest interest in contemporary horror fiction, you'll want to try this one on for size!. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Lovecraft's original stories and novels.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [Subscribe to Scott's monthly booklist newsletter It's All Geek to Me! - on the Books, Movies & More newsletter sign-up page]

[ The New Weird entry on Wikipedia ]

 
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