Truth in advertising: THE NEW WEIRD, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Believe me, when they say it’s weird, they mean it.

This so-called “New Weird” subgenre is an extension of ye old “weird tale,” but with a higher literary level and a heavy hand of the grotesque and grueling. And least that’s what I gathered from Mr. VanderMeer’s intro.

Personally, I view New Weird like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did hardcore pornography: “I know it when I see it.” And I see it all over the pages of this unique, twisted, unpredictable and oddly rewarding anthology.

The book is divided into four sections – “Stimuli,” “Evidence,” “Symposium” and “Laboratory” – with the first providing a handful of influential stories from the ’80s and ’90s. Clive Barker’s “In the Hills, the Cities” (which I read most recently in the SUMMER CHILLS anthology – is among them – a travel tale of two gay guys making their way through Yugoslavia, where they encounter literally thousands of dead bodies and a giant.

Kathe Koja’s “The Neglected Garden” is a breakup story – but it’s a breakup unlike any you’ve read about before, as a woman responds to being kicked to the curb by crucifying herself on her ex’s backyard fence. Not only will she not leave, she won’t even move – not so much as batting an eyelash.

Unheralded horror master Thomas Ligotti follows with “A Soft Voice Whispers Nothing,” in which a man visits a mysterious wintry town and bears witness to a bizarre parade, in the author’s typically terrific outsider fashion.

There’s a fair amount of the “ick” factor in this section, with Michael Moorcock and Simon D. Ings’ contributions involving, respectively, the rape of a 14-year-old Eurasian girl and eyeball-eating kids who make piles of poop on public streets.

“Evidence” presents an even larger sampling of what “Stimuli” have wrought: recent works that fully represent this New Weird movement, starting with China Miéville’s “Jack,” which imagines a world where running afoul of the law results in being “Remade” as punishment. That means gaining pneumatic parts, robotic limbs, that sorta thing.

For me, the highlight is Brian Evenson’s hypnotic “Watson’s Boy.” Its purposely enigmatic narrative centers on a man who “has” to collect keys from endless doors in endless hallways in a house (?) he has never left, for no discernible reason. All the while, his father ominously warns him of the oncoming rats. Even if I failed to fully comprehend the ending, I’m drawn to puzzle stories, and this one reminded me of the movie CUBE – an instant film favorite of the last decade. This Evenson guy is one to watch.

Jay Lake, Jeffrey Thomas and Jeffrey Ford are included here, among others, tossing out tales of giant insects, oversized eyes and horse people.

Serving as an extension of Jeff VanderMeer’s introduction, the “Symposium” section presents one long transcript of an online conversation and several essays on the meaning of New Weird, or if there is one at all. One author makes it easy by stating the infant genre “grabs everything,” while others debate it with maddening, stuffy pretension.

Finally, seven authors gather in the “Laboratory” to participate in “Festival Lives,” a round-robin story of varying ideas and characters, yet forms – if only as shapely as Jell-O – somewhat of a whole. Its various tentacles draw in a terrorist, talking dogs and a detective in pursuit. It may not be entirely successful – unless you’re simply judging whether it’s weird – but sometimes it’s all about the experiment than the end result.

The anthology leaves you with several pages of recommended reading for more excursions into the New Weird waters. Those who enjoy the wild ride of this collection’s contents will consider it a parting gift. –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THOMAS LIGOTTI:
• THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY by Thomas Ligotti

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF JEFFREY THOMAS:
• DEADSTOCK by Jeffrey Thomas
• A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM DEALERS by Jeffrey Thomas
• PUNKTOWN by Jeffrey Thomas