Weirdbook #33

This is the third issue of the rebirth of this legendary dark fantasy magazine, and it more than lives up to its 20 years of quality publishing history. If you loved the original Weirdbook or Weird Tales Magazine, then do yourself a favor and pick up this great collection. The stories and poems are polished and diverse, and the layout is beautiful. This volume is thick and square-bound, so I can keep it on the bookshelf with my other anthologies. I also like the fact that the format of all the issues is the same (I have all 4 new issues so far, and I'm looking forward to #35 out soon) so the whole collection looks like a uniform set of books on my shelf.

A wonderful mix of longer short stories and poetry. I fully enjoyed the great atmosphere of "The River to Nowhere," by John R. Fultz, in his tale about a hard-boiled Private Investigator in a bleak, nightmarish future world. "Trace Junkie," by Bruno Lombardi was easy to get into with its interesting concept based on native beliefs--another character with a tough guy attitude in a different kind of scenario! I really delighted in this one. Another favorite was "Dwelling of the Wolf," by Franklyn Searight. Oh, Lois, you cold-hearted girl! Even if this story was a bit hard to digest in parts and I could guess the outcome early on, the devilish character of Lois made my day! And I truly liked the dark and lyrical poem, "The Owl," by S.L. Edwards. Another well done issue that I'm happy to make space for upon my bookshelf.

When Weird Tales Magazine disappeared it threatened to leave a void for all of us weird story fans. Where would we go for quality tales we could hold in our hands and not just read on some website? Weirdbook returned to fill that void. Three issues deep into their return and I am happy to once again hold fantastic weird stories in my hands. Fantastic covers. Wonderful interior art. And of course a wide variety weird stories to satisfy everyone's taste for the odd. I have been more than pleased with the last three issues and look forward to more in the future.

An outstanding publication!

This book was undoubtedly one of the most diverse collection of weird fiction - both prose and poems - that I have come across. The authors have presented us with scenarios and characters who literally amazed me. The plots and techniques also covered a large spectrum. Unfortunately, most of the stories, despite being quietly readable, were not exactly memorable. Exceptions were: 1. 'The River Flows to Nowhere' by John R. Fultz 2. 'Teatime With Mrs. Monster' by James Aquilone 3. 'Train to Nowhere' by Adrian Cole - the best story in this book in terms of both plot and technique. Overall, a good read indeed.