The Outcast Hours

This disjointed anthology of 25 stories about what happens after dark is a classic example of trying to do too many things at once. Sam Beckbessinger, Lauren Beukes, and Dale Halvorsen’s nauseating look at the way magic can sustain abuse in “This Book Will Find You” chafes against M. Suddain’s retro gonzo “Midnight Marauders,” in which a small-town pharmacist enlists inept help to shut down a rival. Indrapramit Das’s thoughtful love letter to the domestic dog in “The Patron Saint of Night Puppers” is utterly out of step with the corporate grind of career tooth fairies in S.L. Grey’s “The Dental Gig.” Karen Onojaife’s stunning “Tilt” asks how far a grieving mother would go for a second chance and sits comfortably beside Sami Shah’s surprising “Ambulance Service,” in which night-shift paramedics tackle metaphysical crises alongside physical ones, but clashes with the depressingly banal narrative of a small-minded security thug in Sally Partridge’s “The Collector.” In several stories, not much happens at all, while others fail to think outside the horror genre’s tired and frustrating reliance on violence against women. Nine flimsy microstories by China Miéville are scattered throughout, but their lack of titles or attribution makes it easy to mistake them for parts of preceding or following works. Despite a wonderfully diverse set of authors and settings, this anthology misses the mark. (Feb.)