cover image Text:UR: The New Book of Masks

Text:UR: The New Book of Masks

Forrest Aguirre, . . Raw Dog Screaming, $15.95 (232pp) ISBN 978-1-933293-39-4

Fantasy fans looking for familiar themes and names among the 20 stories in Aguirre's boldly original anthology will be disappointed. Those who like experimental fiction that's not always readily accessible will be richly rewarded. Highlights include Nadia Gregor's enigmatic "Faure, Envenomed, Dictates," Eric Schaller's hilarious "Monkey Shines," Catherine Kasper's gently satiric "The Theater Spectacular," and Joshua Cohen's breathless, fabulous split-sentence split-thought confession, "Last Transmission or Man with a Robotic Ermine." Aguirre, who won a World Fantasy Award for Leviathan 3 (edited with Jeff VanderMeer), demonstrates once again why he's one of today's more innovative genre editors. (Mar.)