Year's Best Weird Fiction: Vol. 1

With this crowdfunded volume, series editor Kelly (Gods and Monsters) and guest editor Barron (The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All) launch a promising and necessary showcase for alien and unclassifiable works. Supporting Kelly%E2%80%99s definition of weird fiction as "a mode of literature that is present in other genres," these 22 vivid stories offer thrills from many directions: the boot-camp dystopia of Chen Qiufan, the futuristic steampunk of John R. Fultz, the fevered prose poetry of Joseph S. Pulver Sr., and the family apocalypses of Livia Llewellyn. Among such strong company, special standouts include A.C. Wise%E2%80%99s gloriously queer pulp homage "Dr. Blood and the Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron," Maria Dahvana Headley%E2%80%99s densely mythic, non-binary "The Krakatoan," and Sofia Samatar%E2%80%99s superb, biographical "Olimpia%E2%80%99s Ghost," which is evocatively reminiscent of Angela Carter. Barron and Kelly amploy prove that weird fiction can fill an anthology with delightful and surprising stories. (Oct.)