City of Weird

Little’s anthology is a kitschy collection of familiar weird fiction tropes loosely related to Portland, Ore. Many of the stories tread all-too-familiar territory, but there are a few standouts that treat the “Keep Portland Weird” motto with a pinch of humor and irony. Andrew Stark’s “A Code for Everything” is a tender and heartwarming story about a robotic canine companion. In a surprising turn of format, “How Do You Say Gentrification in Martian?” by Jonathan Hill is a clever and exquisitely drawn short comic about aliens leveling Burnside and Stumptown Coffee to set up their own hip condos. In “Octopocalypse: a Love Story,” Brigitte Winter captures the oddity of some of Portland’s residents, including a lovelorn and hungry cephalopod, and “Aromageddon” by Jason Squamata deftly highlights Portland’s beloved Powell’s Bookstore in loving detail. But these are outliers. Most of the stories decline to describe their setting in detail in favor of assuming the reader is already familiar with the city. This very hit-or-miss compilation of mostly forgettable works might find the right reader in a Portlander thirsting for odd tales built around familiar landmarks. (Oct.)