Do you enjoy stories that are darkly offbeat, quirky, strange, fantastical, and/or have a touch of the Twilight Zone? If so, have I got a book for you: The Weird, a Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.

This is a large book (110 stories, 1152 pages, available at Amazon here (hardcover) or here (paperback)) that delivers many hours of wondrous reading, a great investment. Arranged chronologically from 1907 to 2010, each story is preceded by a brief and interesting bio of the author, included mentions of other notable works; very useful roadmaps for future reading.

For my tastes, a surprisingly high percentage of the stories in this anthology were very enjoyable, making The Weird a particularly good value.

An observation: The older stories, even though they were wordier, tended to embody a higher literary standard than some of the newer tales, reflecting a culture that was more refined then than today. I have observed this cultural downward trend in other anthologies; perhaps some day we will see the trend reverse.

The Weird is highly recommended.

(Note: To ensure objectivity, no compensation, referral fees, etc. are received for reviews published on Journeys to the Edge of Reality.)