by Greg Schwartz

Created on: April 16, 2009   Last Updated: April 17, 2009

Strangewood Tales is a bizarre horror/dark fiction anthology put together by Jack Fisher, editor of Flesh & Blood Magazine. The book contains a collection of twenty short stories, from just plain weird to weirdly terrifying. It is a nicely-printed book, and it retails for $10.95.

The book boasts a strong stable of writers, many of whom have published their own collections of short stories, or in other cases, their own novels. Some of the notables include DF Lewis (1998 winner of the Karl Edward Wagner Award), Jeff VanderMeer (2000 winner of the World Fantasy Award), Monica J. O'Rourke (an associate editor for Space & Time), Shane Ryan Staley (editor of Delirium Magazine), and Mark McLaughlin (editor of The Urbanite). A large chunk of the contributing authors have had stories appear in (or received honorable mentions from) The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror.

Jack Fisher has put together a strong collection of disturbing stories (including one of his own) destined to provoke a response from even the most deranged reader. The book suffers from more than a few typographical errors, but these minor flaws do little to detract from the content of the various stories.

The cover of the book is great. It is a dark drawing of a very evil-looking clown. This clown would make Pennywise (from Stephen King's "It") pee himself with fear.

And on to the stories themselves...

In my opinion (which is what this is), the best story of the bunch is "The Green Spider," by Jeffrey Thomas. The story doesn't really fit with the rest of the book; it's not so much bizarre as just plain fantasy. It is a well-written tale about a sleeping heart that yearns to beat again, and though the heart is not human, it certainly has a strong will.

"Finders Keepers" is also a great read, and possibly the most entertaining story of the lot. Gene Michael Higney writes of a homeless junkie, one of the dregs of society, suddenly turned from prey into predator.

Jack Fisher's story "In the Belly of a Demon" ranks as one of the best in this anthology. The originality and narrative that make this story good are only slightly undercut by choppy writing. However, in some ways the strange word choices and jagged style draw you (the reader) deeper into the story, since it's told from a paramedic's point of view, not a writer's.

Like most collections, Strangewood Tales contains its share of stories that shouldn't have made the cut - "Aphids" and "To a Living Earth." "Aphids" was too short, and did not generate any interest on my part, and "To a Living Earth" was just too weird for me to get a grip on. But who knows, you may enjoy them. Different strokes for different folks, right?

If you're like me, you see "dark fiction" or "horror" and think Stephen King, or maybe Dean Koontz. But by opening Strangewood Tales, you're stepping into a whole new realm beyond mainstream horror... macabre and bizarre only begin to describe it.

In summary, if you are a fan of bizarre/offbeat fiction (mainly horror but also strange in a less-terrifying way), check out this anthology. It contains top stories by some of the leading writers out there, as well as some talented up-and-comers. With the eclectic mix that Jack Fisher put together between these pages, you won't be disappointed.

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