[close] John Shirley takes us on a journey from the mildly bizarre to the downright weird and then some in this, his latest collection of short fiction. The book incorporates some of Shirley's classic stories along with some revised and hard to find material and is highlighted by nine never before published works. A must have for the Shirley reader or collector. Includes art work by Alan M. Clark. "The 37 stories in this mind-shaking collection are grouped into four sections of ascending weirdness, from Really Weird to Really, Really, Really, Really Weird. Considering that the first entry, I Want to Get Married, Says the Worlds Smallest Man, concerns a 28"-tall midget who weds a full-size, crack-smoking whore, to brutal effect, readers may rest assured that an unforgettable trip awaits them from cover to cover. But weirdness per se doesnt seem to be Shirleys aim, except insofar as outr subject matter (as in Skeeter Junkie, wherein the mind of a heroin addict enters the body of a mosquito) or prose style (e.g., the sentences of the potent and moving Ten Things to be Grateful For, as long and sinuous as anacondas) can wrench readers from their habitual frame of reference to experience the world afresh. The author of last years Black Butterflies demonstrates throughout a fecund imagination, wicked sense of humor and thematic seriousnessregarding the malleability of reality, the hellishness of drug abuse, the fragility of human constructthat render these tales as profound as they are sensational. Selected from 26 years of output, ranging from SF to dark fantasy to crime, drawn from books, magazines and a Web site (and with 10 entries never before published), the collection isnt all aces. But the majority of stories are, making this another virtuoso offering from a writer whose daring and originality continue to astonish." - Publishers Weekly Contents: * The Author Wants to Tell You... (Introduction) * REALLY WEIRD STORIES o "I Want to Get Married!" Says World's Smallest Man o Will the Chill o Tapes 12, 14, 15, 22 and 23 o Don't Be Afraid o Lot Five, Building Seven, Door Twenty-Three o Kindred Spirits o The Word "Random", Deliberately Repeated o Voices o The Last Ride * REALLY, REALLY, WEIRD STORIES o ...And the Angel with Television Eyes o The Sweet Caress of Mother Nature o In the Cornelius Arms o Quill Tripstickler Out the Window [*Quill Tripstickler] o I Live in Elizabeth o Morons at the Speed of Light o Silent Crickets o Screens o Brittany? Oh: She's in Translucent Blue o Ticket to Heaven * REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, WEIRD STORIES o Ash o Triggering o When Enter Came o Skeeter Junkie o What Joy! What Fulfillment! o 199619971998 o Preach o Preach: Part Two: The Apocalypse of the Reverend John Shirley o Modern Transmutations of the Alchemist * REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, WEIRD STORIES o Just Like Suzie o Cold Feet o The Peculiar Happiness of Professor Cort o Tahiti in Terms of Squares o Equilibrium o What Cindy Saw o The Almost Empty Rooms o Ten Things to Be Grateful For o The Sea Was Wet As Wet Could Be [close]