Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, editors, The New Weird (Tachyon Publications, 2008)
Within the four hundred plus pages of The New Weird are contained everything the reader might need to become familiarized with the kind of story labeled "new weird." Not only does it include a selection of stories representative of the new weird but also a variety of perspectives intended to document a series of questions such as what, precisely, the new weird is, when it happened, if its still happening, and whether labeling such literary movements say anything significant about the state of genre fiction. The question I found myself asking most was who the intended audience was for this book, as the literary criticism which alternated with the stories gave me the feeling that I was supposed to be allowing myself to be dragged into the debate, rather than merely reading and enjoying the stories. If you are a fan of the weird tale, the stories in this anthology are well worth reading, but readers may wish to sample the accompanying commentary in smaller bites.
For those who may not be already familiar with the traditional weird tale, it is often defined by three main characteristics:
1. From a genre standpoint, it is a mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror;
2. its general subject is the fear of the unknown; and
3. its style and tone create an aura of mingled fear and mystery which many associate with Freud's "uncanny" but for which H. P. Lovecraft used the word "eldritch," a word which has come to define the weird tale.
H. P. Lovecraft, himself considered to be one of the masters of the weird tale, wrote an essay on the weird tale, titled "Supernatural Horror in Literature," in 1927. In this essay Lovecraft discussed his own literary influences such as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and William Hope Hodgson, while also exploring the tone and style of the weird tale. The eloquence and clarity of Lovecraft's essay (despite the intentionally archaic nature of his prose style) has continued to provide one of the best pieces of writing on the subject of horror in general and the weird tale specifically, and I admit I was hoping for some of the documents in The New Weird to possess some of the power and clarity of that essay. It could be argued that this was never the intention of the documents, for they are included as introductions and print records of online conversations rather than a single integrated essay. Still, the commentary often struck me as confusing and extraneous, with the two notable exceptions of Darja Malcolm-Clarke's essay and the often playfully inquisitive comments of M. John Harrison in the reproduction of the online discussion.
Harrison: .... It makes that exact allusion to Weird Tales and especially the fact that, back then, in that marvellous & uncorrupted time of the world, everything could still be all mixed up together - horror, sf, fantasy - and no one told you off or said your career was over with their firm if you kept doing that. I heard it in conversation with China Mieville his self....He writes it. But who else? And what are its exact parameters? Indeed, do we want it to have exact parameters? Do we even want it? Is it...instantly rendered Old by being spoken of as New?
Here is an overview of the many varied materials included in The New Weird. Following an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer tracing the origins of the term and an overview of the book's structure, the first two sections of the anthology, titled "Stimuli" and "Evidence," contain stories by authors such as M. John Harrison, Clive Barker, Michael Moorcock, China Mieville, J. Lake, Jeffrey Ford, and Thomas Ligotti. In some cases, such as the stories by M. John Harrison and Clive Barker, their inclusion in the "Stimuli" section seemed to indicate that they were some of the innovators of the new weird, but the chronology of when other stories were written indicated that this was not always the case.
The third main section of the book, titled less mysteriously "Discussion," reproduces the Internet thread in which the subject of the new weird was initially proposed and debated, before moving on to a number of essays on the subject of the new weird, including some pieces original to this anthology. Among these essays, Darja Malcolm-Clarke's essay "Tracking Phantoms" stands out as the most useful discussion of the themes, tropes, and influences of the new weird. Following this wide-ranging discussion comes the section titled "Laboratory," in which the intended experiment is a round-robin story with such contributors as Sarah Monette and Daniel Abraham, authors who, while not aligning themselves directly with the new weird, create a story meant to demonstrate the continuing influence of the new weird upon genre fiction. Finally, the anthology concludes with a recommended reading list.
But what about the stories? Does the new weird resemble the traditional weird tale? Does the weird tale retain its power to say anything useful on what affects our twenty-first century sense of the frightening and mysterious? Judging by these stories, I would say that the new weird has retained and even refined that sense of the uncanny which Lovecraft referred to as "eldritch." While the images in these stories strike one as hauntingly familiar with their ruined cities, twisted labyrinthine architectures, macabre rituals, and nightmarish chimeras that are part human, part monster, they also reflect newer anxieties regarding nuclear apocalypse, fascist governments, genetic engineering, and emotional alienation. Some of the not-to-be missed stories are:
M. John Harrison's darkly lyrical "The Luck in the Head"
Simon D. Ings's complex world of necromancy in "The Braining of Mother Lamprey"
Thomas Ligotti's ethereal "A Soft Voice Whispers Nothing"
China Mieville's "Jack," which portrays a fascist city of the future even more terrifying than that of "Brazil."
Michael Moorcock's "Crossing into Cambodia," which comes across as an apocalyptic "Heart of Darkness," and Jay Lake's "The Lizard of Ooze," which accomplished something I thought was impossible: a weird tale with a certain amount of (very dark) humor.
The weird tale, with its narrow focus of tone and subject, isn't for everyone, but this collection demonstrates that, within that relatively narrow focus, a wide variety of very unique, experimental, and even lyrical stories can be told. If the reader is interested in the weird tale, genre-crossing, or dark fantasy and horror, this book is worth checking out. Despite its sometimes complex and confusing structure, it also would make a good text for creating discussions and even courses around the subject of the weird tale.
