A review by ethorwitz
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories by Jeff VanderMeer, Ann VanderMeer

3.0

The Vandermeers' mission to coin the term "New Weird" set them on this undertaking. It's an excellent anthology, a fine collection of great short stories, and a wonderful reference for obscure authors that deserve to be rediscovered. But it fails in it's stated purpose: to define a new genre. The concept of the "New Weird" is as evasive as it ever was; it remains essentially a shorter way of saying literary fantasy and horror, and that in turn is a nicer way of saying fantasy and horror that isn't derivative crap. The Vandermeers have excellent taste but they need to write their own nonfiction on just what exactly the "New Weird" is in order for the term to stick.