Best of
Bizarro-Fiction

2019

Mouse Trap


Carlton Mellick III - 2019
    Described as one of the top 40 science-fiction writers under the age of 40 by The Guardian and "one of the most original novelists working today" by extreme horror legend Edward Lee, Mellick returns with a quiet, apocalyptic tale of young unrequited love in a dying world.It's the last school trip young Emily will ever get to go on. Not because it's the end of the school year, but because the world is coming to an end. Teachers, parents, and other students have been slowly dying off over the past several months, killed in mysterious traps that have been appearing across the countryside. Nobody knows where the traps come from or who put them there, but they seem to be designed to exterminate the entirety of the human race.Emily thought it was going to be an ordinary trip to the local amusement park, but what was supposed to be a normal afternoon of bumper cars and roller coasters has turned into a fight for survival after their teacher is horrifically killed in front of them, leaving the small children to fend for themselves in a life or death game of mouse and mouse trap. There appears to be a hope for salvation when eighth grader Clyde Donner, a boy Emily has had a crush on ever since she was a little girl, enters their lives and promises that all the children will be safe as long as they do exactly as he says. But when it appears that Clyde does not have everyone's best interests in mind, it's up to Emily to put her feelings aside in order to ensure the safety of those younger and more vulnerable than her.Mouse Trap is an intense, suspense-filled thrill ride for fans of Mellick's more disturbing YA stories such as Sweet Story, Quicksand House, and The Terrible Thing That Happens.

Impossible James


Danger Slater - 2019
    There was no hope. Then he took a screwdriver to the brain. Got pregnant. And found the cure for death.Impossible? That's my dad.IMPOSSIBLE JAMES

Cattywampus: Part of the Knucklebucket Thang Series


Robert Ford - 2019
    It wasn't a good one, and it was rough around the edges, but it was a plan. Then things went off the rails and into places where no one was comfortable. Violent places. Unspeakable places. Places stained with blood and other things. A nesting doll of crimes and sordid deeds. Darlene and Sheila were up to no good, but the mess they find themselves in makes their original plans seem like a Sunday school picnic. And it started the way you'd expect a bad day to begin: A robbery.A death. A bucket full of teeth. Welcome to Steelwater, PA. We're glad to have you.

To Wallow in Ash, & Other Sorrows


Sam Richard - 2019
    In the spirit of J.G. Ballard, Georges Bataille, and Kathe Koja, these nine Sorrows are a cross-section of literary splatterpunk, transgressive fiction, and weird horror, which seek to illuminate the terror, dread, and discomfort of mourning through the black mirror of the grotesque. This book is full of pain. This book is full of tears. This book is full of ash.

Terror Mannequin


Douglas Hackle - 2019
    There’s only one problem: Glont’s sick of his job! Nowadays, all he really wants to do is work long, grueling shifts 7-days-a-week doing any sort of awful, backbreaking, tedious, demoralizing, soul-crushing, severely undercompensated labor. But with Halloween just a few days away, Glont has more important things to worry about than his workplace woes. Namely, he must take his two “freak” nephews out reverse trick-or-treating, which is a form of annual ritualistic tribute whereby the cruel townspeople force his nephews to walk door-to-door on Halloween night to hand out candy to people instead of receiving candy themselves. And this year, the last stop on the trio’s reverse trick-or-treating itinerary is Fallingwater—built on a natural waterfall, Frank Lloyd Wright’s world-famous architectural masterpiece is now closed to the public and allegedly haunted by an evil supernatural entity known as TERROR MANNEQUIN… “Hackle may be the best absurdist story writer working today.” –Bradley Sands, author of Dodgeball High “…the best bizarro absurdist in the business.” –Amy M. Vaughn, author of Skull Nuggets

Pacifier


Ira Rat - 2019
    Ira Rat's debut collection of 4 stories of "misfit fiction" flavored with transgressive horror and existentalist bizarro.

I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today


Brian Asman - 2019
    I haven't had this much fun watching terrible stuff happen in a long time." -Stephen Graham Jones, author of Mongrels A Bizarro fiction tribute to the Kevin Smith cult classic CLERKS. After a killer surf session, Scot Kring stops into his local Fasmart for a delicious, icy Slushpuppy. But before he can leave, a homeless guy outside has a stroke and accidentally recites an ancient Latin phrase that summons a very hungry demon, who just so happens to look like filmmaker Kevin Smith. Now Scot's stuck in a time loop along with the other occupants of the convenience store who may or may not be demonically possessed and he's fighting back with nothing but a fistful of greasy hot dogs and a souvenir Slushpuppy cup as the giant menacing kaiju Kevin Smith threatens to kill them all. I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today is a demon apocalypse comedy for the slacker generation.

Sea of Glass


Rebecca Gransden - 2019
    Kattar Bassis hits the ground and crawls blindly through the chaos. A light shines out in the black, leading him to the entranceway of his building. So begins his ascent and search for the ever elusive EXIT.