WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT? Edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen


I’m not a big fan of themed anthologies and What the #@&% is That?: The Saga Anthology of the Mounstrous and the Macadbre is a good example why. As Douglas Cohen explains in his “introduction,” he got the idea of a collection of stories where somewhere in each story a character would say, “What the #@&% is that?” Or words to that effect. Sadly, most of the stories in What the #@&% is That? concentrate too much on trying to build to that moment when someone actually says “What the #@&% is that” instead of telling an interesting story. Most of the stories in this anthology are gory. Gory is NOT macabre or monstrous. The only story in this book I can recommend is “The Sound of Her Laughter” by Simon R. Green. It’s about the quest for immortality. But the rest of the stories weren’t very good. GRADE: C-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Douglas Cohen
MOBILITY by Laird Barron
FOSSIL HEART by Amanda Downum
THOSE GADDAM COOKIES by Scott Sigler
THE SOUND OF HER LAUGHTER by Simon R. Green
DOWN IN THE DEEP AND THE DARK by Desirina Boskovich
ONLY UNCLENCH YOUR HAND by Isabel Yap
LITTLE WIDOW by Maria Dahvana Headley
THE BAD HOUR by Christopher Golden
WHAT IS LOST, WHAT IS GIVEN AWAY by John Langan
NOW AND FOREVER by D. Thomas Minton
#CONNOLLYHOUSE #WESHOULDNTBEHERE by Seanan McGuire
THE HOUSE THAT LOVE BUILT by Grady Hendrix
WE ALL MAKE SACRIFICES by Jonathan Maberry
GHOST PRESSURE by Gemma Files
THE DAUGHTER OUT OF DARKNESS by Nancy Holder
FRAMING MORTENSEN by Adam-Troy Castro
THE CATCH by Terence Taylor
HUNTERS IN THE WOOD by Tim Pratt
WHOSE DROWNED FACE SLEEPS by An Owomoyela & Rachel Swirsky
CASTLEWEEP by Alan Dean Foster

11 thoughts on “WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT? Edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen

  1. mary mason

    The only authors I’ve heard of in that anthology are Nancy Holder, and maybe Simon Green. That’s not surprising as I don’t read much in that genre, but I do know names of some writers in the genre. I’m guessing maybe in collections like that many of the writers are formerly mostly self-published

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  2. Jeff Meyerson

    Too bad, because I like the title. I’ve read a lot of Green’s books and like them. On the other hand, I’ve had trouble getting into Seanan McGuire’s books, under a couple of different names.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Meyerson

    Otto Penzler’s anthologies are always good, and they are so huge you are bound to find something you like, but in general I agree with you. Most theme anthologies just don’t work very well.

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  4. Patti Abbott

    The ones that work have a lot of leeway–like a locked room anthology or one associated with a holiday. Plus they have better writers. I thought the DAMN NEAR DEAD ones were terrific.

    Reply
  5. Steve Oerkfitz

    Big fan of John Langan and Laird Barron. A couple of others I have liked in the past such as Gemma Files and Adam Troy Castro. A few I have never heard of.

    Reply

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