388 pages
Full Color Wraparound Cover and Interior Division Page Art by
Alan M. Clark
Trade Paperback
ISBN 1-892389-02-9
$16.95

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REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES by John Shirley

REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES by John Shirley

REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES by John Shirley

REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES by John Shirley

John Shirley's Really Really Really Really Weird Stories slip out of the constraints of whatever labels have been been put to them -- science fiction, fantasy, horror, erotica, suspense -- and into his own very special, indefinable, extraordinary literary universe.

The thirty-six stories in the book are arranged in four sections: Really Weird, Really Really Weird, Really Really Really Weird, and Really Really Really Really Weird -- the book gets weirder as it progresses.

It's whimsical title acknowledges that it is an exercise in something that is not likely to be a critical priority among literary pundits and academic soothsayers. It acknowledges that there's a big element of pure fun in the concept. As the reader will discover, however, the broad spectrum and literary merit of the stories go far beyond sheer entertainment. This is coherent weirdness -- weirdness that has internal logic and internal believability

The book contains some of Shirley's earliest work and ten pieces never before published.

Ed Bryant, Locus
(February 2000)
Listed as a Recommended Book of 1999:
Other first-rate collections included...John Shirley's Really Really Really Really Weird Stories which was really really really really representative of the author's unpredictable and confrontive writerly persona...[A] Remarkable Book from 1999...Really Really Really Really Weird Stories by John Shirley

Publishers Weekly
(April 16, 1999)
A starred review:
The 37 stories in this mind-shaking collection are grouped into four sections of ascending weirdness, from "Really Weird" to "Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Weird." Considering the first entry, "'I Want to Get Married," Says the Word's 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 doesn't seem to be Shirley's aim, except insofar as outré 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 an anaconda) can wrench readers from their habitual frame of reference to experience the world afresh. The author of last year's Black Butterflies demonstrates throughout a fecund imagination, wicked sense of humor and thematic seriousness -- regarding the malleability of reality, the hellishness of drug abuse, the fragility of human construct -- that 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 isn't all aces. But the majority of stories are, making this another virtuoso offering from a writer whose daring and originality continue to astonish.

maximumrocknroll
(October 1999)
Review by Mike Sexx:
Nine really weird stories, ten really really weird stories, nine really really really weird stories and nine really really really really weird. All in all, thirty-seven stories arranged in weirdness so that each section of the book is weirder than the last, and it is. The book opens with a story about a prostitute who is addicted to drugs and abused by her pimp. She answers an ad in the newspaper from a guy who is looking for a wife and promises to take care of her in luxury. He happens to be the world's smallest man and he thinks he is a star -- his next role will be as a sidekick to Arnold Schwarzenegger in his next major motion picture. The story's outcome is as twisted and crazy as the characters in it.

This book would be better labeled: "Warning: Will create an irreversible altered state of your mind and you will not be able to return to your normal life once read," instead of science fiction. It's packed with stories from several genres: crime/suspense, science fiction, horror, erotica, and some that are beyond genre typing. Sometimes I felt like I was stuck in the middle of an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents meets The Twilight Zone. The symbolism reminded me of the twisted cynicism of an Edgar Allan Poe creation.

John Shirley has a wicked willingness to use vivid imagery along with skill in pacing to keep the story unpredictable. Besides the level of weirdness, the book remained surprisingly coherent. Part of the fun of reading it this book was judging whether the last story was weirder than the former, which is easier said than done. I applaud the author for his choice of order

As a whole. I have never been fond of book filled with short stories, but this collection definitely was one of the exceptions. I think the publisher says it best: "There's nothing we can do to prepare you. Nothing safe about it. No seat belts or crash helmets can protect you from the reality-shifting thought-provoking flat-out entertaining stories of John Shirley."

Don D'Ammassa, Science Fiction Chronice
(August-September 1999):
"...a very high quality collection and most stories are drawn from unfamiliar sources, so don't miss your chance to get a copy."