Really, Really, Really, Really Weird Stories

Illustrated by Alan M. Clark.

THE WEIRDEST OF THE WEIRD
THE STRANGEST OF THE STRANGE

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: 1. Really Weird, 2. Really Really Weird, 3. Really Really Really Weird, and 4. 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.

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