I was wondering if anyone could recommend me some weird fiction titles or authors. I know some, like lovecraft and his writing circle and william hope hodgson who inspired him, but what are the others? short or long story, old or modern, I'm happy for any.
I think it does depend on what your definition of weird is, what sort of genre are you looking for, lovecraft worked primarily in hooror but doens't neccesairly make it weird
I think most people would agree that House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski is pretty weird. You might give that a try.
wikipedia has a good definition of weird fiction, "Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction. Because genre or stylistic conventions had not been established, weird tales often blend the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific" and lists *some* authors. But they're the ones I already know about. I've come across "house of leaves" before but was a bit apprehensive of it because of the page count, (I like to finish books I start and at over 700 pages and some so-so reviews about it's style, I thought I might not get through it. I will give it a second look though). thanks!
Oh, I'm not recommending it, myself. A friend recommended it to me, and I couldn't get past the first few pages. I'm more into general fiction.
I'm pretty sure Hellboy falls in the Weird Fiction genre. You can give it a try, the comics are really cool.
I've actually read hellboy vol. 1 and am looking at getting BPRD. I neglected to mention that comic recommendations would be appreciated too. Thanks.
I found China Miéville's top 10 list of Weird Fiction books while wandering through the internet. I have never read any of his novels, but I have heard they are great. Anyway, this is his (her?) list, in no particular order: The Course of the Heart, by M. John Harrison. Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake. It's a trilogy, I think. Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll. Yup, the classic tale. The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Phillip K. Dick. The Dark Domain, by Stefan Grabinski. Strange Evil, by Jane Gaskell. Une Semaine de Bonte, by Max Ernst. Many people speak highly of it. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. Stranger Things Happen, by Kelly Link.
Check out A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy and The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Strene. In turns brilliant, hilarious, and just plain... weird, they are both masterpieces. House of Leaves was also very interesting- though I didn't like the Johnny Truant story nearly as much as the rest.
marina - I actually have tried "something wicked" but didn't stick to it because I didn't like Bradbury's style, though I have long debated trying it again or trying to get into his short stories first. I'm also looking to watch the movie, maybe it'll spark my interest. Lol at the "house of leaves" thing. Marcelo - I cames across that list before and have added China's "king rat" and "gormenghast" to my list. I have "looking glass" and "moreau", it just never occured to me that they were really "weird" I'll have to reconsider them. agreen - I may try another of that authors books if I can get a hand on it.
Weird is my favorite type as well lovecraft is awesome, here's a list of some authors that I can think of along with my fav books by him/her: Ray Bradbury (The Illustrated Man) Philip K. Dick (Martian Time Slip, A Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) Kurt Vonnegut (Galapagos, Slaughterhouse Five, anything!) Edgar Allen Poe, because he is similar to Lovecraft and some others... Steven King (LOL anything!) Anne Rice (lots...) PD James (Children of Men) Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness...oldie but goodie, great imagery like Lovecraft) Bram Stoker (Dracula...I'm biased cuz I like vampires but this book is strange) Robert B. Oxnam (A Fractured Mind...multiple personalities) Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime...first-person from a person with autism) yup there's a few!
thanks for the list peacedove! definitely will look into those. There's a lot of authors who's name I recognize, but never thought to look to for "weird fiction".
I hate to state the obvious. Go to google and type in, "Weird fiction list" and then click "search." You'll find several really good lists of books in this genre. Charlie
Clive Barker - Pick up his short story collection, The Books of Blood. Some of the weirdest stories in this collection are Rawhead Rex, Pig Blood Blues, and The Midnight Meat Train. Although they fall into the horror category by default, they are supremely weird...
Tony Vigorito - Just A Couple of Days Anything from Palahniuk is pretty much wierd, Philip K. Dick of course, Haddon, I would say Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs is odd-ish as well.
already did that charlie wanted to know if anyone else had suggestions. It's funny, I read "hellbound heart" but never pursued more of Barker's writing, I guess I should. I've been meaning to read Philip K. Dick but I wouldn't know which novel to start with. "weird tales" looks like a great magazine. I've heard of it before, but can't get my hands on any copies, (the best I can do right now is "cemetery dance").
I just finished reading Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I dare say that counts as a weird tale.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. My current obsession. It is an awsome and fairly quick read consitering that it has plenty lets-go-get-the-dictionary words. It really streaches your mind and makes you think. And its just plain odd.
How did I miss this thread???? Although I read through the replies and yes, much of the fiction that is being proffered has some weirdness to it, few of the titles fall under the genre definition for true Weird Fiction. My two favs of the genre are China Mieville's Bas Lag series, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council and also M. John Harrison's Light.
I haven't actually read this book, but it sounds very interesting. It's a novel written without the use of verbs. It's called Le Train de Nulle Part by Michel Thaler. (Thaler is just a pen name; his real last name is Dansel). I don't think there's an English translation. I still plan on reading it in French someday just to see what it reads like. I can't imagine someone writing something as large as a novel without verbs.
