There's a new genre rising from the underground. Its name: BIZARRO. For years, readers have been asking for a category of fiction dedicated to the weird, crazy, cult side of storytelling that has become a staple in the film industry (with directors such as David Lynch, Takashi Miike, Tim Burton, and even Lloyd Kaufman) but has been largely ignored in the literary world, until now. The Bizarro Starter Kit features short novels and story collections by ten of the leading authors in the bizarro genre: Ray Fracalossy, Jeremy C. Shipp, Jordan Krall, Mykle Hansen, Andersen Prunty, Eckhard Gerdes, Bradley Sands, Steve Aylett, Christian TeBordo, and Tony Rauch.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
"The Bizarro literary movement is the ultimate in outsider lit." - 3AM Magazine
"[Bizarro is] universally intriguing, thoughtful, intelligent and, most importantly, a hell of a lot of fun." - The Pedestal Magazine
"The literary equivalent of a David Lynch or Tim Burton film ... These stories offer a glimpse into a rising genre that functions like the cult movie section in your local video store." - Horror World
Even though the Bizarros are underground cult outsiders, they still have gained an incredible amount of respect in the publishing industry, having been praised by the likes of Chuck Palahniuk, Christopher Moore, William Gibson, Alan Moore, Piers Anthony, Cory Doctorow, and Charles de Lint, to name a few, as well as the publications Asimov's Science-fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-fiction, Cemetery Dance, Fangoria, Wizard Magazine, Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Face, among many others. They have also been finalists for the Philip K Dick Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Rhysling Award, the Wonderland Book Award, and the Pushcart Prize.
Bizarro isn't just weird fiction, it is damn good weird fiction, and the genre grows exponentially every single day. So, love it or hate it, you'll be seeing a lot more of it in the years to come.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The genre of bizzaro fiction is like nothing that I have ever read. The stories are very intriguing and hold the readers attention. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. I was very curious to see where this book was going. "The Bizzaro Starter Kit (blue)" is filled with many wacky, odd, and funny tales.
One of my favorite sections of the book is "The Birthday Party" by Ray Fracalossy. This very odd story is only one paragraph long. The tale seems like ten story lines jammed into one itty bitty piece. The way it is told sounds like bits and pieces of a very weird dream. Once I was done I felt more confused than satisfied. When I finished I was still trying to figure out what was going on. This story is so all over the place. It has so many random things that should not go together. Such as a pony, the repo man, a seven inch woman, and of course to top it off a happy ride into the sunset. With things like this in story it is hard to put the book down
Another fantastic part of this insane kooky book is the Tony Rauch story "The Stench." In this incredibly strange story involves a man coming home from work to a horrible smell in his living room. This smell turns out to be coming from a big hairy "Star Wars" like creature. Somehow this thing leads the owners of this house to come closer and decide to have children. This book is most definitely not for the conservative reader. If one decides to purchase this awesome piece of literature I highly suggest that they go into it with as open of a mind as possible.
One of my favorite sections of the book is "The Birthday Party" by Ray Fracalossy. This very odd story is only one paragraph long. The tale seems like ten story lines jammed into one itty bitty piece. The way it is told sounds like bits and pieces of a very weird dream. Once I was done I felt more confused than satisfied. When I finished I was still trying to figure out what was going on. This story is so all over the place. It has so many random things that should not go together. Such as a pony, the repo man, a seven inch woman, and of course to top it off a happy ride into the sunset. With things like this in story it is hard to put the book down
Another fantastic part of this insane kooky book is the Tony Rauch story "The Stench." In this incredibly strange story involves a man coming home from work to a horrible smell in his living room. This smell turns out to be coming from a big hairy "Star Wars" like creature. Somehow this thing leads the owners of this house to come closer and decide to have children. This book is most definitely not for the conservative reader. If one decides to purchase this awesome piece of literature I highly suggest that they go into it with as open of a mind as possible.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Bob Chaplin
Format:Paperback
The Bizarro Starter Kit (blue)
Introduction or What is this Book?
The first "Bizarro Start Kit" (colored orange) was an instrumental book in introducing bizarro to a wider audience. Combining eight of the top bizarro writers into one volume, it was responsible for hooking many readers (this reviewer included) on these strange new authors. This year, Eraserhead Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and Afterbith Books have combined forces yet again to give us "The Bizarro Start (blue)."
This time we have ten different authors contributing novellas and short stories for our reading pleasure. Due to the nature of this book, let's look at each writer individually.
The Authors
Ray Fracalossy
Fracalossy starts off the volume with twelve short shorts characterized by word-play and a strong sense of fun. These stories start the book off right, getting the reader into a strange and logically-loopy frame of mind. "A Body in Motion" is the stand-out piece in which a man's body rebels in some rather creative manners.
Jeremy C. Shipp
"Flapjack" is a novella about two men in a prison with one recounting the strange tale of how he got there. The story floats along with dream-like logic as Shipp creates new language and cultural customs. The main-character narrates with a sense of innocence and an ever present shadow of darkness. Tim Burton would be right at home directing an adaptation of this story.
Jordan Krall
Krall contributes "The Longheads," the middle novella from his collection "Squid Pulp Blues." The Longheads from the title are disfigured war vets that have some sinister plans for a small town. Meant to be read as a middle piece between two related novellas, "The Longheads" feels underdeveloped on its own. While Krall is a strong writer, one wishes he had submitted something more stand-alone appropriate for this collection.
Mykle Hansen
"Monster C*cks!" is the attention grabbing title to this contribution. It is a novella about a man who gets much more than he bargained for from a penis-enlargement system that actually works. Hansen tells a funny and thrilling story that in the hands of a lesser writer would just be juvenile. Instead, the reader receives an engaging tale that gets inside the head, and pants, of the main character.
Andersen Prunty
Shell is a sort-of bounty hunter, hired by The Rotting Man to go to Hollow City and bring back a woman named Pearl. So begins the surreal/horror/noir novella "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City." Prunty has a talent for writing dark and enthralling tales and this is no exception. For horror fans, this is the stand-out piece of the collection.
Eckhard Gerdes
"Nin and Nan" is the exceptionally strange offering from Gerdes. Nin and Nan live on top of a hill and when billboards and roads start to impede upon their space they are forced to take action. From there, they embark on a journey that takes them to the very top powers of the government. Those crazing the extremely bizarre will be sated with this story.
Bradley Sands
"Cheesequake Smash-Up" is the story of a place where buildings have the ability to levitate. To determine which fast-food franchise will monopolize the market, a race is being held with the structures themselves being used as vehicles. Sands has created a tale even weirder than the previous two sentences suggest. He easily wins the award for strangest, balls-to-the-wall weirdo-fest.
Steve Aylett
"Shamanspace" is the meta-physical offering that Aylett gives us. Dealing with the role of history, books, and self it is a complex and dense tale. Including a brief history of the story's world and a fictional bibliography, this is the most experimental story of the collection.
Christian Tebordo
"The Order of Operations" is the story of several people whose lives intersect around a common payphone. In a book filled with outlandish concepts, Tebordo's story stands out as it is mostly based in reality. Where it is unique is in its presentation, skipping back and forth between several perspectives. This one is for the more literary-minded readers.
Tony Rauch
Rauch finishes the collection with seven short stories. The reoccurring theme of his pieces is how the average person is suppressed and crushed by the weight of the world. Of course, this is told via miniature people in ant costumes and cranium enlargement. This selection of stories is a thoughtful final contribution to the book.
Final Thoughts
One could call this the second generation of Bizarro writers. They are a group of writers that are influenced by many authors contained in the first starter kit. What is most exciting is these authors, while influenced by, are not rip-offs of the first line of writers. Each of the eight authors contained within stand on their own as writers. With the shear amount of variety present here, any fan of weird fiction will find something they can love.
Introduction or What is this Book?
The first "Bizarro Start Kit" (colored orange) was an instrumental book in introducing bizarro to a wider audience. Combining eight of the top bizarro writers into one volume, it was responsible for hooking many readers (this reviewer included) on these strange new authors. This year, Eraserhead Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and Afterbith Books have combined forces yet again to give us "The Bizarro Start (blue)."
This time we have ten different authors contributing novellas and short stories for our reading pleasure. Due to the nature of this book, let's look at each writer individually.
The Authors
Ray Fracalossy
Fracalossy starts off the volume with twelve short shorts characterized by word-play and a strong sense of fun. These stories start the book off right, getting the reader into a strange and logically-loopy frame of mind. "A Body in Motion" is the stand-out piece in which a man's body rebels in some rather creative manners.
Jeremy C. Shipp
"Flapjack" is a novella about two men in a prison with one recounting the strange tale of how he got there. The story floats along with dream-like logic as Shipp creates new language and cultural customs. The main-character narrates with a sense of innocence and an ever present shadow of darkness. Tim Burton would be right at home directing an adaptation of this story.
Jordan Krall
Krall contributes "The Longheads," the middle novella from his collection "Squid Pulp Blues." The Longheads from the title are disfigured war vets that have some sinister plans for a small town. Meant to be read as a middle piece between two related novellas, "The Longheads" feels underdeveloped on its own. While Krall is a strong writer, one wishes he had submitted something more stand-alone appropriate for this collection.
Mykle Hansen
"Monster C*cks!" is the attention grabbing title to this contribution. It is a novella about a man who gets much more than he bargained for from a penis-enlargement system that actually works. Hansen tells a funny and thrilling story that in the hands of a lesser writer would just be juvenile. Instead, the reader receives an engaging tale that gets inside the head, and pants, of the main character.
Andersen Prunty
Shell is a sort-of bounty hunter, hired by The Rotting Man to go to Hollow City and bring back a woman named Pearl. So begins the surreal/horror/noir novella "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City." Prunty has a talent for writing dark and enthralling tales and this is no exception. For horror fans, this is the stand-out piece of the collection.
Eckhard Gerdes
"Nin and Nan" is the exceptionally strange offering from Gerdes. Nin and Nan live on top of a hill and when billboards and roads start to impede upon their space they are forced to take action. From there, they embark on a journey that takes them to the very top powers of the government. Those crazing the extremely bizarre will be sated with this story.
Bradley Sands
"Cheesequake Smash-Up" is the story of a place where buildings have the ability to levitate. To determine which fast-food franchise will monopolize the market, a race is being held with the structures themselves being used as vehicles. Sands has created a tale even weirder than the previous two sentences suggest. He easily wins the award for strangest, balls-to-the-wall weirdo-fest.
Steve Aylett
"Shamanspace" is the meta-physical offering that Aylett gives us. Dealing with the role of history, books, and self it is a complex and dense tale. Including a brief history of the story's world and a fictional bibliography, this is the most experimental story of the collection.
Christian Tebordo
"The Order of Operations" is the story of several people whose lives intersect around a common payphone. In a book filled with outlandish concepts, Tebordo's story stands out as it is mostly based in reality. Where it is unique is in its presentation, skipping back and forth between several perspectives. This one is for the more literary-minded readers.
Tony Rauch
Rauch finishes the collection with seven short stories. The reoccurring theme of his pieces is how the average person is suppressed and crushed by the weight of the world. Of course, this is told via miniature people in ant costumes and cranium enlargement. This selection of stories is a thoughtful final contribution to the book.
Final Thoughts
One could call this the second generation of Bizarro writers. They are a group of writers that are influenced by many authors contained in the first starter kit. What is most exciting is these authors, while influenced by, are not rip-offs of the first line of writers. Each of the eight authors contained within stand on their own as writers. With the shear amount of variety present here, any fan of weird fiction will find something they can love.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Creative collection of genre I wasn't familiar with called BIZARRO. Some very good, funny stories, some not as good - others seemed "weird" just for the sake of being weird. It is a STARTER KIT, so good for me as an introduction. Good place to discover Bizarro authors if you are interested. I will follow up on a few of the authors like Jeremy C. Shipp and Andersen Prunty.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice survey of the bizarro terrain
I thoroughly enjoyed 3 of the stories in this collection; the rest I found to be either good, or so-so. But a collection like this should aim to offer something for everyone. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Daniel LaPonsie
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it.
The utter weirdness contained in these pages is like the entire cult section of the bookstore was stuck in a blender and you hit "liquefy". Read more
Published 3 months ago by amadeo777
4.0 out of 5 stars
Start with Orange or maybe Purple
I'm going to be honest, this was not my favorite Bizarro Starter Kit and I don't think it's a solid introduction to the Bizarro scene. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jason Wayne Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Electric!
I have read all of the starter kits. They have a huge list of amazing new and upcoming writers and really just amazing material within the amazing genre... Read more
Published 16 months ago by jon117
5.0 out of 5 stars
Discover new authors !
In this collection there is everything you need to know about bizarro. It's a good place to start to discover the many genres of bizarro fiction. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Nicolas Garceau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ten fresh authors from the depths of the weird
Continuing the tradition of the core Bizarro publishers in presenting a sampling of what the genre has to offer, The Bizarro Starter Kit (Blue) gives us ten fresh authors from the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Emory B. Pueschel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate!!!
Okay, so this book along with with the orange starter kit are absolutely life changing! When I heard the new (purple) one was out i almost peed myself with glee. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Randy J. Woodard
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as Orange
I felt that this anthology paled in comparison to the Bizarro Starter Kit (Orange) and I actually couldn't finish a couple of the stories. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Chris M.
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Blue my mind. Get it?
The Bizarro Starter Kits are designed to give newcomers a nice sampling of the bizarro genre. Here are just a few of the wonders The Bizarro Starer Kit (blue) contains:... Read more
Published 23 months ago by D. Schwent
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sureality
I picked up the Bizarro Starter kit, both Blue and Orange, at the recommendation of a friend who has written bizarro and felt that these two books were excellent primers on this... Read more
Published on June 19, 2010 by Patrick S. Dorazio
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