Impossible Monsters -- Kasey Lansdale, Editor

Sure, Kasey Lansdale has a great new CD out (Restless), but she's also carving out her own place in the Lansdale publishing empire.  She writes short stories, as you might know already, and now she has an anthology to her credit.  It's a good one, too.  The title gives you the theme.  These are monsters you haven't seen before, or, if you have, they've been "stepped up a notch," as the editor puts it.

Neal Barrett, Jr., is as hilarious and inventive as ever with "Bloaters," which is sort of vampires in reverse.  David Schow's "Blue Amber" begins with a human skin hanging on a fence.  The Border Patrol has never before dealt with aliens like the ones in this story. Neil Gaiman's "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" is a short and expert chiller. Joe Lansdale's "The Case of the Angry Traveler" is in the classical adventurer's tale vein, with the kind of underground scenes I can't resist.  Selena Rosen's "Nathan" is as blood-spattered a tale as anybody could ask for.  There are a lot more stories here, by Big Names, that I haven't gotten to yet, but you can bet I will.  This is a fine anthology, and a great start for another Lansdale's literary journey.  Check it out.