Thirteen Specimens

Thirteen Specimens is a collection of bizarre and disturbing short stories, poems, and odd bits and pieces found preserved in dusty jars of formaldehyde in a sealed-off attic room in the condemned museum of the mind of author Jeffrey Thomas. Included are the novellas "The Mask Play of Hahoe Byeolsin Excorcism" and "Door 7" as well as a trio of powerful stories that-for the first time in one collection-visit the three fictional universes that Thomas is best known for: "Close Enough" takes place in the alternate Earth of the novel Boneland. A sadistic, otherworldly force feeds off the nightmarish images of the Vietnam War, as captured by a conscience-stricken photojournalist. "Monsters" is set in the futuristic metropolis of Punktown. A compassionate surgeon is determined to restore a grotesque alien female, purposely disfigured by the males of her clan, even if he himself incurs their wrath in the process. "The Burning House" takes readers to the netherworld of Letters From Hades. Two men-one of them an angel, the other damned-join forces in an attempt to rescue the child they both love from an army of torturing demons.

From Booklist

Thomas’ visceral brand of blood-laced horror has been showcased in four previous collections and included in the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies. His latest assortment of macabre tales and odd, Edward Gorey-like lists proves that his creative vision, while still favoring gruesome scenarios, continues to expand. In “These Are the Exhibits,” a visitor to a little-known museum gets an unexpected tour of its grisly displays from a ghostly docent. “Close Enough” takes place during an alternate-history version of the Vietnam War and follows a photojournalist through a landscape of mayhem, under the watchful eyes of a bloodthirsty race of insectile aliens. In a detour through the futuristic city of Punktown, the setting of several novels, Thomas pits a compassionate surgeon against a clan of extraterrestrials who purposely disfigure their females. Keeping with his cataloging obsession, Thomas supplements the stories with a random, distasteful recipe; an unusual psychiatric classification; and even an otherworldly T-shirt design. Readers who don’t mind high body counts will enjoy Thomas’ quirky humor and distinctively twisted view of human nature. --Carl Hays

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