What Are The Weirdest Strangest Stories Written by Your Favorite Writers ?

[BAYLOR]

Which stories ?

 

[BAYLOR]

The Sombrus Tower by Tanith Lee A Knight seeks the this tower even after being told it will be his doom and as dooms go this one is quite interesting.

 

[Yozh]

Philip K. Dick has a lot of weirdness but one short story of his that struck me as a particularly weird presentation of an idea was “The Trouble with Bubbles.”

Premise is that a popular hobby is building small, self-contained universes, kind of like keeping an aquarium or terrarium, and hobbyists compete for awards. Narrator attends a competition and is horrified to see winner smash her creation after taking the prize.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

"Understanding Time and Space" by Alastair Reynolds has to be up there. (Stranded astronaut achieves transendance after the end of Humanity, with the help of Elton John.)

 

[BooksArePortals]

Mage & Demon Queen by Color_LES (A mage has a lifelong obsession with the Queen of Demons and ravage of humanity, who accidentally saved her from slaveholders when burning a city. Her best friend has a kink for snake people. They kick butt together while trying to attain the unattainable but look normal to their hero-trainers.)

 

[BAYLOR]

Philip K. Dick has a lot of weirdness but one short story of his that struck me as a particularly weird presentation of an idea was “The Trouble with Bubbles.”

Premise is that a popular hobby is building small, self-contained universes, kind of like keeping an aquarium or terrarium, and hobbyists compete for awards. Narrator attends a competition and is horrified to see winner smash her creation after taking the prize.

Upon The Dull Earth by Philip K Dick comes to mind.

 

[BAYLOR]

Repeat Harlequin Said the Tick Tick Man by Harlan Ellison

There were lots to choose from here.

 

[paeng]

Kafka's Metamorphosis, and many more of his stories.

 

[Randy M.]

"The Panic Hand" by Jonathan Carroll. A man meets a woman and her daughter on a train. What he learns about them and how it affects him is disturbing. On the other hand, Carroll specializes in odd and disturbing, so strange/weird is kind of his stock in trade.

"Viy" by Gogol (although if someone else says "The Nose," I won't argue). Probably should read more by Gogol before offering up one of his stories, but for being called the "Father of Russian Realism" he sure wrote some odd stories.

"The Wife's Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Not the sort of story -- hovers on the edge of horror -- that I associate with Le Guin, though the premise is worked out with typical Le Guin logic.

 

[Peppa]

Liu Cixin's story about a nuclear war between dinosaurs and ants is really strange.

 

[aaaron_m]

Kafka's Metamorphosis, and many more of his stories.

I literally read the book "The Metamorphosis" the other day. Honestly, at first, I thought it was nonsense, but after reading it till the end, I even teared up a bit.

 

[dask]

“The Men Return” by Jack Vance. It’s- - - weird.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Arthur C. Clarke's 'Nine Billion Names of God'. The ending of this story has stuck with me perhaps more than any other.

 

[Peppa]

I literally read the book "The Metamorphosis" the other day. Honestly, at first, I thought it was nonsense, but after reading it till the end, I even teared up a bit.

In my opinion, it's more very sad than weird.

 

[paeng]

In my opinion, it's more very sad than weird.

Interestingly enough, Deleuze and Guattari argue that it's the opposite. The clue lies in Gregor's reaction after his metamorphosis.

 

[Peppa]

Interestingly enough, Deleuze and Guattari argue that it's the opposite. The clue lies in Gregor's reaction after his metamorphosis.

Of course there are a lot of strange things in this book. But when I read it, I just felt sorry for poor Gregor.

 

[paeng]

Of course there are a lot of strange things in this book. But when I read it, I just felt sorry for poor Gregor.

Study Gregor's reaction after the metamorphosis, and you will understand.

 

[Steve Harrison]

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris. It's so far away from his usual work, I can only assume it was an idea he had to get out of his system. A very good idea, I would add.

 

[Peppa]

Study Gregor's reaction after the metamorphosis, and you will understand.

Of course, from most people's point of view, Gregor's reaction is a bit weird. But the situation in which he suddenly finds himself is also very weird. It's quite possible that it's normal to behave weirdly in a weird situation.

Besides, what could he have done? Use Morse code to give interviews to newspapers? Perform in a circus?

It should also be noted that Gregor was already behaving weirdly even before his transformation. He practically sacrificed himself for his family and lived only for others, not thinking of himself, his wishes and desires. Helping your parents is fine, but in his case it was too much.

Looking at his abusive father, one might assume that little Gregor's parents only accepted their son when he behaved as they wanted him to. They didn't really love him. If they had, after he turned into a giant insect, his parents and sister would have felt sorry for him and worked with Gregor to see how they could turn the situation to their advantage. With a giant bug in the family, they could have a career in both science and show business. But these people with small minds lacked the imagination for that.

I think Gregor was made to realize from an early age that he was only worth anything if he was useful. When he turned into an insect and could no longer work, he felt like a burden to society and his family. He couldn't be useful anymore, so he didn't care about himself. That's why he behaved so strangely. Also, as a giant insect, he became a great shame to the family and had to be hidden away. He would probably have been hidden just as carefully if he had been maimed in an accident or become mentally ill. Anything that doesn't fit into his parents' primitive world view has to be hidden and then eliminated. So Gregor was wounded by his father, ignored by his mother, and even his sister wanted him dead. So he finally died -- and everyone was relieved. So it was Gregor's parents, not Gregor himself, who were cruel and weird.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Two words: Harlan Ellison. The man (R.I.P.) has written stories so weird that only he could write them. "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World," "Basilisk," and "Croatoan" are some of the weirdest I've read from him, but there are more. A lot of his work seems to be very psychological and surreal.

I have also read The Metamorphosis. It was a fascinating but disturbing read for me. Franz Kafka tends to write a lot of weird stuff too. A lot of his short stories contain talking non-human animals. I tried reading his story about a creature dwelling underground, but got bored. His prose is very dry and mechanical. I did enjoy "The Cares of a Family Man" and "Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor."