Book Review: The Rabbit Hole – Weird Stories #5

The Book

It’s no exageration when The Rabbit Hole – Weird Stories #5, compiled and edited by Tom Wolosz, Curtis Bausse and GD Deckard is described as “Just plain weird”. The stories contained in this volume, produced by the Writer’s Co Op, are all reprints that are just a bit quirky and different.

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole. On our fifth excursion into the warren of the odd, 37 authors lead us down their own little burrows of strangeness: an army of penguins, music that cures, aliens that communicate through old cartoons, images of the future that save, unwanted visions of the now, and, oh yes, it is raining lawyers. All have one thing in common, they are just…plain…weird.

Weird can be funny, weird can be sad, weird can be thoughtful, weird can be mad, but the one thing in common is that weird shares experiences you have, thankfully, never had.

Just be careful, all little bunnies are not nice, but they are memorable.

Purchase Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Hole-Just-Plain-Weird-ebook/dp/B0BHHM5KJ9/

Stories by: Pete Barnstrom, Lori M. Myers, Richard Zaric, James Rumpel, Rhonda Eikamp, Joseph Carrabis, Leslie Muzingo, H. Donovan Lyón, GD Deckard, Lesley Bungay, S.E. Reed, Alexis Cunningham, Taija Morgan, Matt Nagin, Carl E. Reed, Stefan Markos, Anna Ross, Jon Zelazny, Marie Anderson and Tom Chmura, Richard Hough, Joseph Farley, D. A. Becher, David M. Donachie, Sally Basmajian, Bobby Rollins, Anthony Regolino, Robin Pond, Christina Hoag, John Haas, Joshua Williams, Jodi Rizzotto, Louis Evans, David Castlewitz, Tom Howard, Ira Nayman, and Tom Wolosz.
Cover image adapted from an original design by Ian Bristow

My Review

I requested a copy of this anthology because the colorful cover caught my eye, and I’m a big Alice in Wonderland fan who never turns down a chance to explore a rabbit hole.Some of my favorites include:

• “The Touch Stand”, by Lori M. Myers, which hits close to home as it reminds us all about things once taken for granted, which are no longer acceptable in a post-pandemic world.
• “Don Quitamo”, by Joseph Carabis, which is a delightful tale of high adventure between father and son.
• “James Thurber Saves the Day”, by Leslie Muzingo, which makes strong statements about censorship and classic stories in a very brief space.
• “Future Shadows” by Lesley Bungay, which explores the ‘gift’ ot the ‘curse’ of premonitions, when there’s more to the choice of saving your sight than you would think.
• “Definitely Dead”, by S.E.Reed, which proves that some recipes should not be improvised after trying to make a bad smelling tonic more pallateable.
• “Sweet Summer Swimming”, by Alexis Cunningham, which puts a new twist on a relaxing day at the beach.
• “The Blue Ghost”, by Taija Morgan, which is a delightfully frieghtening urban legend, very cool and very well executed.

This is a odd and different anthology, reminiscent of Weird Tales, and some of these stories are definitely weird. But the variety featured guarantees something for everyone, and you are sure to find stories here that will both entertain and amuse. I give The Rabbit Hole #5 five quills.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.