SF Signal Review of Monstrous Creatures

John H. Stevens at SF Signal has given Monstrous Creatures five out of five stars and called the book "the most incisive collection of reflections and criticisms I have read in years." Read the entire review here.

PopMatters Review of Monstrous Creatures

There is a new review of Monstrous Creatures at PopMatters.com. Here is an excerpt: "Jeff VanderMeer's collection contains fireworks explosions of insights into the nature of the weird and a fine introduction to a number of rather obscure writers that most fans of the fantastic likely do not know."

Monstrous Creatures Now Available

We are proud to announce that Jeff VanderMeer's Monstrous Creatures: Explorations of Fantasy through Essays, Articles & Reviews is now available in paperback and hardcover editions. Here's what people are saying about the book and VanderMeer:


"VanderMeer goes for a 360-degree expedition of fantasy in all of its manifestations as well as through significant periods of its evolution. Wherever the fantastical seeps in, be it in books, the act of writing, architecture, art or even nature, VanderMeer follows, documents and then reports with some of the most spectacular and sophisticated turns of phrase I’ve seen in non-fiction." Rise Reviews


"VanderMeer has jammed his scalpel into the heart of the beast, here. The first essay alone is worth the price of admission. It's staggering ... it's like a best-of record for the wild and fast discussions of art, literature, and monstrosity born of the beehives of the blog-o-sphere." J.M. McDermott

“One of modern fantasy’s most original and fearless pioneers.” Richard K. Morgan

Shriek: An Afterword … is a desert island book, a tale you can lose yourself in for days, a novel of character in which the setting—the magnificently gritty city-state named Ambergris—proves as the light fails to be the finest character of all.” Gene Wolfe

“One of the things that sets VanderMeer apart is his embrace of technology and media. His online presence is considerable and includes a number of web sites, frequent blogging, a short film adaptation of his novel Shriek (including collaboration with pop rock band The Church), his Alien Baby photo project and even a project involving animation via Sony PlayStation.” Wired.com

“Somewhere at the intersection of pulp and Surrealism, drawing on the very best of both traditions, is Jeff VanderMeer’s Ambergris. Unsettling, erudite, dark, shot through with unexpected humour, the stories engross and challenge endlessly. Ambergris is one of my favourite haunts in fiction.” China MiĆ©ville

“Beautifully written, virtually hallucinatory work ... connoisseurs of the finest in postmodern fantasy will find it enormously rewarding.” Publishers Weekly

“In the hands of a brilliant writer like Jeff VanderMeer, writing fantasy can be a means of serious artistic expression. In VanderMeer’s hands, it is also playful, poignant, and utterly, wildly, imaginative.” Peter Straub

“VanderMeer may be creating the dominant literature of the 21st century.” The Guardian