Steampunk Review & Contest:: CABINET OF CURIOSITIES anthology

Today, we’re looking at an unusual anthology built around an unusual theme. The full title, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images and Stories from Top Authors and Artists, should tell you...you’re in for a wild ride with this one!

The book, edited by steampunk experts Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, is an illustrated anthology that takes the imaginary contents of a cabinet owned by the late Thackery T. Lambshead (think: mad scientist and collector of oddities), with faux-academic treatments of the oddities by contributing artists and writers.

Sound crazy enough for you yet? The list of authors is a who’s-who of sci fi and fantasy: Carrie Vaughn, Holly Black, China Mieville, Shaun Tan, Cherie Priest, Jeffrey Ford, Michael Moorcock, Rachel Swirsky, Caitlin Kiernan, Garth Nix, Tad Williams...Well, you get the idea.

But Suzanne, you’re saying, you aren’t giving us a review. And honestly, I don’t know what to say. It’s entertaining, it’s odd, it’s curious. So, you tell me, does the idea of Carrie Vaughn, she of our oh-so-beloved Kitty world, talking about an imaginary contraption grab you?Are you brave enough to give it a try?

Want your own copy of The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities? What's the weirdest book you ever read? This goes in my top 10, although Finnegan's Wake would be hard to unseat. Ever. And, okay, I might not have read all of Finnegan's  Wake. Or much of it.

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