I enjoyed the stories by the authors I already liked -- Seanan McGuire, Beth Revis, Elizabeth bear, Tad Williams, Kelley Armstrong, Laura Anne Gilman. I sampled and skipped a bunch of the others that weren't my cup of tea. It's a perfectly fine anthology. ( )

An anthology of stories set in versions of the Wild West populated by supernatural creatures, clockwork gunfighters, dark magic, steampunk contraptions, and other kinds of, well, weirdness.

This blending of genres has the potential for all kinds of fun, imaginative storytelling, and I've really liked the other anthologies of Adams' that I've read, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I found it disappointing. There are a number of good stories, although even most of those aren't particularly memorable. (Jonathan Maberry's "Red Dreams," with its eerie image of a procession of the West's murdered dead is a notable exception, as is Walter Jon Williams' delightful, pitch-perfect Gold Rush superhero story, "The Golden Age.") But it seems like for every reasonably enjoyable piece I read, I'd turn the page and find myself sighing, "Oh, goodie, yet another pointless, flatly written monster hunt plot featuring characters who spend half their time expositing their backstories at each other." There hardly seems to be an excuse for something like a weird western to be dull, but far too many of them managed it anyway. Throw all of those out, and I think you'd end up with a collection half as long and at least ten times as good. ( )

*as of now this review is only for the Seanan McGuire portion of the anthology*

While I wish it had gotten a little more into exactly what the music teacher was (I'm so curious,) I really enjoyed this short story in the InCryptid world. More of the fantastic Aeslin mice, more of Jonathan and Fran, and more monsters to hunt and learn about. I'm very excited about the ending and ready to move on to the next novella/short story. ( )

I am going to do this short, because they stories are just that, some very short, and if I say too much, then I have said it all.

Introduction—John Joseph Adams
Now I know what weird western is

The Red-Headed Dead—Joe R. Lansdale
Short story about a priest. Ok but really short.

The Old Slow Man and His Gold Gun From Space—Ben H. Winters
Weird, short and had a nice twist

Hellfire on the High Frontier—David Farland
Maybe they work cos they are short, interesting. Anyway, I liked the stuff at the end. very cool

The Hell-Bound Stagecoach—Mike Resnick
A nice weird one. I liked it

Stingers and Strangers—Seanan McGuire
InCryptic tale. You can follow along even if you have read nothing from that "world"

Bookkeeper, Narrator, Gunslinger—Charles Yu
I did feel a bit confused with this one

Holy Jingle—Alan Dean Foster
A bit so and so.

The Man With No Heart—Beth Revis
I wondered where this one was going and at the end I totally wanted a book about him. Cool.

Wrecking Party—Alastair Reynolds
Scary future for all of us, nice sense of doom

Hell from the East—Hugh Howey
I read it 30 min ago and have forgotten it already *checks* Right, sun dance. Ok the concept was interesting of what is to come

Second Hand—Rajan Khanna
Same with this one *check* Right, cards. Needed more explaining

Alvin and the Apple Tree—Orson Scott Card
I have not read the Alvin books so..who is Alvin? Anyway freaky town!

Madam Damnable’s Sewing Circle—Elizabeth Bear
Not that much happened, I know they are short but still

Strong Medicine—Tad Williams
Now this was one weird place. Very nice.

Red Dreams—Jonathan Maberry
Freaky end, I do like freaky endings.

Bamboolzed—Kelley Armstrong
A good story

Sundown—Tobias S. Buckell
I could have needed some more explanations here, it should have been longer

La Madre Del Oro—Jeffrey Ford
Ohhh, the end, I need more, what was that?! Awesome, creepy.

What I Assume You Shall Assume—Ken Liu
Eh, I mean ok, but I would rather have read this set in China and not a backstory

The Devil’s Jack—Laura Anne Gilman
Interesting fellow this Jack.

The Golden Age—Walter Jon Williams
Ha, this one was weird too, but hey that is why they are weird westerns. Got to love that

Neversleeps—Fred Van Lente
Hey they mentioned Tesla, that is always good, cos booo Edison, Tesla rules! Could have been even more interesting fully fleshed out.

Dead Man’s Hand—Christie Yant
I did not get this one. Was it even a story?

And like always, some were good, some were ok, some I still remember, some I forgot. It's an anthology after all and every story will not be to my taste, they never are. But what they all had in common was that even if I was not a fan, they were still interesting. So weird cool stories set in a west you have not seen before. ( )