Tenebrous Press, the small but mighty publishing house that’s responsible for this collection, has a wonderful mission statement that begins like this: To define, highlight, and celebrate the genre of New Weird Horror.

Brave New Weird, Volume Four, does just that, with twenty-three stories that define, and sometimes redefine, what horror fiction can be. There’s something for everyone here, from relatively straightforward to downright experimental storytelling. The one thing that ties these disparate stories together is their uniformly high quality—Woodroe and Blairstone have a real talent for combing through the vast quantity of fiction out there and bringing you the best.

As I said, there’s something for everyone here, so your favorites may be different than mine. But here are my standouts:

Drought’s Vengeance by Wen Wen Yang: Story as myth, the personification of a vengeful spirit. Elegantly written, dark as pitch.

The Sunflower Farmer by Chris Scott: Mysterious, compelling, and surprisingly apocalyptic.

In the Amygdala of the Beholder by D. Marmara: Sexy, I think, and utterly alien.

Two’s Company, Three Might Be a Sign of Demonic Possession by Audrey Ahou: An original, twisted take on demonic possession.

Drosera Regina by A.L. Goldfuss: Quite simply, my favorite story in a stellar collection. I’ll be thinking about Jackie, the main character, for a long time.

Letter of Apology from Eldritch Appliances, LLC by Daniel Loring Keating: This story put a huge smile on my face.

Brave New Weird, Volume Four, will be released July 14th, and is available for preorder now. I’m already looking forward to Volume Five.