I got to work with a few of the authors on Chimeraworld via my anthologies (Tabloid Purposes latter sequels) and magazines (The Ethereal Gazette: Issue One and Four,) so I picked up a little bit of what they were coming from.
      I wish I didn't eat anything when it came to reading this one because I nearly vomited on my keyboard. Philbin is a sick individual but you get to see how sick some of the authors are that he worked with, one of my buddies from thoughtcafe.co.uk is in this one and another one is on the second one. Karen James and J.M. Heluk are a pair to keep an eye on, I know because I am in their correspondence circle and cool to hear that they're getting out there.
      Seeing what the series became from where it is started is an experience to watch too -- especially seeing Nicholas Tillemans who started out on The House of Pain E-Zine, and becoming a macabre regular in the series. It is a series to watch, because you might not know where they are going to emerge from next. Keep them coming Mike.If you have no idea what your stepping into with this book, don't plan on eating anything when you read this book because it has some of the sickest works ever published in the small press. I got this one to see what I was up against when I was publishing some the authors from this roster. I'd e-mail Mike to get the info on the authors once in a while when I knew nothing about them. (Example here Brian W. Keen, talented author who appears on the later installments of the series.) Heluk's story in here really captured what Philbin was set out to do with the series.
      Welcome to Literary Limbo and Mike Philbin is your guide into it.Chimeraworld makes Tabloid Purposes or The Etherael Gazette seem like family entertainment even in the more vicious incarnations of the series. The first Chimeraworld is more twisted than any anthology you read out there to date. I introduced the Coach to this series because he's wanting to also publish edgy fiction. This is one of those series you want to get but too grossed out to get, and when you do get it -- people wonder "what the fuck." Keep em coming Philbin.


Nickolaus A. Pacione
Editor, The Ethereal Gazette

To be honest, I picked up a copy of this for the cover art, which was something I'd never really seen before on a book. Pretty twisted and gruesome. But upon reading Chimeraworld 1, I realized the cover was a mere prelude to what horror's it held within. I particularly enjoyed Kevin Anderson's WEB, J. M. Heluk's, ABACUS SLIDING (super eerie) and Greg Beatty's story, THE WOMAN FROM THE PLACE OF THE STONES.

Now I see there is going to be a part two! I'm hooked. Consider me a loyal Chimeraworld follower from now on!

Chimeraworld #1
Mike Philbin, editor
Chimericana Books, 2005

Often in reading as much as I do I get a bit bored with the cookie cutter stories that litter the fiction world. It is then that I search for some that will push the limits and take me to a place I have never been before. When I search for that place I know that Mike Philbin will never let me down. Chimeraworld 1 a collection of 23 stories selected and edited by Mike Philbin is no exception.

True to what I have grown to expect from this talented writer he has collected stories from some of today's most talented authors that offer me the outlet I so desire. When I stepped into Chimeraworld my senses came to life and my boundaries were pushed and tested. This is not short of extreme sports for the reading population. I for one am hooked on the rush.

The stories in this collection fit in no genre. They blur every line and break any boundaries one would try to impose upon them. Dear reader if you are ready for something new, bizarre, surreal, something that touches you in ways you have never been touched, take the first step and allow Mike Philbin to guide you through a place like no other Chimeraworld 1.

Once you have traipsed through the landscape created by the pens of these talented wordsmiths you will never look at fiction, perhaps even your own world, the same again.