Randolph "Dilda" Carter

How do you describe a book so strange and unique it defies genre? The Cabinet of Curiosities is like no other book. Probably closest to steampunk, that doesn't even begin to describe it. The illegitimate child of Monty Python and Umberto Eco. Full of contributions from dozens of artists and authors, it's "entries" vary from stories inspired by, to descriptions of the items contained (or formerly residing, or related to) in the Cabinet, a sort of organic museum itself that defies description, literally. Illustrated throughout by some of the items, or reconstructions, or artist renderings of some of the missing curiosities.The writing is mainly on the strange story side of things and doesn't really fall into horror, science fiction, or fantasy. There is a wry humor to most of it. Most of the unfortunate people, besides Dr. Lambshead himself, come to some sort of untimely end as a result of contact with the museum's curiosities. Many of the details are lost or unexplained just adding to the weirdness of the whole thing. Ultimately Dr. Lambshead dies (of natural causes, he seems immune to the Cabinet's more deleterious effects)in 2003 and the museum is partially consumed in a fire thereafter. Don't worry though, there is a 1/1000 scale model of the ENTIRE Cabinet still in existence but unfortunately the tiny key to it has been lost (eaten by a pet squid). But you can still peer through the needle sized keyhole and get a glimpse...It's also a beautifully produce book.I'm sure a lot of people will think three stars is too few for this, and they probably have a point, but I thought there was a fair amount of filler material here and certain sections of the book dragged a bit and failed to hold my attention. I would still highly recommend this to anyone interested in the weird tale. Most will probably find the entire book entertaining.