So far only read:

~ Shiva, Open Your Eye by Laird Barron
1* DNF @70%

Kind of interesting to start with. A P.I. type comes to an old man's house pretending to need to survey the land & the old man pretends to be weaker, deafer, dumber than he is. The old man seems to know everything about the guy. (That he drinks too much and doesn't shower. Knows the exact contents of his briefcase and car)

So I was entertained for a bit but then the prose turns unclear and difficult for me to unravel.

Ex: "There was a brief moment, back and back again in some murky prehistory of my refined consciousness, when I possessed the hubris to imagine a measure of self-determination in this progress through existence. The Rough Beast slouching toward Bethlehem of its own accord. If leashed, then by its own device, certainly. Foolish me."

and another ex: "It is our coarse antennae trembling blindly as it traces the form of Origin, tastes the ephemeral glue welding us, yearning after the secret of ineluctable evolution, and wonders what this transformation will mean"

Welp I hung in there a bit longer but I am unable to appreciate that type of writing. It is decipherable but I'm not looking for fancy talk when I read. :/

ETA: this is my first story by him. Does he always write that way? Does anyone think I'm being ridiculous? lol

Found some supporting reviews:

I liked these comments from some reviewers.

1. This one to sums it up nicely:
"A creature as old as the stars contemplates its origins and its destiny..."

2. And this one to support my feelings:
"It starts out pretty normal, then quickly turns into pages and pages of florid writing, an ancient old man's memories of the history of the world, from the primordial slimes to now, kind of philosophical, mostly just dark nonsense, and it was a little hard to get through."

Decent issue. Only real standout was Carrie Vaughn's story. ( )