Compared by critics to Borges, Nabokov, and Kafka, contemporary fantasist Jeff VanderMeer continues to amaze with this surreal, innovative, and absurdist gathering of award-winning short fiction. Exotic beasts and improbable travelers roam restlessly through these darkly diverting and finely honed tales.
In “The Situation,” a beleaguered office worker creates a child-swallowing manta-ray to be used for educational purposes (once described as Dilbert meets Gormenghast). In “Three Days in a Border Town,” a sharpshooter seeks the truth about her husband in an elusive floating city beyond a far-future horizon; “Errata” follows an oddly familiar writer who has marshaled a penguin, a shaman, and two pearl-handled pistols with which to plot the end of the world. Also included are two stories original to this collection, including “The Quickening,” in which a lonely child is torn between familial obligation and loyalty to a maligned talking rabbit.
Chimerical and hypnotic, VanderMeer leads readers through the postmodern into a new literature of the imagination. Views: 197
High elevations equal high stakes for Tom! Tom is headed to Mount Everest. Not only will he get some sweet practice time in on his new foil kite snowboard, but he and Bud are going to put his latest invention—a robot Sherpa—to the test. At Everst's high elevations they will really be able to run the Sherpa through its paces. But Tom can't quite focus on the tasks at hand because while there are always rumors of the mysterious Yeti, Tom thinks he's seen one. And what's more is that there's a nasty bunch of hunters on the prowl to capture the yeti "at any cost." Tom knows that some things are better left a mystery and vows to do what he can to protect this natural environment—and any mysterious species inhabiting it. Views: 197
Deeply in love, a chic Parisian lifestyle before her. Now she's facing prison for murder. It's three days since Mel des Pittones threw in her job as an intelligence analyst with the French special forces to marry financial trader Gérard Rohlbert. But her dream turns to nightmare when she wakes to find him dead in bed beside her. Her horror deepens when she's accused of his murder. Met Police detective Jeff McCracken wants to pin Gérard's death on her. Mel must track down the real killer, even if that means being forced to work with the obnoxious McCracken. But as she unpicks her fiancé's past, she discovers his shocking secret life. To get to the truth, she has to go undercover—and finds almost everybody around her is hiding a second self. Mel can trust nobody. Can she uncover the real killer before they stop her? A stunning new thriller from the author of the award-winning Roma Nova series, fans of Daniel Silva... Views: 196
The six stories in Consider Her Ways: And Others, the second collecton of John Wyndham's short tales, continue his exploration of the science fiction staple - what if?
In the title story we are introduced to a world where all the men have been killed by a virus and women continue to survive in a strict caste system - bottom of the heap are the mothers. In others we meet the man who accidentally summons a devil and then has to find a way of getting rid of him without losing his immortal soul, as well as the woman who, thanks to an experiment in time, discovers why her lover abandoned her.
Oh Where, Now, is Peggy MacRafferty? is a social satire on Hollywood glamour in which a bright, individual young Irish woman becomes part of the celebrity circuit, and loses all that makes her special in the process of becoming a star.
Random Quest combines romance and parallel universes.
A Long Spoon is the story of how a demon is summoned by mistake and the lengths the couple that invoked him have to go to get rid of him without losing their souls in the bargain. Views: 196
Tommy Zane hates lions, a major obstacle in a family of lion tamers. But Tommy's dreams—and talent—fly higher, up in the rigging with the trapeze. When rising star Mario Santelli offers him flying lessons, it looks like the start of wonderful new life, and to Tommy's surprise, his relationship with Mario deepens even as his skill soars in the rigging. But life in the 1940s forces them to keep their love a secret, and the stress pushes both Tommy and Mario to a precipice. And as Mario flies higher and higher, Tommy begins to wonder if it will always be his role to catch Mario as he falls. A tremendously moving tale, a rich family saga, a wise and compassionate portrait of a special love in a cruel world. Views: 196
Thyron is a flora peda telepathis from the planet, Sapphira. His world is occupied by his species of telepathic walking plants as well as a race of pygmies who worship them as gods. Encounters with humans generally don't end well. Face it, humans are omnivorous and plants a popular source of nourishment. Attempt this on Sapphira, however, and the food chain is likely to change rather quickly.This short story is a prequel to "The Star Trails Tetralogy" which features Thyron, a flora peda telepathis from the planet, Sapphira. His naterra, or home world, is occupied by his species of telepathic walking plants as well as a race of cannibalistic pygmies who recognize their botanical intelligence as superior to their own and thus worship them as gods. The two diverse species have a synergistic relationship in which Thyron and others of his kind provide technical assistance to the natives in their interstellar forays for food in return for protection, albeit primitive. Encounters with humans generally don't end well. Face it, humans are omnivorous and plants a popular source of nourishment. Attempt this on Sapphira, however, and the food chain is likely to change rather quickly. If you've read "Beyond the Hidden Sky" you've already met the Sapphirans as well as Thyron and experienced his botanical wisdom. This short story comprises his adventures prior to his appearance in "The Star Trails Tetralogy." Views: 196
