This is the first short story collection in seven years from multiple award-winning author Ian Watson, who worked for a year with Stanley Kubrick writing the screen story to the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and wrote the very first Warhammer 40K novels. This volume gathers together ten uncollected stories previously published between 2016 and 2023 in Asimov’s, Analog, and elsewhere, along with a brand new novella - one of four tales set in a near future shaped by The Chinese Time Machine.
Contents: The Chinese Time Machine 1st Trip: Brave New World, by Oscar Wilde 2nd Trip: The Kidnap of Fibonacci 3rd Trip: The Emperor’s New Wallpaper 4th Trip: Sherlock Holmes and the Butterfly Effect (with Cristina Macía) Hot Gates Monkey Business When the Aliens Stop to Bottle Heinrich Himmler in the Barcelona Hallucination Cell Clickbeetle Journey to the Anomaly The Birth of Venus About the Author
“The brilliant Ian Watson remains the most stimulating and one of the least comfortable science fiction writers working today. Reading his short fiction reminds us why he is one of the genre’s unassailable greats.” – Adam Roberts
“His philosophy with short stories, and it’s a good one, is clearly to have fun. Fun with characters, history, language, science and plot... Mark you, there are serious considerations about economics, politics and history underpinning some stories and Himmler isn’t anyone’s idea of a laugh but, in general, this is meant to entertain and does. I recommend it.” – SFCrowsnest
“The 4 Chinese Time Machine stories… are something of a mash-up of The Time Machine and various fictional universes (Barsoom and Sherlock Holmes) or more actual events. Very tongue in cheek! The other stories range from downright bizarre to more straight SF. Rather fun and recommended!” – LibraryThing reviewer
Available as a paperback and a special hardback edition signed by the author and limited to just 60 numbered copies. |