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Alex Shvartsman

Goodreads Author

Born

in Odessa, Ukraine

November 19, 1975

Website

http://www.alexshvartsman.com

Twitter

AShvartsman

Genre

Science Fiction, Fantasy

Member Since

April 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/alexshvartsman

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Alex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Best of All Possible Planets (2026A), Kakistocracy (2023), The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019).

Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a three-time finalist for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction and, as a translator, a three-time finalist for the BSFA Award. For a brief, glorious moment one of his short stories was in development as a live action TV series.

Alex is the editor of nearly twenty anthologies, including the long-standing Unidentified Funny Objects anthology series o ...more

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Alex Shvartsman’s books

Average rating: 3.97 · 7,343 ratings · 1,260 reviews · 160 distinct works • Similar authors

	Unidentified Funny Objects (UFO #1) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Scott Almes (Goodreads Author), Sergei Lukyanenko 3.78 avg rating — 370 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Middling Affliction (Conradverse Chronicles #1) 3.89 avg rating — 190 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Funny Science Fiction by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Mike Resnick, Ken Liu (Goodreads Author) 3.74 avg rating — 182 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unidentified Funny Objects 2 (UFO #2) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick 3.98 avg rating — 170 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unidentified Funny Objects 3 (UFO #3) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jim C. Hines (Goodreads Author), James A. Miller 3.95 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Funny Fantasy by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author), Gail Carriger (Goodreads Author), Esther M. Friesner 3.72 avg rating — 145 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unidentified Funny Objects 4 (UFO #4) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author), Andrew Kaye 3.87 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author), Ken Liu (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.25 avg rating — 91 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unidentified Funny Objects 7 (UFO, #7) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Mike Resnick, Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author) 3.94 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unidentified Funny Objects 5 (UFO #5) by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), David Gerrold (Goodreads Author), Esther M. Friesner really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Alex Shvartsman

UFO (10 books)
by

Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Mike Resnick,

Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author),

Esther M. Friesner,

Gini Koch (Goodreads Author),

Laura Resnick

3.89 avg rating — 1,504 ratings

Conradverse Chronicles (2 books)
by

Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author)

3.98 avg rating — 236 ratings

Future Science Fiction Digest (18 books)
by

Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Julie Nováková (Goodreads Author),

Ken Liu (Goodreads Author),

Irene Punti,

Evgeny Lukin

3.73 avg rating — 109 ratings

Conrad Brent (2 books)
by

Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author)

3.72 avg rating — 18 ratings

Alex is Currently Reading

Alex Shvartsman is currently reading

The Middling Affliction (Conradverse Chronicles #1)

by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 27, 2022 11:50AM

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Eridani's Crown

by Alex Shvartsman (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 22, 2019 03:41PM

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Alex Shvartsman is now friends with Meg
Jul 15, 2026 08:31AM · like
Alex Shvartsman and 6 other people liked Rebecca's review of The Best of All Possible Planets: "This is the best sci-fi book I've read since The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. In fact, if you had told me Douglas Adams had written it, I would have absolutely believed you. I'm sure there must be other books out there that p" Read more of this review »
Jul 15, 2026 08:31AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alex Shvartsman and 2 other people liked Will Swardstrom's review of The Best of All Possible Planets: "**This review can also be found at: https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-be... Satire isn’t for everyone, but if you count The HItchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as one of your top reads, then I’ve got some bad news for you — Douglas Adams is deceased. Bu" Read more of this review »
Jul 06, 2026 07:00AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alex Shvartsman and 1 other person liked Jordan Mayo's review of The Best of All Possible Planets: "I waited until I got my kickstarter physical copy to read this one. It was worth the wait. This book was a fun space adventure. It reminded me of a lovechild between Hitchhikers Guide, and Futurama. It was filled to the brim with callbacks and refere" Read more of this review »
Jun 30, 2026 07:53AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Best of All Possible Planets by Alex Shvartsman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alex Shvartsman is now following Adam's reviews
May 01, 2026 07:45PM · like
Alex Shvartsman rated a book it was amazing The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting by Rob Kutner (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A highly entertaining book with just the right amount of snarky humor. The only downside? You might actually learn something.
Apr 21, 2025 10:41AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Jews by Rob Kutner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Jews by Rob Kutner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alex Shvartsman wants to read Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Debut Novel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 03, 2024 03:46PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Alex Shvartsman (?)

“If you want to get anything done, you don’t go to the government.”
― Alex Shvartsman, Unidentified Funny Objects

1 likes

“Ah, yes, well that’s the problem with the English language, isn’t it? All the words mean different things.”
― Alex Shvartsman, Unidentified Funny Objects 2

1 likes

“I make a terrible first impression, and the second impression tends to be worse,” said Moira. “But in time, I grow on you. Like a fungus.”
― Alex Shvartsman, Kakistocracy

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Polls

February 2023 BOTM: An anthology

The Best of World SF: Volume 2, edited by Lavie Tidhar

9 votes, 47.4%

Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World, edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro

6 votes, 31.6%

The Rosetta Archive: Notable Speculative Short Fiction in Translation, edited by Alex Shvartsman

4 votes, 21.1%

19 total votes

2 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Riyria Revela...: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	18	Jan 12, 2013 07:27AM
Fantasy Book Club: Triumph Over Tragedy - an anthology to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	22	Jan 12, 2013 07:29AM
The Sword and Laser: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	1	32	Jan 12, 2013 07:54AM
The Riyria Revela...: New Release: Triumph Over Tragedy to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims	3	26	Jan 13, 2013 08:08AM
WACKY READING CHA...: 16X16 Challenge	381	224	Nov 20, 2018 06:43AM
WACKY READING CHA...: To Infinity & Beyond	106	142	Dec 24, 2018 09:53AM
Horror Aficionados : Track the Short Fiction You've Read in 2019!	54	159	Jan 09, 2020 05:56AM
WACKY READING CHA...: Beatlemania!	390	152	Jun 24, 2020 06:40PM

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