Never Never Stories

by Jason Sanford

Spaceships passing through the sky like endless clouds. A woman whose skin reveals the names of sailors fated to die at sea. A world where people who touch each other turn into crystalline trees. These are only a few of the tales in Never Never Stories, the first short story collection from Nebula Award nominated author Jason Sanford. The ten stories in this collection highlight the absolute best from one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy. As SF Signal says, "Sanford expertly blends world building and storytelling. In fact, he makes it look easy."

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

242 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Jason Sanford is three-time finalist for the Nebula Award and an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Born and raised in the American South, he currently lives in the Midwestern U.S. His life's adventures include work as an archaeologist and as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Jason's first novel Plague Birds will be released by Apex Books in September 2021. He has published dozens of short stories in Asimov's Science Fiction, Interzone, Analog: Science Fiction and Fact, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Fireside Magazine, and other places. Books containing his stories include multiple "year's best" story collections and The New Voices of Science Fiction.

Jason’s awards and honors include being a finalist for the Nebula Awards for Best Novella, Best Novelette and Best Short Story. He has also won two Interzone Readers' Polls for best story of the year and been a co-winner of a third Poll. Jason's other honors include receiving a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, being nominated for the BSFA Award, and being longlisted for the British Fantasy Award. His stories have been named to multiple Locus Recommended Reading Lists along with being translated into a number of languages including Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Italian and Czech.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inventive, well-written collection of sci fi and fantasy stories, which mix in elements of horror, social commentary, and religion. The collection includes nine science fiction stories and five fantasies, an introduction to the collection as a whole, and "An Essay on Archaeology and Fantasy," which introduces the fantasies. All of the sf stories and one of the fantasies ("The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola") are written in first person; all of the fantasies (minus the one mentioned above) are written in third person.

The stories include ships that drop rain onto a muddy planet ("The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain"), a magical being living in present day Chicago ("A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story," one of the best fantasies), a phage that turns people into thorn trees ("When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees," one of the best sf stories), mobs who kill all who use violence ("Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep"), interdimensional shadows that kill ("Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows"), and a woman whose body holds the names of sailors who will die at sea ("Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas"). All the stories are good to very good; a handful are great.

If the above sounds interesting to you, you'll enjoy this collection.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the collection, but was positively floored by the imagination and scope of the science fiction stories. Brilliant.

[carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exactly what I needed to read the past couple of weeks - short stories that I could just jump into when I had time. Which started me to thinking... why haven't I read many short stories lately? I read a lot of short stories in my college lit classes, but then stopped a few years after I got out of school. I think part of the problem is finding a good collection that grabs my attention - this one definitely was very though-provoking and well-written. I also think I read to lose myself in a story and it's hard jumping in and out of stories - although with my deadline last week this was perfect reading material. I also think I miss having discussions about short stories. These stories would be great for a book club - I found myself telling John the whole story just so I would have someone to discuss the underlying ideas with.

So I'm making a resolution to find some more great short story collections to have on hand between books or for my next deadline. If anyone has any recommendations let me know.

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I was in the mood for something lighter - not sure if this will fit the bill. Sci-fi/fantasy can be dark too. But the thought of reading some short stories that I could finish in a night was also appealing. And my blogger gave this one high praise.

[Benjamin DeHaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection!

Top Three Favorites

The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain
Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep
Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

really astonishing, untouchably brilliant. bears comparison to Ursula le Guin.