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Lost in the Shell: Flash and shorts around SciFi: Short stories - Science fiction - Illustrated - English version
Sure what you see is real? These are just a few of the 17 stories in this collection. A bizarre and disturbing journey through
consciousness, science fiction, cyberpunk and technology. Science fiction is not about reality, it’s about sharpening our understanding of reality.
Brian W. Aldiss.
Science fiction is fiction about that which is not but might be or what might have been but never was, as far as we know.
Jim Baen
We have not really budged a step until we take up residence in someone else’s point of view.
John Erskine Introduction Speculative science fiction pushes us to the edge between the visible and the invisible, so that the mind can also claim what we do not see. Science fiction takes many forms, but it is always the story of the "what if" question, and it is startlingly dependent on specifics, no matter how unlikely, far-fetched, or even impossible. In recent years, it has become increasingly linked to scientific research, to science that is even discussed in academia and even mediated by platforms of ardent connoisseurs, but which is still up-to-date science and generally accepted (at least) as a viable scientific theory. In this anthology, sci-fi is intertwined with the fantastic, borders on the procedural, flows into the technological anxieties of cyberpunk, and does so through mirrors of witty satirical distortion and penetratingly detached clarity. Jack Williamson has written, “Reading science fiction requires a certain flexibility. I don’t know if the science fiction audience is more intelligent than the average person, but those in it are more open-minded.” This book is for curious, thoughtful readers who are willing to question the status quo politically, technologically, sociologically, and in many other ways. Enjoy the read.
consciousness, science fiction, cyberpunk and technology. Science fiction is not about reality, it’s about sharpening our understanding of reality.
Brian W. Aldiss.
Science fiction is fiction about that which is not but might be or what might have been but never was, as far as we know.
Jim Baen
We have not really budged a step until we take up residence in someone else’s point of view.
John Erskine Introduction Speculative science fiction pushes us to the edge between the visible and the invisible, so that the mind can also claim what we do not see. Science fiction takes many forms, but it is always the story of the "what if" question, and it is startlingly dependent on specifics, no matter how unlikely, far-fetched, or even impossible. In recent years, it has become increasingly linked to scientific research, to science that is even discussed in academia and even mediated by platforms of ardent connoisseurs, but which is still up-to-date science and generally accepted (at least) as a viable scientific theory. In this anthology, sci-fi is intertwined with the fantastic, borders on the procedural, flows into the technological anxieties of cyberpunk, and does so through mirrors of witty satirical distortion and penetratingly detached clarity. Jack Williamson has written, “Reading science fiction requires a certain flexibility. I don’t know if the science fiction audience is more intelligent than the average person, but those in it are more open-minded.” This book is for curious, thoughtful readers who are willing to question the status quo politically, technologically, sociologically, and in many other ways. Enjoy the read.
151 pages, Paperback
Published August 23, 2023
3 people want to read
About the author
Michael B. Morgan
9 books59 followersIs the snowflake responsible for the avalanche?
I’m a lifelong reader with a love for physics, psychology, and stories that ask hard questions, and don’t always offer easy answers.
Consultant by day, author by night.
Proud father. Grateful husband.
Based in the U.S., often on the move.
If you’d like a FREE copy of Fish Cannot Carry Guns, just stop by: Fish Cannot Carry Guns
I’m a lifelong reader with a love for physics, psychology, and stories that ask hard questions, and don’t always offer easy answers.
Consultant by day, author by night.
Proud father. Grateful husband.
Based in the U.S., often on the move.
If you’d like a FREE copy of Fish Cannot Carry Guns, just stop by: Fish Cannot Carry Guns
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 10, 2023
This collection of "flash" and short sci-fi was a very surreal read. I mean that in a good way too. At times, it felt like a collection of dreams more than a sci-fi book. The writing style, at first took some getting used to, but a patient reader will find that the often quirky style helps the dream-like story telling in ways I don't think are easy to explain here.
Some of the stories are quite strange, bordering on absurdism. I don't think this style of writing is for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Many of the stories share a common thematic thread. Our fascination with our various high-tech screens is deeply explored. The theme itself carries a lot of familiarity. I would guess you are right now staring at one of these fascinating screens. But the stories tend to ask questions about how this fascination changes us. How it changes our relationship with each other and with the broader world around us. AI also dominates the themes and is sometimes put along side the screen fascination theme, sometimes in very interesting ways. This is timely sci-fi.
The other stories explore scientific ideas ranging from black holes, parallel universes and quantum mechanics. The author does assume the reader has some understanding of these concepts going into the story, so there will be no brief explainers about the nature of quantum mechanics, for example, you just sort of dive into that strange reality directly.
Many of the stories, while quite surreal, were also kinda funny. What would you do if you found a human eye dangling from your shrubbery? The answer to this question made me smile.
The "flash sci-fi" stories were quite short. I think one of them clocked in at three or four pages, but I was reading on a kindle with the font size ramped up to like 35 so it is hard to gauge. Some of the stories needed to be re-read to be properly understood and contextualized. I think this aspect of the writing style might put some readers off. Since they were so short though, re-reading a four page story wasn't that much of a burden.
One nice touch was that there was a picture at the end of each story that sort of encapsulated the scene or theme. My Kindle is quite old so the resolution isn't all that fantastic, but the images were well done despite my Kindle's poor rendering. I might re-read, or at least swipe to the images on my iPad in the near future, but I knew doing so while reading would mess up my location and I would have to figure out where I was. I blame The Cloud.
I read mostly in the early morning hours. If I had read this minutes before going to bed each night, I am certain I would have weird dreams that would linger into sunrise and I'd probably have to go out to check the nearby shrubbery.
Some of the stories are quite strange, bordering on absurdism. I don't think this style of writing is for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Many of the stories share a common thematic thread. Our fascination with our various high-tech screens is deeply explored. The theme itself carries a lot of familiarity. I would guess you are right now staring at one of these fascinating screens. But the stories tend to ask questions about how this fascination changes us. How it changes our relationship with each other and with the broader world around us. AI also dominates the themes and is sometimes put along side the screen fascination theme, sometimes in very interesting ways. This is timely sci-fi.
The other stories explore scientific ideas ranging from black holes, parallel universes and quantum mechanics. The author does assume the reader has some understanding of these concepts going into the story, so there will be no brief explainers about the nature of quantum mechanics, for example, you just sort of dive into that strange reality directly.
Many of the stories, while quite surreal, were also kinda funny. What would you do if you found a human eye dangling from your shrubbery? The answer to this question made me smile.
The "flash sci-fi" stories were quite short. I think one of them clocked in at three or four pages, but I was reading on a kindle with the font size ramped up to like 35 so it is hard to gauge. Some of the stories needed to be re-read to be properly understood and contextualized. I think this aspect of the writing style might put some readers off. Since they were so short though, re-reading a four page story wasn't that much of a burden.
One nice touch was that there was a picture at the end of each story that sort of encapsulated the scene or theme. My Kindle is quite old so the resolution isn't all that fantastic, but the images were well done despite my Kindle's poor rendering. I might re-read, or at least swipe to the images on my iPad in the near future, but I knew doing so while reading would mess up my location and I would have to figure out where I was. I blame The Cloud.
I read mostly in the early morning hours. If I had read this minutes before going to bed each night, I am certain I would have weird dreams that would linger into sunrise and I'd probably have to go out to check the nearby shrubbery.
Displaying 1 of 1 review