Fossiloctopus

by Forrest Aguirre

A strange and unsettling collection of short fiction from World Fantasy Award-winning editor and author Forrest Aguirre. Explore this bizarre cabinet of curiosities culled from the pages of such places as 3rd Bed, Gargoyle, American Letters & Commentary, Diagram, Exquisite Corpse, and others. Open the door to a museum of surreal curiosities and stare into the eyes of the Fossiloctopus!This special e-chapbook contains 11 short and flash fictions culled from the pages of literary, surrealist, and slipstream venues from around the world, all penned by author Forrest Aguirre, almost all of which have not been collected in book form. Each work is either a description of, or centers around a specific object or objects of curiosity and strangeness.

Genres: Short Stories

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2012

About the author

Forrest's short fiction has appeared in over fifty venues, including Asimov's, Gargoyle, Apex, and Vasterien. He is a World Fantasy Award winner for his editorial work, with Jeff VanderMeer, on the Leviathan 3 anthology. His novel, Heraclix & Pomp was published October, 2014 by the Underland Press imprint of Resurrection House press. His shorter work has been collected in Fugue XXIX (Raw Dog Screaming Press), and is also available at the Kindle store or on Smashwords at:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of this Snowpocalyptic winter season, Mr. Aguirre generously made electronic copies freely available for a limited period from Smashwords. Perhaps a little too coincidentally, ever since I grabbed a copy and allowed it to sit unread, blizzards have laid down foot-deep layers at weekly intervals.

This is an odd collection of works that straddle the line between traditional narratives and prose poems, vignettes evoking an eerie mood and sometimes--as in "Submissions Status" and "Subscriptions"--hiding a second level to be ferreted out. They are at times challenging reads in the best sense.

The narrator in my head speaks in a preternaturally calm, even voice, almost clinical, with a disquieting effect.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were fantastic! I want to describe the sketches as "archaeological fiction" for lack of a better, actual, term.

Each one centers around a simple object (like a mirror, a key, a kaleidoscope) and manages, with clear and elegant language, to flesh out an historical story in just a few paragraphs. I've also never read anything that mentions Ronald Reagan without making me cringe until I read one of the stories from this collection.

I totally judged this book by its cover/title- it looked interesting so I decided to try it out; snap judgement paid off for me in this situation! Thanks, Goodreads, for hooking me up.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real cabinet of curiosities composed of bits of history, from Noah to Reagan, made of collections of things strange, fantastic, and horrid; don't look for a plot, it's made of itemized lists, short vignettes, subscriber newsletters, trains of thought, items, objects, and exhibitions, all disparate but still seemingly somehow related. Very enjoyable and unexpectadly mesmerizing read. 4 strong stars.