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Alembical 3: A Distillation of Three Novellas
ALEMBICAL 3 is the tenth book published by Paper Golem, and the third volume in this series, continuing our mission to provide a much-needed home for novellas. The anthology features three original, speculative fiction novellas by Phobos Award winner Matthew S. Rotundo, Chicago-based author Kam Oi Lee, and robotics professional John P. Murphy. Running the gamut from the complexities of interpersonal relationships in a far future, offworld economy, to a post-apocalyptic future where one old man clinging to a simpler, decent past does his part to restore order, to a robotic, tongue-in-cheek homage to the work of Rex Stout, this anthology celebrates novella length fiction!
254 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
About the author
Matthew S. Rotundo
16 books16 followersMatt wrote his first story—”The Elephant and the Cheese”—when he was eight years old. It was the first time he had ever filled an entire page with writing. To his young mind, that seemed like a major accomplishment. It occurred to him shortly thereafter that writing stories was what he wanted to do with his life.
Matt gravitated to science fiction, fantasy, and horror at an early age, too. He discovered Ray Bradbury’s “The Fog Horn” in a grade school reader, and read it over and over whenever he got bored in class. (Needless to say, he read it a lot.) Other classics soon followed—Dune and Lord of the Rings and Foundation, the usual suspects. As a boy, he often pretended his bicycle was Shadowfax, and that he was Gandalf, riding like mad for Minas Tirith. Yeah, he was that kind of kid. Half the time, his family and friends didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
Matt’s story “Alan Smithee Lives in Hell” placed second in the 1997 Science Fiction Writers of Earth Contest. In 1998, he attended Odyssey. The workshop led directly to his first sale—”Black Boxes,” in Absolute Magnitude. In 2002, Matt won a Phobos Award for “Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown.” He was a 2008 winner in the Writers of the Future Contest. He has since continued to publish in various magazines.
Matt lives in Nebraska. He has husked corn only once in his life, and has never been detasseling, so he insists he is not a hick.
Matt gravitated to science fiction, fantasy, and horror at an early age, too. He discovered Ray Bradbury’s “The Fog Horn” in a grade school reader, and read it over and over whenever he got bored in class. (Needless to say, he read it a lot.) Other classics soon followed—Dune and Lord of the Rings and Foundation, the usual suspects. As a boy, he often pretended his bicycle was Shadowfax, and that he was Gandalf, riding like mad for Minas Tirith. Yeah, he was that kind of kid. Half the time, his family and friends didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
Matt’s story “Alan Smithee Lives in Hell” placed second in the 1997 Science Fiction Writers of Earth Contest. In 1998, he attended Odyssey. The workshop led directly to his first sale—”Black Boxes,” in Absolute Magnitude. In 2002, Matt won a Phobos Award for “Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown.” He was a 2008 winner in the Writers of the Future Contest. He has since continued to publish in various magazines.
Matt lives in Nebraska. He has husked corn only once in his life, and has never been detasseling, so he insists he is not a hick.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 4, 2014
Am very glad to have found this collection, which shows there is great science fiction still being published. Alembical continues its wining streak with an awesome release.
The first story, From Earth I Have Arisen, is a crackerjack post-apocalyptic action-adventure tale. Telling more would be risking spoilers, so let me just say it was gripping from start to finish. Well written and well paced.
And the last story, Claudius Rex, is a stunner. Author John P. Murphy pulls off the difficult feat of writing a blended hommage to Nero Wolfe, with just a touch of William Gibson. He combines the old and the new in a clever, stylish way that satisfies Rex Stout fans and science fiction fans. Crisp, intelligent writing that gives the best of both worlds. If you know the Wolfe stories at all, you're bobbing your head in pleasure as each sure-footed step unfolds. Only trouble is, it's going to leave you wanting more, and wishing he'd do it again, it works so well. A very enjoyable read.
The first story, From Earth I Have Arisen, is a crackerjack post-apocalyptic action-adventure tale. Telling more would be risking spoilers, so let me just say it was gripping from start to finish. Well written and well paced.
And the last story, Claudius Rex, is a stunner. Author John P. Murphy pulls off the difficult feat of writing a blended hommage to Nero Wolfe, with just a touch of William Gibson. He combines the old and the new in a clever, stylish way that satisfies Rex Stout fans and science fiction fans. Crisp, intelligent writing that gives the best of both worlds. If you know the Wolfe stories at all, you're bobbing your head in pleasure as each sure-footed step unfolds. Only trouble is, it's going to leave you wanting more, and wishing he'd do it again, it works so well. A very enjoyable read.
October 13, 2014
Three good stories in one volume. Really enjoyed all of them.
January 29, 2015
I haven't read the other novellas yet, but John Murphy's Claudius Rex is a fabulous mashup of a detective story and an artificial intelligence story.
August 3, 2015
Alembical is a valid choice for those enjoying speculative fiction in the not-so-long format but more than a few pages
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews