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Short Circuits
Twenty-two flash fictions and prose poems--from the Bionic Turtle to Madame Tarot, from Charles Bukowski to the Anti-Book-of-the-Month-Club.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
5 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Boston
352 books117 followersI've published more than sixty books and chapbooks, including the novels Stained Glass Rain and the best-of fiction collection Masque of Dreams. My work ranges from broad humor to literary surrealism, with many stops along the way for science fiction, fantasy, and horror. My novel The Guardener's Tale (Sam's Dot, 2007) was a Bram Stoker Award Finailist and a Prometheus Award Nominee. My stories and poems have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Nebula Awards Showcase, and received a number of awards, most notably, a Pushcart Prize, the Bram Stoker Award, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Grand Master Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. For more information, please visit my website at http://www.bruceboston.com/
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 14, 2025
These are flash fictions. They would generally be called Speculative fiction but they cross all kinds of genre boundaries. Boston typically does not write a straightforward, simple narrative. I didn't understand all of these but loved the language and imagery. A lot of things from here will probably wind up in my dreams and in my own writing. Truly some lovely stuff.
I read this in a "double" with a collection of poems from Steve Sneyd called Bad News from the stars. I've not previously read any of Sneyd's stuff. I know he was an accomplished poet and critic but these particular poems didn't engage me terrible much. They didn't have the kind of rhythm that I generally enjoy. You might feel differently.
I read this in a "double" with a collection of poems from Steve Sneyd called Bad News from the stars. I've not previously read any of Sneyd's stuff. I know he was an accomplished poet and critic but these particular poems didn't engage me terrible much. They didn't have the kind of rhythm that I generally enjoy. You might feel differently.
June 23, 2011
Bruce Boston is the first writer whose range of style and knowledge embodies what I imagine to be the finest speculative fiction, and his Short Circuits is an important primer on the art of flash fiction.
It starts off with the poignant “In the Eyes of Old Dogs.” From the perspective of pet dogs, the story startlingly gives insight on the human condition.
“Reflections of a Former Self” is an issue on the nature of reality. It begins with the unapologetic statement: “He noticed that in the presence of mirrors her vanity surfaced.”
There’s the quirky story about the “precise” character named Finch, who takes precision to absurd levels.
A memorable story, “The Separation,” is an erudite take on materialism. An excerpt:
“Objects,” his burnished wife told him, “the world is composed merely of objects. Yet one must choose the proper objects… ”
The grisly “Separate Vacations” tells how a husband receives his wife’s body parts in the mail, and yes, they are mailed one part at a time.
The satirical “The Cocksman Speaks” is a delight, like an exotic-fruit-flavored ice cream.
“Interregnum” is deliciously blasphemous.
The last story, “Musing,” is a fairy tale on hallucinogens: “Her thighs slide up my body, down, gold hairs sparking, and I know that she’s not in the circus for nothing…”
(Loved this book. Bought from Fictionwise during a lunch break, 2010.)
It starts off with the poignant “In the Eyes of Old Dogs.” From the perspective of pet dogs, the story startlingly gives insight on the human condition.
“Reflections of a Former Self” is an issue on the nature of reality. It begins with the unapologetic statement: “He noticed that in the presence of mirrors her vanity surfaced.”
There’s the quirky story about the “precise” character named Finch, who takes precision to absurd levels.
A memorable story, “The Separation,” is an erudite take on materialism. An excerpt:
“Objects,” his burnished wife told him, “the world is composed merely of objects. Yet one must choose the proper objects… ”
The grisly “Separate Vacations” tells how a husband receives his wife’s body parts in the mail, and yes, they are mailed one part at a time.
The satirical “The Cocksman Speaks” is a delight, like an exotic-fruit-flavored ice cream.
“Interregnum” is deliciously blasphemous.
The last story, “Musing,” is a fairy tale on hallucinogens: “Her thighs slide up my body, down, gold hairs sparking, and I know that she’s not in the circus for nothing…”
(Loved this book. Bought from Fictionwise during a lunch break, 2010.)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews