Aberrants: Short Stories

by Mitchell Lüthi

In Kharkiv, mysterious eyes sprout from the walls of buildings as the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies. A cynical spacefarer on a paradox-chasing mission confronts an ancient star—and the limits of human understanding—while his sentient navigator may know more than it’s letting on. A man mistakenly receives a letter meant for another drawing him into the world of a lost tribe who believe writing itself is a sin against God. In Raghast, a civilization of rats grinds to a standstill every three months as the breeding instinct throws them into chaos. A solution exists, but it is almost too terrible to consider. A biotech visionary’s obsession with progress begins to blur the line between life and machine.

Speculative, weird, and layered with insight into the strangeness of existence, Aberrants is a collection of eleven unforgettable stories published here for the very first time.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2025

About the author

The Pilgrim Illustrated Limited Edition Kickstarter is launching in September 2024! Check it out here: https://t.ly/xsNeh

The limited edition includes 12 full-page illustrations by artist Tyrone Le Roux, 9 character illustrations by Filipe Pagliuso, full-colour book ends by Alicja Tereszczenko, an illustrated slipcase by Anthony Ventura, custom interior design, medieval chapter drop caps, metallic rose gold on the front, spine, and rear, gold-edged pages, and a ribbon bookmark.

Mitchell Lüthi is a writer and producer based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has written a number of scripts, short stories, and radio plays. "Pilgrim" is his first full-length novel.

In addition to his writing, Lüthi produces and scores the Sentinel Creatives Podcast. With a passion for storytelling, Lüthi has established himself as a versatile writer who can create compelling narratives across various genres.

His short story, "The Bone Fields", received an honorable mention in the 2020 L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Competition. The story is available in the Write Like Hell: Kaiju anthology.

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good heavens! How to review this marvel of a book? It's a collection of eleven tales, most of them a blend of science fiction and horror, without actually being either: they're something fresh, engaging and original, reminiscent of the best of Stanislaw Lem, Ted Chiang, and Hannu Rajaniemi, with a touch of Borges! In fact, some of the stories get so weird, they appear to be missing an ending; others introduce so many neologisms they sound like poetry; and a couple of them combine philosophy, cosmology and speculative metaphysics in conpletely unexpected and quite uncanny ways.

I'll say a few words about my favorites: "Escape of Kharkiv," the long opening story, reads like military sci-fi speculative horror, yet its setting is the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the imagery of eyes on the walls was uncanny, the characters sounded as empty and desolate as the setting itself, and the combination of political talk with occult geometries was totally bizarre yet pleasant; and some lines (for example, when describing the bombed city, "where infernal engines nest and fractal beings hunt") were downright inspired. "Heretics," told in interview format, breaks new ground by bringing the philosophy of AI, virology, religion, and film criticism together, to offer a tale of one man's technological aspirations: a late genius, who attempts to model sentience with the help of the occult. Great (and hilarious) ending! "Terra Ex Nihilo," a brilliant story that feels like reading a Borgesian "Solaris," plays out as a commentary (with endnotes) on a failed space expedition to a star older than the universe, on a ship whose AI (running on paradoxical models of thinking) decides to challenge God! Yep, this story is as weird as it sounds, and entertainigly told. Finally, "Southern Monsters," another long story, this one closing the volume, presents itself as a creature feature (featuring a hunter of cats in the cold), but it soon touches on Kuhnian paradigms, philosophy of language, and ...aliens!

In sum, this is a must read for science fiction fans, who also appreciate the horrific and the terrifying, whether implied, speculated upon, or revealed in all its uncanny glory. If you enjoyed, for example, Andrew Najberg's collection, "In Those Fading Stars." you'll certainly find a lot to praise in Mitchell Lüthi's "Aberrants"!

[Danielle Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitchell Lüthi’s 'Abberants,' is a wild, unsettling, and completely mesmerising dive into weird fiction. As someone who mostly read dystopian stories, discovering this genre especially after recently reading China Mieville's 'Perdido Street Station' has been a revelation (I've found myself ignoring my self-imposed bedtime in exchange for diving into more reading lately)! Lüthi’s world-building is masterful and atmospheric, his characters so quickly familiar and fully formed. 'Squeak!' and 'Southern Monsters,' from this collection completely hooked me and I wished for two full novels-worth of these stories! His writing is sharp, eerie, and immersive, pulling you into realities that feel just close enough to ours to be deeply unnerving. If you love fiction that bends the rules of reality in the best way, this collection is a must-read.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best collection of Weird stories I have read in a long, long time...hope for more... loved them!!!

[Scott Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, dense, and downright weird.

A one-trick pony Lüthi is not, and if you were expecting another medieval epic, sparing the odd allusion to middle-eastern cosmology, you'll find none of that here.

What you will find is diversity and a defiant weirdness: a detour through speculative, hidden, and contested realities: fractal beings that shouldn't be; shrewed rat politicans who must puzzle the quandaries of population ethics; crazed tech-futurists and the acolytes of an algorithmic god; and assorted denizens of the liminal, whose steady encroachments from the periphery threaten consensus reality itself.

And as varied and ambitious in scope it might be, it never once feels disjointed or ham-fisted but thematically tight, consistent, and in conversation with the diffusions that make up its whole.

Whatever his intent, Lüthi has succeeded in making his mark on the anomalous realm of the new weird. Unequivocally excellent writing, and a no-brainer for fans of Miéville, Balingrud, and Borges.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always forget how much I LOVE this author. Luthi just knows how to bring the good stuff! This is a fantastic book, with all sorts of weird stories. I recommend reading, btw, the author's note at the end. It gives you some insight into where they come from. I really don't usually enjoy stories that are left open-ended, but some of these (it felt to me like more than not) were, and I actually kinda liked how it was done. I think most of them lend to much larger stories, and they could be prequels or part of a larger story somehow. I didn't feel they were really complete in and of themselves, and yet they were. We have to decide in some cases exactly what happened. Or do we...? Very clever. Gets the brain engaged in a way I really loved. They will make you think. Would have been more aberrant if he'd gone with 13 stories than the 11, but that's jmo... haha!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) Luthi is an interesting South African writer producing mystical and philosophical weird sci-fi bent lit whose diction is an intoxicating palette. Now whether the painting succeeds as a whole with that lexicon is a different story.. “Escape from Kharkiv” is unequivocally a rousing success of alien fifth dimensional beings invading earth and being toyed with by humans who have limited perception. “Night’s Gifts” recalls the city-rot of Joel Lane. Other tales allude to so many philosophers as to become obfuscating, recalling some of the worst of Borges tendencies. I don’t mind so many allusions to google, but at times they stack like a list. Often the denouement cannot match the potential of its elements, like in “Southern Monsters”, where the setting and characters are so vivid, but was rushed into a cheap horror ending.

[Lorenzo Benatti · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this collection of short stories, Mitchell Lüthi aims to challenge himself with a different genre, deemed as "weird fiction" in the afterword.

The book contains some good ideas, but - all in all - the author seems to not be as strong as he usually is, especially if we compare these stories to the others he has written, so far.

Mitchell Lüthi is definitely a master when it comes to Medieval horror, but we must appreciate "Aberrants" for being the attempt of the author to step out of his comfort zone.

[Tomasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The worst thing? It could have been a lot better, and without much of an effort, too. There was no need, none whatsoever, to have the first story set in war-torn Ukraine - it didn't bring in anything of substance and just felt tacky. Compare it to the second story, and weep. "The Railroad Pilgrim" mostly proved that dreams are usually of interest only to the dreamers. Other tales usually worked a lot better, my favorites being "Heretics" and "Terra Ex Nihilo". So, a promising author with selection issues.

[Pedro Victori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imitating Borges and Miéville, as the author claims he's doing, is more than writing baroque prose, it also needs to make sense and be interesting (and free of trite idioms, please). This book promised everything that I love - weird fiction, tricks with language, the occult - but ended up being an utter disappointment.

[Coy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superior collection of cerebral weird tales that showcase Lüthi's vision as a storyteller. He makes shapes out of the void and draws patterns with the ether that glues souls to bones. Go along for the ride.

[Rebecca Rash · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

A lot to like here. Personal favorites Terra Ex Nihilo and Squeak! Looking forward to more scifi and strange tales from Luthi in the future.

[Tamerlaaane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good collection of short weird fiction stories.
Small disclaimer: these stories dont hold your hand, so some of them can feel like they lack a good punchline / ending.