Fish Cannot Carry Guns

by Michael B. Morgan

Genres: Short Stories

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 9, 2025

About the author

Is 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.

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Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The inmates were kept on ice, and not just metaphorically. Maximum-security prisons like this one had earned the nickname ‘iceboxes’ among the public.”

A thought-provoking and evocative, if somewhat horrifying cyber-punk style (and distinctly dystopian) commentary portraying a possible Venn diagram intersection of politics, morality, technology and artificial intelligence, consciousness, and humanity. Michael B Morgan deftly imagines a world in which the distinction between man and machine - between human consciousness, individual identity, and amoral AI – is unclear and blurred.

“The last Prison Reform Act had changed containment methods entirely, instituting forced hibernation for inmates in medium and maximum-security facilities. Criminals spent twenty-one hours a day locked in frozen stasis within containment capsules. They were allowed only three hours of wakefulness: one at dawn, one at noon, and one at dusk. It wasn’t much, just a meager tether to reality, reminding them of the passing day”

In a world currently dominated by fears of (or, God forbid, hopes for) right-wing totalitarian governments and authoritarianism, Michael B Morgan has deftly added the caution that humanity needs to consider the extent to which it makes itself subservient to technology and the burgeoning capabilities of artificial intelligence.

Paul Weiss

[Marco Aep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really didn’t expect it like this. Each story seems to chase the next one, with connections that hold them together even when you don’t notice right away.

Some scenes really stuck with me: the cryogenic prisons with frozen inmates, or that Siberian setting where you can’t fully understand what’s happening, not even when you finish reading. These are narratives that disturb, sometimes hard, and they demand attention and participation from the reader.

Morgan writes in a way that reminded me of Ballard’s visions or Borges’ mental labyrinths: distorted realities, shifting spaces, identities falling apart. Some atmospheres also reminded me of Lovecraft, that nameless uneasiness that follows you even after the last page.

But he does it with his own voice, never exaggerated or pretentious.

I’m really glad I read it.

[Vania Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ma che bel libro, ogni racconto che insegue quello successivo, un gioco di vasi comunicanti, con questa inafferrabile donna, Selene Cabot, che si aggira tra le pagine. Ma è difficile capire quanto sottile sia la “trappola” narrativa dell'autore se non lo si legge. E, poi, l'inquietudine visionaria di Morgan dà la stessa vertigine che si prova leggendo Philip K. Dick o Richard Matheson, quell’arte di piegare il reale fino a farlo scricchiolare. Qui siamo tra autori capaci di fondere riflessione e intrattenimento senza mai consegnarsi ai comandamenti del mercato editoriale, ma anche senza scivolare nel reflusso di certi circoli autoriali privati.
Bello, davvero bello. Sono felice di averlo letto.

[Michael Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting, engaging, and incredibly energising this collection of short stories delves into the depths of what it means to be human in this disconnected age. An absolute must read for the thinkers and feelers out there.