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Itch: Nine Tales of Fantastic Worlds
Zombies. Pirates. Time Travel. Dragons. And one giant, walking city...
Honey to Soothe the In a zombie-filled dystopic future, one woman fights against death to bring the world back to life.
A Man Does Not Sneak Meet Edward Landon Marcus Strevakoff, Time Hygiene Field Worker extraordinaire... but sometimes the time stream refuses to stay clean and tidy.
Fey Street : Just to the left, and maybe a little ahead, we find a magical present not all that different from our own....
The Taste of One woman's only comprehension of the passage of time is its taste.
Diamonds and A young space pirate harbors a machine intelligence deep in the orbit of Jupiter....
Callous : Military service may have left grad student Brandon with the implants necessary for time travel, but it also left an... itch.
Cop Killer : Up, down, left, right--you never know which way you're pointing when you're traveling inside the arm of giant walking city...
Itch also includes two tales from the Fate - Fire - Shifter - Dragon
Conpulsio : During the infamous night Vesuvius destroys Pompeii, two important questions must be Who is bound? Who is compelled?
In Cinder to Dust , a mother makes the most agonizing decision of her life...
Honey to Soothe the In a zombie-filled dystopic future, one woman fights against death to bring the world back to life.
A Man Does Not Sneak Meet Edward Landon Marcus Strevakoff, Time Hygiene Field Worker extraordinaire... but sometimes the time stream refuses to stay clean and tidy.
Fey Street : Just to the left, and maybe a little ahead, we find a magical present not all that different from our own....
The Taste of One woman's only comprehension of the passage of time is its taste.
Diamonds and A young space pirate harbors a machine intelligence deep in the orbit of Jupiter....
Callous : Military service may have left grad student Brandon with the implants necessary for time travel, but it also left an... itch.
Cop Killer : Up, down, left, right--you never know which way you're pointing when you're traveling inside the arm of giant walking city...
Itch also includes two tales from the Fate - Fire - Shifter - Dragon
Conpulsio : During the infamous night Vesuvius destroys Pompeii, two important questions must be Who is bound? Who is compelled?
In Cinder to Dust , a mother makes the most agonizing decision of her life...
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 24, 2015
21 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2016
Itch: Nine Tales of Fantastic Worlds by Kris Austen Radcliffe is a collection of the bizarre, and I mean this in a good way. What an imagination! I think one of the stories I would give a 3 star out of 5 but the others stories 4-5 stars. All very unique and strange, just the way I like my fantasy! I like the fresh and different! Great book and what a cover, wow!
July 15, 2017
Awesome read
Received this book for free
I am voluntarily reviewing
Brilliantly woven works, Awesomely written
highly recommend pick it up and Read!
Received this book for free
I am voluntarily reviewing
Brilliantly woven works, Awesomely written
highly recommend pick it up and Read!
May 12, 2015
Nine shorts stories that are a good mix of well written sci fi by Kris Austen Radcliffe. People who like Philip K Dick and enjoy the show Continuum will like these stories, I feel.
Honey to Sooth the Itch is an amazingly written zombie, sci-fi story. Kris Austen Radcliffe is an exceptional writer. I am in awe of her talent. This is a quick read. It immediately draws you in and doesn't let go. This is definitely something special. 5 stars.
A Man Does Not Sneak Away is a really good short story about manipulating the time stream by field workers on a spaceship.
On Fey Street there are monsters.
The Taste of Marbles is a really strange story but I loved it for its quirky peculiarity. Reminded me a lot of Phillip K Dick. The narrator of this strange little tale seems to be in some kind of temporal flux. She can see all time periods at once. To experience all the time periods fully, the narrator licks items. This story is amazingly weird and so well written. 5 stars.
Conpulsio is about Ladon and Dragon in 79 AD Rome. Vesuvius is about to blow. This writer is so skilled at immediately hooking you into a story. The characters are so well thought and fleshed out. The story is so good, my mind wasn't wandering like it often does when I am reading. It was so exciting, I couldn't stop reading it. This is a very compelling, fast paced, well-written novella. "Death was as easy as kneeling under a tree, waiting for a mountain."
Diamonds and bones is a fun space pirate adventure.
Callous is an interesting story about time travel implants that itch.
Cop Killer is a twisted nightmare of a fairy tale with lice.
Cinder to Dust was previously published in Prolusio and is part of the Fate Fire Shifter Dragon universe about Rysa's mother Mira.
Honey to Sooth the Itch is an amazingly written zombie, sci-fi story. Kris Austen Radcliffe is an exceptional writer. I am in awe of her talent. This is a quick read. It immediately draws you in and doesn't let go. This is definitely something special. 5 stars.
A Man Does Not Sneak Away is a really good short story about manipulating the time stream by field workers on a spaceship.
On Fey Street there are monsters.
The Taste of Marbles is a really strange story but I loved it for its quirky peculiarity. Reminded me a lot of Phillip K Dick. The narrator of this strange little tale seems to be in some kind of temporal flux. She can see all time periods at once. To experience all the time periods fully, the narrator licks items. This story is amazingly weird and so well written. 5 stars.
Conpulsio is about Ladon and Dragon in 79 AD Rome. Vesuvius is about to blow. This writer is so skilled at immediately hooking you into a story. The characters are so well thought and fleshed out. The story is so good, my mind wasn't wandering like it often does when I am reading. It was so exciting, I couldn't stop reading it. This is a very compelling, fast paced, well-written novella. "Death was as easy as kneeling under a tree, waiting for a mountain."
Diamonds and bones is a fun space pirate adventure.
Callous is an interesting story about time travel implants that itch.
Cop Killer is a twisted nightmare of a fairy tale with lice.
Cinder to Dust was previously published in Prolusio and is part of the Fate Fire Shifter Dragon universe about Rysa's mother Mira.
December 20, 2016
Not my cup of tea
Not sure about this one. The stories for just did not read well and I did not enjoy them one bit. But I muddled through them. For me I will not recommend this to others.
Not sure about this one. The stories for just did not read well and I did not enjoy them one bit. But I muddled through them. For me I will not recommend this to others.
October 31, 2015
Kris Austen Radcliff is one of my favorite authors and I'm so glad that she released this book of short tales. All of Kris' work is a must read in my opinion and Itch is no different.
December 26, 2015
Rating
This is a very interesting book. You really have to have a memory of prior events to comprehend the jest of the plot(s).
This is a very interesting book. You really have to have a memory of prior events to comprehend the jest of the plot(s).
April 8, 2017
I want to be able to like the stories, sadly I can't. The story telling is of a form I don't enjoy, although, I know there are many who do since I have read other stories (by prominent authors) who write in the same style (and I don't like).
It contains nine short stories and a sample chapter from a book. There are some sci-fi stories (I think the genre is Cyber Punk) and some fantasy.
What audience will these stories appeal to? If you are the type of reader who likes lots of description, especial sensorial descriptions, then you will probably be delighted with the stories. They present uniques and interesting worlds. If, like me, you hate long meandering prose that takes forever to get somewhere, then you will feel the stories drag on needlessly without ever getting to the point.
Honey to Soothe the Itch: Common sci-fi style about a teched out person who is a mix of human-machine, connected to Internet. General story flow is, for me, incoherent, a discordant jumble of thoughts. "It’s a battle lost in a war without strategy."
A Man Does Not Sneak Away: In the future, people pay to have family problems in the past fixed. Special agents travel back in time to effect changes. Lots of words, lots of description, no real substance or story. Feel the author gets paid by the word rather than the story. Again, future people are 'jacked' into the'net'. "No one accused another person of having a police record. Not your mother. Not your friend. Not even your boss."
Fey Street: A decent enough story. Very indirect. Earth is a dumping ground for supernatural scum. It is policed by supernatural agents in disguise. Still too many wasted words, irrelevant passages for my taste. I would have preferred something more direct and succinct. Good twists in the story. "Lawyering isn’t my real job. It’s a cover."
The Taste of Marbles: Mostly jumbled rambling. Seems to place high emphasis on synesthesia - particular emphasis on tasting colours and time. "I wonder if she’s that talented or if I’m not following because my brain’s screaming that I need to crawl into a bathtub and pull a mattress over my head."
Diamonds and Bones: Another augmented human story. Again, lots of vagueness. The usual hyper-precision regarding situational awareness - as though augmentation allows nano-second awareness and reactions. "Being that ugly took effort."
Callous: Another rambling thought train from an augmented person. "Jeffrey is scribbling notes on his tablet. He works on the newest tech available, the “crinkle resistant” e-paper. I see distortions along the edges anyway. One of his kids probably got ahold of it. Or maybe I always see distortions. A little haze of blue here, a faint line of red there."
Cop Killer: Weird reimaging (if it is that) of the story of Snow White. Set in a future in which humans live in three mobile cities shaped like fairy tale characters: White Snow, Rella, Princetown. Cops try to intercept an augmented intruder. Again, plenty of vagueness and obliqueness in the story telling. "You will only find the meaning of life inside a dancing, singing city."
Conpulsio: Fantasy story. However, like the previous stories, it is told in a oblique and indirect manner. Obviously, I am missing something in understanding. Lots of words, but no satisfaction in reading them.
In Cinder to Dust: Continuation (of a sort) of the previous story. Not as dense and mysterious, but ends extremely abruptly.
Game of Fate: Chapter One: A continuation of the previous two stories. This one is, for me, was the most enjoyable. It reads, more or less, the way I expect books to read: straightforward, not oblique and overly descriptive. "This wasn’t withdrawal symptoms because she missed her meds. Her brain just exploded."
It contains nine short stories and a sample chapter from a book. There are some sci-fi stories (I think the genre is Cyber Punk) and some fantasy.
What audience will these stories appeal to? If you are the type of reader who likes lots of description, especial sensorial descriptions, then you will probably be delighted with the stories. They present uniques and interesting worlds. If, like me, you hate long meandering prose that takes forever to get somewhere, then you will feel the stories drag on needlessly without ever getting to the point.
Honey to Soothe the Itch: Common sci-fi style about a teched out person who is a mix of human-machine, connected to Internet. General story flow is, for me, incoherent, a discordant jumble of thoughts. "It’s a battle lost in a war without strategy."
A Man Does Not Sneak Away: In the future, people pay to have family problems in the past fixed. Special agents travel back in time to effect changes. Lots of words, lots of description, no real substance or story. Feel the author gets paid by the word rather than the story. Again, future people are 'jacked' into the'net'. "No one accused another person of having a police record. Not your mother. Not your friend. Not even your boss."
Fey Street: A decent enough story. Very indirect. Earth is a dumping ground for supernatural scum. It is policed by supernatural agents in disguise. Still too many wasted words, irrelevant passages for my taste. I would have preferred something more direct and succinct. Good twists in the story. "Lawyering isn’t my real job. It’s a cover."
The Taste of Marbles: Mostly jumbled rambling. Seems to place high emphasis on synesthesia - particular emphasis on tasting colours and time. "I wonder if she’s that talented or if I’m not following because my brain’s screaming that I need to crawl into a bathtub and pull a mattress over my head."
Diamonds and Bones: Another augmented human story. Again, lots of vagueness. The usual hyper-precision regarding situational awareness - as though augmentation allows nano-second awareness and reactions. "Being that ugly took effort."
Callous: Another rambling thought train from an augmented person. "Jeffrey is scribbling notes on his tablet. He works on the newest tech available, the “crinkle resistant” e-paper. I see distortions along the edges anyway. One of his kids probably got ahold of it. Or maybe I always see distortions. A little haze of blue here, a faint line of red there."
Cop Killer: Weird reimaging (if it is that) of the story of Snow White. Set in a future in which humans live in three mobile cities shaped like fairy tale characters: White Snow, Rella, Princetown. Cops try to intercept an augmented intruder. Again, plenty of vagueness and obliqueness in the story telling. "You will only find the meaning of life inside a dancing, singing city."
Conpulsio: Fantasy story. However, like the previous stories, it is told in a oblique and indirect manner. Obviously, I am missing something in understanding. Lots of words, but no satisfaction in reading them.
In Cinder to Dust: Continuation (of a sort) of the previous story. Not as dense and mysterious, but ends extremely abruptly.
Game of Fate: Chapter One: A continuation of the previous two stories. This one is, for me, was the most enjoyable. It reads, more or less, the way I expect books to read: straightforward, not oblique and overly descriptive. "This wasn’t withdrawal symptoms because she missed her meds. Her brain just exploded."
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews