Wandering Realities: Mormonish Short Fiction

by Steven L. Peck

"Wandering Realities gathers together much of the Mormon-themed short fiction of perhaps Mormondom's best living writer," says Michael Austin. "The collection is strange, wonderful, eye opening and amazing. It is a book of revelations and spiritual gifts from an immensely talented author to his religious community, which has long needed somebody to show us how strange and wonderful (and strange) we can actually be."

"Wandering Realities is perfectly satisfying, a treat from beginning to end," says Steven Evans. "It is alternatively touching and funny and poignant, with horrors and wonders. Steven Peck is a gift to Mormon literature, and any opportunity to read his stories is not to be missed."

"This collection is one of the freshest, most engaging, and most entertaining contributions to Mormon literature that I've seen in a long while," says Jonathan Langford. "Steve Peck is an alien. . . . That's the only explanation I can come up with for how, in this set of 16 stories, he so consistently manages to provide such startlingly different, yet at the same time deeply insightful, perspectives on the culture and religion he has adopted for his own."

Peck's highly imaginative stories run the gamut from Mormons reverting to a medieval society on Mars to a bishop who is killing the neighborhood dogs. These stories not only entertain and delight, but they challenge and provoke as well. This collection includes several award-winning stories, including:

"Two-Dog Dose"—best short story of 2014, Association for Mormon Letters
"A Strange Report from the Church Archives"—second place, Irreantum fiction contest
"Avek, Who Is Distributed"—first place, Four Centuries of Mormon Fiction Contest 2012
"When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs"—second place, Four Centuries of Mormon Fiction Contest 2012

"Every story Steven L. Peck writes seems to lead Mormon fiction in exciting and innovative new directions," says Scott Hales. "I hate hyperbole, but Peck might be the Moses of Mormon letters in the twenty-first century."

Wandering Realities "may be the book of the year," says Andrew Hall. Peck is "perhaps the most interesting contemporary author of Mormon fiction."

"Peck is the best LDS science fiction writer currently out there," says Steven Evans. "Wandering Realities is an immensely enjoyable and powerful collection of short fiction, one that highlights both the possibilities and inevitabilities of Mormonism."

Genres: Mormonism, Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2015

Reviews

[Andrew Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of stories, 4.5 stars.
The stories are split into two groups, "Other Worlds" (speculative stories) and "This World" (not speculative, mostly). You could also divide his stories into short-shorts, that would fit into the Mormon Lit Blitz, and longer stories. The shorter speculative stories are usually "what if" about a technology, especially how that technology would effect future Mormons (AI, virtual reality available to kids, gene engineering, time travel). The short non-speculative stories are mostly about some kind of breakdown in the accepted/conservative Mormon world order (a Carol King song at a funeral, a Bishop killing dogs, pinewood derby anarchy, banker husband secretly quitting his job).
I enjoyed the shorter stories (especially "Avek, Who Is Distributed", about an AI wanting to get baptized), but I find the longer stories, that are less dependent on a gimmick, more satisfying.

"Let the Mountains Tremble for Adoniha Has Fallen" and "Two Dog Dose", both longer stories, were my favorites. "Let the Mountains Tremble" takes a fascinating premise and does an excellent job of world building. It imagines a Mormon colony on Mars which has decided to separate itself from the what it sees as the decadence of Earth. Sealed off from the earth for many centuries (science reasons are given, with some hand waving), the Mars Mormons (on purpose?) lost much of their technology, and have turned into a feudalistic and extremely patriarchal society. The story involves a renewed contact with Earth, and the revelation of an army of genetically engineered, but intellectually stunted, super soldier/believers. The characters struggle with tensions between faith and reason. "Two Dog Dose" is the story of two older men who made a pact to help the other die if they ever became incapacitated through dementia. An excellent portrayal of the pain of that situation.

"A Strange Report from the Church Archives", which is also semi-long, is another favorite. It features a magical devise that allows the people of St. George to change the past and present by wishing it. The story follows a character who experiences those changes in real time, which is real entertaining.

"When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs" and "The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" are both very funny short pieces, about Utah Mormons under stress doing extreme things.

The longest story, "The Gift of the King's Jeweler", is a novella, set in the time of Old Testament Jeremiah. It is the most Mormon-friendly. It is filled with uniquely (and somewhat dubious) Mormon ideas about Old Testament-era religion, like Jews believing that God's Son would be Messiah, baptism, Book of Moses material in their scriptures, etc. It also has God working clearly and actively in the protagonist's life, pushing him on an important mission. Is is very orthodox, much more than the other stories. But also has great writing.

The stories where common LDS assumptions are challenged are the ones that resonate with me the most. A prophet working from wrong assumptions, and needing to be tricked in "Adoniha", and hope that the mercy killing of a man going into dementia is forgivable in "Two Dog Dose".

"The Sacrifice" a new story not in the collection, is perhaps my favorite Peck story. While speculative, it is not science fiction, as most of the "Other World" stories in this collection are. It has contemporary characters placed in a mysterious fantasy-like place, and then a post-life realm. What if we find that the post-life world is not what we expected? It is similar to "Short Stay in Hell" in that way. But while "Short Stay in Hell" is based on the idea that Christianity is totally wrong, "The Sacrifice" is less clear. Some of the ideas of LDS Christianity are right, but then there is other stuff that goes in a very different direction. I assume that we are going to be very surprised by some of what we encounter in the next life. "The Sacrifice" appeared in Dialogue in 2019, you can read it here:
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-co...

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable collection of short stories. Some hit the mark, a lot missed it. My favorites included Avek, Who is Distributed, Two-Dog Dose, and The Best Pinewood Derby. What I really appreciated about the book lies in the title: Mormon-ish short fiction. That little -ish is critical to understanding Peck's short stories. Most Mormon literature seems to fall into the feel-good and predictable realm--either too preachy or too culture specific. I feel like Peck was able to dip into the wonders of Mormon culture and create something accessible. The characters are all Mormon, and their religion certainly lies at the heart of their decisions, but it isn't essential that the reader shares all their beliefs. Some stories are quite ridiculous (but fun in a quirky way), others are a strange mix of LDS culture with science fiction, but my favorites were probably the more serious ones. At any rate, I feel like LDS culture is starting to find its voice, and Steven Peck is at the heart of it.

[Tygan Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Steven Peck’s Wandering Realities through the first story and a half of the online sample. They were so good I had no choice but to find it in the bookstore, finish it there, buy it, and then insist my friends and family read it.

The stories contain LDS culture and conversion mixed with androids and insanity. Some are short and hilarious, like a ghost pirate’s experience getting endowed, or when the spiritual burdens of the bishop find a gruesome outlet. Others are long and thoughtful, such as the story of a member of a Martian Mormon sect who finds himself caught between faith and reason. And some are so mind-blowing that I won’t risk giving anything away besides my high recommendation, like “A Strange Report from the Church Archives.” All contain relatable characters and a fascinating perspective on life.

I especially enjoyed the strange mix most of his works had of both fun, sometimes absurd ideas, and serious questions to consider. For example, I enjoyed the detailed Babylonian setting of “The Gift of the King’s Jeweler.” But I also found myself relating to the jeweler’s conflict between divine service and too little time. In “Exactness,” a strict stake president’s response to an electric guitar and a pop song in the chapel was funny because it reminded me of my own past stake presidents, but it was also thought-provoking because it reminded me of how I’ve sometimes acted. Definitely some of the finest Mormon fiction today.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Steven Peck fangirl and I loved all of these stories. They were funny, poignant, creative, and resonant. A few stories were written in different styles; one was in the style of a 19th-century ghost story, and another was hard-boiled detective style. I was afraid "in the style of" would be gimmicky, but it made for an interesting variety in the types of stories in this collection. Many of the stories have clever background details that come up in amusing ways.

I especially enjoyed the stories where faithful characters felt discouraged in their faith (...most of them). Their doubts in themselves and in God felt real to me. I identified with that cycle of receiving a prompting or revelation, acting on it for some time, and then doubting if it was real after you've forgotten that feeling.

There are still other Steven Peck stories out there that I really enjoyed that aren't in a collection yet, so I wonder if there will be another collection later (I hope so!). If not I might have to start collecting more earnestly and make my own collection!

[Beck Seamons · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I was sad to finish a book! Funny, imaginative, touching, and insightful.

[Liz Busby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is divided into two sections, one for speculative fiction, one for realistic fiction. You would assume that I would enjoy the SF section more, given my tastes, but really, both sides are equally interesting. Every story contains some element that is uniquely Mormon, but none are superficial in their treatment. Even the funny stories like "When the Bishop Started Shooting Dogs" give pause to think about just how our church impacts our culture. This collection argues for the need for stories that are *about* Mormons, not simply mainstream fiction that happens to be by Mormons or deals with Mormon themes.

Some of my favorites from this collection:

"A Strange Report from the Church Archives" - A combination between "be careful what you wish for" and a fascinating alternate history. The rising confusion of the reader works perfectly and is resolved in a satisfactory way.

"Remade in His Image" - Very short, but interesting sci-fi about the implications of Mormon doctrines about the sanctity of the body.

"Two Dog Dose" - A mournful contemplation of aging and dementia that resolves in a way I didn't expect. I got into an argument with my husband about the morality of the protagonist's actions. A great portrayal of Mormon concerns surrounding death.

"The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" - Exactly what it says on the tin, this story is both nostalgia and wish-fulfillment for anyone who ever went through the whole Pinewood Derby process. I'm not personally sad to see scouting gone from the church, but certainly part of our cultural memory will be poorer for it.

"The Gift of the King's Jeweler" - I haven't ever seen anyone tackle the scriptural conundrum that this story takes on. I really enjoyed trying to guess exactly how it was going to connect up with the narrative in question. (Can't say more for spoiler reasons.) This novella fits into the same tradition as Orson Scott Card's Women of Genesis in trying to rationalize and expand the scriptural account.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories in this book are divided into two sections, one labeled ‘Other Worlds’ and the other ‘This World’. As these section headers suggest, many of the stories contain science fiction elements. All of the stories reflect or refer to Mormon culture in some way. Some of them poke fun at LDS Church policies such as the prohibition on popular music and on specific musical instruments in sacrament meeting or the pioneer reenactments that the youth organizations sometimes engage in.

Reading these stories reminded me of the exhilaration I felt as a kid when I first encountered science fiction authors like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. There's a lot of freshness in the quirky ideas presented and explored in the stories. A couple of the stories are a little over the top in the scenarios they present, but that's to be expected in an experimental collection like this, and their inclusion only adds to the value of the collection as a whole in my opinion.

One of the most inventive of these short stories is entitled “A Strange Report From The Church Archives.” It explores the mess that we can make of our own lives and, indeed, of the whole world when we are granted the ability to have our wishes fulfilled. The story is cleverly constructed, and I highly recommend it.

Other highlights include “Avek Who Is Distributed“, “Best Pinewood Derby Ever” and “The Problem”, a serious exploration of overwhelming lust and how it is dealt with in a religious context.

While many of the stories contain an element of humor, some are more serious in nature. At least one addresses the very real moral quandary of how some successful Mormons make their livings and the soul-deadening impact this often has on a person who makes that choice. Another tackles the tricky issue of a suicide pact between elderly friends who fear the debilitating effects of dementia.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good example of why I recommend Peck to all my friends.

Echoes of Levi Peterson in several of these stories.

My favorites were, in no particular order:
Avek, Who Is Distributed
Exactness
Two-dog Dose
When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow or another, I'd not realized this is a collection of short stories, so my experience with the second story was one of great confusion. (How's he going to pull that together?) Once I got that all sorted out, I found this collection to be delightfully diverse, humorous, thought-provoking, inspirational, heartbreaking, a bit skeevy in spots.

"Two-dog Dose" and "The Gift of the King's Jeweler" were my faves. Though even just typing that makes me wonder if I didn't like "The Best Pinewood Derby" or "When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs" more. Hard to say. Anyhow, do take the "ish" in the subtitle seriously. It's certainly not an orthodox set of stories.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enormously Clever

It seems a significant challenge for Mormon literature is the near universal tendency to create a conclusion which is ultimately too-tidy; too laced with a hopeful, optimistic, or even a merely sensible trajectory.

Based upon this criteria, Peck mostly succeeds, instead opting for a sometimes humorous-by-its-seeming-unlikeliness story and / or ending (When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs, The Captain Makes a Friend, The Best Pinewood Derby) or clever-by-its-foible-describing accuracy (Bishop, Banker, Grocer, Fry; Exactness). These are thoroughly entertaining yarns, evocative of Mormon oddity, benefitted by Mormon insight, and true to the nature of humankind (Mormon or else wise).

To illustrate why “mostly,” consider Two-dog Dose compared to The Gift of the King’s Jeweler. Both stories strike me as entirely plausible. Both capture heartfelt sometimes glorious and sometimes troubling realities.

The former does not seek for nor pretend to a happy ending. Peck successfully navigated the too-tidy challenge.

The latter, bound to a real circumstance, ends predictably and the associated real circumstance is of course tidily understood.

That noted, I was entertained and even moved by the much of the story. It was delightful to consider a version of what may have preceded the mysterious appearance of the Liahona at Lehi’s tent entrance.

[Bryan Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was giggling by the end of this book. I clapped my hands, turned to my wife, and said, "That was SO good!" I guess that given this is a book of short stories, it should be helpful that the particular story eliciting this response was "The Gift of the King's Jeweler," a story so wonderfully told about faith, a suspense and mystery at parts as clues dropped here and there connect the characters to the story of Mormonism in wonderful ways. (Read it! It's amazing.)

And yes, this is a book of "Mormonish Short Fiction." It's a strange book, at parts: an Artificial Intelligence wants to be baptized, and the Elders wonder what to do? A Church with a prophet and Quorum of the 12 on Mars, and what to do when war comes but you're convinced it's not right? And what does that war have to do with the Prophet? (I'll let you read it to figure it out.) Some stories are four pages long; some are long, like "Let the Mountains Tremble" and "For the King's Jewelers" and "Two Dog Dose." But they ask fascinating questions about Mormon culture and future.

I couldn't recommend this book more. Check it out!

[Rachel Heiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wandering Realities is a collection of Mormonish short stories by Steven Peck. My favorite one, I think, was Two Dog Dose. It was really sad, but I loved the way that it was written. My favourite thing about this collection is that it’s not a lot of feel-good, hyper religious stories like the Mormon fiction that I’ve seen before (and I say this as a Mormon). The characters weren’t perfect, so it didn’t feel like it was crazy and made up (at least the Our World section didn’t). Overall, I really liked this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel as did Abinadom when he was given the plates from his father Chemish, i.e. "that which is sufficient is written." So read the comments by others regarding this book. I say only that I greatly appreciated "The Gift of the King's Jeweler" as it revealed how the Liahona came to the mouth of Lehi's tent.

[Stephen Cranney · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's a little preoccupied with Bishops. Still, the image of a Bishop going around killing the neighborhood dogs brought a smile to my face.

[Aeon Renn · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

My favourite : Runners

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I harbor a cynical, condescending attitude toward Mormon fiction. Let's face it, a large majority of it is poorly written, contrived, saccharine drivel. However, Steven L. Peck has redeemed LDS authors for me. His writing is splendid.

Unfortunately, "Wandering Realities" fell a little short for me. But that is largely due to personal taste. Sci-fi just isn't really my thing and the first half of this book is solidly in that genre. Not to mention, I prefer a novel to a short story any day. However, as I said, the writing is excellent. I still generally enjoyed the book and there were a couple real gems in there. I may go on a binge now and read the rest of his work.

[Tiare · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must be a purely unimaginative person as I barely made it through the first story, and I kept pushing on and on, because his other book was pure genius to me. I thought for sure I would get something amazing from this book. I don't know, maybe you have to be LDS to appreciate this one. Since I no longer consider myself to be LDS, this one pushed up against my reality and I never quite got relief from that. Props to the author for creating these works of fiction though. We need more brave, unique ideas in the world. Each story isn't going to be for everyone though.

[Trevor Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if the Star Trek crew encountered a planet populated with Mormons? What if there were a Twilight Zone episode centered on James E. Talmadge? That's the kind of stories in this collection, most of which are written for people familiar with Mormonism or its culture. Most were great, though one story comprising 1/4 of the book was atypically kitchy and cartoonish (it was obviously when he was much less developed as a writer).

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Peck does it again. This collection runs the gamut from peculiar religious sci-fi (Adoniha; Avek, Who is Distributed), to Serious Literature (Two Dog Dose), to affecting faith promotion (The Gift of the King's Jeweler) to goofy (Question Four; Bishop, Banker, Grocer, Fry) to hilarious (Best Pinewood Derby Ever: Rennact), and more. Can't recommend this enough.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I didn't love every story in this collection but I was profoundly moved by several, and they were all SO interesting. Steve provides new lenses for examining Mormonism--but also the human experience.

[Marie]

Strange but interesting. The title is apt. Some of the stories were pretty strange to me, especially the first section of the book, which deals more in science fiction (not my favorite genre). But most if not all were thought provoking, some very amusing, some very fun. I am glad I read it.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories that helps to get away from Mormon stereotypes and take some fun (and some serious) "what if?..." journeys.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Peck's imagination astonishes me.

[Cathy Yee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My amazing cousin wrote this book so I HAD to read it. Very out there.

[Jaren Petty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steven L. Peck presents a wondrous compilation of Latter-Day Saint themed works in Wandering Realities, all of which provide for often quirky—if not thought-provoking—situations that beg the reader to consider what place religion in general may have when it, inevitably, intermingles with science-fiction become reality. While the stories are steeped in LDS tradition, culture, and understanding, Peck presents a series of short stories that do not require LDS knowledge to be appreciated.
From stories of future android technology to a simple tale of a bishop fed up with his neighbors’ dogs, Pecks’ prose manages to capture both situation and setting alike in simple but lasting detail.
Out of these works, I enjoyed the short and matter-of-fact telling of “When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs” (which is about as “what it says on the tin” as it gets), as well as the more intriguing and fictional works like “A Strange Report from the Church Archives.”
Perhaps most interesting, in my opinion, (and this portion may only be interesting to LDS readers, in truth) are some of the works that merely glance over situations people may eventually find themselves in when faced with where science could take us. “Recreated in His Image,” for instance, was most interesting for what it presents as a potential discussion one may have upon an operating table in the future, or “The Captain Makes a Friend on the Day his Cravings and Listings Disappear” which presents a witty other-side of the veil look at the result of a proxy-baptism.
All-in-all, Peck’s collection of stories is, at the very least, charming and fun to read when one can spare a few minutes.