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Small Bites #4
Small Bites 4: Short Story Anthology
Alternate-cover edition can be found here
Small Bites features flash fiction tales to give you small bites of entertainment. The stories in this Small Bites are all science fiction.
Ravens
A planetary mission goes terribly wrong.
Past Talks
A time traveling documentary maker is interviewed on VR.
Skin Deep
There's something different about Abby, and the cat she's trying to catch knows it.
Small Bites features flash fiction tales to give you small bites of entertainment. The stories in this Small Bites are all science fiction.
Ravens
A planetary mission goes terribly wrong.
Past Talks
A time traveling documentary maker is interviewed on VR.
Skin Deep
There's something different about Abby, and the cat she's trying to catch knows it.
31 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2013
2 people want to read
About the author
Crissy Moss
36 books42 followersCrissy Moss enjoys creating new worlds through writing, art, and game design.
To find out more about Crissy Moss, or join her newsletter where you can sign up for a free book at crissymoss.com
To find out more about Crissy Moss, or join her newsletter where you can sign up for a free book at crissymoss.com
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 28, 2016
Moss provides three brief forays into other worlds, each a possible development of our own, and each united by asking not only “what if…?” but also “what then…?”
This collection contains three science-fiction flash fictions:
‘Past Talks’: A time-travelling documentary maker is interviewed before a studio audience; but not everyone is happy to know the truth about the past.
‘Skin Deep’: Abby is five. Abby likes cats. But cats don’t seem to like Abby.
‘Ravens’: Genetic engineering has prepared Earth species for their new home on a distant colony. But at what cost?
The book is well named: these are bite-sized stories, providing a short period of entertainment rather than days of immersion. However, this brevity does not mean they are shallow; if anything it lends the central questions a clarity that might be lost in a longer piece. And the questions here are more than worthy of consideration: is how the truth is presented as important as what it is? Is belief a better guide to action than objective fact? What does it mean to be alive? How much concern should innovation give to possible consequences?
This raising of questions, perhaps the core of science-fiction, is strengthened by Moss’ provision of different perspectives, and consequently instinctive answers, to the same questions in different stories. Thus, while the stories themselves are unrelated, there is a sense of thematic unity.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this focus on the implications of future technologies somewhat reduces the space available for dramatic shifts and character development. Although the stories are more than narratives, readers seeking emotional struggle might find some areas a touch clinical or distant for their taste.
Overall, I enjoyed this collection. I recommend it to readers seeking science-fiction to read on journeys or fill short interludes between other tasks.
This collection contains three science-fiction flash fictions:
‘Past Talks’: A time-travelling documentary maker is interviewed before a studio audience; but not everyone is happy to know the truth about the past.
‘Skin Deep’: Abby is five. Abby likes cats. But cats don’t seem to like Abby.
‘Ravens’: Genetic engineering has prepared Earth species for their new home on a distant colony. But at what cost?
The book is well named: these are bite-sized stories, providing a short period of entertainment rather than days of immersion. However, this brevity does not mean they are shallow; if anything it lends the central questions a clarity that might be lost in a longer piece. And the questions here are more than worthy of consideration: is how the truth is presented as important as what it is? Is belief a better guide to action than objective fact? What does it mean to be alive? How much concern should innovation give to possible consequences?
This raising of questions, perhaps the core of science-fiction, is strengthened by Moss’ provision of different perspectives, and consequently instinctive answers, to the same questions in different stories. Thus, while the stories themselves are unrelated, there is a sense of thematic unity.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this focus on the implications of future technologies somewhat reduces the space available for dramatic shifts and character development. Although the stories are more than narratives, readers seeking emotional struggle might find some areas a touch clinical or distant for their taste.
Overall, I enjoyed this collection. I recommend it to readers seeking science-fiction to read on journeys or fill short interludes between other tasks.
Displaying 1 of 1 review