Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Normal Deviation: A Weird Fiction Anthology

Rate this book
A short fiction anthology inspired by a throwaway tweet and one weird-ass picture.

The stories include absurd aliens, philosophical questions about life and death, Death itself, befuddled activists, prophecies, and post-apocalyptic pigs.

A wonderfully weird and twisted group of authors contributed stories to this collection based entirely on their (third) response to the image on the cover, including: DeAnn Bell, Olivia Berrier, Josephine Bruni, Dan Cox, Josh Dygert, Sam Hirte-Runtsch, Jonathan Howard, L.G. Keltner, Chris Loud, Amanda Marples, Charlie Wilson, Cath Barton, Jetse de Vries, Joanna Michal Hoyt, Dean Knight, Molly McLellan, Arathi Menon, Jesse Rodriguez, Lyle Skains, Nicola Thompson, Emma Venables, and Clare Weze.

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2018

1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read

About the author

Lyle Skains

6 books5 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
3 (30%)
4 stars
1 (10%)
3 stars
4 (40%)
2 stars
2 (20%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Lori.
1,357 reviews60 followers
February 26, 2019
Normal Deviation is an unusual and eclectic anthology wherein each story is based on its author's third impression of a bizarre and rather unsettling photo, which appears on the cover. When first seeing a strange image, the editors explain, most people intuitively fall back on familiar tropes, and indeed many of the initial interpretations revealed by the contributors involve either wizards or some conflict between forces of Light and Dark, Good and Evil, or Life and Death. "Third Option Thinking" invites a deeper interrogation that calls up more subliminal associations evoked by robed, masked figures sitting in the middle of the desert with an unopened suitcase between them.

A few of the stories on the surface appear to have nothing whatsoever to do with the image, such as Josephine Bruni's "Brexit," which follows a worried Italian immigrant in London on the eve of the infamous referendum. Perhaps its link to the photo is the hot espresso placed next to the cooler Americano with milk on the counter of the coffee shop where Marco works, while the suitcase is expressed through its theme of foreignness and emigration. Another particularly haunting take is "Good Night, Travel Well" by Emma Venables, which deals with the rape of German women and girls at the end of WWII. By contrast, "The Fly Catchers" by Nicola Thompson was a delightfully weird tale of talking plants, while Josh Dygert's "The Judges and the Suitcase" successfully built up a somewhat predictable premise of two alien judges appearing out of nowhere in the middle of Nevada.

Unfortunately, I found most of the rest of the pieces mediocre or only mildly interesting. "Third Option Thinking" is a fascinating idea for a short story collection, however, and I hope to see more books like this.
155 reviews11 followers
August 12, 2018
A weird collection

A collection of stories from sci-fi, supernatural, thriller and others defying definition. Some stories were really good and unforgettable while others were average. Most stories mention the suitcase in one form or other. The book started to drag towards the end. I squeezed in another anthology before I could finish reading it.
Profile Image for Dani Leatham.
17 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2018
A book full of stories that are utterly bonkers. What's not to like?
Profile Image for Nicola Thompson.
28 reviews
March 28, 2021
I might be biased because I am in this book. However, some of the stories are simply enchanting. Absolutely love what the other authors created.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.