Ooo Shiny!: Absurd short stories for your favorite reading room!

by Jamie M. Samland

The dark lord's call pulls the exalted king from his eternal slumber, but he's trapped behind a stone wall. A centipede pleads for help, but what if it's a hyper-advanced AI from the future? An assassin uses everyday objects in his craft and grooves to 1990s top 40 hits. Cannibal ghosts drive campers into an eating frenzy. What if Ivan the Terrible's Golden Library were hidden under the Red Square Krispy Kreme? What if a competing dungeon offered dental?

Ooo Shiny! is a collection of 19 absurd stories from a mind that can't focus, each taking only 5 to 15 minutes to read during your morning constitutional. Sometimes rambling nonsense that aims to make you smirk or your eyes roll, even the most black-hearted, humorless souls will find at least one chuckle in this collection. Grab a stick of unicorn jerky, put down your time-traveling phone, and respawn into the dungeon next to the D.E.D. sorority mixer! As one advance reader called it, "Fun... In a disturbing way..."

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 8, 2022

About the author

Author also writes under J.M. Samland

Jamie M Samland is a fantasy author based in Canton, MI, USA. He is passionate about creating vivid worlds and compelling characters that transport readers to new realms of imagination. Drawing inspiration from his love of storytelling, Jamie spends his free time playing board games, roleplaying with friends, and indulging in other hobbies like martial arts and home repair. When he is not writing, Jamie is often found lost in thought, dreaming up new and exciting stories to share with readers.

Reviews

[Dr. Monidipa Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now now... I know Jamie wrote it in his free time but it was completely great to read. Although u could finish the book in half an hour but I tools days too finish it. I re-read them all.

[OldBird · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some authors who just get short and/or flash fiction. There are others who get just how to write warm, cozy, slightly ridicoulous yet heartwarming (or spine-tingling) tales. This anthology is proof that Mr Samland can do both.

Usually I wolf down short stories, but these ones demanded savoring. Not every story worked for me, what with a few odd endings, but for the overwhelming majority those 3 or so minutes of craziness were more than worth the time. The writing style gave me Terry Pratchett tongue-in-cheek humor vibes and was applied to many a geeky trope.

It's hard to pick a favorite, what with the undead king, the levelling up rangers, the possibility that Mailroom Mike is acutally the bug on your desk... I could go on, but my favorite was probably D.E.D Mixer, the longest and most fleshed out paranormal/urban fantasy offering about a teenage necromancer and his zombie Todd. I wish we could have more from this world, and I'm not even much of a modern setting fantasy fan (Emmit kinda stole my heart and I want his cinnamon roll self to live his best life with his undead buddy).

You like cozy, geeky, inclusive short stories to make you smile (sometimes in a bemused sort of way) or shiver (in a slightly less bemused way)? Pick this up and soak up the strangeness. I really hope there's more to come.

[Casarah Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author I met at a comic con, he was just as entertaining in person as this book was, both meeting him and reading this was a pleasure.

OOO Shiny! Is a collection of bite size stories, it was like eating from a box of Christmas cookie assortments, each one a different taste. And each one leaving me wanting to eat more.

Now that I have been given a glimpse into the authors personality and pen life, I am super excited to read more of his writes.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite was Memories of the Future...I know these are short stories, duh, but I wish it would've went just a taaaaad further!