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Almost Human: A Collection of Short Stories
are we really capable of change? Or are we doomed to play out the same Acts over and again, where only the props and backdrops vary?In this collection, you'll encounter stories set in the near future where neuroscience and technology are used to rehabilitate convicted criminals with unexpected results. In the icy winter of a distant Transylvania, a struggle for freedom from Ottoman oppression unfolds. In the present, one man struggles to accept his failed marriage. A pair of cursed lovers live out multiple incarnations, doomed to always find one another, yet never be together. And when a mythical figure walks amongst us, his notes in the margins of history take shape.The past, present and future blur when we consider what it is to be Almost Human.
- GenresUrban FantasyFantasy
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2022
11 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Burrage
12 books35 followersNathan Burrage lives in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of the mystic thriller FIVEFOLD, short story collection Almost Human, and The Salt Lines saga (The Hidden Keystone and The Final Shroud). His fiction has been shortlisted for both the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards in Australia. You can find out more at www.nathanburrage.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 4, 2022
The first story about the Ottoman war took me into a world of imagination and I felt I was a witness to a piece of history. I don’t usually read fiction and am a self-help enthusiast, however this book was such a surprise for the relief it gave me to have a break from reality. I can highly recommend this book to be taken on a series of journeys and for a change of pace.
January 27, 2024
Love this collection, the range of stories include urban fantasy, Ottoman War, conspiracy and historical fantasy (clearly the sweet spot for Nathan Burrage). PLUS, I love a bit of Cyberpunk!
June 12, 2023
Good set of stories with a nice mix of genres and characters. Something for fans of urban fantasy, weird conspiracy stories, and touching historical fantasy.
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October 15, 2023REVIEWS:
“The stories in Nathan Burrage’s Almost Human are both epic and familiar, magical and futuristic, but always deeply human. We are immersed in the grandest and the most intimate of struggles with the same sense of immediacy, the same feeling of being transported to another world. Sometimes, we almost recognise that world, it’s so close to our own. Sometimes, it’s so far, but no less real. Travelling with Nathan as he draws you through the stories in this collection is an intense journey, one that illuminates the very nature of what it means to be human… or almost.”
— Joanne Anderton, award-winning author of The Bone Chime Song and other Stories and The Veiled Worlds series.
“Nathan Burrage is a superbly gifted wordsmith and in Almost Human… Readers are catapulted from their comfort zones and chilled, thrilled and always entertained. From the end of the Middle Ages and a warring Europe, to the majesty and mystery of Istanbul, a cyberpunk nightclub, Bulgaria, Borneo and the suburbs of Sydney, this gripping collection is not only a journey through time and alternate and sometimes dark, mystical spaces, it’s a lexical feast for the imagination and the ultimate in escapism.”
— Dr Karen Brooks, author of The Brewer’s Tale, The Darkest Shore and The Good Wife of Bath.
“Nathan Burrage’s magic is to make the reader feel wiser for reading this transportive collection. The clever clockwork of lived travel, careful research and wild imagination are invisible—yet inevitable—in stories that are as thought-provoking as they are effortless to enjoy. This collection often had me reading late into the night saying to myself: Just one more!”
— Stephen M Irwin, author of The Dead Path and The Broken Ones, and screenwriter of Harrow, Secrets & Lies, and Tidelands.
“Action-packed, compelling, and above all, humane. A wonderful collection.”
— Ian Irvine, author of The Three Worlds Cycle.
“A collection of worlds under threat, doomed heroes and fated relationships—but ultimately with a message of hope.”
— Richard Harland, award-winning author of Song of the Slums, Liberator and Worldshaker.
“In Almost Human, Nathan Burrage roams across snowy Transylvania, cyber booths, urban horrors and dark futures…culminating in his titular trilogy where he exercises his interest in history and mythology to consummate effect.”
— Jason Nahrung, award-winning author of Blood and Dust and The Big Smoke.
“Nathan has been quietly putting out quality speculative fiction for years. This is a collection you do not want to miss.”
— Keith Stevenson, author of Horizon and publisher at Coeur de Lion.
“The stories in Nathan Burrage’s Almost Human are both epic and familiar, magical and futuristic, but always deeply human. We are immersed in the grandest and the most intimate of struggles with the same sense of immediacy, the same feeling of being transported to another world. Sometimes, we almost recognise that world, it’s so close to our own. Sometimes, it’s so far, but no less real. Travelling with Nathan as he draws you through the stories in this collection is an intense journey, one that illuminates the very nature of what it means to be human… or almost.”
— Joanne Anderton, award-winning author of The Bone Chime Song and other Stories and The Veiled Worlds series.
“Nathan Burrage is a superbly gifted wordsmith and in Almost Human… Readers are catapulted from their comfort zones and chilled, thrilled and always entertained. From the end of the Middle Ages and a warring Europe, to the majesty and mystery of Istanbul, a cyberpunk nightclub, Bulgaria, Borneo and the suburbs of Sydney, this gripping collection is not only a journey through time and alternate and sometimes dark, mystical spaces, it’s a lexical feast for the imagination and the ultimate in escapism.”
— Dr Karen Brooks, author of The Brewer’s Tale, The Darkest Shore and The Good Wife of Bath.
“Nathan Burrage’s magic is to make the reader feel wiser for reading this transportive collection. The clever clockwork of lived travel, careful research and wild imagination are invisible—yet inevitable—in stories that are as thought-provoking as they are effortless to enjoy. This collection often had me reading late into the night saying to myself: Just one more!”
— Stephen M Irwin, author of The Dead Path and The Broken Ones, and screenwriter of Harrow, Secrets & Lies, and Tidelands.
“Action-packed, compelling, and above all, humane. A wonderful collection.”
— Ian Irvine, author of The Three Worlds Cycle.
“A collection of worlds under threat, doomed heroes and fated relationships—but ultimately with a message of hope.”
— Richard Harland, award-winning author of Song of the Slums, Liberator and Worldshaker.
“In Almost Human, Nathan Burrage roams across snowy Transylvania, cyber booths, urban horrors and dark futures…culminating in his titular trilogy where he exercises his interest in history and mythology to consummate effect.”
— Jason Nahrung, award-winning author of Blood and Dust and The Big Smoke.
“Nathan has been quietly putting out quality speculative fiction for years. This is a collection you do not want to miss.”
— Keith Stevenson, author of Horizon and publisher at Coeur de Lion.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews