This collection abounds with bad decisions, traumatic events, and ominous conclusions. In an introduction, British writer Stuart Evers observes that “the lives Meyer depicts are small ones; ones lived in the margins of society.” The story “I’m Still Here!” follows a boxer—“a Black Dutchman from Rotterdam with a mashed-up face”—as he endures existential doubt and …
It’s 2212, and 17-year old Earther Weslie has won the Interplanetary Alliance Life Support Bot competition for her bot named ILSA, or Individualized Life Support Assistant unit 001. The prize is a first-class ticket on luxury starship The Boundless, scheduled to embark on its maiden voyage to Mars, a five-week trip. In this future, the …
Libby Casey, who runs a design business, is inexplicably drawn to a colonial house for sale. She thinks moving there may be the change she needs, as she’s still in the home where she lived with her beloved husband, Ray, who died only 18 months earlier. She’s not at her new home for long before …
Emory is an older pachyderm living in a forest. While out for a walk one day, he finds that he can’t remember how to get home. A parrot asks if Emory needs help, and after the elephant admits that he might be lost, the bird says, “I’m happy to help you find your way. Just …
Cooley, professor of political science at Barnard College, and Dukalskis, associate professor of politics and international relations at University College Dublin, open with the West’s celebration of the USSR’s collapse in 1989. Victory in the Cold War was hailed as a triumph of freedom, and many pundits predicted that respect for human rights and free …
The story opens some time past the 2040s in an underground “pod” bunker, where 16-year-old Eten has formidable psychic powers and trademark silver hair. Her younger siblings share similar genetic traits, though not so strongly developed. Eten can teleport herself or other objects, divine other peoples’ thoughts to some extent, and, most importantly, fight and …
Judith Drainger moves from London to Adelaide, Australia, at the age of 59 following two major life changes: the death of her domineering mother, Marigold, and her divorce. It’s a big adjustment, but Judith has been known to make such leaps before—years earlier, she sent her daughter, Cassandra, to boarding school and picked up and …
As they’re closing down RJ’s Taproom after another routine night, co-owner Randall Low and waitress/dancer Cindy Kaczorek are shot to death. Their killer escapes without touching the cash register, leaving the Paterson Police Department to wonder whether something interrupted a planned robbery or the motive was something entirely different. Sgt. Gregg Bachman, who’s been handed …
The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) remains one of the greatest works of personal prose writing in the English language. Offering insights into politics, reviewing theatrical and musical performances, and chronicling Pepys’ loves and lusts, the diary offers a unique record of a man and nation at the end of the 17th century. This book …
Kirby is scared. His dads are separated, and his brother keeps having seizures. During them, Baxter says he sees “the lightning people”—and that “they’re coming.” As Baxter’s seizures worsen, Kirby uses his passion for theater to write and produce a play to raise money for a seizure alert dog, with help from a ragtag team …
