Exceptions to Reality: Stories Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Exceptions to Reality (2008) is a collection of speculative fiction short stories. It contains fourteen stories -- each with an author's preface -- and an introduction.
Introduction laments the lack of magazine markets. Yet SF and fantasy have more magazine outlets than most other genres. There are also a multitude of anthologies.
The Muffin Migration (Star Colonies, 1999) is about the arrogance of human explorers on an alien planet.
Chauna (Far Frontiers, 2000) tells of a search for true beauty,
At Sea (Warriors Fantastic, 2000) introduces a drugrunner to an old mythos.
The Killing of Bad Bull (The Mutant Files, 2001) concerns an attempt to destroy a new talent.
Rate of Exchange (AOL Online, 2001) considers the reactions of a currency trader to unusual messages on his computer screens.
Wait-a-While (Realms of Fantasy, 2001) examines the plight of an author searching for inspiration.
The Short, Labored Breath of Time (Darkling Plain, 2001) divulges the love life of a man who dies every evening.
A Fatal Exception Has Occurred at... (Children of Cthulhu, 2002) discloses the fate of a terrorist threatening to post the Necronomicon on the internet.
Basted (Pharaoh Fantastic, 2002) involves an Egyptian tour guide assistant and an immortal pharaoh.
Serenade (Masters of Fantasy, 2002) recounts the adventures of Jon-Tom, Mudge and a grizzly named Stromgg seeking to sing a song to a lady.
Redundancy (Space Stations, 2004) describes the actions of an independent Module Lifesystems Monitor in an emergency.
Panhandler (Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bas City, 2004) exposes the perils of hiring the services of Peter Pan.
The Last Akialoa (F&SF, 2005) depicts the quest of an ornithologist for an extinct bird inside a crater on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Growth (first publication) presents a conversation between a Midworld plant and the AI controlling Flinx's starship.
These stories were written for many venues, but some were not published in the original magazines. Most appeared in anthologies. Maybe that stimulated the Introduction. Read and enjoy!
Highly recommended to Foster fans and to anyone else who enjoys tales of strange environments, weird lifeforms, and fanciful twists.
-Arthur W. Jordin

Click Here to see more reviews about: Exceptions to Reality: Stories

As is evident in his many thrilling novels, Alan Dean Foster is a master at creating other worlds in an array of genres. Now he turns his imagination to the short story in these spectacular tales of outer space, cyberspace, ancient gods, modern demons, and mortal horror, includingPanhandlerA predatory lawyer encounters a fabled boyhood hero and falls victim to the less innocent intrigues of eternal youth.Growth Not even his minidrag Pip can save Flinx from the overly intimate advances of an intruder who goes entirely too far. BastedA lowly, hen-pecked Egyptian discovers that the Pharaoh's tomb holds exactly what he needs for a whole new life.The Killing of Bad BullA man with a knack for getting gambling's one-armed bandits to give it up finds himself at the top–of several hit lists.At SeaA poor Scandinavian captain forced into running drugs is shown a way out of his desperate straits with the help of five beautiful blondes who are simply out-of-this-world.Open Exceptions to Reality to find these amazing stories and nine other irresistibly unearthly tales!

Click here for more information about Exceptions to Reality: Stories