ISBN 0-9642505-0-0 (US pbk, 1996)
short stories, lyrics, science fiction, cyberpunk, slipstream, punk, cyberculture
William Gibson refers to an unpublished novel by this name in his introduction to Heatseeker . This publication of short stories includes 2 excerpts from this novel. Foreword by Bruce Sterling. Cover design and illustration by Rick Berry [which is absolutely superb!]. Each entry is preceded by a biographic introduction by John Shirley.
"What He Wanted" by John Shirley
(originally published in Amazing Stories , 1975),
"Tricentennial" by John Shirley
(originally published in Portland Scribe , 1976),
"Shadow of a Snowstorm" by John Shirley
(originally published in Amazing Stories , 1977),
"Cold Feet" by John Shirley
(originally published in One Dollar Magazine , 1975),
"Fragments of an Exploded Heart" by John Shirley
(previously unpublished... an excerpt from the unpublished novel, The Exploded Heart ... features the Aaron Dunbar character from "What He Wanted"),
"Seams" by John Shirley
(from the record album Obsession ),
"Parakeet" by John Shirley
(originally published in New Pathways , 1982... this story eventually became part of Eclipse Penumbra ),
"The Incorporated" by John Shirley
(originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction , 1985),
"When Enter Came" by John Shirley
(originally published in Yellow Silk , 1990),
"The Prince" by John Shirley
(originally published in When the Music's Over edited by Lewis Shiner, 1991... features the Jerome-X character who also appeared in the 'A Song Called Youth / Eclipse' trilogy),
"V, H, and You" by John Shirley
(originally published in Zyzzyva , 1991),
"Where It's Safe" by John Shirley
(originally published in The Earth Strikes Back edited by Richard T.Chizmar, 1994),
"A Walk Through Beirut" by John Shirley
(originally published in Newer York edited by Lawrence Watt-Evans, 1991),
"Epilogue" by John Shirley
(previously unpublished... an excerpt from the unpublished novel, The Exploded Heart ... features the Aaron Dunbar character from "What He Wanted", and mentions the Jerome-X character from the 'A Song Called Youth / Eclipse' trilogy),
Aftermath (Song Lyrics) by John Shirley
(all song lyrics © 1996).
"These brutal, surreal short stories and song lyrics span a twenty-four year period in the creative life of one of the most uncompromising and influential of today's writers. Linked with searingly honest autobiographical introductions written especially for this volume, the stories chart a wandering path through the back alleys and rude neighborhoods of science fiction." [jacket blurb, US pbk, June 1996]
"Like the streets of any big city, [his stories] are defined not by what's right in front of you, but by what's reflected in liquor store windows, encoded in graffiti on abandoned cars... Borgés as directed by Scorsese." -- (in Covert Culture Sourcebook ).
"Shirley's short fiction is always punchy. This collection tracks the progression of an original mind...drawing the reader into some very mental maneuverings that serve the function of noetic triggers. An image formed in my brain as I closed the book: a smoking gun in Shirley's hand. Got me!" --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , 28 November 1996).
Highly recommended.
*note: Many thanks to Stephen P.Brown for sending me a review copy.
Available from:
Photo of John Shirley
(John Shirley in a punk-rock stance... courtesy of Eyeball Books)
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