"We killed the Buddha for the first time outside of Berlin."
So begins the first of fifteen stories that make up Michael Jasper's debut fiction collection. Starting with a carload of nihilistic time-travelers and diving into a tale of surfing zombies, followed with a surreal drive in an SUV through the suburbs, Jasper moves between genres, locales, and timeframes to create and tell his stories.
Cases in point: "Natural Order" takes us on a road trip a few years in the past with an unlikely trio of humans and their newly acquired greyhound as they struggle to undo the damage done by humans, while "Crossing the Camp" shows us a near-future where aliens have been accused of terrorist acts and place in detainment camps, where a world-weary priest finds hope from an unexpected source. Then there is "The Disillusionist," a strange, possibly inhuman performer with the ability to show his audience the Truth in pre-Civil-War America. Original to the collection, "An Outrider's Tale," is a retelling of a fairy tale filled with a turbulent mix of violence, loyalty, love, and redemption through story-telling.
Jasper's stories run the gamut from urban fantasy to horror, from humor to drama, from science fiction to alternate history, touching on many of the points in between.
Contents:
Introduction by John Kessel
"Gunning for the Buddha"
"Goddamn Redneck Surfer Zombies"
"Visions of Suburban Bliss"
"A Feast at the Manor"
"Unplugged"
"Working the Game"
"Explosions"
"Wantaviewer"
"Mud and Salt"
"Crossing the Camp"
"Black Angels"
"The Disillusionist"
"Coal Ash and Sparrows"
"An Outrider's Tale"
"Natural Order"
