(Peggy Bright Books: 280 pp. Publication date: March 2010)
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A collection of short (and mostly warped) SF and fantasy stories, including several previously-unpublished gems. Touching on such important, diverse, and hitherto-ignored topics as the sex life of mythical reptiles, the anachronistic hazardousness of the humble ham sandwich, and the application of radiation-induced gigantism to market gardening, Rare Unsigned Copy is a direct challenge to the dictum that truth is stranger than fiction.
If you’ve ever wondered about what to do about that inexplicable triceratops in your backyard, about what happened next in that classic match-up between Hare and Tortoise, or about the absolute very worst thing you can have happen to you while you’re ransacking that idyllic alien planet, then you need to read Rare Unsigned Copy.
It’s not all off-planet, off-the-wall, or off-colour. Some of the stories are speculation pure and simple, played with a straight bat. But for the most part, the stories dwell on life’s unexpected absurdities, like dealing with that artificial intelligence that either wants you, or wants you off its ship, or wants to hold onto that last unique item in its carefully-organised inventory. Even if said item might well be a life-saver.
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