The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.
These four stories, along with 14 other pieces, have one thing in common: They're short, sharp, and to the point - science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).
Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best and features four never-before-published stories exclusive to this collection: "Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth", "Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back", "Important Holidays on Gronghu", and "The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest".
John Scalzi is the New York Times best-selling author of Old Man's War, Lock In, and Redshirts, among others. His work has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell Awards. He lives in Ohio and online. He enjoys pie.
Full cast of narrators includes Oliver Wyman, Dina Pearlman, and Allyson Johnson.
©2016 John Scalzi (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
"Small doses of "Scalzian" humor"
If you answer yes to any of these next question you should totally get this audiobook:
1) Do you like short and "laugh out loud" science fiction?
2) Do you wonder what human interaction with aliens on a daily basis in school or in the workplace would be like?
3) Do you find the idea of human annihilation by AI or an intelligent Randian Yogurt possibly funny?
4) Does the idea of security risk assessment regarding spaceship travels or super heroes/villains amuse you?
5) All of the above?
Obs: if you like this, get "Redshirts" and/or "Fuzzy Nation"
"Hilarious Sci-Fi"
A hilarious compilation of short sci-fi stories that has a little for everyone: Star Trek fans, Star Wars fans, pet lovers, teachers, corporate employees and diplomats.
"Overall, more great stories than okay ones"
I'm not generally a short story person, but I am a John Scalzi person. Overall, there were a lot of stories that I really liked. And there were a couple that were okay but not gripping. And I'm not a poetry fan.
If you like Scalzi, you'll like this. The narrators do an amazing job. If you're not generally a short story person, listen to the stories and narration.