For centuries, adherents of the world's religions have had plenty of fiction to enjoy. Pick up any holy book, and you'll find an entertaining collection of silly fantasies-yet millions of people believe them and base their entire lives around them. It would be funny if the world weren't run, and constantly imperiled, by these religions-as it has been since man first made up stories to explain the unexplainable. Now comes Atheist Tales, a collection of speculative-fiction stories with themes to appeal to the disbeliever. After all, if the religious folks can have their books of fairy tales, why can't we have a few of our own? Unlike those fairy tales, the stories herein weren't written by primitive cultures, and they aren't intended to run your life. They aren't numbered by chapter and verse, and you don't have to memorize certain passages and ignore the contradictions and absurdities. They don't impart directives from imaginary deities, nor do they instruct on how to punish sinners. And they don't pretend to be true. This is fiction, not lies. But they do entertain, and they do make you think about what could happen to the world if those of us who choose reason and intellect over delusional fanaticism don't combat the insanity and it's allowed to grow even more out of control. Worshiping the authors of these stories is optional, but we don't recommend it.
