Freak Show of the Gods: And Other Stories of the Bizarre

by Robert W. Bly

Overview

Take a trip into the unknown with this collection of mind-expanding science fiction stories in the spirit of Ray Bradbury and The Twilight Zone. “Freak Show of the Gods” presents 33 encounters with the bizarre that uncover unsettling strangeness in the midst of everyday life, including: “Van Helsing’s Last Stand”: The vampire hunter and his great enemy have one last battle … over book royalties, movie rights, and merchandising. “Early Retirement”: An aging superhero discovers he cannot qualify for Social Security … with tragic results for him and the city. “Tax Time”: A genius inventor’s plan to build a time machine can be stopped by only one force in the universe … an IRS audit. “The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln XL-3000”: The Abraham Lincoln automaton at Disney World begs his creators to set him free. And 29 more strange, offbeat and bizarre tales.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610352635
Publisher:	Linden Publishing
Publication date:	03/21/2016
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Robert W. Bly, a full-time freelance writer since 1982, is the author of over 85 books, including “The Ultimate Unauthorized Star Trek Quiz Book” and “The Science in Science Fiction.” Bly holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and has published more than one hundred articles in numerous periodicals, including Cosmopolitan and Writer’s Digest.

Table of Contents

Introduction Van Helsing’s Last Stand A Boy and His Dad The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln XL-3000 The Rubber Band Man Highways If Looks Could Kill Insomnia Early Retirement Tax Time The Unbearable Likeness of Bean Einstein’s Boy Freak Show of the Gods Rocket Man The Lottery of Forever The Techno-God’s Daughter 26 Weeks The Case of the Monkey’s Mask Ladies’ Night at the Blood Club Fishboy Never Look Back Can You Hear Me? Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Cooperman’s Pond The Complete Novels Of Chimney Sweep The End Effect of Global Warming A Toy for Young Prince Caeser Some Abigail of His Own The Huntsman Faster Than a Speeding Bullet The Civilized Man Shadetree, Prince of Darkness And All the Sky a Sheet of Glass The Priest and the Pig

Interviews

Audience info:

Science fiction readers: Science fiction is one of the most popular publishing categories; according to Publishers Weekly, science fiction books had the highest rise in sales of any book category in 2014. “Freak Show of the Gods” is classic science fiction that will appeal to many people in this large audience.

Editorial Reviews

"A range of stories that adopt satisfyingly diverse approaches, from the urban fantasy of a vampire hunter's final battlefield as he faces the ravages of profiting from his trade to what happens when a professional superhero can't get social security in his old age. Delightful in tone and scope, Freak Show of the Gods excels in a sense of the odd, the unexpected, presenting a series of tantalizingly diverse scenarios." —California Bookwatch

"Blends science fiction with a touch of horror and the strange ... offering a series of short stories that will delight fans of Bradbury and similar writers. From what happens when retired super-heroes can't get their benefits to a time machine invention that is halted not by the constraints physics but by an IRS audit process, each story offers satisfying twists of theme and is an outstandingly sharp presentation. Outstanding stories that are hard to put down." —Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher