Unusual Events is Out! · 6:01pm Jan 26th, 2016
Alaskan adventures. Haunted Hospitals. Something lurking under the kitchen ... stove?
Nothing is as it first seems in this new collection of ten thrilling tales from author Max Florschutz. Magic intertwines with the ordinary in five new stories set in the Unusual universe, while in the world of Indrim steam and high fantasy intersect. Elsewhere, men struggle against the elements in the last frontier, a reporter delves deep into the mysteries surrounding her city's heroic figure, and a young man heads off to war for his people.
Ten fantastic tales of wonder and excitement. It's nothing ordinary.
It's Unusual Events.
515 pages.
Stories included in this collection:
The Unusual Universe—
-Flash Point: Life is tricky when you're a high school student. Doubly so when magic may be involved.
-Monthly Retreat: Life changing events follow Alma in the wake of her trip to South America.
-Kitchen Creature: Something's lurking under the kitchen ... Stove? Two college students square off against their new, Unusual, occupant.
-The Graveyard: Come to Hawaii, take a break, tour the graveyards?
-A Miner Haunting: In light of Jacob Rocke's latest adventure, he ends up in a hospital, sharing a room with a very unexpected—and dead—individual.The World of Indrim—
-Ripper: Wrapped in the steam-fueled mists of the Empire's capital city, a serial killer moves against her next target.Stories about Alaska—
-Vacation: Come see Alaska! Get up close and personal with its myriad wildlife. Very close.
-Workday: A young teen is dropped blind into a new summer job as a deckhand on a halibut boat.Other Stories—
-SUPER MODEL: A young woman struggles to be the first to land an exclusive interview with her city's reclusive superhero.
-For Glory: The Lamanite nation marches to war, and Mathoni with it. But the glories of war are not always what we are promised ...
That's right, it's finally here! While those who pre-ordered got their hands on their copies last night, this morning Unusual Events officially switched from "Pre-order" to "Buy now and read!"
What does this mean? Well, for starters it means that you can read the preview on Amazon.com at long last. Still not sure why they don't let you preview pre-order books, but maybe there's a reason. But second, it means that if you click that "Buy" button, you'll get your copy of Unusual Events, all 515 pages of it, on your kindle or other electronic reading platform of choice in moments!
Don't be left out! Grab a copy and get reading!
Got my copy last night.
I really hadn't thought of doing historical fiction set in BoM place-times (despite being vaguely aware of Tennis Shoes among the Nephites), but the setting does have a lot going for it.
Here's hoping tons of people buy the book!
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In writing For Glory I started to wonder what else I could use that setting for. You could make a whole, grim novel out of Amilickiah's slow but subtle taking over of the Lamanite kingdom. It'd be like an ancient political thriller.
Or crud, the downfall of the Jaredites (not their actual name) as a book series. People think Game of Thrones is grim with regards to killing characters? We at least know it'll have a somewhat satisfying conclusion, as Martin isn't going to kill the world. How did Ether's account end? They spend six years wiping one another out until just Coriantumr is left, the last man alive in a ruined empire of corpses. Complete obliteration of their entire nation, not one soul left alive save him.
Now that's a downer ending.
I'm reading my way through.
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Any favorite stories so far?
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I've only read the unusual ones so far. I'm not sure whether I like "Monthly Retreat" or "Flashpoint" better, at this point, though the one with the kitchen monster holds a special place in my heart thanks to Foodles.
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I've only made it through the "Unusual" stories and I like ones for different reasons. "Kitchen Creature" was definitely the funniest. I think that the school in the first story is setting itself up for some serious lawsuits. And I thoroughly like Alma. Especially her handling of the situation at her son's school with the girls pushing him around. I thought the first story about Rocke was interesting. And I agree with your pre-readers about the side story with the "Miner Haunting" being fine on its own. It would've interrupted the flow of Dead Silver. I freely admit to going "awwwww" when the ghost moved on. I haven't read any today due to cleaning and cooking in the morning and a mild migraine in the afternoon but I'm looking forward to the rest of the stories.
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Monthly Retreat is, without a doubt, my favorite of the Unusual set. Alma was just such an interesting character to write, and I had a lot of fun taking the traditional werewolf mythos and playing with it. A lot of stories on that type play up the gory-horror angle, but with the Unusual Universe that just wasn't a direction I had to go. Exploring the aftereffects of something like that on an "ordinary" life was a lot of fun, and a great way to explore some real strength of character.
Also, I laughed pretty good at the "streak then pretend to be a seeing-eye dog" bit. That one caught me completely by surprise. Jane was quite the character!
And Foodles. Oh, where would we be without that little teacup poodle?
On A Miner Haunting, I'll admit I love looking at the applications of the afterlife in conjunction with Jacob Rocke's unique powers and abilities. It gives him a very different view of death, but I love taking the chance to explore how he interacts with toeing that line so closely. He's kind of like a ... reverse necromancer, in a way.
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When you wrote "reverse necromancer" I immediately thought of another series of books I've read. I don't suppose you've read any of the "Old Kingdom" books? Sabriel is the first and the one to start with. As the main character's father says in the prologue (I think, I don't have my copy with me), he is a necromancer of a sort but instead of raising the Dead he lays them to rest.
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Oh yes! Sabriel and its associated books are wonderful! That whole series was a gem of a discovery one summer when I was younger.