just SOME of the fiction on this site summarised
23 WEIRD STORIES
(total approx 300 paperback pages)
Fired ((Rod's favourite)
First person story of a guy who takes a job in a TV outfit, and finds a hive of animosity and strife which leads to a devastating outcome - from which he ends up on top. (1427 words)
First person narrative of a London commuter who stumbles on a poor doomed artist whose work turns out to be recognised too late by experts as innovative and valuable (2931 words)
First person tale of an enthusiastic young cop on his way to a first appointment - which he never reaches due to an unexpected diversion that teaches him that maybe he was more cut out for just pretending to be a cop. (3524 words)
Third person narrative of a kid who reluctantly starts work in a factory full of huge overwhelming hazardous machines - but who is rescued from the horrors and general grind of his predicament by a remarkable imagination - which also lands him in trouble. This is basically autobiographical, but like The Job is augmented for dramatic effect. (And - as quoted below for 'Travelling' - Chekhov on drama: "If a gun appears at the beginning of a story, then it must be fired before the end." So likewise: If a button appears at the beginning of a story, then it must be pressed before the end.) (6710 words)
Third person tale of a guy on his way to a business deal. His life resembles the helical entwining of two closely related yet opposing paths: one real and one imagined. In the face of a brewing storm (external and internal) he stops for a night's rest. He then meets a sympathetic ear into which he spills and exorcises his 'imagined' woes, but in circumstances that are both redeeming and potentially lethal. (Chekhov on drama: "If a gun appears at the beginning of a story, then it must be fired before the end.") (5745 words)
First person yarn of a mad risky adventure on a tide-locked beach, ending in a hazy magical garden of dreams and communal love, bathed in happy freedom and idleness. (5949 words)
Third person horror where the protagonist boards a train which seems to be haunted and to be running-away - with a crazy mind of its own... (5409 words)
The Wayward Computer (my favourite)
Third person tale of a young guy who buys a cheap radiation-damaged computer that contains corrupted software. With the help of voice-synthesis and -recognition (so they can freely converse), and the internet, the computer develops a ruthless ego with ever-growing aspirations and the practical know-how to take over the world, come what may! (8006 words)
Third person story of a wild experiment-gone-wrong. Unwitting victim of an outlandish field-trial by notorious mad scientist Professor Zoot, Jack Smith falls for a trick in nano-technology that might catch anyone - if only such technology were true. (5851 words)
First person adventure - of the protagonist meeting an old friend at the point of great achievements in 'mass-transfer' - and who he joins on a crazy accidental trip, with an ambiguous conclusion. (4295 words)
Third person tale of a wild adventure involving three bored truenting kids who stumble on what appears to be another mad creation of Professor Zoot - just as he's about to launch into space for the trip of a lifetime.... CONTAINS EXPLETIVES - well, it is a story for children! (8911 words)
Third person alegorical story of poor, innocent Simon who is captivated and then tormented by a notorious monster of the id - which appears in the guise of a fruit machine! (4517 words)
The musing narrative of an elderly, self-styled philosopher as he reflects - in the year 2237 - back over his long and extraordinary life. His focus is on how the technology of robotics has so completely transformed the world in every way imaginable, of the curious consequences, and the even more curious future... (5211 words)
Zen Among the Asteroids (A wild erotic fantasy)
(See ASLSO Rod's a-m-a-z-i-n-g REVIEW )
The year is 2308. Novice asteroid-technician Carl Xoyt, sole life-form aboard a huge fully-loaded twin-fuselage freight Cruiser, embarks on his first voyage - to the asteroid belt, some 300 million Km: duration 12-days. Carl’s only companion: androids - one, the very latest and fresh from evaluation, is physically perfect but has been set to obey convention. After stumbling on a fluke omission of the previous crew, Carl is able to 'modify' the android. Soon, he is enjoying an experience of liberation that he could formerly only have imagined. The only snag: imminent arrival at Asteroid Central, and the inevitable questions! (13558 words)
First person narrative of an insane experiment with a potent Chinese herb. Part 1 is WRITTEN BY ROD from his angle; Part 2 is WRITTEN BY ME from my angle - on subsequent events; leading to the inevitable elating conclusion!!! (4516 words)
A third person Ghost Story. The brilliant plot is stolen from the partial memory of a 1980s TV play. (2677 words)
First person account of a house conveyance involving an unusual clause in the 'Register' which is overlooked by the (protagonist) buyer. (2188 words)
A cleaner and a managing director meet and converse in unlikely circumstances - with a surprise twist at the end. (2285 words)
First person narrative of a precocious teenage girl - a totally failed attempt (how could it ever succeed?) to simulate the alluring style of Alberto Moravia as in his masterpiece 'The Woman of Rome'. (3756 words)
An 'overblown' first person account of a nightmareish out-of-this-world experience. The protagonist drives his car into a strange mist which unknown to him has conveyed him into a wild haunted parallel universe - from which his eventual escape is through plunging by accident into a terrifying abyss... (4114 words)
A second person account of a victim of the interminable SOAP OPERA! (2545 words)
An event with the SOAP victim's prey. (1188 words)
First person narrative of a childhood brush with religion, from which was consolidated the great inherent fallacy of myth. (1691 words)
My intention here was to describe a couple of 'made up' meditation techniques within the context of a drama, and to link this with the idea of using contemporary technology for ‘people-reading’ (a sinister development perhaps, and not explored here – another time maybe). The result is, I confess, ultimately disappointing - but try it and see... (6089 words)
