books

Book Birthday!

~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

I’m so excited!

Today is publication day for my first fiction collection, Wandering Through Time!

I’ve been writing short fiction and being professionally published for a long time, but now, finally, I’ve collected those stories which appear in magazines and anthologies into a collection all my own. I’ve also written introductions for each story, to tell the reader a little about my writing process, and show from whence come the ideas behind them.

Today, I’m hoping all my friends, fans, and followers will do me the huge favor of sharing this post, to help me spread the word. Thank you!

I asked my friend and mentor Stanley Schmidt, who was the editor of Analog from 1978 to 2012, to give me a blurb for the collection. He read it, and then wrote “The short-short story is one of the hardest kinds of fiction to pull off, and few since Fredric Brown have done it as often or as well as Ian Randal Strock. But that’s not all he does. Wandering Through Time displays a delightful diversity of his thought-provoking ideas and engaging storytelling.”

His successor at Analog, Trevor Quachri, who also buys my stories for publication, wrote “This is the kind of classic, clever idea-oriented SF you’d find in the Golden Age, but built for today. Recommended for your witty friends, history buffs, time-travel fans, and anyone curious for a peek behind the curtain at magazine publishing.”

Hugo Award-winner Robert J. Sawyer offered these kind words: “Ian Randal Strock is a literal genius—a card-carrying member of Mensa—and his intellect shines through on every page of this fabulous collection. From the man who helped steer Analog for many years comes this wonderful sampler of just the sort of stories I love to read.”

And Andrew Andrews at True Review reviewed the book and wrote: “Ian Randal Strock is the Harry Turtledove of short-short SF. His alternate-history stories have punch. The take on a geographically divided America in the time of the Civil War rings strongly in ‘Shall Not Perish from the Earth.’ I think it’s Strock’s best tale. In ‘The Necessary Enemy,’ it’s always wars, it seems, that drive humankind’s progress and destiny. ‘Rockefeller on the Rocks’ proves that unique tales, true or not, of U.S. vice presidents could perhaps work, with sufficiently advanced technology. Why can’t we replace veeps with robots? Who would know?”

Again, thank you for all your support over the years, and for helping me spread the word to feel even more like a real writer today!

Tales of Fortannis

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Adventure! Drama! Mystery! Humor!

Author Michael A. Ventrella introduced the world of Fortannis in his well-received comic fantasy adventure series following the exploits of Terin Ostler. Now Editor Michael A. Ventrella opens the doors to the kingdom by inviting other authors to play in Fortannis, and the result is the wonderful new anthology Tales of Fortannis.

Some of the stories are simply amusing, some tragic, and others heartwarming. Taken together, they give us a picture of a living, immense world which can cover the span of human (and biata, dwarf, elf, ogre, and goblin…) endeavor and passion.

Contributing authors: Derek Beebe, Susan Bianculli, Dominic Bowers-Mason, W. Adam Clarke, Jon Cory, Tera Fulbright, Jesse Grabowski, Christine L. Hardy, Henry “The Mad” Hart, Jesse Hendrix, Miles Lizak, Mark Mensch, Bernie Mojzes, Beth Patterson, Sarah Stegall, and Mike Strauss.

“A wild and weird collection of fantasy stories that present some of the freshest writing around. Derring-do with a great sense of fun. Highly recommended.” —New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry

“You don’t need to know the background material to enjoy the range of stories from the talespinners assembled here. It has plenty of adventures that end with a twist that leave you shaking your head in pleased surprise.” —Jody Lynn Nye, author of Dragon’s Deal

Tales of Fortannis
edited by Michael A. Ventrella
$15.99, trade paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 978-1-5154-5829-6
$5.99 ebook

Tales of Fortannis—and all Fantastic Books publications—are distributed through Ingram, and available through all major online retailers and specialty sf shops via direct order from the publisher. And don’t miss the previous four books: Terin Ostler and the Arch Enemies (ISBN: 978-1-5154-2417-8), Terin Ostler and the War of the Words (ISBN: 978-1-5154-2418-5), Terin Ostler and the Axes of Evil (ISBN: 978-1-5154-4776-4), and Terin Ostler and the Zombie King (and Other Stories) (ISBN: 978-1-5154-4781-8). Review copies are available upon request.

A Vampire is Running for President: Thank God!

~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

A press release from Fantastic Books:

It’s been a horrific election season. Supporters on both sides are quite certain the other candidate can’t be human. Maybe we’d be better off voting for an actual monster!

Should being outed as a real vampire disqualify one from running for the presidency of the United States? Michael A. Ventrella’s hilarious Bloodsuckers answers that question.

Disgraced journalist Steven Edwards considers the “Batties”—the loonies who believe that vampires are real and Norman Mark is one—just another crazy tin-foil-hat extremist group. Then someone shoots at Mark, changes into a bat, and flies away before Steve’s eyes, leaving him as the prime suspect. With the help of the Batties, Steve goes underground. The only way he can establish his innocence is by proving vampires exist—not an easy task while on the run from both the FBI and the bloodsuckers.

Fantastic Books is releasing a new edition of Bloodsuckers right now, timed to coincide with “the most consequential presidential election in American history.” But aren’t they all? We’ve been tuned in to news of this election non-stop for years; it’s time to take a break. Read Bloodsuckers, and put it all into perspective.

Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Runs for President
Michael A. Ventrella
$15.99, 250 pages, trade paperback (ebook $7.99)
publication date: October 29, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-5154-5828-9

Bloodsuckers—and all Fantastic Books books—are distributed via Ingram. Review copies are available upon request.

    WotF Podcast Appearance

    ~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

    Less than a fortnight ago, John Goodwin interviewed me for his Writers of the Future podcast. That hour-long interview is now live at this link: https://soundcloud.com/writersofthefuture/297-ian-randal-strock-the-importance-of-short-fiction?si=8200bff4a422459ab8fc6c6c9d08524f&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing&fbclid=IwY2xjawFuhFtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSB2IR4NX79JtYEK9Vb_IlQ1woNklLXy3cOMT_Ynz42mtDJiLn0M_eBX7g_aem_4LRGlWsM0VNcypTPo68mzQ

    Listening to it, I realize I referred to a lot of things listeners might be interested in learning more about, so I’m providing this list of references and web links. Enjoy!

    Artemis Society International, which is now the Moon Society: https://www.moonsociety.org/

    Analog Science Fiction and Fact: https://www.analogsf.com/

    Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine: https://www.asimovs.com/

    The Daily Free Press: https://dailyfreepress.com/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_advertising

    Random House Bantam Doubleday Dell: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/

    Wandering Through Time: https://www.fantasticbooks.biz/product-page/wandering-through-time-by-ian-randal-strock

    The Presidential Book of Lists, Ranking the First Ladies, and Ranking the Vice Presidents: https://ianrandalstrock.com/home/writer/books/

    Altered States of the Union: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31180369-altered-states-of-the-union

    Carren Strock: https://carrenstrock.com/

    Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanverse

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_science_fiction

    Mike Resnick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Resnick

    Lezli Robyn: https://lezlirobyn.com/

    Galaxy’s Edge: https://www.galaxysedge.com/

    Alice Henderson: http://www.alicehenderson.com/

    Gray Rabbit Publications / Fantastic Books: https://www.fantasticbooks.biz/

    Reviews!

    ~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

    The new issue of True Review has just been posted. In this one, they’ve reviewed two Fantastic Books titles: one six years old, the other still two months from being published.

    Of Susan Casper’s The Red Carnival, reviewer Andrew Andrews writes “I love Casper’s style. It is truly gritty, edgy, compelling, dark and emotional. In this case, there is a stark and sinister force at this carny in the town of Somerset that makes all the festival lights turn red. There is a ride that appears out of nowhere, not attested to by the carny operators, called ‘Golgotha, Place of Skulls,’ and there comes a frenzy of violence by the carnygo’ers and carny staff. There is an impulsivity to this narrative that is disturbing, yet almost amusing.”

    That’s a good review of a very good book, and I don’t want to take anything away from it.

    But of far more personal import is his review of my forthcoming collection, Wandering Through Time. He writes: “Ian Randal Strock is the Harry Turtledove of short-short SF. His alternate-history stories have punch. The take on a geographically divided America in the time of the Civil War rings strongly in ‘Shall Not Perish from the Earth.’ I think it’s Strock’s best tale. In ‘The Necessary Enemy,’ it’s always wars, it seems, that drive humankind’s progress and destiny. ‘Rockefeller on the Rocks’ proves that unique tales, true or not, of U.S. vice presidents could perhaps work, with sufficiently advanced technology. Why can’t we replace veeps with robots? Who would know?”

    I’m thrilled, honored, and a humbled to be compared to Harry Turtledove. My book is being released on December 3.

    Our Most Important Books

    ~ ianrandalstrock ~ Leave a comment

    A week or two back, a friend of mine posted on Facebook:

    If you are a reader: what’s that book that is so important to you that if you can’t find your copy (say from when you read it five years ago) you just buy another like groceries. Any genre from religious/philosophical to bath-room joke book, media-tie in novel to Proust, cook-book to metahistory, graphic novel to translation of a epic (etc.).

    or

    What’s the one book you give copies of to people you Love??

    I responded: I’m interested by the responses, because I don’t have any qualifying titles to add to the list. There are books I reread occasionally for the fun or the mental-popcorn nature of it (to give me a break from reality), and books I recommend (though it varies with the person receiving the recommendation and the situation), but no special book that has such a pull on my soul.

    Then I mirrored his post on my own Facebook page, and the responses were phenomenal! So many, and such passion. The responses make for a fascinating list, so rather than attempting to digest or sort it, I’m sharing them here with you in no order except chronological by when someone made the suggestion. The line spaces are between respondents (so you can see that many had more than one suggestion). In some cases, my respondents offered abbreviated titles; I’ve tried to clean them up to give you the full title/author.


    The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
    The Women’s Room by Marilyn French
    Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

    Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton, and Erin Torneo
    Revenge, A Story of Hope by Laura Blumenfeld
    Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Q. Fisher and Mim E. Rivas

    Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

    The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (translated by Constance Garnett, introduction by William Hubben)

    The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

    Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

    Watership Down by Richard Adams
    Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
    Let’s Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste by Carl Wilson

    The Water-Method Man by John Irving

    Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
    The People’s Almanac (volumes 1-3) by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace
    The Book of Lists (volumes 1-3) by by David Wallechinsky, Amy D. Wallace, Ira Basen, and Jane Farrow

    The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann

    Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet Ann Jacobs, writing as Linda Brent

    Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

    The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

    We Are in a Book, or any of the other Elephant and Piggy books by Mo Willem
    Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

    Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics by Alfred Korzybski

    Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
    Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
    Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

    Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

    The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

    The Princess Bride by William Goldman

    My Bible
    Boundaries [which seems to be a series] by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
    What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman

    The Psychology of Everyday Things by Don Norman
    Walls Around Us: The Thinking Person’s Guide to How a House Works by David Owen
    The Phoenix Guards by Steven Brust

    Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

    Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

    Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
    Breach the Hull edited by Mike McPhail

    You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
    Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children’s Learning by Peter H. Johnston
    Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico

    Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

    The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
    Rising Strong by Brene Brown

    The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

    The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

    The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

    The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
    Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett

    The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
    Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block

    Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein

    Job by Robert A. Heinlein

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
    The Odyssey by Homer

    A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Promise by Eckhart Tolle
    Ask and it is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks
    The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams [not the comedian]

    Dune by Frank Herbert
    In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd

    Galactic Patrol by E.E. “Doc” Smith

    The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater
    Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, and John J. Ratey, MD

    Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater
    The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
    Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater
    The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization by Daniel Pinkwater

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

    The Bible, to which someone else responded: “There’s a whole lotta ‘books’ in the Bible. Any specific book or books within? I’m partial to Proverbs myself.”

    Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

    Playboy, June 1997 issue. This was later revealed to be a joke answer, but in response, another answered seriously: Playboy, September 1971 issue. And the “Women of Mensa” issue of Playboy (November 1985).

    A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman
    The Collected Poems of A.E. Housman

    The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein
    Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

    Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

    Bartlett’s Book of Familiar Quotations

    The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
    Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

    A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway

    The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

    Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    A Big Storm Knocked it Over by Laurie Colwin

    Hancer’s Price Guide to Paperback Books, Third Edition by Kevin B. Hancer, R. Reginald, Rahn Kollander [this respondent also offered an explanation: “Bookscans, Ace Image Library, Abebooks can give me certain data easily enough but there’s no substitute for that book.”]
    The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock by Nick Logan and Bob Woffinden
    The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock by Nick Logan

    The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
    Uhura’s Song by Janet Kagan
    Mirabile by Janet Kagan
    The Collected Kagan by Janet Kagan
    Hellspark by Janet Kagan
    The Dragon Variation by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
    Korval’s Game by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
    Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

    The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

    A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

    The War Against the Rull by A.E. Van Vogt

    The Unstrung Harp or Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel by Edward Gorey [The respondent said “I keep a stash of that book to give away. The single best description of the process of writing I have even encountered. And I’ve watched the real process A LOT.”]
    The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels by Patrick O’Brian
    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
    Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

    Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

    Hellspark by Janet Kagan
    My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
    Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie
    War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
    Edison’s Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life by Gaby Wood

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

    War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude)
    The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

    East of Eden by John Steinbeck

    Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
    The Alienist by Caleb Carr
    From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

    Gray’s Anatomy by Henry Gray

    Disease Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman, MD
    Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
    How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
    The Presidential Book of Lists by Ian Randal Strock [like I said, these people are my friends!]

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

    The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

    War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

    Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

    ***

    I’m not terribly surprised that so many books on this list are science fiction and fantasy, based simply on how I connected with most of my Facebook friends. I am a little surprised that there are so many from the Self Help section of the book store.

    Repeated authors and titles

    That was a lot of people listing a lot of books, but there were a few that came to mind for more than one person:

    Robert A. Heinlein: Job, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (three times), The Past Through Tomorrow, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land (twice), and Time Enough for Love (twice).

    Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice three times.

    J.R.R. Tolkien: three times (The Hobbit once, and The Lord of the Rings twice).

    Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy twice.

    The Bible: twice.

    Ray Bradbury: one each for Dandelion Wine and Fahrenheit 451.

    Emma Bull: War for the Oaks twice.

    Arthur C. Clarke: Rendezvous with Rama twice.

    Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett were each mentioned twice, once for Good Omens (which they co-wrote), and once each for The Graveyard Book (Gaiman) and Small Gods (Pratchett).

    Janet Kagan: two people mentioned her novel Hellspark; one of them mentioned her other two novels and her short fiction collection.

    Ursula K. Le Guin: The Left Hand of Darkness twice.

    Daniel Pinkwater: mentioned by two respondents. Both listed Borgel, and one listed three other titles as well.

    William Shakespeare: one mentioned Hamlet, the other mentioned the complete works.


    And there are those of my friends who can’t decide on a book, but still want to participate, leaving comments such as:

    “All books by Georgette Heyer.”

    “Heinlein is on my ‘can’t wait for next book’ list along with John Grisham.” [Unfortunately for him, Heinlein died in 1988.]

    Andre Norton
    Allan Eckert

    “all of Salinger”

    “Any of the Foundation books by Asimov.”

    “All of Rex Stout.”

    “No one book but [Lois McMaster] Bujold both is enjoyable and I feel like I get another layer each reread.”

    Mark Helprin novels
    Anthony Hecht poetry

    ***

    There you have it. If you’ve been looking for a suggestion of what to read next, there are a bunch of them!

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