All for Naught [Paperback]

John E. Stith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2005

ALL FOR NAUGHT collects a novella and a novelette: "Naught for Hire" and "Naught Again." "Naught for Hire" is a quirky, action-packed, comedy set just a few years from now. Nick Naught, private eye, walks down some strange mean streets as he tries to stay ahead of the killers on his tail and tries to cope in a world where all the irritations we have with technology are magnified. Gadgets act up in big ways, including voice operated machines that talk back to people. Nick Naught winds up on a hit list, but he doesn't even realize it at first, because the "accidents" are so much like his normal hazardous life. Annette Taylor, Nick's former lover, shows up in his office shortly after she runs into trouble too. "Naught Again" follows Nick's adventures as he looks into trouble at the local cryogenics lab. ALL FOR NAUGHT satirizes the daily frustrations with malfunctioning technology, devices that always seems to fail right when we need them most, and machinery that must have been designed by committee. It lampoons everything from pompous lawyers and the IRS to digital watches and endless lines at the drivers license bureau. It's filled with laugh-out-loud situations that everyone can identify with. Dilbert could relate.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (April 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592240860
• ISBN-13: 978-1592240869
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Some resources and info that might be of interest to readers:

Stith's site is www.neverend.com.

Look for Naught for Hire, an upcoming webisode series starring Ben Browder as a private detective in a comic near future filled with AI-based appliances that exhibit a range of human-like personality disorders. Look for the original story from ANALOG, included in ALL FOR NAUGHT.

Naught for Hire: Lying clients, criminal minds, deranged appliances -- Who you gonna trust?

The Naught for Hire site is www.naughtforhire.com.

A Naught for Hire fan community is www.naughtpiagency.com.

John E. Stith has a Facebook page, and there is a Naught for Hire Facebook page.

Also look for MANHATTAN TRANSFER. Aliens kidnap Manhattan. Read all about it.

REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS is hard SF set in a hyperspace environment where the speed of light is 10 meters per second. Flick a light switch and see the room slowly fill with light. Run, and you can create a sonic boom. Against this background is a starship hijacking where one man stands in their way.

The video page includes part of the the public domain program Science Fiction--Science Fact: SF2 that aired on PBS. All six parts are available on YouTube.