Bam! 172 Hellaciously Quick Stories [Kindle Edition]

Luc Reid (Author)

Book Description

Bam! offers 172 stories by Writers of the Future winner Luc Reid that are short enough to read in a few minutes, either one at a time in spare moments or dozens at a gulp. They're stories full of parallel worlds, metamorphoses, deaths, friendship, angels, demons, inventions, romance, fights, conversations, children, robots, aliens, the robin's egg blue sky of a perfect day in June, the waving grasses of the meadow outside my dining room window, and the dim hallways we sometimes wander when we dream.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Luc Reid is a speaker and an author of fiction, non-fiction, and plays. His articles have appeared online, in newspapers, and in national magazines like Communities and The Writer, and his fiction appears in anthologies,Daily Science Fiction, Escape Pod, Nature, and elsewhere. His blog, at www.lucreid.com, offers a growing list of more than 500 articles on habits, willpower, writing, productivity, motivation, and happiness, based heavily on current psychological and neurological research. It has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times since its launch. His other works include Family Skulls, a novel of curse-keeping in rural Vermont, and the short book The Writing Engine: A Practical Guide to Writing Motivation.

Product Details

• File Size: 401 KB
• Print Length: 360 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004GUS8Q8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,809 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection January 4, 2011

By Ms. Deborah Walker

Format:Kindle Edition

I love science fiction and fantasy short stories. And the author gives us 172 for $2.99, that's a great bargain. These stories were funny, memorable, meaningful. Dark chocolate, flashes. I particularly liked the Outcast on Earth, series, three tales of alien life on Earth. And the sci-fi, pulp-fiction Parenthia Rook stories were fabulous. So many stories, I can't mention them all. But if you love sci-fi and fantasy, do give it a try.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific concept; great book! December 21, 2010

By Judson Roberts

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

When Amazon came out with its free Android Kindle app, I was delighted, because I always have my phone with me when I'm out, and with the app I can now have the capability to use my phone to always easily carry a supply of something to read, for those unexpected blocks of time we all spend waiting at the bank, doctor's office, etc. But over time, I realized that when I read novels, I like to become immersed in them, and a few snatched minutes here and there don't achieve that for me.

This book, however, is perfect for that kind of reading time. Most of the stories can be read in their entirety in just a couple of minutes.

A clever concept, of course, cannot by itself make a great book. But thanks to this author's unfettered imagination, quirky sense of humor, and great touch with twist endings, these short stories provide entertaining and often intriguing micro reading experiences. Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, single serving fiction November 29, 2011

By Maya Lassiter

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bam! is like a magic pocket that is way bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. You reach in and never know what you're going to pull out. A few minutes reading gives a quick hit of funny, or thoughtful, or scary, or intriguing, or all of the above, artfully constructed in a bite size package. Well done!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value July 27, 2012

By Gary Myers

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Loved this. I confess I got it as part of a free promotion, but I'll buy it for someone because it is great fun.
Reminded me of a book of similarly brief stories by Frederick Brown. They are great to dip into when you have some spare minutes or want a quick diversion.
And there's just lots of ideas in here. It's like someones head exploded and all the imagination just rained down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Clean Prose, Great Ideas November 14, 2011

By Trent Walters

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Luc Reid has had his work appear on NPR and in Writers of the Future as well as in Abyss & Apex, among others. This collection is for those pressed for time yet crave a fix their speculative-idea addiction. The prose is always clean and the plots well thought out. Not all stories in here are equal, but some absolute gems hide in here, such as the ingenious and infinitely anthologize-able "The Last Log Entries at the Philadelphia Office of the Centers for Happiness Control."

If you're a writer, this collection also proves useful as a mine for ideas. If you sometimes get writer's block or are looking for better ways to develop your ideas check out his inspirational, The Writing Engine: A Practical Guide to Writing Motivation.

2.0 out of 5 stars didn't do it March 8, 2013

By genie533

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for an adult who doesn't read much. I thought the short stories would appeal to his short attention span - but he was bored right away. Him? or the Book? I don't know.

5.0 out of 5 stars Take Your Time October 1, 2012

By Crisler

Format:Kindle Edition

These stories are clever and fun, some of the best sf flash I've read. My only complaint is that even at 172 they're over in no time. Pace yourself. A few a day. Otherwise they are gone before you know it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading! September 7, 2012

By Parity Animal

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very entertaining and great for short spaces of reading. You can read one or several stories in times when you just have a few minutes and don't want to get into anything heavier. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

More About the Author

Luc Reid is a writer and speaker, the founder of the Codex writing group, a former radio commentator, an occasional musician, a small-time playwright, a 2nd dan black belt in Taekwondo, and a 5th-generation Vermonter. His publications include the 2006 book Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures, Bam! 172 Hellaciously Quick Stories, the young adult novel Family Skulls, and articles and stories for venues including Nature, Daily Science Fiction, two Writers of the Future anthologies, Clarkesworld, The Writer Magazine, and others. He writes and speaks on the psychology of habits, writing, and self-motivation tactics, and he offers hundreds of articles on those topics at lucreid.com.