Customer Reviews

Exceptions to Reality: Stories

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Exceptions to Reality (2008) is a collection of speculative fiction short stories. It contains fourteen stories -- each with an author's preface -- and an introduction.

Introduction laments the lack of magazine markets. Yet SF and fantasy have more magazine outlets than most other genres. There are also a multitude of anthologies.

The Muffin Migration (Star Colonies, 1999) is about the arrogance of human explorers on an alien planet.

Chauna (Far Frontiers, 2000) tells of a search for true beauty,

At Sea (Warriors Fantastic, 2000) introduces a drugrunner to an old mythos.

The Killing of Bad Bull (The Mutant Files, 2001) concerns an attempt to destroy a new talent.

Rate of Exchange (AOL Online, 2001) considers the reactions of a currency trader to unusual messages on his computer screens.

Wait-a-While (Realms of Fantasy, 2001) examines the plight of an author searching for inspiration.

The Short, Labored Breath of Time (Darkling Plain, 2001) divulges the love life of a man who dies every evening.

A Fatal Exception Has Occurred at... (Children of Cthulhu, 2002) discloses the fate of a terrorist threatening to post the Necronomicon on the internet.

Basted (Pharaoh Fantastic, 2002) involves an Egyptian tour guide assistant and an immortal pharaoh.

Serenade (Masters of Fantasy, 2002) recounts the adventures of Jon-Tom, Mudge and a grizzly named Stromgg seeking to sing a song to a lady.

Redundancy (Space Stations, 2004) describes the actions of an independent Module Lifesystems Monitor in an emergency.

Panhandler (Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bas City, 2004) exposes the perils of hiring the services of Peter Pan.

The Last Akialoa (F&SF, 2005) depicts the quest of an ornithologist for an extinct bird inside a crater on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Growth (first publication) presents a conversation between a Midworld plant and the AI controlling Flinx's starship.

These stories were written for many venues, but some were not published in the original magazines. Most appeared in anthologies. Maybe that stimulated the Introduction. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended to Foster fans and to anyone else who enjoys tales of strange environments, weird lifeforms, and fanciful twists.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I love a good short tale. And, Foster is great at telling one. I remember as a kid loving Alan Dean Foster books. I read and re-read Splinter in a Mind's Eye and thought it was fantastic. His novelization of The Thing is creepy, atmospheric and one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, it's way better than the movie. Anyway, I kind of forgot about him and noticed this book in a book store recently and I said to myself-why not? I'm glad I got it. Foster has a great ability to tell a short story. His stories have a Twilight Zone feel to them and keep you interested throughout.Muffin Migration is great and has a killer ending. I liked Serenade which is a Spellsinger story-lot's of fun. Wait-a-While is an interesting adventure in the Outback. My favorite is the creepy, atmospheric "The Last Akialo". I lked this book so much, I bought his other short story book-Impossible Places and it is great also!

Because of the short story nature of the book Foster did not take as much time to develop the characters and background for each story. While the stories were good they were not as much fun to read as a full novel.