Hot Mess: speculative fiction about climate change [Kindle Edition]

RJ Astruc (Author), Miranda Doerfler (Author), Sare Liz Gordy (Author), Eric Sipple (Author), Rachel Lynn Brody (Author, Editor), Hannah Werdmuller (Illustrator)

Book Description

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A thought-provoking collaborative anthology on the theme of climate change, featuring short stories from RJ Astruc, Rachel Lynn Brody, Miranda Doerfler, Sare Liz Gordy and Eric Sipple, with illustrations by Hannah Werdmuller and cover design by Sarah Hartley.

"She Says Goodbye Tomorrow" by Eric Sipple
As microclimates shift and a once-abundant vineyard withers away, its owner fights to keep her family's winery and memories alive. How long can she put off moving on?

"Haute Mess" by Rachel Lynn Brody
Even Fashionistas get the climate change blues.

"In Between the Dark and the Light" by Miranda Doerfler
When state-sponsored executions threaten to claim his only daughter, Brett Zerum does everything he can to save her and escape to a new, otherworldly paradise.

"Traditionbus ne Copulate" by Sare Liz Gordy
The Way of the Geonome will eventually call everyone home. But with humans wiped out in the apocalypse, who's left to answer?

"Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom." by Rachel Lynn Brody
A boy struggles to keep a promise to his father, while his mother shields him from tragedy in an information-saturated age.

"The World Gets Smaller, and Things Get Left Behind" by RJ Astruc
Everyone knew the deluge was coming. Now, tourists at a new Atlantis visit the city that couldn't be saved.

Page count: 79.
Word count: 18,300.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are a lot of good things to say about these stories. It's a good read that gets your mental gears turning."
- Mark, The Masquerade Crew

From the Back Cover

Extended review by Mark from The Masquerade Crew:
"All of them stuck to the climate change theme very well. Two of the stories use the theme in a subtle way, and because these two stories--"She Says Goodbye Tomorrow" by Eric Sipple and "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom." by Rachel Lynn Brody--are also written extremely well, they are my favorite, earning 5-stars each.

Of those two, though, I have to say that the star of the show is Eric Sipple's story. It's also the longest of the group, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever; it's actually a good thing. His story grabs you from the first sentence and through a series of shifting scenes doesn't let you go until the end. It's detailed but not too much so. The structure (though confusing at first) actually works quite well; however, I didn't see this fact until long after I finished it, which is another good thing, for he had me thinking about his story long after the last word.

I definitely recommend this anthology if you are concerned about the changing climate of our planet, and even if you aren't, I still recommend it."

Product Details

• File Size: 296 KB
• Print Length: 81 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1475151926
• Publisher: Rachel Lynn Brody (March 18, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007MFDU3K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,602 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a good read that gets your mental gears turning April 15, 2012

By Masquerade Crew

Format:Kindle Edition

Mark's Review

Reviewing an anthology of short stories written by different authors is a difficult task, for one has to judge theme, writing style, technique, level of editing, and so forth. I came up with the 4-star rating based upon all those criteria. Judging stories individually would have brought a range of scores from 3 stars to 5 stars. A few of the stories did not interest me, or the writing technique bothered me somewhat. One story in particular needed another pass at editing (in my opinion).

However, I want to use the rest of this review to focus on the positive, for there are a lot of good things to say about these stories. For instance, all of them stuck to the climate change theme very well. Two of the stories use the theme in a subtle way, and because these two stories--"She Says Goodbye Tomorrow" by Eric Sipple and "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom." by Rachel Lynn Brody--are also written extremely well, they are my favorite, earning 5-stars each (if I were reviewing them individually).

Of those two, though, I have to say that the star of the show is Eric Sipple's story. It's also the longest of the group, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever; it's actually a good thing. His story grabs you from the first sentence and through a series of shifting scenes doesn't let you go until the end. It's detailed but not too much so. The structure (though confusing at first) actually works quite well; however, I didn't see this fact until long after I finished it, which is another good thing, for he had me thinking about his story long after the last word.

I definitely recommend this anthology if you are concerned about the changing climate of our planet, and even if you aren't, I still recommend it. It's a good read that gets your mental gears turning.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read June 5, 2012

By OnOneCondition

Format:Paperback

While these stories vary in style and tone in a way that may be surprising, the theme is well maintained throughout. It's not as if the subject matter hasn't been addressed before, but this collection fills a need. This is a great concept that is, for the most part, well realized.

Even if you're a climate skeptic, I have a challenge for you. Spring the small price for the kindle copy and support independent publishing. (I downloaded the free PC reader) Try reading the editors note at the end. Next, read the first story and then tell me you're not affected. Tell me that you can't imagine a modest shift in microclimates or the huge potential consequences for real people that comes with it. Then keep reading.

For skeptics and believers in science alike, that's what this book does. It puts a human face on an issue that can sometimes feel too large to grasp.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and well-written September 11, 2012

By Angela H.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this short story collection for kindle, and read a story at a time over a couple of weeks. I enjoyed it very much. A thoughtful and intelligent collection, takes on possible future/s we are looking more and more likely to have in front of us. The star of the show in my eyes was 'She Says Goodbye Tomorrow' - a beautiful and wistful tale about nostalgia and family ties and loss of choice. I also very much enjoyed Mom.Mom.Mom.Mom.Mom. It's a story about a child - but the undertones are sad and desperate. My third favourite was The World Gets Smaller and Things Get Left Behind. That one fired my imagination. The ultimate form of disaster tourism.
A couple of the stories didn't float my boat, but that's personal preference. I felt that one of the stories was slightly lesser quality than the others, a bit fan-fiction-y, but that didn't prevent me reading it and I quite enjoyed it.
Overall this is a really solid collection from a talented group of writers. It's obvious that time and care has gone into the concept and in the editorial decisions made. It's well worth picking up.