Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic (Paperback)

~ Karen A. Romanko (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic views sports and games with a speculative twist, in prophesied futures, parallel presents, and imagined pasts. From tennis matches with Death to chess games with Oberon, from free throws with the Fairy Court to surfing with werewolves, every sport imaginable (and a few unimaginable) exist within this speculative city of games. 42 authors, veterans and rookies alike, have contributed flash fiction and poetry that will take you from pong with a dust mote at the beginning of the world to sailboarding through the stars at the universe's edge. Contributors include: Paul Abbamondi, Marge Simon, Robert Frazier, E. C. Myers, C. A. Gardner, James S. Dorr, Todd Wheeler, Deborah P Kolodji, Jude-Marie Green, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Samantha Henderson, Roger Dutcher, Amanda M. Hayes, Ruth Berman, Lawrence Schimel, Larry Hodges, G. O. Clark, Jennifer Crow, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Rob Rosen, Andrew C. Ferguson, and 21 more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Raven Electrick Ink; First edition (October 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615173616
• ISBN-13: 978-0615173610
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,671,149 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fan-tastic Speculations, February 13, 2008

By	kathabela (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

If you're a fan of any sport and if you're not, the speculative fantasy herein will make you a fan of this wonderful book. I keep it on our breakfast table, the poems and very short fiction are unusual, engaging, entrancing, and embrace a heightened futuristic playfulness that is fresh and inviting. The variety is wonderful, you will read any entry and think... I have to give this to.... who loves to play...! But even beyond the particulars, the common thread is the passion for the mystery and heightened awareness that draws one into the special moments in any game where everything is... perfect! And that is what we really want from life and any book about it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Tennis with Death, a baseball game of Fairies vs. Werewolves, and the athletic extracurriculars of dragons , June 14, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Tennis with Death, a baseball game of Fairies vs. Werewolves, and the athletic extracurriculars of dragons - just a few of the things one will find in "Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic" is a compilation of flash fiction and poetry from over forty authors contributing their fine writing to this anthology focusing on sports - if sports were to occur in a world of fantasy inhabited by magic, dragons, and other strange elements, covering every sport known to humanity, and a few that simply aren't. An enthralling collection for fantasy fans, "Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic" is highly recommended for community library collections.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Sized Portions of Sports Stories with SF/F/H twists!, February 6, 2008

By	Daniel R. Robichaud II (Worcester, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A volume filled with exciting and thoughtful short-short fiction (and some poetry), which pair up sports with the fantastic. Science fiction, fantasy and horror (the triumvirate facets of the speculative fiction genre) all converge in the works offered in this anthology. Even readers who are not typically interested in sports (I count myself amongst this number) will find something to love in this amazing volume.