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Quantum Zoo Kindle Edition
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THE STORIES
"A King in Exile" - Lady Penelope Smythe-Everton, a nineteenth century British aristocrat with a penchant for adventures to exotic locales, leads an unconventional life. When she brings home a very curious egg from one such excursion, the unconventional becomes...unique.
"Echoes of Earth" - Tentacle-laden aliens abduct family man Bill when he steps out for an evening jog. He awakens powerless, not in the pulp-classic alien embrace, but displayed in an interstellar zoo and tormented by the diverse alien species that pass through.
"Bestiarum" - Humanity's last survivors hurtle toward a barely-habitable planet light years away in a failing lifeboat, stressed from generations of wear-and-tear. When Zookeeper Thimet meets a group of schoolchildren in the ship's Bestiarum, one little girl's curiosity gets the better of her. What dangerous secret has Thimet been hiding for decades...?
"Ignoble Deeds" - Lila embarks on a disquieting errand to give her dying and troubled mother peace of mind. It takes every bit of craftiness and deceit she can muster to get inside the new tourist attraction that's set up shop in an old, abandoned zoo. You won't believe what happens once she does...
"At Home in the Stars" - When two manicure-loving, jacuzzi-seeking, pink cadillac-admiring friends tangle with the alien masters of the galaxy, who wins? The ladies? The aliens? Or good ol' human nature?
"The Most Dangerous Lies" - A new zoo puts some of history's most evil monsters on display for the public to see in the flesh, but is their newest addition - Jack the Ripper - too dangerous to be left to his own devices?
"Playing Man" - Corporate executive Jordem Lun revisits Earth during his annual vacation. Maintained as a vast safari preserve, the old home planet displays gorgeous scenery and breathtaking wildlife, but something mysterious acts in its shadows.
"You'll Be So Happy, My Dear" - An inexperienced starfarer seeks local help when her spaceship malfunctions near a backwater planet. The most prominent ad on the internet directs her to just the right repair shop. Or does it?
"Skipdrive" - Alien leviathans, discovered floating in space beyond the orbit of Neptune, provoke a "space race" between the competing nations of Earth. Maintenance Chief Eliza, half-cyborg and immune to the strange side effects of the skipdrive, suspects that the first ship on the scene - hers - just made a very big mistake.
"Demon Rising" - A monster lives under little Katherine's bed. She knows he means her no harm, but would anyone else agree?
"Your Day at the Zoo" - What if you inhabited the consciousness of a great cat or a lazily coiled serpent or a great ape for just one day? What would it be like?
"Serpent's Foe" - Bastet, divine protectress of the gods themselves, lies defeated in a cage. Trapped in beast form, imprisoned behind bars, and confused by nightmares, she longs for freedom.
* * *
A wonderful volume of exciting, enthralling short stories from a dozen of the hottest indie authors in science fiction and fantasy, all for one low price. Visit these 12 exotic worlds on a thrilling ride through Quantum Zoo!
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 14, 2014
- File size681 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
From the Back Cover
"Definitely a page turner, exciting, funny, and heart-wrenching at the same time. Gelner 'knocked it out of the park'!"
"Furie has an eye for witty detail that keeps you turning the pages. More, please!"
"A.C. Smyth has written a gripping, captivating page-turner... Sylas owns myheart, and his journey alternately makes me want to laugh, cry, smackhim upside his stubborn head, scream, and most of all, keep reading! "
"McKenna's subtle style and deft handling are practically textbook perfect for short form fiction."
Stegall "clearly loves two things: historical research and San Francisco. I'mnot sure if I learned more about San Francisco or Wyatt Earp, but I had a great time in the process."
"Batt has done it again. This storyis just unfairly funny. I couldn't stop laughing, which got me plenty of odd looks in public, I'll tell you..."
"...always fun to discover a new, talented author, and Scott Dyson is my latest find."
"A brilliant new fantasy concept, intelligent writing... [McCoy's] innatestory-telling ability combined to produce a tale that I could not getenough of."
Ney-Grimm "has an ethereal sort of quality to her writing...it's almost mystical...absolutely unique, and absolutely engaging."
"Damn you John Hindmarsh - I am on vacation in Turkey and am waking up lateevery day because I start reading this book in the evening and can't put it down until 2:30AM!"
Product details
- ASIN : B00L0MZFVQ
- Publisher : Orion's Comet (June 14, 2014)
- Publication date : June 14, 2014
- Language : English
- File size : 681 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 254 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1939417066
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,024,937 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4,416 in Time Travel Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #5,213 in Space Fleet Science Fiction eBooks
- #6,277 in Space Fleet Science Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Bridget McKenna was born a hellish long time ago in Las Vegas, Nevada. She wrote her first—alas, unpublished—novel at the age of nine. In pencil. After taking a few years off to pursue other career options, she returned to the fiction writing racket with the publication of her first short story in 1972.
Since then she has written and edited fiction, nonfiction, computer games, websites, and to-do lists. She has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, and Shamus awards, and has never taken one home. She lives in Seattle, where she reads, writes, edits, binge-watches TV series, and continues her search for the ultimate butter masala.
Sarah Stegall writes science fiction, fantasy and mysteries. Her novel, "Outcasts: A Novel of Mary Shelley" revisits the night in 1816 when a teenaged unwed mother sat down and wrote "Frankenstein", the first science fiction novel. Sarah is the author of the Phantom Partners paranormal mystery series ("Deadfall", "Deadwater"), as well as the science fiction novel "Chimera" and the young adult SF novel "Farside".
Sarah's short story, "Rearguard", from "Deadworld: Anthology Tribute to Gary Reed", was nominated for a Scribe Award from the IAMTW for Best Short Story of 2017. Other recent short stories have been published in "The Castle of Horror Anthology: Volume II", "Baker Street Irregulars 2: The Game is Afoot", "No Holds Bard: Book 5 of Fortannis", and "The X-Files: The Truth Is Out There", the second volume of officially authorized X-Files fiction.
Sarah has also reviewed science fiction and fantasy television, books and movies since 1994 for major outlets such as TVGuide Online and SFScope.com. She researched and helped write the first three Official Guides to The X-Files, and wrote online content for TV Guide for four years. She currently resides in Northern California. Visit her at http://www.munchkyn.com.
John Hindmarsh was born in 1785. From Wikipedia - Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh RN (1785 – 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from December 1836 to July 1838.
During the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798, the fire on board the French line-of-battle ship l'Orient put the Bellerophon (1786) in danger; all the other officers on the quarterdeck on the Bellerophon were killed or wounded, so 13-year-old Midshipman John Hindmarsh gathered some of the crew, cut the anchor cables, and raised a spritsail to get the ship moving.
You realize I write fiction? The above is all true - except I'm a different John Hindmarsh.
Yes, I write science fiction and thrillers, sometimes with crossover. Well, you need a thrill in your SF and an occasional touch of science in your thrillers. I'm Australian, and now live in Southern California, where I'm writing full time. I could be simply relaxing when I'm not writing.
My books generally are written with an American voice [well, I try], although I prefer to write British English. So I get mixed up - in any event, I claim aluminium is the correct word.
See more details at http://www.JohnHindmarsh.com
Thrillers.
Mark Midway series. Midway is genetically engineered. His challenge - to discover why. Mark One, Mark Two, Mark Three, and Mark Four are available now; individually, or as a set.
Annihilation. This series takes a thrilling perspective and examines what happens when Artificial Intelligence gets too intelligent. Remember, there's nothing artificial about AI.
The theme - AI: Demon or Friend, the Beginning or the End?
Science Fiction.
The Glass Complex series. The first book is Broken Glass, followed by Fracture Lines and the third book, Diamond Cut, was released in 2017.
Shen Ark: Departure was released as a possible beginning of a series. Currently it is a standalone title.
I have written a number of short stories, all science fiction although perhaps one or two have a touch of fantasy. Check my web site - www.JohnHindmarsh.com
Remember, for updates and the occasional freebie, join my mailing list - go to http://johnhindmarsh.com/contact/.
J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore—online or on Main Street.
Where do I start? Born and raised in St. Louis, graduated from Dartmouth in 2005 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008. Practiced law until 2011, when I quit to pursue my dream of writing.
I caught on as the St. Louis Rams Reporter for insideSTL.com and did some radio work for 590 AM the Fan KFNS and 1380 AM the Fan 2. As soon as the (very trying for anyone following the Rams) 2011 NFL season ended, I started writing my novels. The insideSTL gig ended in June, and since then, I have focused all of my attention on my fiction.
Other interesting stuff about me: I've forgotten how to ride a bike. I once swam so much over the course of a summer that my hair became green. I'm always fighting a three-pronged war between a paleo lifestyle and my love of wine and ice cream. And my dog, Sully, is an awesome, enormous shih tzu mix.
I'm pleased to say that I released my first novel, "Jesus Was a Time Traveler," at the beginning of December. Hopefully it's only the first of many more to come. Feel free to email me at djgelbooks@gmail.com, or follow me on twitter @djgelner.
Ken Furie lives in beautiful Boulder, Colorado with his amazing family. He enjoys gelato, watching other people do yard work, shooting wildlife with a camera, and playing board games, ideally all at the same time.
By day Scott Dyson works as a healthcare professional, and is a husband and a father to two boys. In his spare time, he writes and self-publishes his tales of horror, mystery and science fiction/fantasy. He has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until the mid 1990′s, when he was helping to host a book and writing forum on Delphi Internet Services called "The Book And Candle Pub," that he got more serious about creating works of fiction.
Besides writing, his passions in life are his family, making music, reading and watching movies, and following Chicago sports, especially the Cubs and the Bulls. He plays keyboards and enough guitar and drums to get by. He is a big fan of Disney films and theme parks as well!
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Rachel McCoy is a Texan living in Baltimore. Between binge-watching MTV reality shows and baking gluten-free treats, she writes paranormal fantasy and science fiction novels. She is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Sparks Saga trilogy, The Alder Tales series, and The Extraction Files. Back when she lived in the real world, Rachel earned a degree in marine biology, which contributed to her die-hard love of manta rays.
To connect with RS McCoy (or swap recipes), visit her on her website (www.rsmccoyauthor.com) or check out her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AuthorRSMcCoy). You can also join her newsletter to receive release updates, free stories, and bonus extras (http://eepurl.com/YItp1).
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Morgan Johnson spent ten years co-authoring an advice column/adventure serial about a giant squid. That's probably the most important thing to know about him. He's a founding editor of Poor Mojo's Almanack, a literary magazine.
Morgan lives in Northern California with his family. He is currently working on a YA novel about a werewolf girl and an army of surly crows.
Frances Stewart has told stories in one form or another for as long as she could speak, according to her parents. The advent of word processors has allowed her to write them down in a legible form. She writes SF, fantasy, and autobiography that reads like SF and fantasy. She loves her wife, and her friends, and would probably like you, too.
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But after reading "Quantum Zoo", I feel healed of my aversion. This collection is absolutely amazing, with stories ranging from the deeply moving to the terrifying to the "oh s***, how clever!". Many of them I still think about today, months after finishing the tales. There were a few that fell a little flat in my eyes, but they were in such magnificent company, it would be hard not to.
Unfortunately, I can't describe in detail a lot of the different stories for fear of spoilers. The zoo theme means that a lot of the stories have twist endings or surprise plot changes midway through, and I'd hate to ruin that. Fun fact: For most of the book, I didn't even realize that the stories were supposed to have a zoo theme, because I apparently can't read covers or summaries. (Good job, Mandaray!) While that doesn't say much about me, I feel it does say a lot about the subtlety and skill with which the authors in this anthology write their tales.
At first blush, you might think there are only so many ways for characters to find themselves in a zoo, and the ways you'd get there might be pretty cheesy. But not so in QZ. Instead of taking the easier route and just making it all about strange creatures in futuristic cages, QZ goes out of its way to examine how zoos make people feel. Everyone has their own way of looking at zoos, their own unique perspectives that can span across any time or place. Zoos also hold a special place in our culture, and a lot of the stories examine the feelings behind that as well. Some even create entirely new cultures, place the zoos in them, and then examine how that works. Again, I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but QZ really takes the reader on a multitude of amazing, intriguing journeys; many of which I didn't think were even possible.
In short: This is a fantastic anthology that you should read as soon as you can. To me, it epitomizes the true soul of sci-fi: Expanding the mind of the person consuming it, and exploring what makes us human...or what makes us abandon our humanity. Fan or no of anthologies or even sci-fi, I still strongly encourage you to pick this up. There is so much variety to be found here that I truly believe there is a story in here for everyone.
The stories here vary in length, with the longest being,“Skipdrive”, which is a good read of about 80 pages. The rest are 40 pages or less, with a couple that have less than 10 pages.
Like any anthology there are some good stories here. The first, King in Exile, I really enjoyed as it reads like an Edgar Rice Burroughs piece. “Bestiarum” is well written, though felt a little preachy. “At Home in the Stars” was a fun read with some laugh out loud moments.
If the order of the stories was reversed or either of the last two stories had been the first offering I may have missed out on some fun reads. “Your Day at the Zoo” is written in 2nd person point of view and I don’t like that mode of storytelling. “Serpent’s Foe” is about a shape-shifting Egyptian princess and comes from the page very scattered.
You may disagree, that’s what makes reading anthologies fun for me, I know going in I may read something that doesn’t do it for me though I may find an author I want to read more of.
But the later stories, for various reasons, didn't work for me. "Playing Man" felt cliched with a greedy corporation, yadda times three. "Skipdrive" didn't have a solid ending, "Your Day at the Zoo" is second person PoV and kinda runs off the rails, and "Serpent's Foe" never quite came together.
Funny, how the dividing line between the stories I liked and those I didn't is so sharp. We'll call this one three stars.
The stories within Quantum Zoo are at once diverse yet of related genres. The writing is stellar, as is the editing. A truly enjoyable compilation leading me to the discovery of exceptionally talented indie authors of whose work I may not have otherwise read. Highly recommended!
I will definitely be reccomending this to others!
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Nearly every story is unique, interesting, has new ideas and suprising twists.
Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in fictionary literature.

It was also nice to see one theme (the zoo) developed in so many very different ways. No risk of getting bored since all the authors bring their own magic to the theme!