John Scalzi

The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi

Miniatures

nonchi

Some of the stories are quite predictable but still pretty funny

Maggie Gordon

Oh, this was just delightful! Miniatures is a collection of Scalzi stories coming from Subterranean Press. I read an ebook version, but the hardcover edition is bound to be gorgeous as all of the limited edition books from Subterranean Press are. 

The title Miniatures directly tells you what you are getting: very short short stories. In the introduction, Scalzi talks about his writing length preferences. He's comfortable with either novels or stories that would fit comfortably in a newspaper. Before he became famous for books such as Old Man's War and Redshirts, Scalzi was a journalist, and he became a master of saying what was needed in 8oo words or less. 

The stories are all humorous, using experimental forms to tell stories to a modern audience. There's some hilarious Twitter exchanges and several laugh-worthy interviews. My favourite stories dealt with the inner monologues of household appliances, an interview with a superhero booker, and a short that tells us all about how yogurt could take over the world. 

Miniatures made me giggle during the Christmas season which is a stressful mess of a time, so props to Scalzi for writing something that can help a person escape from even the most frustrating situations! This is a definite recommend for Scalzi fans and people who enjoy chuckling over a fun SF story. 

Thank you to Net Galley and Subterranean Press for an ARC for review purposes!

Miniatures The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi

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