—The Washington Post Book World
"Di Filippo is one of the most talented humorists in contemporary fantasy and science fiction."
—Publishers Weekly
Professions, jobs, Strange Trades . . . In this new collection, author Paul Di Filippo reconstructs our (mis)conceptions
about what it means to work for a living. The eleven stories gathered here emphasize the moral and spiritual dimensions
of employment, and examine the practical and ethical quandaries that future occupations may elicit. Yet not all of the
professions about which Di Filippo writes are strange—sandwich shop proprietor, nightclub performer, business
analyst—but rather it's the exigencies surrounding these jobs that enter the realm of the strange and, occasionally, the surreal.
In "Spondulix," Rory Honeyman concocts a way to preserve his sandwich shop's meager cash flow by offering store coupons,
which quickly take on a life of their own. Shenda Moore uses an inheritance to start a corporation, "Karuna, Inc.," that cares
more about people than products, but she, and the corporation, soon encounters sinister forces. Luxcloth, treasured and worn
throughout the galaxy, can only be manufactured in "The Mill," for an omnipotent buyer known as the Factor. In "Skintwister"
and "Fleshflowers," psychokineticist Dr. Strode tends to misplace his Hippocratic oath, focusing his "peeking" ability for personal
gain. And in "The Boredom Factory," we experience the real meaning of working to live, living to work.
These eleven narratives, filled with suspense and adventure, romance, and laughter, present a welcome and refreshing change
of pace from more typical science fiction.
With an Introduction by Bruce Sterling, winner of the Hugo Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas, winner of ten Hugo Awards.
Praise for the author's previous collection:
"I swear on the grave of my sainted mother that Lost Pages by Paul Di Filippo is nothing less than an imperial read."
—Harlan Ellison
Cloth, ISBN 1-930846-05-3
Book #15
$24.95 postpaid for U.S. orders only
For non-USA orders, please read shipping fees information.
starred Publishers Weekly review