Harsh Oases

Paul DiFilippo

Oct 2014 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

In the first category is 'Femaville 29,' a much-lauded fantastical tale of love and salvation among the ruins of America's Eastern Seaboard. 'The Singularity Needs Women!' pits human against posthuman over a woman's love. In 'Shipbreaker,' a common laborer in an interstellar salvage yard finds his destiny altered forever by a strange pet. And in 'Escape from New Austin,' a young girl leaves her liberal home seeking the conservative dream.

'Aurorae' and 'A Game of Go' are both set in the cyberpunk future of the author's seminal 'Kid Charlemagne.' Two short, sharp satires, 'Bad Beliefs' and 'Leakage,' resurface from their initial publication in the alternative press.

The title story, 'Harsh Oases,' is the first addition to the Ribofunk canon since the publication of that pivotal collection in 1996. Nearly a compressed novel, it spans many strange milieus in the bio-engineered future of that series. On two radically different notes, 'Pinocchia' chronicles the erotic adventures of a sexy android, while 'Personal Jesus' and 'Lignum Vitae' address, with varying degrees of solemnity, the topic of religion. A collaboration with gonzo creator Rudy Rucker explores levels of quantum weirdness that underlie our familiar world. Finally, some flash fiction packs a few startling SF conceits into bite-sized stories.

Running the wide gamut of Di Filippo's myriad concerns and styles, this collection extends and solidifies his reputation as one of the finest short-story writers working today.

About the author

Paul Di Filippo (1954- )
Paul Di Filippo is a US science fiction writer. His place of birth, Rhode Island, has been his typical venue and focus throughout his career. Di Filippo was first published in the winter of 1977, with "Falling Expectations" for Unearth, and has published widely since, with nearly 200 stories appearing in a wide range of journals. He is also a regular reviewer for a number of magazines, including the Washington Post, Science Fiction Weekly and, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Steampunk Trilogy (1995) is his most widely known title.

For more information see http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/di_filippo_paul