Miniatures

Dust jacket and interior illustrations by Natalie Metzger.

About the Book:

The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity.

Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.

These four stories, along with fourteen other pieces, have one thing in common: They’re short, sharp, and to the point—science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).

Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best, and features four never-before-printed stories, exclusive to this collection: “Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth,” “Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back,” “Important Holidays on Gronghu” and “The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest.”  

Limited: 1500 signed numbered hardcover copies
Lettered: 52 signed leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase

From Kirkus:

“This might not quite sate readers' hunger for Scalzi as they await his next novel, but it's a reasonably tasty snack. Somewhat repetitive in theme, often verging on the silly, but on the whole, quite amusing.”

From Publishers Weekly:

"...lighthearted and amusing..."