Ready When You Are and Other Stories

by Barry N. Malzberg

This remarkable collection highlights the quality, range, and idiosyncratic creativity of Barry N. Malzberg’s work both inside and outside of the science fiction genre.

Some of these stories could have been published anywhere (and, in fact, two of them appeared in BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR anthologies). Many of them read as if Samuel Beckett woke up one day and decided to write absurdist science fiction exploring the existential comedy and sorrow of modern life. Other stories can break a reader's heart. And often the comic and tragic live side by side in the same story.

It’s amazing to see what Malzberg was able to pull off while working within – and expanding – the confines of salable genre fiction. The fascinating introduction and afterwords explain what he was up to and why. But don’t take our word for it. Read this splendid collection and find out for yourself.

164 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2023

About the author

Barry Nathaniel Malzberg was an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.

He had also published as:
Mike Barry (thriller/suspense)
K.M. O'Donnell (science fiction/fantasy)
Mel Johnson (adult)
Howard Lee (martial arts/TV tie-ins)
Lee W. Mason (adult)
Claudine Dumas (adult)
Francine di Natale (adult)
Gerrold Watkins (adult)
Eliot B. Reston