Sudden Death, Over Time

by John Rember

SUDDEN DEATH, OVER TIME does what only good satire can--tear down the artificial and the irrelevant to get to what is human. The stories are funny, insightful, disturbing, sad and always entertaining. Rember's talent in bringing interesting characters to life and letting them stumble on their own humanity in places common and extreme gives these stories an energy that sparks on every page until they conflagrate into a controlled burn. (Ebook edition coming soon!)

148 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2012

About the author

John Rember lives and writes in the Sawtooth Valley of Idaho. Recurring themes in his writing include the meaning of place, the impact of tourism on the West, and the eventual impossibility of industrial civilization.

John's latest work, Journal of the Plague Years, is a three-volume series of personal journal entries written during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. His book, A Hundred Little Pieces on the End of the World, is a meditation on teaching, writing, and friendship in an increasingly fragile world. MFA in a Box: A Why to Write Book was recognized by the Nautilus Awards, Hoffer Awards, and Midwest Book Awards as one of the best new books on creative writing. His memoir Traplines: Coming Home to Sawtooth Valley was named Idaho Book of the Year by the Idaho Library Association. He is also author of three short story collections: Sudden Death, Over Time; Cheerleaders from Gomorrah: Tales from the Lycra Archipelago; and Coyote in the Mountains.

John has written numerous articles, stories, and essays for publications ranging from Travel and Leisure to Wildlife Conservation to High Desert Journal to The Huffington Post. He taught for many years at The College of Idaho in Caldwell and in the Pacific University MFA program in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Reviews

[Mike O'Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. Full of sly and dark humor. John Rember is one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking writers around. He also happens to be a very funny and slightly subversive writer, all of which adds up to a great read. If you're a fan of either of Rember's previous two collections of short stories -- or of "Traplines" (his memoir) or "MFA in a Box" (his book on creative writing) -- you are in for a treat with "Sudden Death, Over Time."

[Susan DeFreitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant academic satire. This is John Rembers's take on the decay at the heart of American culture--darkly funny, beautiful, and often profound. If you're tired of finely crafted fiction that seems to take place at no time in particular, in no place in particular--fiction that seems largely divorced from the deeply complex world we live in--these stories may help you remember that art can shake us awake to our place in the world. White privilege, unconscious misogyny, and even plastic surgery were never so hilarious. This is fiction for the twilight of an empire. 

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knocked it out of the park. As usual.