Strange Science Fiction and Fantasy Omnibus

by Benson Grayson

The thirty-eight science fiction and fantasy stories in this book contain a heavy dose of political and social satire similar to that found in the works of Jonathan Swift. On its ages you will lean about the second renaissance, which completely reversed the results of the first, and of the campaign to elect Vladimir Putin president of the U.S. Other stories describe the extraordinary things the leader of the first private exploratory mission to the moon learned about the inhabitants of that satellite and the "Washington Spring," which replicated the events of the "Arab Spring."

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2014

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara]

This book is a collection of short stories, seldom more than a couple of pages long. The theme is a theatre of the absurd. So, the author turns the precepts of a religion on its head for his new dogma, and suggests this would attract followers in huge numbers. Most of the tales are set in recent America, a few in recent Putin's Russia, but only so far as to show us Putin, not the everyday. Putin is a recurring theme, as is a supercomputer. Time travel machines pop up a few times, even operated by a mouse from the past. Yes, it's absurd. Stop worrying.

Where the book loses a star is on the dire editing - words lost or mis-spelt, the spine title mis-spelt, a story repeated because its name is similar to another which is omitted but occurs in the contents. Just about every page has errors. Whether the book is self-published or not, there is no excuse for this. At times the stories appear to have been translated, so this may be a partial reason; still no excuse. But I got the hang of reading, my mind translating for me as if from French, and it's understandable.

I like the occasional concept or story more than others. Characters are seldom richly fleshed - there isn't space - and most are one-dimensional male, with few realistic females. Many stories just give voice to a one-line stray thought the author has spun into a few pages, such as not trying to change a bearable situation as you could make it worse. That one happens a few times. The short format is actually quite relaxing as you don't have to make a mental effort to follow a novel.

Give it a try, support an author, remind yourself to use the spill chucker on your word processor.
I borrowed this from a library. This is an unbiased review.

[Jacquline Ard]

Was I reading "Strange Science Fiction and Fantasy Omnibus" or "Strange Science Fictoin and Fantasy Omnibus?" That was the first grammatical mistake of several, but the book cover should have given away the rest.

I thought some of these short stories were interesting, and I can take a whole lot of random, but even I was left shaking my head. I end up skimming through the second half of the book until some words or phrases caught my attention, yet I generally only read that page rather than the whole short story.

I will say that my favorite piece was "The Mouse Who Traveled Through Time" since it is what may have inspired Walt Disney to create Mickey Mouse. What an odd take. I'll forever think of Ludevecico of Sicily when those two names pop up.

Also, I liked the story about how John Wilkes became the brand manager, or whatever, of Satan in "Speak Of The Devil." Due to the advertising campaign, belief in Satan dwindles; therefore, the so-called "Arch Fiend" can take advantage of those who don't expect his influence.

I enjoyed "Putin's Flea," as well. It's difficult to imagine good old Vlad simply trusting only his dog for political advice. Pushkin was a worthy canine - the flea was a worthy spy.

Some stories were beyond weird while others seemed possible (well, in my view). I think the author was poking fun at American politics, intelligence, and cultural stupidity. The moral of several stories were sarcastic. I think there were attempts at rewriting history with a humorous edge. That was fun, but there was definitely some confusion for me.

"The Washington Spring" brought up entitled young people that stirred a rebellion that had global effects. Worse, it began when a young person in the Treasury Department of D.C. committed suicide after the rise in taxes and inflation while his net pay went downhill.

So, "As an intelligent young man, he reached the logical conclusion. His life would only become worse. There was only one possible solution - suicide."

It was ridiculous. The rebel women adopted a uniform where a miniskirt was mandatory while the men had to wear a 3-piece suit in protest. Also, this group, The United Servants of America or USA, may have been an attempt to make fun of the hypocrisy of revolutionary groups that end up becoming more militant than the present government.

Eyebrows were shaved off when the new rules were violated, and "some fifty odd females found at home, who were dragged out at gunpoint, loaded aboard packed vans, and carted to Harvard University, where they were obliged on pain of death to study for graduate degrees."

Yeah...

I picked this book up at a local library because I was attempting to avoid the screen time restrictions on my phone and tablet (don't ask). I passed by many books, mostly classics, and somehow I decided on this one. I don't know how I feel about this.

Maybe there's a type of person for this kind of book or genre. I don't think the final title really entirely suits or describes the contents of the book.

[Stephanie]

I saw this book on the shelf at my local library and took it home hoping against hope that it would be terrible. This seemed likely, what with the vague title and its being self-published. I turned out to be correct, but I was still left disappointed. It was bad, but not in the "so bad it's good" way that I was hoping for. It was just bad. The writing itself is all right, apart from a multitude of typos. But the stories themselves are completely uninspired. Nothing happens in them; the characters and plots are bland and lifeless. There's no conflict or character development. The author also has a bad habit of ending almost every story with a sentence explaining what the moral of the story was supposed to be; that got old pretty fast. He also has a bizarre fixation with talking rats; at least three unconnected stories have talking rats in them for.....reasons? That last point isn't really relevant to anything else in the review or necessarily a criticism of the book; I just found it odd. (Probably the strangest thing about this collection of "Strange" Science Fiction stories, unfortunately....)

[Liz Milner]

Strange Science Fiction and Fantasy Omnibus by Benson Grayson

Attention, self-publishing authors! Do the world and yourself a favor and hire a professional proofreader. Also consider using the services of a content editor if you can afford it. This book is rife with errors of punctuation, grammar and bizarre typos. To give just one example, in a Mickey Mouse origin story, Mickey is described in passing as “the squirrel,” (page 21), for no apparent reason. Was this intended to be a bit of absurdist whimsy or was the typist working on autopilot? I can’t tell.

This sloppiness is a shame because Grayson has interesting ideas, but they don’t go anywhere. In one story, he advances the idea that Putin’s dog could make better, more humane decisions than Putin could and then he loses the thread of the story in a digression about blackmailing fleas. Another fatal flaw is that Grayson’s fantasy worlds have no ground rules. He doesn’t prepare his readers for departures from the commonplace, so they leave one baffled instead of enchanted.

[Tai Nagasawa]

I can honestly say this is the worst book I've read since I joined Goodreads several years ago. I have never written a review previously, but I am posting one now because I am offended that this pile of rubbish masquerading as science fiction was recommended to me by Goodreads. Don't be mislead by the book title, as I was. This self-published book contains not a single story that I would consider legitimate science fiction. Rather, it is an asinine compilation of trite, hackneyed, or even reprehensible social and political satires that only a grouchy semiliterate supporter of Trump and his ilk could enjoy.

[Ron]

I liked the ideas/concepts that Grayson wrote into his tales, but I was appalled at the lack of copy editing/proofreading and proper use of punctuation. At first I thought it was a deliberate writing style, but when you have to read a sentance 3-4 times to make sure that you get what the writer meant rather than what is mangled on the page, you start to lose interest. The fact that one tale was repeated twice (totally replacing what was listed in the Table of Contents), confirmed the problems. In the end a totally disappointing read.

[David Medinets]

This book is rife with spelling errors and missing words. Also one story is repeated (and one story is left out). After the first few stories, you'll see a pattern emerge and the rest won't be surprising.

[Edward V]

Fun, but not great

Worth reading on a lazy day. Some stories better than others, but all lacking the essential "bite" that this genre needs.

[Crispin Abel]

Strange as it says.

As the title implies, a strange mix of contemporary fiction with a slight twist of political satire. Snippets of whimsical passing thoughts of the authors.