I'm Sorry, Here's a Plasma Rifle: A Collection of Short Stories, Poems, and Pastry Recipes

by Aaron N. Hall

SENT BACK FROM THE YEAR 2124, I’m Sorry, Here’s a Plasma Rifle is the last known work of author Aaron N. Hall before his tragic jet ski accident with a shipping container of rubber ducks.

It contains seven short stories, eighteen poems, and four pastry recipes that highlight his affection for fantasy, science fiction, and the endearingly odd.

The current edition has been republished including the notes of Dr. Arthur B. Salazar, who sent the book from the future before being cryogenically frozen and launched into space prior to Earth’s decay.

Read, enjoy, then say hello to the void.

100 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2022

About the author

Aaron N. Hall is the author of the The Legend of Uh, The Wevlian Chronicles, the Hammerfist series, and multiple collections of stories and poems. When he’s not writing (which isn’t often), he’s doing nonprofit work, lifting heavy things, reading a book, or sipping a cup of tea. He lives in Utah.

Reviews

[Josie (thebookgoblin13) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these 100 pages of joy

What a fun little collection of stories, poems and recipes. Each story has a bit of an adventure. Some felt series with a touch of humor that is so greatly appreciated. The poem gave all the feels and the recipes cracked me up so much.

[Brandie Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m Sorry, Here’s a Plasma Rifle by Aaron Hall was exactly what I hoped it would be. After finishing The Legend of Uh and loving it, I went into this collection fully expecting it to be a good time, and Aaron absolutely did not disappoint. It’s a quirky mix of short stories, poems, and recipes, but I wouldn’t be heading to the grocery store to gather ingredients from this one unless you’re ready to cook up a bit of chaos.

I’ve had this on my radar for a while, and one of the things I love most is that Aaron has made the audiobook available for free on his YouTube channel. It’s under two hours long, so if it’s been sitting on your list of things to read or listen to, I highly recommend checking it out there. Listening on YouTube is also a great way to support him as an indie author because the more time people spend listening, the more it helps him get compensated for his work.

I also believe that if you sign up for his newsletter, you can get a free ebook copy of this. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but either way I recommend signing up because he shares a lot of great updates and bonus content.

This collection was such a joy to listen to, especially because Aaron narrates it himself. He does an amazing job bringing the stories to life, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. The short stories were definitely my favorite part. The poems were fantastic too, and I loved the creative setup of the narration. It’s written as if someone stumbled across this book and started reading it. Hearing the narrator’s internal thoughts as he tries to pronounce words or make sense of what he’s reading is hilarious and adds so much personality to the experience.

The recipes were a really fun bonus and made the whole thing even more playful, but the short stories are what truly shine. It’s a quick listen and the perfect thing to throw on during a commute. You could easily finish it in a day, and it’s guaranteed to make you smile the entire time.

If you’ve read Aaron’s other work, this is absolutely worth picking up. It’s clever, creative, laugh-out-loud funny, and such a genuinely fun experience from beginning to end. This was an easy five-star read/listen for me, and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

[Darci Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kindly give this 5 stars - it was a very lovely read, fun little short stories that wrapped up in quaint little jokes and quips that did have me giggling by the end.

However, because the stories were so short, I always felt like I was just missing something. Like there was some background story I was meant to have read, or a punchline I wasn’t quite grasping. But overall it was an enjoyable experience to devour this book over the course of a few days.

[Derek Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun diversion and penultimate step to this year’s reading goal. Some really fun short stories that I could honestly see being developed in to full novels. Honestly found myself wanting more of the poetry than anything

[K.E. Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture of humor and dark

This is the first of Hall's works I've read and it mixes in the familiar humor I've seen on his Instagram. Some stories and poems were surprisingly dark but there was enough humor mixed in to still keep it light.

[Angham Mohamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I was very impressed by the three genres in one book idea when I first knew what this book includes.
This was so nice and fun to read and I actually didn’t expect the recipes to make me laugh this much.. or at all 😂 - If you know you know!

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious. I loved all the short stories and always wanted to know more. The pastry recipes are definitely my favorite section, though. 😂

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!

[Dawn Swartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not give 5 star ratings very often. This series of short stories, poems, and recipes is so very worth all 5 of them. Give it a read, or give it a listen. I listened on the author's YouTube channel. It is the best hour and fifty minutes of my day!

[Jaxon Charlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an enjoyable read! The introspection of all of the stories contained create some really fun irony. Hilarious to say the least

[Cuchillo Lope · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun and a breezy little read. Lightened Load was definitely the stand out. I really loved it as a cosmic horror story. I hope the author digs more into horror.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book. There were so many stories that I absolutely loved!

The poetry and recipes were definitely a highlight!

Such a fun read.

[Abbey Wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. It locked me in from the first page. The author shows a quirky sense of humor while still giving his stories a depth that gives you pause and provokes deeper thought from the reader even after the story ends. It’s a collection of vastly different artistic styles that at first glance you wouldn’t expect to work. But man, it works. As soon as I finished I was looking up where to get my hands on more of his work.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The concepts were interesting, the shorts were well written if not a little formulaic. That is, if you can get past the straight white male “pick me” energy that permeates through every paragraph.

[hhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is short yet packed with so much action and emotion. I gasped at the end of one story. And I didn’t just smirk from laughter reading this, I had a full cackle. Great introduction to this author with unique and engaging writing. I read the book and immediately ordered another book of his.