SF flash fiction from Gaiman, Moorcock, Westerfeld, Ann Vandermeer, Gene Wolfe and others


Greg sez, "Check out this collection of all-new flash fiction from some huge names — Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Scott Westerfeld, Michael Moorcock, Gene Wolfe, N.K Jemisin, IO9 contributing editor Ann VanderMeer, and tons more — based around a fantastically monstrous illustration by Las Vegas artist Jeremy Zerfoss. It's fun, quick to browse through, combines big genre names, cool artwork, and… monsters!"

These really are great fun! Here's Lev Grossman's "The Solar Medusa":

This appears to be a happy sun, the kind that an innocent child might draw amid fluffy white clouds in a bright blue sky. Do not be fooled. This is not a happy sun, and it does not wish you well. The Solar Medusa is a floating, translucent gasbag that cleverly interposes itself between you and the real sun, lining up its outline so that when it is in position its presence is nearly undetectable to the naked eye. Once the medusa's prey—that's you—is blinded by the glare, it lowers its long, golden tentacles—what might be termed its 'rays'—and draws you up into its warm, sunny embrace. The process of digestion takes weeks. You won't enjoy it.


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