BiblioCrunch.com Books

“… a spiritual undertaking by a member of a brutal planetary occupation force who “goes native” in which Douglas Smith provides a riff on Ray Bradbury’s famous rationale of space travel: for Man to find God in the cosmos. A science fictional depiction of the mistreatment of “aliens” to subvertly criticize the atrocities of imperialist [...]

“My favourite of the selection was ‘Enlightenment’ by Douglas Smith. A strange story indeed about Earth people engaged in strip-mining planets and relocating indigenous populations. … The end is horrific in many respects but it’s also thought-provoking.” —SF Crowsnest Reviews

“…reaches far past the muddled mediocrity of swashbuckling tales forgotten before the page is turned to the next story. I enjoyed the alien anthropology and the details are tremendous…in this tale of tremendous sacrifice” —Alan Latimore, Tangent Online

“…is based on an interesting concept … The puzzles and the final invention that they hint at are intriguing … Smith ties denouement’s metaphorical significance in well with the technological concept at the center of the plot.” —The Fix

“A couple months ago I was introduced to Douglas Smith by way of his collected short stories, Impossibilia. So I was looking forward to his story ‘Doorways’ and was not disappointed. … This story has a cunningly satisfying conclusion. I find a good short story falls into two categories: There is the complete story, the [...]

“ follows two paths…a love affair that hits the rocks of the characters’ messed-up pasts, and a scary new wrinkle on .” —Locus

“A clever story and a moving one, with the character of the two leads put over well, and the ghosts that haunt them brought to effective life on the page. Smith is adept at tying together the different plot strands and filling in people’s back story in a way that doesn’t interrupt the narrative flow.” [...]

“ a convincingly rendered portrait of a man struggling to maintain his psychic equilibrium in the face of powerful and destructive emotional forces. … Right up to the story’s surprising conclusion, Smith keeps his readers guessing … It’s an ending that shouldn’t work but somehow does, and it’s a testament to the writer’s skill that [...]

“… has a thread of redemption in it that impressed me with its magnificence. If you’re human at all, you will be moved by ‘Bouquet of Flowers…’.” —Mass Movement Magazine

“…the strongest piece for me… What makes it compelling is the mystery surrounding the protagonist and Smith makes use of flashbacks effectively. This is an easy read and throughout the narrative, the author manages to sustain the suspense as he perpetually hints at something larger. Characterization, foreshadowing, and even action–Smith has…[Read more]

“Maroch, an ex-agent of ‘The Company’ assists a new protégée, Laure, in the process of remote viewing…to locate lost paintings by Vincent Van Gogh…but setting off a chain of events that will affect the future. The revolution of themes and words is very fluid throughout this story, making the pace almost rhythmic, drawing you along… [...]

“…a beautiful and haunting tale of love, loss and remote viewing. “ —Hellnotes

“This is one of those heady and ambitious stories that throw so many different elements into the narrative mix that one wonders whether the author is going to be able to pull it off. In fact, Smith does so very skillfully, so that the plot arc, character development, and denouement come off feeling effortless and [...]

“’Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh’ is an important story, a story that matters, and I hope that many, many people will read it. … While all three stories showcase admirably Doug’s impressive mastery of the short story form, ‘Bouquet’ stands out as the jewel in the crown … a beautifully written, [...]

“The pièce de résistance of the collection and one of the best and most moving novellas I have read in a while. Haunting and evocative… Just astounding. …” —Fantasy Book Critic

“A fascinating fabulist premise…” — Internet Review of SF

“A charming tale about a man cursed to die every day and be reborn as someone else.” —SFRevu

“…wonderful…has a taste that lingers…” —SF Crowsnest

“Another superb story … unpredictable and with a great ending, this story is another highlight of the collection (A++).” —Fantasy Book Critic

“…absolutely masterful…a kind of much, much creepier Quantum Leap: the amnesiac protagonist awakes in a new body each morning only to die in it by nightfall.” — Strange Horizons