These Strange & Magic Things: Short Stories

Description

For fans of the weird and enchanting, Peter M Ball returns with a third collection of speculative fiction stories that dance along the borders between horror, fantasy, and science fiction. These Strange and Magic Things brings together fifteen tales showcasing why he’s among the finest writers of the strange and fantastic working in Australia right now.

A zombie zombie survival kit started as a private joke takes on new meaning in a failing marriage. A trip to the moon goes wrong when dinosaurs attack the anti-grav train in transit. The difficulties of high school prove much worse when Mike learns he’s a werewolf. A drunken party trick goes wrong when a boy with bats in his head decides to show everyone he can catch a bullet with is bare hands.

Hit man to the supernatural, Keith Murphy, comes up against a demon who draws power from the wrestling ring. He’s too tough to gun down and impervious to magic, which means Keith’s only got one option – step up, play by the rules of the ring, and accept the possibility he might just be the local hero the Gold Coast needs.

In These Strange and Magic Things Ball spins magic, horror, and pop culture together into an unforgettable collection of tales featuring rogue jinn, uncanny rock bands, magic bees, flying crocodiles, laundromat ghosts, haunted coins, cyberpunk gangs, and lost loves.

Full Table of Contents

• Love is the Roar of a Chainsaw, Cutting Flesh In The Night
• Hornets Attack Your Best Friend Victor & Other Things We Called The Band
• The Things You Do When The War Breaks Out
• Winged, With Sharp Teeth
• Upon Discovering A Ghost In the Five Star
• Tithes
• The Minotaur & The Signal Ghosts
• Counting Down
• Eight Minutes of Usable Daylight
• The Mike & Carly Story, Without The Gossip
• A White Cross Beside a Lonely Road
• Rule 34
• Local Heroes