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Michael Swanwick’s Field Guide to the Mesozoic Megafauna
Michael Swanwick
The master of microfiction returns with eighteen short-short stories on dinosaur themes. Steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets clash with immoral scientists, neighborhood bullies, and society ladies, resulting in dangerous, sometimes poignant, and often wickedly funny consequences.
Michael Swanwick’s Field Guide to the Mesozoic Megafauna
by Michael Swanwick
ISBN: 1892391139
Published: 2001
Available Format(s): Chapbook
The master of microfiction returns with eighteen short-short stories on dinosaur themes. Steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets clash with immoral scientists, neighborhood bullies, and society ladies, with dangerous, sometimes poignant, and often wickedly funny consequences. Michael Crichton’s dinosaurs were never quite like this. As one canny old predator remarks, “Herbivores! You gotta love ’em. They fall for the old theropod-in-a-rubber-tenontosaur-suit trick every time.”
In this companion volume to Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures, Swanwick continues to delight. It is certain to charm anyone who is or ever wanted to be a paleontologist—and to convince them that pursuing alternative careers is probably wise. This collection features the British Science Fiction Association Award–nominated “Five British Dinosaurs” as well as humorous original illustrations by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.
“Swanwick has written a short-short story for each of the 13 dinosaurs from the Mesozoic era…. The stories are very funny, often ironic, and well worth the very brief time they take to read. Highlights include ‘The Thief of Time,’ which ironically plays with the different meanings of the egg-stealing Eoraptor; the hilarious ‘A Matter of Size,’ which gives an unexpected look at how the Giantosaurus of South America may have regarded its North American cousins; ‘Three Conversations,’ which gives a sting-in-the-tale ending to a short adventure in kite-flying; ‘Pocket Brontosaurs,’ where Swanwick shows that Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg may have missed the real commercial appeal of bringing dinosaurs back to life; and the darkly funny ‘Herbivores,’ which you should read for yourself. All are worth seeking out….”
—Locus
Michael Swanwick is one of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation, having received five consecutive Hugo Awards. He has also won the Theodore Sturgeon and World Fantasy awards. Swanwick’s novels include The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, a New York Times Notable Book, and the Nebula Award–winning Stations of the Tide. His short fiction has appeared in many venues, including OMNI, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum, and his work has been translated into more than ten languages.
Praise for Michael Swanwick
“[Swanwick] is an amazingly assured writer, seemingly incapable of writing a sentence that isn’t interesting in itself, in addition to the way it moves the story forward…. This is a book that merits a place on any serious science-fiction readers’ shelf.”
—New York Review of Science Fiction
“Michael Swanwick is darkly magnificent. Tales of Old Earth is just one brilliant ride after another, a midnight express with a master at the throttle. Sit back and enjoy.”
—Jack McDevitt
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Swanwick has emerged as one of the country’s most respected authors.”
—Philadelphia Enquirer Magazine
Praise for Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures
“…wonderful strangeness.”
—True Review
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Always brilliant, Swanwick shines in these quirky short pieces, with over 70 gathered in this collection, including ‘An Abecedary of the Imagination,’ with six new entries.”
—Locus
“[Swanwick] has always been versatile, and lately his versatility has extended to miniaturized, tightly compressed fictions that are alternately startling, funny, and mysterious and often possess the resonance of especially vivid dreams.”
—Washington PostBook World
“Felicities, surprises, bon-mots, witticisms, epiphanies, goodies of every description.”
—Fantastic Metropolis
Praise for Gravity’s Angels
“I don’t think I’ve come upon as finely crafted, as deft a collection of stories in quite some time…. Buy this book. I mean it—it’s one of the best science-fiction collections I’ve ever read.”
—Fantasy & Science Fiction
“The stories collected here are luminous with the promise of his ambition, smart and allusive, dense with ideas and images, sacred and profane.”
—Interzone
“…Gravity’s Angels is an extremely impressive collection. Each story is unique unto itself, and reading them closely together does not produce any sense that one has just read the same thing half an hour earlier. If there is any justice in the world, Gravity’s Angels will bring Swanwick whatever recognition he has not had thus far.”
—Locus
“This volume chronicles the career of one of the most impressive science-fiction writers of the 80s…. Every story uses the traditional materials of the genre to explore deeper issues of character and conscience…. Swanwick’s work illustrates the power and potential of contemporary science fiction.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Tales of Old Earth
“Michael Swanwick is darkly magnificent. Tales of Old Earth is just one brilliant ride after another, a midnight express with a master at the throttle. Sit back and enjoy.”
—Jack McDevitt
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short-story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Swanwick has emerged as one of the country’s most respected authors.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“I have admired Michael Swanwick’s storytelling—his style, his imagination, his compassion—from the beginning of his career. Over time he has simply improved. Indeed, he writes so well the kinds of stories that I would like to write that he obviates the necessity of my even trying to write them. This collection showcases his exemplary talent.”
—Michael Bishop
The Thief of Time
A Matter of Size
Three Conversations
How the West Was Won II
The Scientific Method
Dueling Mosasaurs
Pocket Brontosaurs
Herbivores
Parallels
Wusses
Dinosaur Music
The Bird-Fishers
Proving Dr. Tom's Hypothesis
FIVE BRITISH DINOSAURS
Iguanodon anglicus
Yaverlandia bitholus
Altispinax dunkeri
Megalosaurus bucklandii
Craterosaurus pottonensis
Michael Swanwick’s Field Guide to the Mesozoic Megafauna
Michael Swanwick
The master of microfiction returns with eighteen short-short stories on dinosaur themes. Steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets clash with immoral scientists, neighborhood bullies, and society ladies, resulting in dangerous, sometimes poignant, and often wickedly funny consequences.
$8.95
Michael Swanwick’s Field Guide to the Mesozoic Megafauna
by Michael Swanwick
ISBN: 1892391139
Published: 2001
Available Format(s): Chapbook
The master of microfiction returns with eighteen short-short stories on dinosaur themes. Steely bureaucrats, genetically engineered Christmas toys, and beloved killer pets clash with immoral scientists, neighborhood bullies, and society ladies, with dangerous, sometimes poignant, and often wickedly funny consequences. Michael Crichton’s dinosaurs were never quite like this. As one canny old predator remarks, “Herbivores! You gotta love ’em. They fall for the old theropod-in-a-rubber-tenontosaur-suit trick every time.”
In this companion volume to Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures, Swanwick continues to delight. It is certain to charm anyone who is or ever wanted to be a paleontologist—and to convince them that pursuing alternative careers is probably wise. This collection features the British Science Fiction Association Award–nominated “Five British Dinosaurs” as well as humorous original illustrations by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.
“Swanwick has written a short-short story for each of the 13 dinosaurs from the Mesozoic era…. The stories are very funny, often ironic, and well worth the very brief time they take to read. Highlights include ‘The Thief of Time,’ which ironically plays with the different meanings of the egg-stealing Eoraptor; the hilarious ‘A Matter of Size,’ which gives an unexpected look at how the Giantosaurus of South America may have regarded its North American cousins; ‘Three Conversations,’ which gives a sting-in-the-tale ending to a short adventure in kite-flying; ‘Pocket Brontosaurs,’ where Swanwick shows that Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg may have missed the real commercial appeal of bringing dinosaurs back to life; and the darkly funny ‘Herbivores,’ which you should read for yourself. All are worth seeking out….”
—Locus
Michael Swanwick is one of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation, having received five consecutive Hugo Awards. He has also won the Theodore Sturgeon and World Fantasy awards. Swanwick’s novels include The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, a New York Times Notable Book, and the Nebula Award–winning Stations of the Tide. His short fiction has appeared in many venues, including OMNI, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum, and his work has been translated into more than ten languages.
Praise for Michael Swanwick
“[Swanwick] is an amazingly assured writer, seemingly incapable of writing a sentence that isn’t interesting in itself, in addition to the way it moves the story forward…. This is a book that merits a place on any serious science-fiction readers’ shelf.”
—New York Review of Science Fiction
“Michael Swanwick is darkly magnificent. Tales of Old Earth is just one brilliant ride after another, a midnight express with a master at the throttle. Sit back and enjoy.”
—Jack McDevitt
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Swanwick has emerged as one of the country’s most respected authors.”
—Philadelphia Enquirer Magazine
Praise for Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures
“…wonderful strangeness.”
—True Review
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Always brilliant, Swanwick shines in these quirky short pieces, with over 70 gathered in this collection, including ‘An Abecedary of the Imagination,’ with six new entries.”
—Locus
“[Swanwick] has always been versatile, and lately his versatility has extended to miniaturized, tightly compressed fictions that are alternately startling, funny, and mysterious and often possess the resonance of especially vivid dreams.”
—Washington Post Book World
“Felicities, surprises, bon-mots, witticisms, epiphanies, goodies of every description.”
—Fantastic Metropolis
Praise for Gravity’s Angels
“I don’t think I’ve come upon as finely crafted, as deft a collection of stories in quite some time…. Buy this book. I mean it—it’s one of the best science-fiction collections I’ve ever read.”
—Fantasy & Science Fiction
“The stories collected here are luminous with the promise of his ambition, smart and allusive, dense with ideas and images, sacred and profane.”
—Interzone
“…Gravity’s Angels is an extremely impressive collection. Each story is unique unto itself, and reading them closely together does not produce any sense that one has just read the same thing half an hour earlier. If there is any justice in the world, Gravity’s Angels will bring Swanwick whatever recognition he has not had thus far.”
—Locus
“This volume chronicles the career of one of the most impressive science-fiction writers of the 80s…. Every story uses the traditional materials of the genre to explore deeper issues of character and conscience…. Swanwick’s work illustrates the power and potential of contemporary science fiction.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Tales of Old Earth
“Michael Swanwick is darkly magnificent. Tales of Old Earth is just one brilliant ride after another, a midnight express with a master at the throttle. Sit back and enjoy.”
—Jack McDevitt
“One of the most powerful and consistently inventive short-story writers of his generation.”
—Gardner Dozois
“Swanwick has emerged as one of the country’s most respected authors.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“I have admired Michael Swanwick’s storytelling—his style, his imagination, his compassion—from the beginning of his career. Over time he has simply improved. Indeed, he writes so well the kinds of stories that I would like to write that he obviates the necessity of my even trying to write them. This collection showcases his exemplary talent.”
—Michael Bishop
Visit the Michael Swanwick website.
The Thief of Time
A Matter of Size
Three Conversations
How the West Was Won II
The Scientific Method
Dueling Mosasaurs
Pocket Brontosaurs
Herbivores
Parallels
Wusses
Dinosaur Music
The Bird-Fishers
Proving Dr. Tom's Hypothesis
FIVE BRITISH DINOSAURS
Iguanodon anglicus
Yaverlandia bitholus
Altispinax dunkeri
Megalosaurus bucklandii
Craterosaurus pottonensis
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