In early 2017, Subterranean Press will publish Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi, a collection of Scalzi’s “briefest and best” fiction spanning 1991-2016. The 18 stories collected in Miniatures range from Pluto’s thoughts about being thrown out of the solar system to (one of four new stories) artificial intelligences detailing their plan not to destroy humankind.
“Hey, look! One of my SECRET PROJECTS revealed!” Scalzi tweeted this morning when the announcement hit Twitter. Here’s more information about said secret project:
The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity.
Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.
These four stories, along with fourteen other pieces, have one thing in common: They’re short, sharp, and to the point—science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel Redshirts. Not to mention yogurt taking over the world (as it would).
Spanning the years from 1991 to 2016, this collection is a quarter century of Scalzi at his briefest and best, and features four never-before-printed stories, exclusive to this collection: “Morning Announcements at the Lucas Interspecies School for Troubled Youth,” “Your Smart Appliances Talk About You Behind Your Back,” “Important Holidays on Gronghu” and “The AI Are Absolutely Positively Without a Doubt Not Here to End Humanity, Honest.”
The collection has been designed and is in the process of being illustrated; in addition to the dust jacket, each story will feature a header illustration by Natalie Metzger. Readers will have the chance to buy a limited edition (1,500 signed, numbered hardcover copies) or lettered edition (26 signed leatherbound copies, in a custom traycase). You can preorder the book here.
