Iridescent Dreams

20 Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy

“A deceptively quiet writer, Whitlock’s stories often pack a solid punch . . .”

–Gardner Dozois

Now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle; coming soon to other online outlets and independent bookstores.

“The Million-Dollar Wound,” selected for Gardner Dozois’ fifth annual The Year’s Best Science Fiction; “Waiting for the girl from California,” named “the gem of the entire anthology” by reviewer John Grant (Infinity Plus) when it first appeared; “Iridescence,” voted one of the Top Ten stories of the year in the 1989 Azimov’s Magazine readers’ poll—these are just three of the 20 outstanding stories in this engrossing collection.

From rural back roads to backwater planets, from teeming cities to the President’s secret PR bunker, from the serious to the absurd; each of these tales is unique, born of real-world experience reshaped by Whitlock’s questing imagination and antic cast of characters:

An alien who can paint on a soap bubble. A soldier whose wounds can always be healed. A woman famous for Seeing the future, while her true talent, healing, is ignored. Iridescent beings inhabit Whitlock’s dreams. Some are fantasy, some are science fiction, some are a bit political and more than a bit surreal, but one thing you can be sure of, every one of Whitlock’s stories will stir your emotions. Love them or hate them, you won’t be bored.

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Most of these stories are actually novelettes, well above the 7500-word cut-off that defines a “short story.” The characters and situations that grab me hard enough to get written down need more room to develop; it’s just how my brain works. So twenty of them make up a decently long stretch of reading, with 20 crises, 20 climaxes, 20 punch lines. Some are funny and some are not; all of them, I hope, will grab you. My goal always is to make you laugh or make you cry or make you angry, and occasionally all three when I can pull it off. Don’t be afraid to tell me if I succeeded or failed. It’ll make the next ones better.

The Contents:

• Iridescence
• The Million-Dollar Wound
• Containment
• All or Nothing
• Roadkill
• Miriam, Messiah
• Winter Solstice
• The Fax Man
• On the Death of Daniel
• The Woman, The Pilot, The Raven
• The Man Who Loved Kites
• Sliding the Edge
• Three Gifts
• Waiting for the Girl from California
• Changeling
• Nanosferatu
• The Rite of the Yearly King
• Starkers
• Master of Illusion
• The Dragon and the Damsel

Sample one of the shorter ones here.