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UFO #8
Unidentified Funny Objects 8
The Unidentified Funny Objects series delivers an annual dose of funny, zany, and unusual science fiction and fantasy stories. All-new fiction from the genre's top voices!
* Superheroes mired in government bureaucracy.
* Cat cat-burglars.
* Grandmotherly golems.
* Literal-minded self-driving cars.
* Evil overlords retired in Florida.
* Indifferent aliens.
* Superheroes mired in government bureaucracy.
* Cat cat-burglars.
* Grandmotherly golems.
* Literal-minded self-driving cars.
* Evil overlords retired in Florida.
* Indifferent aliens.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2020
13 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Alex Shvartsman
156Ìýbooks143ÌýfollowersAlex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Kakistocracy, a sequel to The Middling Affliction, is forthcoming in 2023.
Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.
His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.
Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.
Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.
His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.
Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
part-read
November 7, 2020Given that it's a humorous collection--and that one man's sense of humor is another man's sense of WTF--I applied the rule "If the first two pages don't make me smile, I'm skipping to the next story." Here're the stories I read all the way through:
February 6, 2021
These short stories are perfect to read during your 10-minute coffee breaks, so you can read even when you're too busy working/studying to commit to a full-length novel.
My favorites in this were The Soul Trade, The Other Ted and Pet Care for the Modern Mad Scientist. Some of these stories were just outright hilarious.
3.5 stars from me because I found it hard to continue a lot of the stories (the sense of humor in some didn't match mine, sorry)
My favorites in this were The Soul Trade, The Other Ted and Pet Care for the Modern Mad Scientist. Some of these stories were just outright hilarious.
3.5 stars from me because I found it hard to continue a lot of the stories (the sense of humor in some didn't match mine, sorry)
May 31, 2021
3/5 - The 10:40 Appointment at the NYC Department of Superhero Registration, by Chris Hepler
2/5 - Soul Trade, by Galen Westlake
0/5 - A.I., MD, by Kurt Pankau
3/5 - The Fellowship of the Mangled Scepter, by James Wesley Rogers
3/5 - When the "Martians" Returned, by David Gerrold
2/5 - Welcome Home, by Simon R. Green
4/5 - The Unwelcome Mat, by J.J. Litke
4/5 - Get Me to the Firg(click)(cough)-xulb on Time, by Laura Resnick
1/5 - Black Note, in His Transition to a Supreme State of Wokeness, by James Beamon
2/5 - The Other Ted, by Wendy Mass and Rob Dircks
3/5 - C.A.T. Squad, by Gini Koch
3/5 - Ambrose Starkisser Encounters That Which is Locked, by Jordan Chase-Young
3/5 - Gommy, by Amy Lynwander
2/5 - Journey to Perfection, by Larry Hodges
2/5 - Fifteen Minutes, by Mike Morgan
3/5 - Zaznar the Great's Fifty-Sixth Proposal to the Council for Urban Investment, by Jared Oliver Adams
2/5 - Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal, by Illimani Ferreira
2/5 - Couch Quest, by Eric D. Leavitt
1/5 - Pet Care for the Modern Mad Scientist, by Michael M. Jones
3/5 - The Punctuation Factory, by Beth Goder
3/5 - One Born Every Minute, by C. Flynt
3/5 - Shy And Retiring, by Esther Friesner
4/5 - The Dangers of Suburban Deer, by Jamie Lackey
2/5 - Body Double, by Jody Lynn Nye
2/5 - Soul Trade, by Galen Westlake
0/5 - A.I., MD, by Kurt Pankau
3/5 - The Fellowship of the Mangled Scepter, by James Wesley Rogers
3/5 - When the "Martians" Returned, by David Gerrold
2/5 - Welcome Home, by Simon R. Green
4/5 - The Unwelcome Mat, by J.J. Litke
4/5 - Get Me to the Firg(click)(cough)-xulb on Time, by Laura Resnick
1/5 - Black Note, in His Transition to a Supreme State of Wokeness, by James Beamon
2/5 - The Other Ted, by Wendy Mass and Rob Dircks
3/5 - C.A.T. Squad, by Gini Koch
3/5 - Ambrose Starkisser Encounters That Which is Locked, by Jordan Chase-Young
3/5 - Gommy, by Amy Lynwander
2/5 - Journey to Perfection, by Larry Hodges
2/5 - Fifteen Minutes, by Mike Morgan
3/5 - Zaznar the Great's Fifty-Sixth Proposal to the Council for Urban Investment, by Jared Oliver Adams
2/5 - Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal, by Illimani Ferreira
2/5 - Couch Quest, by Eric D. Leavitt
1/5 - Pet Care for the Modern Mad Scientist, by Michael M. Jones
3/5 - The Punctuation Factory, by Beth Goder
3/5 - One Born Every Minute, by C. Flynt
3/5 - Shy And Retiring, by Esther Friesner
4/5 - The Dangers of Suburban Deer, by Jamie Lackey
2/5 - Body Double, by Jody Lynn Nye
December 20, 2020
Numerous authors entertain us with hilarious quirky sci fi and fantasy tales in Unidentified Funny Objects 8! There is a wonderful variety presented in this unusual collection from actual cat cat-burglars (loved it) to evil villain overlords that decided to retire in Florida! My favorite had to be Chris Hepler’s (of Mass Effect fame) take on a superhero origin story where a superhero has to register to save people at a superhuman DMV. It’s this fun new take on classic tropes that makes Unidentified Funny Objects so much fun to read! If you’re looking for a quick read with a new spin on things, hop into your all too literal self driving car (also in the book) and check this one out!
May 17, 2021
I'd take a funny sci-fi collection over a serious ditto any week of the year, because the serious ones these days are all boring, or over-woke, or both. This one delivers exactly what it promises, some excellent ten-fifteen minute reads that (mostly) make you chuckle and sometimes even laugh out loud.
August 25, 2022
Another fantastic anthology from the Unidentified Funny Objects folks. This is #8.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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