Strange Monsters of the Recent Past

One of speculative fiction’s greatest minds shines in this “unique, addictive” story collection (George R. R. Martin).

Here, from Howard Waldrop, the multiple-award-winning author of “The Ugly Chickens,” comes a collection of his best short stories—tales that perfectly capture his “bizarrely eclectic imagination and gonzo sense of humor” (Gardener Dozois). 

“Strange Monsters of the Recent Past” portrays a world from B-movie creature features, where humanity is overrun by Gila monsters, giant squids, and Martian invaders. “Flying Saucer Rock and Roll” takes you to the Northeast blackout of 1965 and, as the lights go off, two doo-wop groups battle each other in a sing-off, hitting the high notes of a finale that no one expects. The Nebula, World Fantasy, and Locus Award–nominated novella “A Dozen Tough Jobs” sets the labors of Hercules in the racially divided South of the 1920s, where a convict on work release and a young African American servant struggle to complete impossible tasks for the man who holds their fate in his hands . . .

In the eight works in this collection, “Waldrop subtly mutates the past, extrapolating the changes into some of the most insightful, and frequently amusing, stories being written today, in or out of the science fiction genre (The Houston Post).