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Miniatures

The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi

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Miniatures

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, Peter Ganim, Luke Daniels, John Scalzi, Greg Cope White, Fred Berman
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About this listen

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 14 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-published 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".

John Scalzi is the New York Times best-selling author of Old Man's War, Lock In, and Redshirts, among others. His work has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell Awards. He lives in Ohio and online. He enjoys pie.

Full cast of narrators includes Oliver Wyman, Dina Pearlman, and Allyson Johnson.

©2016 John Scalzi (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
Anthologies & Short Stories Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Solar System Witty Funny Feel-Good
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Critic reviews

"The production includes six narrators, including Scalzi, with each taking on two or more stories. This proves a smart choice.... Between the narrators and the stories, this collection proves to be a perfect introduction for listeners wanting to get a comprehensive sense of Scalzi's style." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Miniatures

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Brighten a dull day some fun

This book is short and light weight but gloriously funny, filled with John Scalzi's imagination par excellence. I laughed all the way through and was sorry when it ended. Recommended with happy laughter to brighten your day.

Excellent narrators, each perfect for the particular part they read, made it even more enjoyable. Thank you Mr Scalzi.

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Kind of bizarre

This is a collection of about 18 short stories. If you like science-fiction and love strange aliens then you’ll like these stories. I’m not much into sci-fi so I wasn’t too thrilled with this book.

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Some of the greatest humors of sci-fi unleashed.

I have always been a fan of Scalzi's writing. He's had these streak of books that have never failed to amuse and engage. so sit back and enjoy.

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Overall, more great stories than okay ones

I'm not generally a short story person, but I am a John Scalzi person. Overall, there were a lot of stories that I really liked. And there were a couple that were okay but not gripping. And I'm not a poetry fan.
If you like Scalzi, you'll like this. The narrators do an amazing job. If you're not generally a short story person, listen to the stories and narration.

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Air fresheners will be to provided.

There was some time to kill on both ends, but I mostly loved it. This book is more organized than redshirts, more fun than ghost brigade, more bodily excretion than an Archie comic. Scalzi reads okay, way better than Tom Robbins at reading.

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Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi

Rather Funny, Enjoyable short stories,
I highly recommend this collection, especially if you're a fan of Futurama, Twilight Zone, or Star Trek like Parodys, John Scalzi is a great writer. So many authors try to write "humor" but the vast majority of them utterly fail, or accomplish being amusing as opposed to laugh-out-loud funny.

This is a quick listen at about 3hrs, but very entertaining while it lasts. Most of these short pieces are similar in theme and tone: in the vain of the previously mentioned shows above and are somewhat silly takes on how humans would interact with aliens or intelligent machinery, How Pluto felt about being demoted as a planet, life of A booking Agent for Superheros ect

The stories; Namely the resourcefulness and individuality of his characters and the suddenly piercing pathos their stories can evoke. Brings the characters to life and makes it easy to listen to. and flows very well,

The book ends with a poem, different in tone than that of the stories, But a rather impressive one none the less.

Great Narration and Recommended for all
Overall 4 of 5 Stars

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Short and Funny!

Perfect for someone with the attention span of a gnat.


I particularly enjoyed the stories from an Aliens point of view.

Its also nice to know the perspective of a bitter and suspicious cat.

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A series of short stories that will make you laugh

The stories were all a little different and it made it an enjoyable listen. I wiuld recommend it just to hear the different thoughts of the author.

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Awesome suprise

Was not sure what to expect but all the stories were so perfectly well done and well narrated. Funny, thoughtful, and easy to binge!

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Collection of humorous stories

Wonderful collection of short stories that are a nice break between books. Covers a variety of topics like an agent for super hero’s and a financial agent for villains. Several alien stories that play on people - alien interactions.

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