
Miniatures
The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi
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By:
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John Scalzi
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
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Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this — and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given....
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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Obumwe said, Eagan said, Wilson said, Rickney said
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Excellent Prologue, not short story
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 03-05-13
By: John Scalzi
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Little Fuzzy
- By: H. Beam Piper
- Narrated by: Lee Winfield
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Jack Holloway mines valuable sunstones on the planet Zarathustra. One day, he encounters a small, furry humanoid whom he names Little Fuzzy, who introduces Holloway to his family. Holloway cares for the Fuzzies and spreads the news of their apparently intelligent behavior. When the Company discovers that the Fuzzies' intelligence may qualify them as a sapient species, it takes certain steps.
By: H. Beam Piper
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When the Moon Hits Your Eye
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.
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Buyer's Remorse
- By Amy on 03-31-25
By: John Scalzi
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Constituent Service
- A Third District Story
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
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Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.
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Short and fun!
- By Andrew on 10-04-24
By: John Scalzi
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The Dispatcher
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Zachary Quinto
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi. One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know.
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IT'S HARD TO GET MYSTICAL ABOUT YOUR JOB
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-05-16
By: John Scalzi
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Rip-Off!
- By: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
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When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
By: John Scalzi, and others
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
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I'm listening with a permanent smile on my face
- By Lucy A. Pithecus on 03-15-22
By: John Scalzi
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METAtropolis
- By: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Hogan, Scott Brick, Kandyse McClure, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Armed camps of eco-survivalists battle purveyors of technology in this exclusive, original production featuring five sci-fi masters and five all-star narrators.
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Not a wasted credit
- By james on 10-27-08
By: Jay Lake, and others
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The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
By: John Scalzi
What did you love best about Miniatures?
Most of the stories made me laugh out loud! And since I listened to it in the car, I got some really funny looks. (Which, in my opinion, makes it just that much more fun!)What was one of the most memorable moments of Miniatures?
Hard to choose because each of the stories is so unique. My favorite is 'Denise Jones, Superbooker'. OMG!! So hilarious! The last 'story', though, is a poem he wrote to Penelope (wife of Odysseus), which is extremely sweet. Very touching.Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
So many characters, so many voices.... The kids in the Lemonade story had the perfect whiny tones. Ha!Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not necessary because the stories are so short, but I did want to because it was so entertaining.Any additional comments?
Could not have asked for a more enjoyable two+ hours of entertainment. If you like Scalzi's work, this is a must-have.Great variety of stories, with intros by author.
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Among my favorites in this collection were "To Sue the World" due to its connection to Redshirts, which I loved when I read it, "How I Keep Myself Amused on Long Flights" and "How I Keep Myself Amused on Long Flights, Part II," "When the Yogurt Took Over" for its sheer craziness, and "Missives from Possible Futures #1," which had my husband and me laughing out loud while listening.
I definitely recommend listening to this anthology. The different stories have different narrators, all of which did great jobs with their assigned short stories. Of the various narrators, I had only listened to one of them previously - Luke Daniels - though I do have a few audiobooks in my TBR list with one of the other narrators, and I am now looking forward to listening to those books even more.
A wonderful humorous collection of short stories!
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I do not know if in your writers mind's eye, you pictured someone waiting a love ptsd has made distant & ultimately impossible. however, intended. you nailed it.
definitely telling my vet group.
I know a bit about both sides of the ptsd equation.
I''m a vietnam vet. (21 months) and yes, I Saw combat.
witty with a surprise ending!
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A Gem
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Greatshort stories of each authors - Great!
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4.5 stars
Entertaining if not essential
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Scalzi, always genius
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Excellent narrators, each perfect for the particular part they read, made it even more enjoyable. Thank you Mr Scalzi.
Brighten a dull day some fun
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Kind of bizarre
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Some of the greatest humors of sci-fi unleashed.
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