Unidentified Funny Objects 3 Author:Alex Shvartsman (Editor) SCIENCE FICTION. FANTASY. HUMOR. This is the third annual volume of Unidentified Funny Objects and it contains twenty-three humorous short stories from some of the genre's best-known authors, as well as talented up-and-comers. Stories that are descriptive and engaging in terms of characters, plot, and tension, varying ... more »in topic, approach and style of humor: predominantly light-hearted, ranging from subtle situational comedy to outright puns. Some of the unlikely characters: * Hobo Satan * Vampire novelist * Traveling robot salesman * Brain-in-a-jar superhero * Jinn trapped in a mattress.
Contents:
Foreword (Unidentified Funny Objects 3) (2014) • essay by Alex Shvartsman
On the Efficacy of Supervillain Battles in Eliciting Therapeutic Breakthroughs / Jim C. Hines: a girl standing on her own and getting work done.
The Right Answer / James A. Miller: what is the right answer when an alien shows up?
The Gefilte Fish Girl / Mike Resnick: a man tells his mum about the mermaid he loves.
Master of Business Apocalypse / Jakob Drud: magicians prevents the apocalypse, time after time. A bad boss can ruin it all.
Carla at the Off-Planet Tax Return Helpline / Caroline M. Yoachim: busy 'phone' work...
Why I Bought Satan Two Cokes on the Day I Graduated High School / Nathaniel Lee: angels everywhere, poor Satan gets his ass kicked and a kid befriends him.
Company Store / Robert Silverberg: a guy has to buy things only from one company.
The Door-to-Door Salesthing from Planet X / Josh Vogt: a poor but hard-working salesman.
Picture Perfect / Matt Mikalatos: ...really perfect?...
The Discounted Seniors / James Beamon: some are not grateful when this guy saves the day.
That Must Be Them Now / Karen Haber: oh, it finally really is them...
Notes to My Past And/or Alternate Selves -/Sarah Pinsker: ... you'd better pay attention...
The Real and the Really Real / Tim Pratt: a human left alone in a world of robots.
Into the Woods, with Zombunny / Camille Griep: a Zom fairytale.
Live at the Scene / Gini Koch: newsteam reporting about aliens.
The Newsboy’s Last Stand / Krystal Claxton: a newsboy telling the required bad news, and then, on his own, throwing in some good news.
The Full Lazenby / Jeremy Butler
Do Not Remove This Tag / Piers Anthony: a jinnni turns up and wants to live large.
Super-Baby-Moms Group Saves the Day! / Tina Connolly: superlative save, all in email form...
The Choochoomorphosis / Oliver Buckram: just choochoo'ing along...
The Fate Worse than Death / Kevin J. Anderson and Guy Anthony De Marco: Dracula gets a guest, an annoying one.
Elections at Villa Encantada / Cat Rambo: yes, you'd better vote...