THE ADMINISTRATOR
A Collection of Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Short Stories
by S. Joan Popek.
The FictionWorks eBook OR Paperback
http://www.fictionworks.com/etheadministrator.htm
Review by Greg F. Gifune
Highly Recommended
It’s rare to sit down with a collection of short stories, particularly such an eclectic one, and so thoroughly enjoy each offering, but S. Joan Popek’s “The Administrator” delivers, and delivers big. Presented in an electronic format, on disk, this collection is nicely produced, easy to read and showcases this talented author’s work in a no-nonsense format. There are no distracting graphics or bells and whistles here, which allows you to focus on what truly matters, Popek’s solid and often disturbing dark fiction.
With thirteen stories in all, “The
Administrator” covers a wide
range
of compelling subjects, and one quickly realizes this is not “fluff”
genre
fiction, rather a thought provoking array of stories laced with bold
social
commentary. As but one example, the story this collection is named for
deals with the question of justice, and specifically, the criminal
justice
system, a theme sprinkled generously
throughout the collection, though Popek somehow manages to do this
without being redundant.
“And the Gang’s All Here”, a tale that conceptually, is perhaps the
most intriguing plot I’ve
encountered in some time, had the most impact on me personally. Set
in a time and place where street gangs are given amnesty one day a
year,
Halloween, in exchange for relative peace the rest of the year, gangs
and
other assorted hoodlums are allowed to roam the streets, free to
literally
do whatever they please without fear of breaking the law, because on
this
single night of the year, there is no law. Centered on a single mother
and her young son, this story is terrifying, and stayed with
me long after I’d read it.
Other stories, “Legal Tender” (a drug
called “Happydaze”, organ
selling,
skin transplants, and again, the criminal justice system gone wild),
“The
Alien Feeder”(which won third place in the 1997 ‘Best of the Web’
contest
by Predators & Editors, will never allow you to view Alzheimer’s
Disease
in quite the same light), “Being God Is Hard” (What happens when a
ten-year-old
boy realizes he is God?), “A Job Well Done” (organ harvesting and
suicide),
“This Old House” (Recycling with a new twist dropped in the middle of
an
otherwise traditionally structured horror story), “Skull” (a
painter and a strange skull that holds secrets both enlightening and
terrifying), “The Idea Seeder” (as original a tale on the alleged UFO
crash
in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 one is likely to find), and “Shining
Eyes”
and “The Prodigals”, both of which approach the concepts of alien life
and space travel from what can only be described as a satisfyingly
unique
angle, all follow suit, offering wildly original adventures.
But there is also humor here (albeit dark), evident in the stories, “The Incredible, Edible Mr. Glump” (An alcoholic’s hallucination or a delicious little alien bred as a delicacy?), and “Yes, We Have No Virgins Today”, a nice change of pace tale at the end of the collection about a dragon in search of—you got it—virgins.
What makes “The Administrator” worth
buying and ultimately a
wonderful
reading experience, is Popek’s taut, lean style, and thoroughly
original
approach. In a time when much fiction is unnecessarily padded
with
filler and fat, Popek’s concise writing is a welcome change. She has
the
skill to get to the heart of a matter with few words wasted, and while
gently lulling you into a false sense of comfort, casually lunges for
your
jugular. This, coupled with Popek’s originality, is the true source of
her power. There are no stories here that will cause you to mutter
through
a yawn, “This
has been done a million times before.” While she tackles subjects that
are often familiar, each story has her own unique style branded across
its pages, and takes the reader on a fun, frightening, dark, and
sometimes
even guiltily hilarious journey all her own.
Do not miss this one!
Greg F. Gifune, Editor, Thievin’ Kitty
Publications
THE ADMINISTRATOR
by S. Joan Popek
The Fiction Works; February 1999;
Ebook or Paperback
Reviewed and
Very Highly Recommended
by John Hamilton
A collection of short
stories in varying genres,
mostly science fiction and fantasy, THE ADMINISTRATOR a wild ride
through
one woman’s incredible imagination and polished writing skills. The
stories
range from the frightening to the delightful to the
oh-dear-God-I-hope-that-never-happens.
Opening this disk made me feel like a kid at Christmas, all these
goodies
were arrayed before me and all I had to do was read, enjoy, gasp,
shiver,
and sigh. And, in the case of "Yes, We Have No Virgins Today," laugh
until
my stomach hurt. All in all, it was a grand experience from the
beginning
chill of "The Administrator" right on through the rest of the book.
You know, I’m not
really sure how many stories
there
are, maybe seven or eight—every time I started to count them, I started
reading something and kept on reading and forgot to count—but enjoying
is more fun than counting any day. I think some of the tales are
horror,
not Steven King’s commercial scare-everybody silly, but real horror,
the
kind that wakes you up in the dark and scares you all over again
because
they might be true some tragic day in our future.
But, Ms. Popek took pity on her readers, gave them light to go with
their dark, laughter to go with the fear, hope to go with the despair.
As an old man, who admits to being a mite forgetful, I have to say "The
Alien Feeder" was my favorite of all the tales—and, you know, I wish it
was true. I can’t say the same about "The Idea Seeder," it made me
sad—but
it was a real different explanation of the supposed alien space ship
crash
in New Mexico several years ago.
I hope I get to see
more of this writer’s work,
because
this book, THE ADMINISTRATOR, is a rare find—and a real keeper. If I
still
wore one, I’d tip my hat to the author, but I guess maybe a baseball
cap
works just as well. Well done, Ms. Popek, you have given this reader a
marvelous read. Thank you.
It is my understanding that this work is going to be available in
audiobook
form from The Fiction Works some day soon. It will be a dramatic
reading,
and from my observations, this is pretty dramatic work to begin with,
so
the audio will be incredible. I can hardly wait.
{Mr. Hamilton was a dear friend and fine man. We shall miss him very much. Thank you, John. I know you can see us from Heaven.}
S. Joan Popek
Order the book at http://www.fictionworks.com/etheadministrator.