Funny Science Fiction

An artist takes us through his day, from his own particular perspective. A short story from Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Mary O'Sullivan makes her own rules now. Her first self-assigned mission? Track down the league retirees who killed her family, and enforce the long-overdue justice they deserve. But Mary's crusade thrusts her deep into the shadows of vigilantism, where good and evil blur to gray. With her secret identity blown to shreds, she's beset by reporters and forced to seek unlikely allies. When her enemies turn the tables and start hunting her, Mary must face the darker side of heroism—or risk becoming their next victim. Follow Mary into the dark with the page-turning sequel to Alter Ego.

Odo and Eleanor are now officially knights, helped (and sometimes hindered) by their magical but rather difficult to control magical swords. But if they thought life as a knight was going to be easy, they were wrong! Before they know it, their first task is to tackle some ferocious bile wolves!

Stargazey World follows the story of Sheena Robinson, a feisty, complex youngster who often feels guilty about her lack of concentration. At school her work doesn't improve and her chaotic mop of tangled green hair is mocked, but this feisty Scouser has the ready wit and true grit to deal with her bullies. When Sheena visits Cornwall for her cousin's wedding, she must share a bedroom with the tomboyish Carys. By day everything is normal, but by night the animals on the bedroom wallpaper come to life.

T-Bin has been traveling through space for years to deposit its passengers on a new planet, to give them a new life. But now, mere days from arrival, Tanner can’t shake the feeling that there’s a more sinister plot at work.

Twelve-year old Harley is happy to be back home after her adventures in the Land of the Dead. But strange things soon start happening. A bunch of Restless Souls turn up in at school, the portal of doom breaks and everyone thinks Harley has blown up her best friend, Bess. Is this all connected to a mysterious ancient prophecy that everyone in the Land of the Dead keeps talking about? There’s only one thing for it. Harley has to unleash her inner Legendary Hero and head Beyond Life for more monsters, mysteries and mayhem!

Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse? Ever wonder what it would be like to be a real life ninja kid? Sounds like you need the ninja code! Take a peek at what is really going on with the zombie apocalypse. Michael Carter, with a handful of new friends, a dog with secret abilities, and his fart brother, need to find a safe place to hide.

Have you ever wondered what a UFO abduction is like from the alien’s viewpoint? Can a machine provide comfort to a dying woman? What would it be like to fall into the hands of a get-rich-quick scheming extraterrestrial? All these questions and more are answered in this book of wonderfully crafted short stories by breakout author J.J. Harlan.

"Elementary, my dear Rand. It works because it's impossible!" - Quinn Schmul, eccentric inventor. A whirlwind tale of time travel, magic, science, coffee, geeks, logic, fallacy, and spaghetti. Rand likes his coffee, his sleep, and the study of philosophy. Especially philosophy. He craves the beauty and rigor of it. That's why he's studying formal logic at an age when he should be doing something far more sensible with his life. It's a mystery how he ended up getting roped into his girlfriend-inventor's latest experiment. Sure, yeah, Quinn has terrific hair, and as a barista in her day job, ...

Esha Verma, her snotty apprentice Broccoli and his cunning pet tortoise have a dream. They are going to win the legendary Brain Trophy - the ultimate inventing prize. This year's entry: a time machine. But the day before the competition, Esha's ignoramus big sister hijacks the time machine and is lost in the Cretaceous age. With help from a new recruit for The Office of Time, Esha and Broccoli will have to face hungry dinosaurs, mysterious black holes and malfunctioning inventions to get them back in time.

Ten-year-old Opie Jones is Very Ordinary. In fact nothing remarkable has ever happened to her, if you don’t count the cat that gives her funny looks from next door (which she doesn’t). So she is naturally very surprised when she is recruited to join The Resistance—a team of superheroes who can read minds, and have a dastardly brainwashing villain to defeat. However it turns out Opie can’t read human minds; she can read animal ones. The other members of the Resistance are very disappointed. And a whole world of animal chat and demands is opening up to her.

Remember the time we went to the Land of Lost Things to look for my lucky rabbit's foot and then we got lost too? That was one of our most exciting, surprising and knuckle-headed adventures ever. What? You don't remember? Well, have I got a story for you! It all started like this . . .

In this Caldecott Medal-winning tale set in Old Japan, a lively little woman who loves to laugh pursues her runaway dumpling - and must outwit the wicked three-eyed oni when she lands in their clutches.

Besuch aus dem Weltall? Aus heiterem Himmel? Das gibt es doch gar nicht! Doch, genau das passiert einem Schüler namens Tim. Mitten im Unterricht stürzt ein winziges, rauchendes Raumschiff direkt auf seinen Schultisch, und heraus purzeln vier Aliens... Tim nimmt sie im Rucksack mit nach Hause – und damit beginnt eine durchgeknallte Geschichte voller unerwarteter Begegnungen, ferngesteuerter Katzen, überlegener außerirdischer Technik, verkleinerter Autos und kreischender Lehrerinnen - und du bist dabei.

Felix hates Mondays. Dad's yelling at him to get up. His little brother, Olly, is being super annoying. So when Felix shuts the bathroom door, he wishes he could get away. He turns on the shower and...REEEEKKKKKK! Felix finds himself standing in the middle of a field...naked...with an army of soldiers charging at him.

Dostoyevsky was never shy to play with the issues of human mind in his work. A Funny Man's Dream is one of his shorter pieces that, nevertheless, lacks none of the profundity or the mind-bending power of his larger works.

This truly dark mystery story sees our protagonist Dragonman and undeniable friends and partners investigate a bizarre murder spree. The murders turn out to be far from ordinary when an investigation into the past brings untimely dread and danger for the future. This scary audiobook leads you on a trail of homicide that is more than meets the eye. John Logan has to look deep into Luke Starr’s past to find the answers he seeks. Nobody is laughing, because it turns out dying isn’t funny.

Little Nani is a little girl who likes helping people. However, when she helps people the results can be a bit unexpected. Why is that? Little Nani is a witch! Or at least she wants to be a witch. With her magic wand, she will try to cast different spells to help her friends, but she won't be successful all the time.

Evelyn Witch has everything a witch needs. Messy hair, bubbling potions, and perfectly carved pumpkins. But there’s something missing… A pet! Perhaps she’ll get a bat or a griffin, or—Oh. She can only afford the mystery pet: a plain white egg. She watches and waits for it to hatch. Sniveling snails, something has to be done! Evelyn rolls up her sleeves and heads to the library, where they keep all the best spells. It’s time to get serious.

Life as an asteroid wildcatter ain't easy! Hello, friends. The name's Christopher Columbus Jackson. When I set out to make my fortune as an asteroid wildcatter, I had no idea that I'd soon cross paths with a down-and-out warrior priestess of the Church of Jesus Christ of Post-Millennial Saints, Orthodox. If I'd known better, I'd have steered clear of her distress beacon altogether. But there are two kinds of people in this galaxy: those who believe in something bigger than themselves, and those who don't believe in anything else. I would soon find out what kind of a man I was.