Synopses & Reviews
Mixing outlaw humor, sci-fi adventure, and cutting social criticism, this collection draws upon John Shirleys entire arsenal. The title essay, "New Taboos" is his prescription for a radical revisioning of America. A new short story, "State of Imprisonment," is a horrifying and hilarious look at the privatization of the prison industry. The one percent gets their comeuppance in "Where the Market's Hottest." His TEDx address (delivered in Brussels in 2011) presents his proudly contrarian views of the next 40 years. Also featured is an Outspoken Interview showcasing the author's progressive sensibility, deep humanity, and mordant wit.
Review
"Readers who enjoy living a little dangerously are likely to appreciate the sheer, headlong exuberance of Shirley's imagination." —San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
Mixing outlaw humor, sci-fi adventure, and cutting social criticism, this collection draws upon John Shirley's entire arsenal. The title essay, "New Taboos" is his prescription for a radical revisioning of America. A new short story, "State of Imprisonment," is a horrifying and hilarious look at the privatization of the prison industry. The one percent gets their comeuppance in "Where the Market's Hottest." His TEDx address (delivered in Brussels in 2011) presents his proudly contrarian views of the next 40 years. Also featured is an Outspoken Interview showcasing the author's progressive sensibility, deep humanity, and mordant wit.
Synopsis
Mixing outlaw humor, SF adventure, and cutting social criticism, Shirley draws upon his entire arsenal of narrative and commentary. The title essay, "New Taboos" is his prescription for a radical revisioning of America. A new novella, A State of Imprisonment, is a horrifying and grimly hilarious look at the privatization of the prison industry. "Why We Need Forty Years of Hell," Shirley's 2011 TEDx address, presents his proudly contrarian view of the near future.
Also featured is our Outspoken Interview showcasing the author's transgressive sensibility, deep humanity, and mordant wit.
About the Author
John Shirley is one of the original “Dread Lords” of Cyberpunk who brought a new noir sensibility to SF and Fantasy in the 1990s. He is the author of numerous books and many short stories, including the novels Bleak History, Crawlers, Demons, In Darkness Waiting, and the seminal cyberpunk works City Come A-Walkin' and A Song Called Youth trilogy of Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona. His collections include the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winning Black Butterflies, Living Shadows, and In Extremis. As a musician, he has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult and others. He lives in San Francisco.