Impossibilia

Aurora Award Finalist.

The people we meet in Impossiblia are like any of us. They have secrets…fears…desires. Things they keep hidden. Things they keep locked away. Or try to. Only their things are a little…different.

A dead wife that won’t leave.
A wolf with a past.
The secret to being the luckiest man alive.

In “Bouquet of Flowers in Vase, by van Gogh,” remote viewing drives a search through the past for lost masterpieces. An ex-CIA agent, haunted by the presence of his dead wife, falls in love with a beautiful remote viewer with her own secret. But can viewing the past change the present?

Cree Indian legends, a love triangle, a covert government agency, and shape shifters collide in the award-winning “Spirit Dance,” described in Challenging Destiny as “...a vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King.”

In “Going Down to Lucky Town,” an itinerant gambler chases a streak of luck across the country, while trying to win back the love of his daughter. The secret he finds forces him into the gamble of his life for the highest stakes of all: his daughter’s life.

And through all the stories, these characters share one more thing beyond what they hold inside. In the decisions they face, in the choices they make, they do what they do out of love. Lost love, found love, the love of their child. But love.

So maybe they aren’t that different from us after all.

Enjoy!

Reviews

"Doug Smith is, quite simply, the finest short-story writer Canada has ever produced in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and he's also the most prolific. His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think." --Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author

"One of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction." --Library Journal

"A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice." --Charles de Lint

"Three amazing stories that are so unusual and beautiful that no other name than Impossibilia could possibly describe this collection. Each tale was rapture and ecstasy, magical and mysterious, perfect and implausible. In short, I loved them all from the first word to the last. ... READ THIS BOOK!!!" --Mass Movement Magazine

"The writing is superb. Douglas Smith is an artisan and his stories beautifully crafted. ... In my search for the perfect short story, the three in this volume certainly qualify." --SF Crowsnest

"Sometimes recall the work of better known authors, including Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon, and Ray Bradbury. But Smith puts such a personal stamp on his stories, and invests them with such depth of feeling, that they transcend the dangers of imitation and emerge as wholly original. ... complex and powerfully emotional stories couched in that deft and smooth prose. [Smith] deserves to be known to by a very wide audience indeed." --Dead Reckonings magazine

"Highly, highly recommended." --Fantasy Book Critic

"Each story is unique and different, showcasing a different aspect of Douglas Smith's talent. [...] A fun romp that delivered something different [with] stories that are exhilarating, enjoyable, and well above competence." --Speculative Fiction Reviews

"A book that ably demonstrates what Smith is capable of as a writer." --Black Static Magazine

"Three letter perfect stories behind the expressionist cover art admirably display Mr. Smith's considerable creativity." --Hellnotes

"I would very cheerfully read more stories by this author. ... Worth reading: definitely." --International Review of Science Fiction

About the Author

Douglas Smith is an award-winning Canadian author of speculative fiction, with over a hundred short story publications in thirty countries and twenty-five languages.

His collections include Chimerascope (2010) and Impossibilia (2008), as well as the translated fantasy collection, La Danse des Esprits (France, 2011). His first novel, The Wolf at the End of the World, will be released in 2013.

Doug has twice won Canada's Aurora Award, and has been a finalist for the international John W. Campbell Award, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Bookies Award, Canada's juried Sunburst Award, and France's juried Prix Masterton and Prix Bob Morane.

A multi-award winning film based on Doug's story "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" will be released on DVD this year, and other films based on his stories are in the works.

Doug's website is smithwriter.com  and he tweets at twitter.com/smithwritr.