Anomic Bombs

Five Sci-Fi Tales of Organisms Not Quite Fitting In

By: Thomas Norford

Narrated by: Jared Masar

Do you fit in? Me neither. I wrote these stories for weirdos like you and me.

A messed up kid keeps a mightily upset alien prisoner in his barn. Carnage ensues.

A hunter pairs up with a mysterious girl to track down a terrifying humanoid predator. Carnage ensues.

Aliens commandeer the body of the wrong Taylor Swift. Carnage ensues.

A marshmallow toasting fork turns out to be a sacred relic of an alien empire. Carnage ensues.

You get the idea.

One of these short stories isn’t very short, but I included it anyway. Because it doesn't fit in.

©2024 Thomas Norford (P)2025 Thomas Norford

Critic reviews

"A treasure trove for fans of otherworldly adventures." - Epic Indie

Nice set of sci-fi short stories

Nice collections of short stories (plus one novella) from an author I hadn't read before. Definitely worth reading/listening to see if you might like more.

There is a theme ("organisms not quite fitting in"), but the stories are all wildly different settings, with interesting, cohesive, and self-consistent world building created underneath them. Each had its own pace and flow, which was fun to experience. I enjoyed settling into each new world.

The author did enjoy using some technical jargon (pedipalps was used repeatedly in one story and showed up in at least one more) and occasionally veered close to the line of purple prose, but overall I would stay it stayed on the right side of the line.

Love and Other Bioweapons was a great pick to start the book. Insectoid protagonists to start with gets you in the mood for something very different. Lamia was a good, fast, bolt of energy, I felt like it got in and got out while hitting you with a shotgun of emotion that reminds you of your less mature childhood days. The Sacred Furcula of Yukiang the Bird-whale took a little while to get going, but that's because it's the novella. It has many of the hallmarks of other sacred quest stories. I really grew to like the cast of characters, though the ending missed a little bit for me. Scourge of the Unblessed is a nice little slice of life story that makes me want to jump into the author's separate book written in that same setting. Child of Destiny was the only true miss for me - as soon as we were talking about Taylor Swift and other celebrities I basically lost interest.

I appreciate that a real reader was used rather than an AI voice, which I would have passed on immediately. Having said that, I heard a bit more sibilance on this recording than normal, which degraded the listening experience a bit. I don't really have strong feelings about readers the way others do, but some combination of the narration and my settings made the reading slightly difficult to follow at times.

Overall, I enjoyed these stories. A nice intro to an author who is new to me in the sci fi space.

An earful of words blended into literary smoothie

Mostly intriguing, always quirky, sometimes resembling Vogon poetry, the five stories contained herein will leave you with difficult-to-classify feelings that are in line with the obtuse writing style. Ah, but you're thinking like a human, and that's the first mistake. Put yourself in the body of another species first, and it will all make sense in the end. Jared Masar's buttery smooth voice will assist with your transmogrification. [Disclosure: I received this tittle for free and listened at 1.8x.]

Great sci-fi short stories

3.5/5 STARS! I’m really trying to read more science fiction books and listening to it on audiobook is just easier for me. Narration is great. Fun short stories, unique characters and worlds. Enjoyable for sci-fi newbies!