(reviewed by JD Jung)
We’ve all been through a lot this past year and a half. Not just with COVID-19, but with social unrest, political chaos, and dealing with people who won’t accept basic facts as reality. Everyday life has definitely become strange.
Enter She Shits Bricks and Other Short Stories. These thirteen short cyberpunk stories feature reoccurring themes and characters through various lenses and perspectives. They reflect on the events of our current times, but take them into year 2100, and several steps further, way beyond the realm of absurdity. The result? Stories centered on greed, corruption, sex, money, compulsion, and depravity that are graphic, crude, bizarre, and totally enjoyable!
A homeless man who didn’t get to where he was from mental health issues, the economy, drugs, or alcohol. A COVID-991 pandemic that is devastating the world but still politicized. Companies and governments that track our movements to an extreme. “Reality” is what we experience online, rather than offline. There’s even more. Sound familiar? Yes, we can relate to these issues and events, but the author takes them way past any boundaries…or not.
Though I enjoy dark humor, I usually don’t care for science-fiction or futuristic stories. But at only ninety-four pages, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m so glad I did. Is it a cautionary tale or just weird “what-ifs”? You decide.
