Chimerascope
by Douglas Smith

Aurora Award Finalist

Chimerascope [ki-meer-uh-skohp]—a story of many parts…

A young artist hungers to draw you.
A dinner conversation takes three lifetimes to finish.
A geologist faces a planet-sized, eons-old puzzle to save her crew.
The hero of the Fall of Earth must choose between love and revenge.
A mysterious dancer leads a businessman to a most exclusive nightclub.
A man is born each day into a new life—only to die each night.
A sentient aurora threatens the last of humanity.
A Norse god’s bar in Toronto hosts an unplanned family reunion.
A woman descends into insanity—or is it the end of the world?
A house as big as the world.

Chimerascope is the first full collection of short fiction from multi-award winning author Douglas Smith, containing sixteen of his best stories, including an award winner, a Best New Horror selection, and eight award finalists.

Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction that take you from love in fourteenth-century Japan to humanity’s last stand, from virtual reality to the end of reality, from alien drug addictions to a dinner where a man loses everything.

Chimerascope includes the following stories: Scream Angel | The Red Bird | By Her Hand, She Draws You Down | New Year’s Eve | Out of the Light | State of Disorder | The Boys Are Back in Town | Symphony | Enlightenment | Nothing | Jigsaw | Going Harvey in the Big House | The Last Ride | The Dancer at the Red Door | A Taste Sweet and Salty | Memories of the Dead Man

“His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author

“A massively enjoyable trek…all filtered through Smith’s remarkable imagination and prodigious talent.” —Quill and Quire (starred review)

“The 16 stories in this collection showcase the inventive mind and immense storytelling talent of one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction.”—Library Journal​​​​​​​

“An entertaining selection of stories that deftly span multiple genres.” —Publishers Weekly

“An engaging and entertaining volume, pieces of whose content resonate after the book is finished.” —Booklist

“Douglas Smith is an extraordinary author whom every lover of quality speculative fiction should read. Rating: A+” —Fantasy Book Critic

“Arrestingly inventive premises in a field where really interesting new ideas are harder and harder to find. …Smith is definitely an author who deserves to be more widely read.” —Strange Horizons

“A beautifully diverse selection of short tales…well-crafted, easily digestible; several of the stories are incredibly moving and stick with the reader long after.” —Sunburst Award jury

“Smith is a master of beginnings…some of the most well-crafted hooks you’ll find anywhere…[with] endings that feel satisfying and right.” —Canadian Science Fiction Review