NEW RELEASE and REVIEW
UnCommon Minds:
A Collection of AIs, Dreamwalkers, and other Psychic Mysteries
(UnCommon Anthologies Book 3)
A Collection of AIs, Dreamwalkers, and other Psychic Mysteries
(UnCommon Anthologies Book 3)
edited by P. K. Tyler
UnCommon Minds, the third book in the UnCommon Anthologies edited by P. K. Tyler, has just been released. Twenty authors and stories selected from hundreds of submissions, these are absolutely the best. Keep reading for an excerpt and my review. Also available: UnCommon Bodies (read my blog post) and UnCommon Origins (read my blog post).
More books and stories by P. K. Tyler: White Chalk (read my blog post), Dead Girl (read my blog post), Heaven's Vault (read my blog post), Alt. History 101 (read my blog post), Mosaics Volume 2 (read my blog post), CLONES: The Anthology (read my blog post), Book of Lilith (read my blog post), Avendui 5ive (read my blog post), Twin Helix (read blog post), The Jakkattu Vector (read my blog post).
Description
Enter into the hidden world of the mind, where the laws of nature don’t apply and nothing is as it seems.
Straight from the minds of 20 UnCommon Authors come tales of tragedy, triumph, and bittersweet gratitude. You'll find augmented realities and mental persuasion that force you to question everything. Stories of military suspense, psychological horror, dream walkers, and psychic mediums await their turn to crawl into your head.
Featuring:
"Inamorata" by J. D. Harpley
"Chief Canis and the Helpful Locals" by Patrick S. Baker
"The Arms of Mother" by Harlow C. Fallon
"Trouble Signs" by JonathanShipley
"Juliet’s Possessions" by Erica Ruhe
"Through Dreams She Moves" by Tonya Liburd
"The Machine Needs Fuel" by Joriah Wood
"Sitala" by Philip Harris
"LEGION Protocol - A d.o.mai.n Tale" by Christopher Godsoe
"The Dissertation" by Sara Thompson
"11.11" by Tausha Johnson
"The Enemy Beyond the Walls" by Daniel Arthur Smith
"Dragons on the Train" by Holly Heisey
"Whatever Lola Wants" by Shebat Legion
"In Loving Memory" by Ashleigh Gauch
"Mixers" by CB Droege
"Lost and Found" by Elizabeth Wolf
"Buddy Bolden’s Last Stand" by Michael Fountain
"Subliminal" by Zen DiPietro
"A Twentieth-Century Death" by Joshua Ingle
Excerpt
Click below to read an excerpt, including two complete stories.
Praise for the Book
"This book was interesting to say the least. It contains many short stories from different authors and various genres. Some of the stories are twisted but flow well with the intricacies of detail. If you're looking for something different to read, this is it. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. My favorite was Whatever Lola Wants by Shebat Legion, it was so different and creepy from what I normally read." ~ Kimberly
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
UnCommon Minds is a collection of 20 short stories from 20 different authors, each featuring a central character with an unusual mind. They include AI, aliens, lunatics, ghosts, and creepy children with technologically enhanced brains, mathematical genius, or paranormal abilities including telepathy, telekinesis, dream walking, and mind control. Various genres are covered, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, humor, and romance, both contemporary and futuristic.
In "Inamorata" Tehra, a digital mind whore, does a favor for a friend and gets more than she bargained for.
In "Chief Canis and the Helpful Locals" army dog handler Luis Canis uses telepathy to communicate with his dog.
In "The Arms of Mother" Mina's mind has been altered to accommodate her future as a helper, but something seems to have gone wrong.
In "Trouble Signs" Anna's mother-in-law has the ability to manipulate minds and a penchant for stealing signs, but she also has a sense of humor.
In "Juliet's Possessions" Adam spends the night in an old insane asylum for children, which he inherited from his grandmother, with only the tape recordings of eleven-year-old former inmate Juliet for company. I love this double-meaning title.
In "Through Dreams She Moves" Sarah uses her Gift of being able to enter people's dream to help Damien awake from a coma.
In "The Machine Needs Fuel" Lydia's parents take her to the unconventional Dr. Gordon in an attempt to find out why she is always so tired.
In "Sitala" Mika finds the wreck of a spaceship, but what she finds inside is even more extraordinary.
In "LEGION Protocol" Zane is part of the Holmes Initiative of detectives with brain enhancements.
In "The Dissertation" Jane presents her dissertation on Leah, an eight-year-old mass murderer with an abnormally high-functioning brain.
In "11.11" Renée knows how and when people will die, just like her father before her.
In "The Enemy Beyond the Walls" a young girl with an extraordinary mathematical ability helps protect her city from the enemy.
In "Dragons on the Train" 12-year-old Callie uses her mind to help her catch and eat dragons with the help of her mind-tether.
In "Whatever Lola Wants" Annie visits her sister and has an unusual encounter with her dog Lola.
In "In Loving Memory" Lana creates an AI in her image and gives it all of her memories and emotions, bar anger.
In "Mixers" machines erase anything that breaches copyright infringement. But what happens when they get access to our memories?
In "Lost and Found" a young girl is sent to a mental institution because of her unusual behavior.
In "Buddy Bolden's Last Stand" Buddy ends up in the mental asylum after his mind is ruined by alcohol but, when he plays music, everyone shares his madness.
In "Subliminal" Lim wakes up in a cell and can't remember why he's there.
In "A Twentieth Century Death" Coreann dies in a car crash, but her mind can't seem to move on.
All of these stories will leave you thinking about the remarkable abilities of the human mind and our ability to make it even more powerful. My favorite stories: "Juliet's Possessions", "The Machine Needs Fuel", "The Dissertation", "11.11", and "The Enemy Beyond the Walls". I just realized these all feature creepy children and horror elements. Hmm ... must say something about my preferences!
Anyway, there's bound to be a story in this collection that is to your taste!
About the Editor
P. K. Tyler is the author of Speculative Fiction and other Genre Bending novels. She's also published works as Pavarti K. Tyler and had projects appear on the USA Today Bestseller's List.
Pav attended Smith College and graduated with a degree in Theatre. She lived in New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off-Broadway. Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry for several international law firms.
Now located in Baltimore, Maryland, she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not penning science fiction books and other speculative fiction novels, she twists her mind by writing horror and erotica.
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