Roads of Last Resort

Thirteen stories in a mix of modern lit, magic surrealism, and outright fantasy: A sniper forgotten by time glimpses the world between shots and hibernation. Beau takes his arsonist grandfather on one last burn. When an airship is fueled by chaotic magic, a young engineer finds accidents are harsh and unforgiving. Old man Kinney has secrets locked away in his head, until dementia makes him forget to forget. When a dead god chooses you for a companion, there is no place to hide. Reliving happy memories, 87 million citizens hibernate as the world decays around them. These...and stranger tales. I have no good explanation for this collection of stories. I wish I could line them up in a particular genre, or trace a common theme between them, but I cannot. Some of these are rooted in dreams, (I woke late one night, terrified, with the words "wind the horns!" struggling out of my throat. As I fell asleep again, I dreamed that particular tale) and others just came to me from odd corners. If anything, they are all odd, and for me that is enough. I hope they take you to the same weird places they took me. Thanks for reading. DTG Praise for the 13 stories collected here, and other writings: "At some point in the story, I found myself almost wishing to be burned, which must mean that this story is doing something remarkable. It's full of great details -- like the sound of Leon's lighter, which manages to be both ominous and seductive. -Matt Williamson, Editor of Unstuck Books. "Gooden's prose is smooth, his descriptions vivid, his characters deep and engaging. -Scott Colby, author of Shotgun. "Frequently, fantasy tales fit within certain predictable guidelines. This one is fresh and new" -CelticCowgirl, Amazon review.