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Jason V Brock
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Simulacrum and Other Possible Realities Kindle Edition

by Jason V Brock (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
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Jason V Brock is one of the most dynamic young writers of weird and science fiction, and this first collection of his short fiction reveals the wide diversity of his talents and the gripping power and intensity of his conceptions. Among these sixteen stories are such masterworks as “P.O.V.,” a multilayered narrative about a grisly murder; “The History of a Letter,” an ingenious riff on the iconic figure of H. P. Lovecraft; “Milton’s Children,” an expansive novella that hints of unthinkable horrors in the Antarctic; and “Simulacrum,” a scintillating science fiction novella that evokes the shade of Philip K. Dick. Also included are thirteen of Brock’s evocative poems. With a foreword by William F. Nolan and an introduction by James Robert Smith.
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  1. Print length
    254 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    February 9, 2015
  5. File size
    743 KB
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00TEO3UD2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hippocampus Press (February 9, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 9, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 743 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

About the author

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Jason V Brock

Jason V Brock

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JASON V BROCK is an award-winning and -nominated writer, editor, filmmaker, composer, artist, scholar, and speaker. He has been widely published online, in comic books, magazines, nonfiction works, and anthologies, such as THE PS BOOK OF FANTASTIC FICTIONEERS, DISORDERS OF MAGNITUDE (Nonfiction Finalist for both the Bram Stoker Award and the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards), THE DARK SEA WITHIN: TALES & POEMS, FUNGI, WEIRD FICTION REVIEW (print edition), FANGORIA, S. T. Joshi's BLACK WINGS series, and many, many others. He describes his Pushcart Prize-nominated work as Dark Magical Realism. He has mentored numerous other writers who have likewise gone on to be nominated for and/or earn Clarion West scholarships, as well as World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, and other awards. In addition, he administers the Estate of William F. Nolan.

Brock was Art Director/Managing Editor of DARK DISCOVERIES magazine for more than four years, and publishes a pro journal called [NAMEL3SS], which can be found on Twitter/X: NAMELESS_DIGEST, and on the Interwebs at NAMELESSDIGEST. In addition, Brock and his wife, Sunni, run CYCATRIX PRESS (a few of their books include A DARKE PHANTASTIQUE [Bram Stoker Award Finalist], THE BLEEDING EDGE, and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated debut short story collection THE MIRRORS by author Nicole Cushing). They also have a technology consulting business.

As a filmmaker, his works include the critically acclaimed documentaries CHARLES BEAUMONT: THE LIFE OF TWILIGHT ZONE'S MAGIC MAN, THE ACKERMONSTER CHRONICLES! (Winner of the 2014 Rondo Hatton Award for Best Documentary), and IMAGE, REFLECTION, SHADOW: ARTISTS OF THE DARKE PHANTASTIQUE. He is the primary composer and instrumentalist/singer for his band, CHIAROSCURO.

Popular as a speaker and panelist, he has been a Special Guest at numerous film fests, conventions, and educational events, and was the 2015 Editor Guest of Honor for ORYCON 37, the largest science fiction convention in Oregon. Brock loves his wife, their family of herptiles, travel, and vegan/vegetarianism. He is active on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter/X (JASONVBROCK), and their personal website/blog, JASUNNI.

**2021 Pushcart Prize Nominee (SHORT FICTION): “Verlassen”**

**2015 Bram Stoker Award Finalist (BEST ANTHOLOGY): A DARKE PHANTASTIQUE**

**2015 Bram Stoker Award Finalist (BEST NONFICTION BOOK): DISORDERS OF MAGNITUDE: A SURVEY OF DARK FANTASY**

**2015 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award Finalist (BEST BOOK): DISORDERS OF MAGNITUDE: A SURVEY OF DARK FANTASY**

**2014 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award Winner (BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM): THE ACKERMONSTER CHRONICLES!**

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About His Work:

**SIMULACRUM AND OTHER POSSIBLE REALITIES (Debut Collection)**

“Jason V Brock. . . A bold new voice in American fiction. Watch this man! You may be in at the birth of a legend.”

—William F. Nolan (co-author, LOGAN'S RUN; screenwriter, BURNT OFFERINGS)

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“[Brock] makes the fantastic utterly believable. . . a fine writer, indeed.”

—George Clayton Johnson (writer for STAR TREK and THE TWILIGHT ZONE; co-author, LOGAN'S RUN)

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“Bravo!”

—Ray Bradbury (author, FAHRENHEIT 451 and THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES)

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“. . .a clever young man, Jason Brock.”

—Harlan Ellison (author, DEATHBIRD STORIES and “A Boy and His Dog”)

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“[Brock] knows how to tell a story. . . [he] has heart. . . real emotion. . . [it's] a strong part of writing that most writers never capture.”

—James Robert Smith (author, THE FLOCK)

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“[Brock] takes. . . characters into places I never expected. . .”

—Richard Matheson (author, SOMEWHERE IN TIME and I AM LEGEND)

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**MILTON'S CHILDREN (Novella)**

“Fun and clever and full of storytelling energy. You are bound to like this one.”

—Joe R. Lansdale (Edgar Award winning author, THE THICKET)

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“This richly textured novella is a triumph—a splendid fusion of horror and science fiction, of the cosmic and the human. It fulfills the promise of Jason V Brock's earlier work and establishes him as a force to be reckoned with in contemporary weird fiction.”

—S. T. Joshi (World Fantasy Award winning scholar/editor, H. P. LOVECRAFT: A LIFE; THE WEIRD TALE)

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“As satisfying as a novel, Jason V Brock's story MILTON’S CHILDREN combines classic elements of H. P. Lovecraft and Jules Verne with modern sensibilities to spin a yarn that is part adventure tale and part horror story. I loved it, but it is thoroughly a dire warning: When we become monsters, we also create monsters.”

—Ray Garton (World Horror Convention Grand Master and author, LIVE GIRLS)

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“Venture into the Antarctic, where Jason V Brock will plunge you into one of the most terrifying Lost Worlds stories imaginable: Make no mistake, this is no Lovecraft or Crichton knockoff; the S-F/Horror story revealed here on this undiscovered island is original and scientifically plausible. The writing is crisp, precise, and easily accessible; the plotting sharp and compelling; and once the action starts it is non-stop, the reader only able to catch their breath at its very conclusion. . .

“Underlying the writing, one is totally convinced that they are in good authorial hands—what I call the marvelous 'Allstate Effect,' achieved rarely by only the most highly skilled authors. Snag this book! Copy its byline: Jason V Brock, and put it up on the fridge, then underline it—after that, be sure to watch for more exciting, literate stories to come. Highly recommended.”

—Gene O'Neill (Bram Stoker Award winning author, TASTE OF TENDERLOIN)

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patrick Hayes
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an amazing collection of short fiction by an artist who is ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is an amazing collection of short fiction by an artist who is showing that genre horror and surreal fiction can certainly reach into the realm of "literature". Jason V Brock is a complicated artist who writes complicated and meaningful fiction. I love that he never takes the easy way out of a story or takes it easy on his characters, or for that matter the reader. He demands your attention and demands as much from his stories and I can assume himself. Don't miss this collection if you want stories that will stick with you for years after you put the book down.
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Carson B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Read and be enriched
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2013
SIMULACRUM AND OTHER POSSIBLE REALITIES
By Jason V Brock
Hippocampus Press, 2013; Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-61498-055-1
[...]
$20; 250 pgs

Renaissance man Jason V Brock has done it again, this time with a collection of poetry and short stories not to be missed. Filled to the top and over with ideas and philosophies, this book questions just about everything from what is real and what is not, to death, to being human--the big three.
Brock's social consciousness is brought to the fore in several stories, as well, most notably in "Milton's Children." But if you are for one moment thinking that these stories are too cerebral and will be slow, dense reading, think again. Though the stories and the abstractions in them are profound, they are also accessible and contain their fair share of the devices that horror/sci-fi readers have come to cherish.
Here they are:

"What the Dead's Eyes Behold"-- A serial killer with an unusual motivation

"Central Coast" -- You'll think about this story the next time you buy an expensive bottle of wine.

"One for the Road" -- Rest areas late at night...the creepiest places on earth.

"The Hex Factor" -- A story about a lawyer that is actually funny.

"Valor: A Fable" -- This one would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. A compassionate heart is as important as valor.

"Object Lesson" -- A powerful story dealing with parental death, hospitals, life-support issues. Just because we can, should we?

"Where Everything That is Lost Goes" -- A sci-fi gem dealing with physics and time. Fascinating. Ultimately, appreciate what you have...and when.

"The Underground" -- A conversations between two odd passengers on a hellbound subway.

"Van Helsing: His True Story" -- Interesting take on the most famous fictional vampire killer in the world.

"P.O.V." -- A murder from three points of view and humanity stolen in two different ways.

"By Any Other Name" -- Here's a job you never want to interview for.

"Red Wat Shod" -- is Scottish for "Bloodstained Shoes." An eerie, dreamlike tale.

"The History of a Letter" -- Brock finds a letter in a book in a used bookstore. Mysterious. The story is very like something that Poe would write, both in subject and in style. We read the letter about a grotesque antique shop and the horror in the window along with the author. This is my favorite story in the book.

"Black Box" -- This is an amusing read, especially for Twilight Zone fans, being a continuation of Richard Matheson's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." Another standout.

"Milton's Children" --the story of a scientific expedition coming home from Antarctica that finds an uncharted archipelago which asks the questions, `Are we really at the top of the food chain?' and "Are animals really 'dumb'?'

"Simulacrum" -- A story of many questions and few answers on the nature of reality; but one which will stay with the reader and provoke much thought.

Though each story is followed by a relevant poem, I, alas, have not reviewed them. Suffice it to say that there is poetry in this book, and knowing Brock's myriad of abilities, from writing to filmmaking to publishing, to artwork, to editing, I think I could safely say that the poetry is undoubtedly brilliant, as well. My poetry education is somewhat lacking, and so I shall leave that area of review to those who are more qualified than I. However, since poetry is, and always has been, different things to different people, perhaps you'll read it and decide for yourselves, yes?
In this 250-page book, there is something for everyone, with exposure to concepts and perceptions that may not have occurred to the reader and can be enriching if the mind is open to new ideas...and some new spins on old ones.

As Albert Einstein said, "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

Simulacrum and Other Possible Realities is a valuable book; but is also a successful book in that it accomplishes what it sets out to do, proving that both are possible.

--Carson Buckingham
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Ashley Dioses
3.0 out of 5 stars some better than others
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2015
All these stories are quite interesting, some better than others, but out of the 16 stories in here, I would have to say that the last 3 stories are amazing and my personal favorites. The first of the three, Black Box, is a sort of sequel to a Twilight Zone episode, written by Richard Matheson, called Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. The main character, the same pilot from the episode, is on a new flight when some of the same things start happening to the plane as they did before from the gremlin. It is a very intense story from the very beginning and leads to an excellent suspenseful ending.

The 2nd of the three, Milton's Children, is very Lovecraftian and involves a naval crew of scientists and biologists and such that discover a few new islands off of Antarctica. There they find a few new animal kingdoms and some are more terrifying than others. I found it most chilling that the giant bird like creatures could mimic human voices so well. Imagine running after a panicked friend to find that you're running straight into a hungry predator! Creepy! This story was really well done and was a perfect length to build up suspense and character development and background.

The last story, Simulacrum, dealt with the workings of a new technology that could create an alternative or virtual reality. As you might guess, problems develop where it is hard to decipher reality from illusion yet this story takes a fascinating new direction and ends with quite an interesting twist.
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Top reviews from other countries

ianf
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of stories that will leave you thinking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
I have read many different authors and many different genres of fiction, but if you're like me there's only a few books that you read a couple, or maybe three times. Each time you do, however, the experience is richer, something new is uncovered and your imagination brings the scenes and characters more to life. This is one of those books. Whether it's one of the poems or one of the engrossing stories, you will find yourself coming back to it at some later stage, i bet.
I'm not going to give you a precis of the work, as that would be robbing you of the experience of reading this excellent collection yourself. I just urge you to buy this and give it a go. i did, and i'm sure now that this is an author i will be following into the future with rapt attention.
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