Douglas Smith | Writer of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Click on the ordering links beside any book below, or check out my Amazon Author Page.

CHIMERASCOPE

ChiZine Publications, March 2010
Collection, 16 stories, 332 pages, introduction by Julie Czerneda
Hardcover, limited edition, signed and numbered, ISBN 978-0-9813746-1-1
Trade Paperback, ISBN 978-0-9812978-5-9

Ordering Links:

Paperback:
Amazon (USA) | Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (UK)
Barnes & Noble (USA) | Chapters / Indigo (Canada)

e-book:
Amazon (Kindle) | Crossroad Press (multiple formats) | Wowio (PDF)

Chimerascope is the first full collection of short fiction from award-winning Canadian author, Douglas Smith.

Chimerascope—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.

These are some of the stories you will encounter in Chimerascope. Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction, including one Aurora Award-winner, a Best New Horror pick, and nine Aurora finalists, 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. Click here for more information, including excerpts from the stories.

What the reviews are saying...

"Chimerascope is a massively enjoyable trek through the far-fetched, the horrifying, and the flat-out weird, all filtered through Smith’s remarkable imagination and prodigious talent. ... Although Smith’s tales may centre on the fantastic, what is immediately notable is his steady grasp of character, which lends humanity to even the most absurd situations. The stories in this collection traverse genres and styles — from outright horror to witty surrealism to martial-arts mythology — without missing a beat. ... Chimerascope is a sterling set, with nary a weak or disposable entry. Smith’s writing, evocative yet understated, gracefully brings to life his imagined realms."

— Quill and Quire, Mar 2010 *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. ...will appeal to fans of such literary sf writers such as Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe."

— Library Journal, Mar 2010

"Smith’s second collection (after 2008’s Impossibilia) delivers an entertaining selection of stories that deftly span multiple genres, often milking surprisingly original tales out of tired tropes."

— Publishers Weekly, Jan 2010

"Chimerascope confirms for me what Impossibilia affirmed, namely that Douglas Smith is an extraordinary author whom every lover of quality speculative fiction should read. Rating: A+"

— Fantasy Book Critic, Mar 2010

"[An] engaging and entertaining volume, pieces of whose content resonate after the book is finished."

—Booklist, Apr 2010

IMPOSSIBILIA

2009 Aurora Award Finalist
PS Publishing, November 2008
Collection, 97 pages
Jacketed Hardcover, limited edition, signed and numbered, ISBN 978-1848630017
Hardcover, limited edition, signed and numbered, ISBN 978-1848630000

Ordering Links:
Jacketed Hardcover
Hardcover

Note: Both the jacketed hardcover and the hardcover are signed, limited, numbered editions

Impossibilia, Douglas Smith's first collection of short fiction, is available from the award-winning UK press, PS Publishing, as part of their "Showcase" series highlighting genre fiction's best up-and-coming writers.

What the reviews are saying...

"Rarely have I seen such an apt title to any book! Douglas Smith has given us three amazing stories that are so unusual and beautiful that no other name than Impossibilia could possibly describe this collection. Each tale was rapture and ecstasy, magical and mysterious, perfect and implausible. In short, I loved them all from the first word to the last. ... I don’t know what else to say without spoiling things for you so I won’t say anything else, except READ THIS BOOK!!!"

— Jim Dodge Jr., Mass Movement Magazine, May 2009

"The three stories collected in 'Impossibilia' are very different, covering almost the entire range of speculative genres. The writing is superb. Douglas Smith is an artisan and his stories beautifully crafted. ... In my search for the perfect short story, the three in this volume certainly qualify."

—Kelly Jensen, SF Crowsnest Book Reviews, January 2009

"Both thematically and stylistically, these stories sometimes recall the work of better known authors, including Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon, and Ray Bradbury. But Smith puts such a personal stamp on his stories, and invests them with such depth of feeling, that they transcend the dangers of … imitation and emerge as wholly original. … There is a certain exhilaration that comes from reading the book’s complex and powerfully emotional stories couched in that deft and smooth prose. It is easy to see why PS Publishing considers Smith an author who deserves more attention. … [Smith deserves] to be known to by a very wide audience indeed."

—Matt Cardin, Dead Reckonings review magazine, No. 5, Spring 2009

"Highly, highly recommended."

—Liviu Suciu, Fantasy Book Critic, April 2009

"Impossibilia is a treasure to be savoured, like gourmet chocolates and fine wine. It includes three superb stories…each beautifully written and wondrously imagined. It took me several days to get through this book. Not because it is in any way difficult to read--far from it and quite the opposite: the stories in this collection are so wonderful, I wanted to take time to digest and enjoy each and every one."

— Rainbow Dragon Recommends, May 2009

"The stories in this collection reach from van Gogh's rural France to the classic travelling fair to the far lost forest, and from timeshift to shapeshift to the activity of luck. That's range, or at least a glimpse of range, in the grand manner that harks back to Bradbury and Sturgeon and Ellison"

— Chaz Brenchley, award-winning UK writer, November 2008

"Each story [in Impossibilia] is unique and different, showcasing a different aspect of Douglas Smith's talent. [...] A fun romp that delivered something different [with] stories that are exhilarating, enjoyable, and well above competence."

— Charles Tan, Bibliophile Stalker - Speculative Fiction Reviews, Dec 2008

"A book that ably demonstrates what Smith is capable of as a writer, added to which, anyone who references Springsteen songs in their titles is going to get the thumbs up from me."

— Peter Tennant, Black Static Magazine, March 2009

"In his elegant and perceptive introduction to this latest showcase collection from PS Publishing, Chaz Brenchley reminds us that 'the proper focus of a story, any story, lies in the characters that inhabit it.' In the three novelettes that comprise Impossibilia, Douglas Smith [lays] bare the psychological and emotional fragility that motivates his characters."

— Mike O'Driscoll, The Fix, December 2008

"Aptly named, Impossiblilia introduces the reader to Douglas Smith’s magical reality where the impossible is readily accepted as normal. ... [The] three letter perfect stories behind the expressionist cover art admirably display Mr. Smith’s considerable creativity."

— Kent Knopp-Schwyn, Hellnotes, September 2009

Campus Chills

Edited by Mark Leslie, with an introduction by Robert J. Sawyer
October 2009, 308 pages
Trade Paperback, ISBN 978-0-9735688-1-3
Retail $19.95, Kindle $11.95

Ordering Links:
University of Waterloo bookstore
McMaster University bookstore
Kindle version on Amazon
e-book at Kobo
Chilling tales born from the dark shadows of campuses across Canada. Featuring thirteen all original tales of terror by talented Canadian authors. Launched on October 22, 2009 exclusively at Titles Bookstore McMaster University, Waterloo Bookstore, University of Alberta Bookstore, and Dalhousie University Bookstore, this anthology is produced on the Espresso Book Machines located at the first three of these bookstores.

Stories By:

• Kelley Armstrong - Harbinger
• Julie E. Czerneda - The Forever Brotherhood
• Kimberly Foottit and Mark Leslie - Prospero's Ghost
• James Alan Gardner - Truth-Poison
• Sèphera Girón - Can You See the Real Me?
• Michael Kelly - Different Skins
• Nancy Kilpatrick - Sara
• Susie Moloney - Sown
• Douglas Smith - Radio Nowhere
• Brit Trogen - Red Cage
• Edo van Belkom - Sypher
• Steve Vernon - Old Spice Love Knot
• Carol Weekes - In The Pursuit of Dreams

By Her Hand, She Draws You Down: Official Movie Companion Book

March 2009, 115 pages
Trade paperback, ISBN 9781926633039
Retail $11.99

Ordering Link:
Titles Bookstore, Hamilton, ON
The official companion book for the indie horror film “By Her Hand, She Draws You Down,” directed by Anthony G. Sumner, produced by Alan Rowe Kelly and Anthony G. Sumner, starring Zoë Daelman Chlanda and Jerry Murdock, and based on the story of the same name by award-winning Canadian writer Douglas Smith.

Described as “delightfully creepy” by Booklist, “By Her Hand...” tells the story of a beautiful young artist with an insatiable and deadly hunger. The movie will be making its appearance in 2009 at indie film festivals, and will be included on the upcoming DVD, Gallery of Fear.

The book contains Doug's original story, "making the movie" interviews, the complete storyboard shooting script, photos from the shoot, artist sketches used in the actual movie, full credits, an interview with Doug, and biographies of all involved.

Postscripts #17

Peter Crowther & Nick Gevers (editors) (cover art: Edward Miller)
December 2008
ISBN 978-1848630185 (paperback) and 978-1848630178 (signed hardcover)

Ordering Links:
Paperback
Signed Hardcover

Issue #17 of PS Publishing's award winning magazine, containing my 2009 Aurora-nominated story, "Doorways."