Fifteen years ago, when an interviewer for The Austin American-Statesman asked what it takes to be a writer, William Browning Spencer said, 'You have to be willing to ruin the rest of your life.' Mr. Spencer notes that the willingness is more important than the actual result, and that his life is not in ruins. But he does believe that risk-taking is part of the process, not only for the author but for his characters. This is certainly the case for the characters in this collection of stories. There are people in peril here (a therapist, a wife and daughter, a friend) and there are those who would save them by venturing into the unknown. In 'The Halfway House at the Heart of Darkness' a virtual reality addictions counselor is on the run with his zoned-out client, pursued by the relentless architects of a seductive virtual game called Apes and Angels. In 'The Oddskeeper's Daughter' a marriage made in a heaven of parallel worlds is tested by impossible luck, both good and bad. In 'Downloading Midnight' a computer technician must make a dangerous journey into virtual reality in an attempt to save his colleague and prevent the entire web from collapsing. Join us for a mind-bending tour through the imagination of William Browning Spencer.
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"Mixing horror and humor is a tricky business but Spencer pulls it off here. Ever wonder what it would be like to be continuously hounded by the Elder Gods of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and to be employed as an...*Gasp!*...office temp?!!! Horrifying...*shudder* " — King (5 out of 5 stars)
"Mixing horror and humor is a tricky business but Spencer pulls it off here. Ever wonder what it would be like to be continuously hounded by the Elder Gods of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and to be employed as an...*Gasp!*...office temp?!!! Horrifying...*shudder* "
" Meta-lovecraftian pastiche, pretty Delta Green-ish with lots of humour. Awesome! "
" This book is NOT SCARY AT ALL. It was really wordy and felt long but had a few funny parts in it. "
" Cthulian horror meets Office Space. Genre mashup before mashup was hip, and still a favorite book of mine. "
" What if your workplace was ruled by characters out of H.P. Lovecraft novels? Waitaminnit! You mean it ISN'T??? "
" I've read most of his books now, thought this was the best one. A light-hearted, optimistic pastiche of the corporate world. "
" This was my Halloween scaaaary book for this year. It was a great choice. I've heard about Spencer for a while but this is the first book by him that I've read. It was a good introduction. If you liked _Atrocity Archives_ by Stross you'd most likely enjoy this book as well. "
" It's a fun read, but gets weaker towards the end. "
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