Book of the Future

Title: Book of the Future: A Short Story
Author: Alan Lastufka, Kristina Horner
First Published: May 16, 2023
Publisher: Shortwave Media
Pages: 24
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Synopsis:

In "Book of the Future", a 1960s small-town librarian is bored with all the books that surround her. She’s memorized every word in her little library and yearns for something new. Something different. Her desire is soon met when she discovers an odd device in the book return drop box. The device is made of glass and metal, it’s thin and reflective, like a mirror. But not like any mirror she’s seen before. This mirror is dark and covered in words. New words. Different words. Countless, endless, changing words…

Buy the Book: Publisher

Review

Book of the Future is a cute little chapbook that came with my order of Obsolescence and I was impressed with the quality. The uneven typesetting and handwritten fonts added to the feel of reading a journal. This short story was a quick fun and spooky read. I appreciated the nods to readers, the most horrific thing of course being the brutal treatment of books thrown down those evil library return boxes.

Quote

“I have to know how it ends.”

Content Warnings

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About the Author

About Alan Lastufka

Alan Lastufka is a Hoffer Award-winning author and the owner of Shortwave, an independent small press. He writes horror, supernatural, and magical realism stories.

His debut novel, Face the Night, received a starred Kirkus review, was a finalist for Best New Horror Novel at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and won the 2022 Hoffer Award for Best Commercial Fiction. It was also listed as one of the 100 Best Indie Books of the Year by Kirkus.

When he’s not writing, or recording with his band, The Caulden Road, Alan enjoys walking through Oregon’s beautiful woods with his partner, Kris.

About Kristina Horner

Kristina Horner is an internet personality and one of the co-founders of 84th Street Press. When she’s not playing with her one-year-old son or pretending she knows how to garden, you can probably find her winning yet another round of NaNoWriMo, for which she is also a Seattle regional volunteer.