Lies We Will Tell Ourselves: Science Fiction Short Stories

“I have no objection to truth,” I said, “but I enjoy untruths too, they’re the building blocks of human culture. Actors pretending to be kings, singers faking heartbreak or elation, novelists inventing heroes in their heads to escape the mindless dullards around them. Reality is a vast sea of tedium interrupted by brief flashes of the repugnant – why would anyone chain themselves to that?”

*

A spin doctor forced to deal with aliens who loathe lies.

A squad of soldiers torn apart by the fiction in their midst.

A hunting submarine with its dead captain strapped to the prow, the crew promising that one day they'll revive him.

We all tell lies to get through the day, some of them to ourselves, some to other people. Now read the extraordinary lies of the future in these nine short science fiction stories.

Includes:
How We Fall - trapped behind enemy lines, faith and duty clash for Sergeant Grund's squad.
So Cold It Burns - long cut off from home, Gandpa Jo must decide the future of his frozen wife.
Distant Rain - the submarine Promethean hunts a mutant whale through a polluted Pacific.
Our Man In Herrje - Julius Atticus lives by lies, but can he defend them to the alien Gatherers?
Day Labour - a dark secret waits for the farm labourers of a distant world.
Digits - a robot finds him humanity in a hand.
The Extra Mile - race driver Geordie proves how far he'll go to win.
Second Skin - stock trader Eddy's symbiont has all the latest apps, including one no-one told him about.
The Harvest - as aliens devour the Earth, an anthropologist recognises an unsettling truth.


From reviews of Andrew's previous books:

'Very neatly put together, with interesting characters and plots. Absolutely worth reading.'

'The tales are suspenseful and imaginative, the writing sensuous and evocative'

'I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I love this. Andrew Knighton paints a vivid picture and sweeps you up in the story from the very start. An excellent read.'

'It's clear that Knighton is a talented writer with a fertile imagination. Definitely one to watch. Recommended.'