Cover of Across the Universe
I am honored that my newest story, “Deal with the Devil” is in this Fab 4 anthology, Across the Universe, just released by Fantastic Books on December 3, 2019!
It’s the Beatles tour for which you never thought you’d get a front row seat, with speculative fiction stories examining other galaxies, worlds, professions and existences John, Paul, George and Ringo might have experienced … or maybe they did ….
Contributors: Nancy Holder, Spider Robinson, Jody Lynn Nye, Charles Barouch, Gordon Linzner, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Allen Steele, Sally Wiener Grotta, Ken Schneyer, David Gerrold, Cat Rambo, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Bev Vincent, Patrick Barb, Carol Gyzander, Pat Cadigan, Gail Z. Martin, Barbara Clough, Eric Avedissian, Alan Goldsher, R. Jean Mathieu, Beth Patterson, Christian Smith, Gregory Frost, Matthew Amati, Gregory Benford, Randee Dawn, Michael A. Ventrella
We’ve been getting some awesome reviews! Publishers Weekly says:
“Ranging from trippy fantasy to hard science fiction and zombie apocalypse mash-up, the stories in this anthology send the members of the Beatles on wild adventures through alternate timelines and universes. In Allen M. Steele’s “Come Together,” artificial intelligences named for each of the Fab Four identify so strongly with their namesakes that they jeopardize their space probe’s mission when they begin to fall out with one another, mimicking the breakup of the band. An idealistic George Harrison tries to teach transcendental meditation to Richard Nixon with disastrous geopolitical results in Sally Wiener Grotta’s “The Truth Within.” Gregory Frost’s “A Hard Day’s Night at the Opera” plugs the band members into the plot of a Marx brothers movie to hilarious effect. It’s clear that each of the 25 contributors are true fans, filling their tales with references to Beatles history and, in the case of David M. Gerrold’s “The Fabtastic Four,” so many song lyrics that readers will be tempted to sing along. Beatles aficionados and fantasy fans will enjoy this affectionate, speculative homage.”
Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying:
“The Fab Four are reimagined as wizards, robots, hockey players, zombies, the Marx Brothers, and more in this anthology from Ventrella (Big Stick) and Dawn (Home for the Holidays). … VERDICT This anthology will be mostly of interest to Beatles fans, but even non-fans will find stories here that will move and surprise them.”