These Strange & Magic Things: Short Stories

For fans of the weird and enchanting, Peter M Ball returns for a third collection of speculative fiction stories that dance along the borders between horror, fantasy, and science fiction. These Strange and Magic Things brings together fifteen tales that showcase why he’s among the finest writers of the strange and fantastic working in Australia right now.

Love is the Roar of a Chainsaw, Cutting Flesh in the Night — Their zombie survival kit started as a private joke, but now Nat and Vince take it a bit too seriously. An ill-conceived comment unravels their relationship, but when the worst actually happens, Vince needs to make an important choice.

The Things You Do When the War Breaks Out — A trip to the moon goes wrong when dinosaurs attack the anti-grav train in transit. On the plus side, T. and his dad can stay with T’s sister on the lunar surface. On the downside, T’s dad is obsessed with the Jurassic beasts from the dark side of the moon, and he’s not been stable for a long time…

The Mike And Carly Story, Without The Gossip — High school is hard enough for regularly people, but when Mike learns he’s a werewolf, everything gets far more complicated. Not least the fact that he likes Carly, and turning into a werewolf seems to have invited the possibility that she might like him back.

Counting Down —Phil says he can catch a bullet, but nobody believes him when he says it. Not even his best friend, Mattie, who once glimpsed the bats living inside Phil’s head and knows he's not normal. Mattie should know better than to go along with Phil's crazy ideas, but right now he’s get other things on his mind...things that could lead to a fatal mistake.

Local Heroes — Hit man to the supernatural, Keith Murphy, comes up against a demon who draws power from the wrestling ring and the fans who come to watch the show. He’s too tough to gun down and impervious to magic, which means Keith’s only got one option if he wants to make the hit. He’s got to step up, play by the rules of the ring, and accept the possibility he might just be the hero that the Gold Coast needs. 

With ten more stories to enchant and thrill you, These Strange and Magic Things spins magic, horror, and pop culture together into an unforgettable collection of tales featuring rogue jinn, uncanny rock bands, magic bees, flying crocodiles, laundromat ghosts, haunted coins, cyberpunk gangs, and lost loves

Full Table of Contents

• Love is the Roar of a Chainsaw, Cutting Flesh In The Night
• Hornets Attack Your Best Friend Victor & Other Things We Called The Band
• The Things You Do When The War Breaks Out
• Winged, With Sharp Teeth
• Upon Discovering A Ghost In the Five Star
• Tithes
• The Minotaur & The Signal Ghosts
• Counting Down
• Eight Minutes of Usable Daylight
• The Mike & Carly Story, Without The Gossip
• A White Cross Beside a Lonely Road
• Rule 34
• Local Heroes