Unidentified Funny Objects 4

UFO #4

by Alex Shvartsman (Editor), Neil Gaiman, Andrew Kaye

The fourth volume of the annual Unidentified Funny Objects series features the theme of dark humor. What happens when you ask some of the genre's masters to interpret this theme? The enclosed twenty-three darkly humorous tales range from black comedy to biting satire to morbid irony and everything in between. Inside this book you'll find Faustian bargains gone awry, time-traveling ghosts, flawed supervillains, talking hamsters, and much more.

Genres: Humor, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Time Travel

312 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2015

About the author

Alex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Kakistocracy, a sequel to The Middling Affliction, is forthcoming in 2023.

Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.

His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.

Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.

Reviews

[Shannon Rampe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little collection of humorous sci-fi and fantasy stories, even edging into funny horror. The theme is dark humor, which is something I always enjoy. The stories by Esther Friesner and Andrew Kaye were my favorites. Really what I enjoyed best about the anthology was the diversity of styles and stories that all fit the overall theme. Each story was different - some struck me as humorous while others were downright funny - but all were immensely readable.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Can Get Them For You Wholesale: Dark, funny, made me laugh out loud and wince. 5/5
The Time-Traveling Ghost Machine Of Professor Jaime Peligrosa: Not bad, didn’t spot the end coming beforehand but didn’t make me laugh out loud. 3/5
Please Approve the Dissertation Research of Angtor: This made me laugh the entire way through, and the ending was amazing. Thoroughly brilliant. 5/5
Project Disaster: More whimsical than funny, but I enjoyed it. 3/5
Hello Hotel: Clever, and I enjoyed it, but I didn't laugh out loud. I still think it's a 4/5 though.
Bob’s No-Kill Monster Shelter: This one made me laugh! Good framing device and I appreciated the story. Felt that the end could have been very slightly punched up, but it’s a minor quibble. 5/5
Board Meeting Minutes: short but made me chortle! 5/5
Armed for You: Not sure what I thought to this one, I quite liked it but it didn’t make me laugh and I’m unsure about the key message. 3/5
The Unfortunate Problem of Grandmother’s Head: This one was super dark and rang very true for me! Didn’t make me laugh but I got super into it. 4/5
My Mother Loves…: I didn’t find it funny, but more than that I couldn’t work out where the humour was supposed to be. Fine. 2/5
Department of Death Predictions: Made me chuckle, but very short and didn’t really have long enough to get going. 4/5
The Worm That Turns: This one is a real pickle. I enjoyed the story but I didn’t find it at all funny: I liked it as a straight science fiction short. I’m not going to rate it because I can’t decide!
Champions of Breakfast: I like syrup. 2/5
Keeping Ahead: It didn’t really make me laugh but it was pretty enjoyable. 2/5
So You’ve Metamorphosed Into A Giant Insect. Now What?: I liked this one, made me smile if not outright laugh. 3/5
Confessions of an Intergalactic Art Fraud: The humour is getting less dark and more zany, and consequently I’m enjoying the latter parts of the anthology less. 2/5
Texts from My Mother About the Alien Invasion: This one did make me smile even though the framing device didn’t work brilliantly for me. 3/5
Support Your Local Alien: I enjoyed it as a straight story but I didn’t find it funny. 3/5
Conversation Topics to Avoid on a First Date with Yourself: Not really sure what I thought of this one, a very silly conceit. 2/5
The Monkey Treatment: Well-constructed but that’s about all I liked about it. 1/5

[Durandana · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/5 - We Can Get Them For You Wholesale, by Neil Gaiman
2/5 - The Time-Traveling Ghost Machine of Professor Jaime Peligrosa, by Andrew Kaye
2/5 - Please Approve the Dissertation Research of Angtor, by Caroline M. Yoachim
1/5 - The Match Game, by Esther Friesner
1/5 - The Transformation of Prince Humphrey, by Brent C. Smith
2/5 - In the End, You Get Clarity, by Laura Pearlman
1/5 - Project Disaster, by Tim Pratt
1/5 - Hello Hotel, by Piers Anthony
1/5 - Bob's No-Kill Monster Shelter, by Ian Creasey
2/5 - Board Meeting Minutes, by Oliver Buckram
1/5 - Armed For You, by Anaea Lay
1/5 - The Unfortunate Problem of Grandmother's Head, by Karen Haber
2/5 - My Mother Loves Her Robot More Than Me And I Feel Bad, by Eric Kaplan
2/5 - The Worm That Turned, by Jody Lynn Nye
2/5 - Department of Death Predictions, Final Notice, by Tina Gower
2/5 - Champions of Breakfast, by Zach Shephard
2/5 - Keeping Ahead, by Mike Resnick
2/5 - So You've Metamorphosed Into a Giant Insect. Now What?, by James Aquilone
1/5 - Confessions of an Interplanetary Art Fraud, by Michael J. Martinez
1/5 - Texts From My Mother About the Alien Invasion, by Tina Connolly
2/5 - Support Your Local Alien, by Gini Koch
0/5 - Conversation Topics to Avoid on a First Date With Yourself, by Jonathan Ems
1/5 - The Monkey Treatment, by George R. R. Martin

[Jack Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Chuckles

Another winner in this yearly anthology. Some very funny stories here, and a couple that logged pretty high on my weird-o-meter (which is a good thing).

[Nan Silvernail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales of the charming to the chilling, funny and fantastic. This anthology is full of fun. I enjoyed it very much.

[Ariane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich find die lustig

[Chris Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth installment of the dark humor anthology "Unidentified Funny Objects" (edited by Alex Shvartsman) continues to deliver the chuckles and laughs the series is known for.

While not every story might be considered "dark" by all readers, I was impressed by the sheer variety, genre selections and the overall quality of workmanship in each tale.

In every anthology I've read, there are usually more than a few stories which stand out in my mind as superior. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of such stories which will stick with me for quite some time.

If you're looking for some quality fiction with humorous overtones, you've found your latest book.

My personal highlights include;
- "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale" (N. Gaiman): One of my favorite shorts of all time
- "In the End You Get Clarity" (L. Pearlman)
- "Bob's No Kill Monster Shelter" (I. Creasey): Very innovative use of a framing device.
- "The Worm That Turned" (J. Lynn Nye): Continuing the excellent adventures from the first anthology

[Samantha Gunning]

I won this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I received an autographed paperback copy.