This Is How You Die is the follow up to the enormously successful, internationally famous Machine of Death. My story, Your Choice, made the cut despite going up against over 2,000 submissions! This is both amazing and very humbling, and I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of this ongoing phenomenon.
Mine is a choose-your-own-adventure style story, but more than that I can’t say. It was a blast to write, though it took a lot of effort to get all the various moving parts lined up. I’m delighted that editors Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki really got it and liked it enough to include it in their exciting lineup.
The cover is by Justin Van Genderen. The book was published on July 16th, 2013 by Grand Central Publishing and debuted at San Diego Comic-Con!
Early reaction has been astonishing. Publisher’s Weekly mentioned “Your Choice” and said the following about the anthology:
This fun, thoughtful, and sometimes dark anthology will stir readers to wonder about their own “results.”
Kirkus Reviews again mentions my story, and had this opinion of the whole book:
Funny, frightening, clever; no one in these stories emerges unscathed.
Next up is Drunken Zombie, with this summary:
I heartily recommend you check this anthology out. I found it to be well worth my time, despite going in expecting something far darker. I think you’ll be pleasantly taken with the variety of stories that will leave you wondering what you might do if a machine could tell you how you would die.
And lastly, for now, the AV Club with a stunning 5-star review!
[…]what is consistently surprising about This Is How You Die: Stories Of The Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine Of Death is the range and quality of the stories.
…and when compared with the previous volume, Machine of Death:
This Is How You Die keeps the intellectual curiosity and empathy, but its variations are anything but minor.
And another mention for “Your Choice”!
On top of this, two 5-star reviews have already been logged on Amazon.com with a few more on Goodreads. Exciting stuff!
Here’s where you can order your copy of This Is How You Die.
Here’s the Table of Contents.
• “BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA DELIVERED BY SPOUSE,” by Liz Argall
• “LAZARUS REACTOR FISSION SEQUENCE,” by Tom Francis
• “YOUR CHOICE,” by Richard Salter
• “TOXOPLASMOSIS OF THE BRAIN; CANDIDIASIS OF THE ESOPHAGUS; CANDIDIASIS OF THE TRACHEA; CANDIDIASIS OF THE BRONCHI; CANDIDIASIS OF THE LUNGS; KAPOSI’S SARCOMA; PNEUMONIA; TUBERCULOSIS; STAB WOUND IN THE BELLY; AND BUS ACCIDENT,” by Gord Sellar
• “TWO ONE SIX,” by Marleigh Norton
• “APITOXIN,” by John Takis
• “CONFLAGRATION,” by D.L.E. Roger
• “DROWNING BURNING FALLING FLYING,” by Grace Seybold
• “EXECUTION BY BEHEADING,” by Chandler Kaiden
• “SCREAMING, CRYING, ALONE AND AFRAID,” by Daliso Chaponda
• “ROCK AND ROLL,” by Toby W. Rush
• “MACHINE OF DEATH,” by Karen Stay Ahlstrom
• “TETRAPOD,” by Rebecca Black
• “OLD AGE, SURROUNDED BY LOVED ONES,” by ‘Nathan Burgoine
• “IN SLEEP,” by Ren Warom
• “MADE INTO DELICIOUS CHEESEBURGER,” by Sarah Pavis
• “IN BATTLE, ALONE AND SOON FORGOTTEN,” by Ed Turner
• “FURNACE,” by Erika Hammerschmidt
• “SHIV SENA RIOT,” by Ryan Estrada
• “ZEPHYR,” by George Page III
• “LA MORT D’UN ROTURIER,” by Martin Livings
• “MEAT EATER,” by John* & Bill Chernega
• “NATURAL CAUSES,” by Rhiannon Kelly
• “OLD AGE,” by Brigita Orel
• “PEACEFULLY,” by M.J. Leitch
• “BLUE FEVER,” by Ada Hoffmann
• “NOT APPLICABLE,” by Kyle Schoenfeld
• “CECILE,” by Hollan Lane
• “LAKE TITICACA,” by M. Bennardo
• “MONSTERS FROM THE DEEP,” by David Malki
• “CANCER,” by Ryan North
Keep checking the Machine of Death site for more information!