Impossibilia

Impossibilia was a finalist for the 2009 Aurora Awards for best long form work. The lead story, "A Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh," was also a finalist for the 2009 Aurora Award for best short form work. Another story, "Spirit Dance," won the Aurora Award in 2001.

Introduction by Chaz Brenchley. Cover art by Fernando Molinari.

PS Showcase #5: Impossibilia

The fifth in our series of PS Showcase mini-collections of short stories from some of genre fiction's best up-and-coming writers.

We all have things we hide away inside — secrets, fears, aspects of ourselves we keep locked away. Or try to.

In that respect, the characters we meet in Douglas Smith's Impossibilia are like any of us. They have things inside them too. Only their things are a little... different.

A dead wife that won't leave. A wolf. The secret to being the luckiest man alive.

In 'Bouquet of Flowers in Vase, by van Gogh', remote viewing drives a search through the past for lost masterpieces. An ex-CIA agent, haunted by the presence of his dead wife, falls in love with a beautiful remote viewer with her own secret. But can viewing the past change the present?

Cree Indian legends, a love triangle, a covert government agency, and shape shifters collide in the award-winning 'Spirit Dance', described in Challenging Destiny as "...a vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King."

In 'Going Down to Lucky Town', an itinerant gambler chases a streak of luck across the country, while trying to win back the love of his daughter. The secret he finds forces him into an ultimate gamble for the highest stakes of all: his daughter's life.

And through all the stories, these characters share one more thing beyond what they hold inside. In the decisions they face, in the choices they make, they do what they do out of love. Lost love, found love, the love of a child. But love.

So maybe they aren't that different from us after all...

"With every new story, the more impressed I am with his subtlety and vision. I've yet to read a work of his that wasn't beautifully written, but more than that, his stories resonate with a deep understanding of the human condition as well as a characteristic wry wonder... Stories you can't forget, even years later." – Julie Czerneda on Douglas Smith