Asymmetry

An Australian Air Force base patrolled by werewolves. A planet where wages are paid in luck. A future where copies are made of criminals to interpret their dark dreams. A medieval cavalry of mothers who are only permitted to take as many lives as they have created.

In every world, an imbalance of power. Something terribly askew between women and men, humans and wolves, citizens and constructs, light and dark.

In every world, asymmetry.

‘The combination of strange and familiar gives Dyer’s fiction the power wielded by the best SF. The stories unerringly find the human inside the bizarre. These are unsettling, poignant, marvellous. Read them. You will be glad you did.’ - Nancy Kress


Table of Contents

Introduction

After Hours
Zadie, Scythe of the West
Wish Me Luck
Seven Days in Paris

What Are the Twelve Planets?

The Twelve Planets are twelve boutique collections by some of Australia’s finest short story writers. Varied across genre and style, each collection offers four short stories and a unique glimpse into worlds fashioned by some of our favourite storytellers. Each author has taken the brief of four stories and up to 40 000 words in their own direction. Some are quartet suites of linked stories. Others are tasters of the range and style of the writer. Each release will bring something unexpected to readers.

Nightsiders by Sue Isle

Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex

Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti

Showtime by Narrelle M Harris

Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren

Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan

Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer

Caution: Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott

Secret Lives by Rosaleen Love

The Female Factory by Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter

Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin