The Elastic Book of Numbers

By Ellen McAteer, Neil Williamson, Tim Lees, and more

2005

First Published

3.75

Average Rating

285

Number of Pages

8H39M

Audio Length

An anthology of original short stories which all feature numbers both in their titles and crucial to the plot and denouement. Numbers rule our lives: clocks, calendars and deadlines; salaries and benefits; tax codes and pin numbers; mortgages, bills and credit limits; the FTSE and the Dow Jones; mobiles, land lines and pagers; binary strings of digitised information held for and about us, instantly accessible. In this unique collection of 21 stories, some of the world's finest fictioneers examine the effect of numbers on humankind's past, present and future. From the rewriting of history through the thrill of the roulette wheel to the codes controlling the starships, each of these tales engages with numbers in innovative, entertaining and meaningful ways. The Elastic Book of Numbers contains fiction by: Marion Arnott, Allen Ashley, Neil Ayres, Paul Evanby, Toiya Kristen Finley, Jeff Gardiner, Kay Green, Sam Hayes, Charles Lambert, Joel Lane, Tim Lees, Phil Locascio, Rosaleen Love, John Lucas, Mark Patrick Lynch, Ellen McAteer, Joy Marchand, Tim Nickels, Donald Pulker, E. Sedia, Eric Shapiro, Julian Todd, Neil Williamson. The Anthology is edited by Allen Ashley.

Avg Rating

3.75

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

50%

4 STARS

3 STARS

25%

2 STARS

25%

1 STARS

goodreads

Authors

Mark Patrick Lynch is the prize-lacking author of a couple of traditionally published books (HOUR OF THE BLACK WOLF and NO FIRE WITHOUT SMOKE) and a number of indie titles, such as his most recent, A CLASH OF ICHOR AND BLOOD. His short stories, mainstream and genre, have appeared in an A-Z of anthologies, magazines, and journals around the world: from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine to Zahir. He would like you to read his books but is too shy to ask. Check out his blog here: markpatricklynch.blogspot.com

Jeff Gardiner

Author · 4 books

Jeff is a British author author who is also an editor and a supporting artist for TV and film. 'PICA' is the first book in his 'Gaia' fantasy series, followed by 'FALCO' - both from Accent Press. These novels explore the ancient magic of nature in a modern setting. Jeff also wrote 'IGBOLAND' - a romance set in Nigeria during the Biafran War - and the YA novel, 'MYOPIA', a story about the effects of bullying. These two novels are published by Crooked Cat Books. 'TREADING ON DREAMS' is an ebook about obsession and unrequited love, and Jeff's collection of short stories - 'A GLIMPSE OF THE NUMINOUS' - includes horror, slipstream and humour. 'THE LAW OF CHAOS: The Multiverse of Michael Moorcock', is a work of non-fiction analysing the works of a great British writer.

Paul Evanby is a pseudonym of Paul Evenblij, a Dutch author of speculative fiction. Evanby has won the Paul Harland Prize, the oldest annual award for original Dutch short science fiction, fantasy or horror stories, for his short stories in both 1988 and 2001. An English language collection of stories, Systems of Romance, he wrote in conjunction with Paul Harland was published in 1995. After publishing several other stories he went on to write, to great critical acclaim, his first (Dutch language) novel De Scrypturist in 2009.

E. Sedia is Ekaterina Sedia.

Joel Lane was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and anthology editor. He received the World Fantasy Award in 2013 and the British Fantasy Award twice. Born in Exeter, he was the nephew of tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott. At the time of his death, Lane was living in south Birmingham, where he worked in health industry-related publishing. His location frequently provided settings for his fiction.

Charles Lambert

Author · 11 books

Charles Lambert was born in the United Kingdom but has lived in Italy for most of his adult life. His most recent novel is Birthright, set in Rome in the 1980s and examining what happens when two young women discover that they are identical twins, separated at birth. In 2022, he published The Bone Flower, a Gothic love story with a sinister edge, set in Victorian London. His previous novel, Prodigal, shortlisted for the Polari Prize in 2019, was described by the Gay & Lesbian Review as "Powerful… an artful hybrid of parable (as the title signifies), a Freudian family romance, a Gothic tale, and a Künstlerroman in the tradition of James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” For the Kirkus Review, The Children's Home, published in 2016, was 'a one-of-a-kind literary horror story', while Two Dark Tales, published in October 2017, continues to disturb. Earlier books include three novels, a collection of prize-winning short stories and a memoir, With a Zero at its Heart, selected by the Guardian as one of its top ten books from 2014.

Eric Shapiro

Author · 7 books

Eric Shapiro is a writer and filmmaker. Called "the next Philip K. Dick" by author Kealan Patrick Burke, Shapiro is the author of six critically acclaimed fiction books, among them the novella "It's Only Temporary" (2005), which appeared on Nightmare Magazine's list of the Top 100 Horror Books, and numerous short stories published in anthologies alongside work by H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, and many others. His nonfiction articles have been published on The Daily Dot, Ravishly, LGBT Talk, and The Good Men Project. His first feature film, "Rule of 3" (2010), won awards at the Fantasia International Film Festival and Shriekfest, and had its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest. His second feature film, "Living Things" (2014), was endorsed by PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) and distributed by Cinema Libre Studio. In 2015, he won the 19th Annual Fade In Award for Thriller Screenplays. He is a founding partner of Ghostwriters Central, a writing and editing firm which has received positive notices from The Wall Street Journal, Consumers Digest, and the TV program "Intelligence For Your Life." Eric has edited works published on The Huffington Post and Forbes, as well as two Bram Stoker Award-nominated novels. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Rhoda, and their two sons.