Adjustment Team

tags: Philip K Dick, science fiction, short story

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

After getting held up on his way to work, Ed Fletcher worries about the repercussions he will face when he reaches his office. Little does he know that his late arrival will give him a glimpse behind the very fabric of human existence and put him at odds with powers he cannot comprehend.

"Adjustment Team" is a science fiction tale of Ed Fletcher, a real estate salesman who leads a normal life, until one day, when he leaves the house for work a few minutes later than he should have. A man called the Clerk approaches a talking dog, and explains in businesslike manner that "Sector T137" is scheduled for "adjustment" at 9 o'clock. He instructs the dog to bark at exactly 8:15, which the Clerk explains will summon "A Friend with a Car", which will take Ed Fletcher to work before 9, but while the Clerk is preoccupied, the dog falls asleep and as a result barks a minute too late. Inside Ed's house, while he is getting ready for work, Ed is accosted by a door-to-door insurance salesman and doesn't leave for work until 9:30. Ed arrives at his office building, but upon stepping onto the curb, finds himself in a sunless version of the world where everything and everyone is immobile, ash-grey, and crumbles at his touch. Ed is accosted by white-robed men, who talk about "de-energizing" him with a hose-like piece of equipment, but he flees outside and across the street, back to the everyday world, fearing he's had a psychotic episode.

I'm again on a Philip K. Dick binge-reading. It started when I watched The Adjustment Bureau on Netflix streaming which is based on PKD's short story, Adjustment Team.

The movie IMHO is a great adaptation of the story adding a love story to explain further the short story. I liked it very much regardless of the female lead, Emily Blunt. Matt Damon is very good with his boyish looks and natural acting. I also liked the script, mysterious and philosophical yet full of humor, just like the short story.

Back to the short story which feels dreamlike, maybe nightmarish. It has a "happy ending". It is equally funny and serious while imparting a relevant or maybe debatable message. I like PKD's simple writing style, no flowery language, just straight story telling.

Highly recommended.

Nameless: Amazon Original Stories

tags: amnesia, clairvoyance, short story, thriller

ratings: 3 to 5 stars

from Amazon.com

 A Killer Serial

If our memories make us who we are, who is a man without any? Nameless has only a gun, missions from a shadowy agency, and one dead aim: dispense justice when the law fails. As he moves from town to town, driven by splintered visions of the past and future, he's headed toward the ultimate confrontation in this propulsive series of short thrillers by bestselling author Dean Koontz.

The new 6-short story series is available to borrow from Amazon Kindle Prime. Each book is a very short, an hour or maybe less than an hour, read. Nameless is nameless, has amnesia, can see the future (clairvoyant) but has glimpses of the past crimes by the people he is pursuing. He is provided various names by the agency, is given large amount of cash and a different car for each mission which is to hunt down and punish horrific evil people. You want him to succeed each and every time.

Highly recommended for Dean Koontz readers

The Vanishing Game

 tags:  adventure, mystery, short story, travelogue-ish

A down-on-his luck actor is paired with a weather-battered Land Rover Defender on a seemingly innocuous courier job. But some things are too good to be true and this innocent journey quickly unfolds into a dangerous plot with a shadowy cast of characters.

William Boyd was commissioned by Land Rover to write a novella. The Vanishing Game is the result. He was reportedly paid a low six-figure sum according to the Guardian interview.

He told the Guardian that despite the payout he had "total liberty to invent but it would be nice if Land Rover was mentioned" and in the 17,000-word story the character, Alec Dunbar, drives a Land Rover Defender.

"It was a most intriguing job to be asked to do. I would recommend it to any novelist, if they got the chance," he said. "Novelists have always written to commission, for example Charles Dickens. If I was approached to write a Batman movie I would assume it would have to feature Batman. There's really no difference in this case."

Boyd admitted he had "no idea how I'll be viewed" but added that he didn't "really care, to be honest". 

I've read 4 William Boyd novels. The Blue Afternoon is my favorite. I'm a bit conflicted with this very very short story. It is interesting and well-written but the ending is vague and left me wondering. I think it's still worth an hour of my time though.

If you have an hour, or 45 minutes if you're a fast reader, to spare, you can read/watch it at thevanishinggame, or download the ebook format with several photos to your device for free from Amazon.

3:00 AM

  tags: mystery, short story, Kindle freebie

3:00 AM by Nick Pirog
Goose Egg

Henry Bins has Henry Bins. A sleeping disorder, named after him. He is awake for one hour a day. He wakes up at 3 a.m. then falls asleep at 4 a.m. Life is simple. Until he hears the woman scream. And sees the man leave the house across the street. But not just any man. The President of the United States.

This 100-page short story is short on pretty much everything. It tries to be a murder mystery with a bit of humor and judging from the ending might have a glimpse of romance in a sequel. *dear God, please, no sequel!*

IMHO, the book failed. It is a ridiculous idea that a person can accomplish so many things during 1 hour of being awake from 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM. The main character Henry Bins jogs, exercises, takes a shower, eats, invests [in stocks] and manages his money on the internet, watches Game of Thrones, and then tries to solve a potential murder. Suspending disbelief is stretched to the limit. I'm okay with that if the author writes well and has a genuine sense of humor. Unfortunately the narrative is very juvenile as if written by a teenaged boy, and is peppered with profanity written IN CAPS. The author thinks he's funny and clever with Bins's "conversations" with the dead woman's cat. The book annoyed me. It's a total waste of 2 hours. Not recommended at all even if a very quick read and free from Amazon.