"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."
-Mark Twain
Let's face it... doom and gloom is an easy sell. Readers do love their tales of bleak futures and apocalyptic hellscapes. So much so, it seems that publishers have forgotten we readers also like to laugh. And with times being what they are, we're ALL in need of a few good laughs.
Now, what if I told you there was once a time when sci-fi magazines routinely printed comedic tales about absurdist dystopias, twisted robot logic, and time travel shenanigans gone awry? Of aliens behaving badly, and hyper-intelligent mice toppling the national security state? That films like Idiocrasy borrowed heavily from these stories. As did Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. And Douglas Adams all but owed his career to these golden age galactic romps.
Ridiculum is an anthology that collects some of the best (and unfortunately forgotten) comedic stories from the pulp era, including works by genre legends such as Philip K. Dick, Murray Leinster, Robert Sheckley, Harry Harrison, John D MacDonald, C. L. Moore, Henry Kutter, and more.
Indeed, this anthology is so good, here's what some AI on the internet said about it:
"I never thought I'd see any of these stories again, but I was wrong. Ridiculum is a treasure trove of fun nostalgia!"
How can you argue with that? And this digital edition is only $0.99! So what are you waiting for? Buy this book! Read it cover to cover. Leave a review and let everyone know how swell it is.ng as they are, we're all in need of some light-hearted fun.