Stories of the Sand Collection
Now available from Chimaera Publications!
CONTENTS
Stories of the Sand
Stories of the Sand
The Dark under the Skin
Nullarbor Lights
Stories of the Sky
Conquist
Primal
The Doppelgänger Effect
Stories of the Rain
Waiting for the Rain
Steering the Waters
At Rain's Grey Remembering
Stories of the Dusk
Watching the Soldiers
The Jesus Particle
The Tale of Valkyra and Verlinden
Stories of the Dark
The Vigilant
The Final Birthplace
Dear Reader
Stories of the Truth
In Theory
2084
The Skerricks of Truth
Praise for the "Stories of the Sand" collection
“Dirk Strasser is a master practitioner of what is, to my mind, the perfect form – the short story. This complex and intelligent collection showcases his long-honed subtlety and control, offering such gems as the haunting and delicately structured 'Waiting for the Rain', and the incisive 'Watching the Soldiers'. Like all the brightest stories, these leave an indelible after-image in the minds’ eye, through which you must ever after view the mundane world.”
– Isobelle Carmody, author of The Kingdom of the Lost and The Obernewtyn Chronicles
"Dirk... is a writer right down to his bones. That’s where the ego vibrates. That’s where the soul-fires burn, and you don’t have to trust me on this one because you have the proof right in your hands, this man can f---ing write!"
– Jack Dann, winner of the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards
"Strasser… made his name as a short story writer with a variety of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories appearing in magazines and anthologies in Australia, Germany and the United States. He is at his best in the short form, and his stories demonstrate a clever use of ideas and structure."
– MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy
“Stories of the Sand by Dirk Strasser... is a rich, dreamlike tale of a journey through a mystical desert that is also a journey of loss and redemption.”
– Off the page
“Stories of the Sand by Dirk Strasser is a sort of a classic Arabian Nights story... What happens to the four travellers makes a compelling story in the tradition of Scheherezade.”
– Tangent
“The Dark Under the Skin by Dirk Strasser is a sensitive and superb tale laced with Aboriginal mythos, the longing for spiritual understanding, and the use of art to yoke disparate people and communities.”
– SF Site
“Starting out as a simple adventure story about conquistadors discovering a gateway into an alternate world populated by dwarves and elves, Conquist evolves into a complex story with themes of betrayal and contrition.”
– Book Impressions
“A genius… Wow.... Strasser has this amazing way of writing that's just too far ahead of his time… I like how his works are existentially fraught. I had to read his work, Waiting for the Rain, for my literature class and now I'm just obsessed with him and the stories that he makes.”
– Cosmosmagazine.com
“It takes an astounding work for literature to make me feel something by heart and soul. Waiting for the Rain by Dirk Strasser is one of the only two stories that have hit me so hard that my mind is just so blank right now. Seriously, I want to just cry. I have never read something that embodies the quintessential definition of sadness like this story.”
– Lucid Dreaming
(Watching the soldiers is)... a tale of universal truth and heartfelt emotion. Dirk Strasser... has captured the ambiance of Eastern Europe in a story of extraordinary power.
– Borderlands 4
My favorites from the book... The Vigilant by Dirk Strasser is a short story written in a way that makes you want more. Nicely done.
– Phantastik-Couch