Explorative Tales of What Breaks and Binds Us
by
“Pain is pain. It all hurts the same.”
Inflicted with dark desire, one man chooses between idyllic pretense and disturbing reality. Haunted by the silence of deep space, an engineer chases an eerie melody. Torn between penance and pride, a dishonored prince challenges the course of history.
Suffering cracks our hearts and splinters our minds. It scars and alters us in irreversible ways. Yet while pain breaks us apart, it also binds us together. Our broken pieces can never rejoin as they once were, but they fit together to create new and distinctive wholes. Like the Japanese art of kintsugi, we can fill the velvety darkness of our scars with gold.
Inflicted with life, an intelligent machine questions the illogic of family. Tempted by the desire to die, a shop clerk confronts the promise of his life. Offered the chance to transform his disfigurement, a ruined being looks to the smallest of lives for acceptance.
An amalgamation of science fiction and fantasy subgenres, Inflicted invites you to peer into your own pain, examine your scars, and remember you are not alone. Pain binds us all, and how we face our brokenness redefines us. Immerse yourself in the brokenness of others and come away with a new understanding of self.
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Languages Available: English
Languages Available: English
Emerson Seipel on Goodreads wrote:The range of the styles and moods of these stories had me continually forgetting that they were all by the same author! This was a powerful and well crafted collection from start to finish. First they dove into the depths of hurt, then they explored the double-edged sword quality of pain that comes from love, and finally they climbed out on the other side with tales of redemption.
What I loved about the last two stories was that the redemption and healing that took place in no way glossed over the previous pain. It acknowledged it as something that would always be carried by and be a part of the characters, but also that they could be something that expanded beyond the pain, and they could become more than the sum of those particular broken parts.
And bonus points for AI and sentient starships. They are my jam.
Daphne Blake on Goodreads wrote:Amazing read! The prose throughout this book is so visceral, so heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The characters in every story are relatable in a way that is utter comfort. I found myself easily able to view each of their worlds through their perspective eyes. Their pain echoed a familiarity in me, each and every one, and their stories were a soothing balm. "Compulsion" is hands down my favorite story. It's dark and unsettling and almost feels forbidden in a way that is oh so delectable. "Any Other Day" is a close second. The morbid sense of humor in the dialog is highly entertaining. Overall great read. I have, and will continue to indulge in this book over and over again.
Lili on Goodreads wrote:Inflicted puts pain into new words with stories that are different enough to pique interest and heartfelt enough to cause introspection. Its truly rare for me to feel so Seen by science fiction that it feels like some of the stories were written with me in mind.
"Inflicted invites you to peer into your own pain, examine your scars, and remember you are not alone."
The personal nature of the stories, and their pain, certainly accomplishes their goal of making me cry and hurt while soothing the loneliness I didn't know I had.
For those of us who are broken and hurting. For those who have been broken and those yet to break, this is a wonderful read. The protagonists are all too relatable, their plights all too familiar. If one considers the role of artist as being the distiller of reality into an art form that encapsulates and shares the sensations of conscious experience for the enlightenment and enjoyment of others, I would say Leo Otherland landed right on the mark with Inflicted. As this is a wonderful encapsulation of such a dark, tragic and beautiful part of the human experience.
10 out of 10, will definitely be reading again and sharing with all my close circle.
