My Wife Hates Time Travel and Other Stories

By: Adam-Troy Castro

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Kathe Mazur, Gabrielle de Cuir, Justine Eyre

Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Available only on audio, this exciting collection features original stories by Adam-Troy Castro, some never before published.

The stories collected here include "The Assassin's Secret"; "Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl"; "A Place Without Portals"; "The Hour in Between; "Greetings, Humanity! Welcome to Your Choice of Species"; "Her Husband's Hands"; "The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend"; "Big Stupe and the Buried Big Glowing Booger"; "The Last to Matter"; "Red Rain"; "The Boy and the Box"; "Four Haunted Houses"; "The Whole Crew Hates Me"; "Cerile and the Journeyer"; "Evangelist"; "My Wife Hates Time Travel"; "Survey"; "The New Provisions"; "The Shallow End of the Pool"; "What I Told My Little Girl About the Aliens Preparing to Grind Us into Hamburgers"; "Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs"; and "The Old Horror Writer".

A few of these stories have appeared as podcasts for Lightspeed and Nightmare magazines. For more information:

lightspeedmagazine.com/podcasting/

and

nightmare-magazine.com/podcasting/

©2019 Adam-Troy Castro (P)2019 Skyboat Media

Great, unusual collection of speculative/horror/sf

Just as many reviewers have stated, not every story in this collection is a winner. Some people won't even notice the same stories that others find perfectly delightful/spooky/thought provoking. Overall, this was a great collection and I will probably return to a number of individual stories in the upcoming years. Castro is clearly adept at covering many styles of writing. He's a fantasy writer, SciFi, speculative fiction, and probably not since Stephen King have I really enjoyed being put into someone's nightmare situations.

Instead of subjecting you to my opinions of every story, I'll just note some stand-outs... and some I could do without.

The Assassin's Secret"; It's an entertaining story, but it's heavy on the exposition. Strong characters.

"Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl"; A love story entirely bereft of love.

"A Place Without Portals"; This was a little too fantasy-like for my tastes. "Alice in Wonderland"-ish?

"The Hour in Between; An introduction of how the author can intertwine horror and gore into an otherwise simply very absorbing story.

"The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend"; One of my favorites, another 'love' story that really expands upon the 'plastic surgery' dilemma.

"Big Stupe and the Buried Big Glowing Booger"; Not for everyone, the author dials up the gore and absurdity to eleven, but for us adults, a greatly entertaining tale. Horror/Humor

"The Last to Matter"; This one is like watching a Tool video, or the video game "Scorn" I'm not sure what universe this one is taking place in.

"Red Rain"; I didn't make it through this one. Horror and gore delivered a little too evocatively for me. Interesting: I think every sentence in this story is in the form of a question. But again, it was tough because the author does a very comprehensive investigation of terrifying gravity-based nightmares.

"The Boy and the Box"; Yes, you can be my angel of death. Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Twilight Zone/Weird

"The Whole Crew Hates Me"; I really connected with this story. What if one person was singled out for being the scapegoat? SciFi/Humor

"Cerile and the Journeyer"; A great example of his fantasy chops, another stand-out (and I'm not a fantasy buff.)

"Evangelist"; Aliens have taken over Earth for our own good. Humankind goes to spit, but there's always this option...
"My Wife Hates Time Travel"; Future versions of spouses return to warn against wasting their current counterparts over certain movie selections. SciFi/Humor

"Survey"; Okay, this is the stand out for me. I dare you to listen to this story without talking back to it, or getting angry along with (or angry at) the 'candidate' A psychological tale that could in no way ever come to reality. Right...? Character Study/Situational madness

"The New Provisions"; Another story that will infuriate you. The author states that retroactive edits to contracts are currently being executed. In my 15 minute Google session, I couldn't find any examples to back this claim up. Revisions/changes to contracts simply cannot be made without both parties agreeing to them, let alone contracts that have been completed years in the past. But, it's a dystopian tale of what could go very, very wrong.

"What I Told My Little Girl About the Aliens Preparing to Grind Us into Hamburgers"; A short, funny tale that expands the very title that heads it.

"The Old Horror Writer". Only a long-time wizened old author could spin a story like this. Humor/Horror

Narration

Narration was impeccable. Some stories rambled on with disappointing endings. I was sad when it all came to an end. Took my imagination all over planet earth and beyond.

Adam-Troy Castro is my new fave writer!

Thanks to Audible freebies, I found this amazing writer and now I wonder, where has he been my entire life? First, I feel like I went to school with him, his weirdness is so familiar. And now, he's up there with my favorite writers of all time.

Adam-Troy Castro's work is so reminiscent of all the great horror compilations I read when I was a kid. All the Robert Bloch, Matheson and Roald Dahl stuff. So much fun - this book had me laughing my face off - and I'm someone who laughs a lot of preposterous gore and hilarious flesh-horror. I found myself saying, "Whoa - this guy's imagination is BEYOND the BEYOND!"

I also LIKED his introductions - why not! Writers don't always get to explain and set up their stories, and I was pleased to hear ATC introduce his work.

I also loved the narration - the main male voice sounded like the love-child of Darth Vadar and Rod Serling - can't be beat.

I have found some of the best books through Audible's freebies - so worthwhile. And now, I'm an Adam-Troy Castro freak!

A lovely collection.

A great mixture of funny, dark and charming stories from an author I would love to read more of his works.

Some

Awesome, some strange and some i probably need to listen to a few times. But great collection.

Slightly disturbing

Enjoyed every story I've heard so far. I can't wait to finish it tomorrow. Definitely worth a listen!

Short Stories Alive & Kickin'

I grew up on short stories produced during the "golden age" of sci-fi fantasy, including the magic wrought by Harlan Ellison, Alfred Bester, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Bloch, Jerome Bixby, Poul Anderson, Philip K. Dickson -- stop! Can't possibly name them all.

With my bar for short stories set so high, it's no wonder that most contemporary anthologies have left me disappointed. Until this one.

Adam-Troy Castro has taken me where no short stories have taken me before. Some of these selections explore ideas that would never -- EVER -- have occurred to me. And while graphic blood'n'guts isn't my favorite thing, it's something we who read this genre must be prepared for. When the occasion calls for "unspeakably gross," Castro delivers with gory gusto.

The narration is fine, although the celebrated Stefan Rudnicki is a masterful reader, I personally prefer voices less baritone.

I wish this book was available in print version so I could buy it for friends who don't have access to Audible.

Brilliant Narration, Varied Lengths & Styles

Sound bytes from the author along with excellent narration made for a great read. I'm happy to add a new science fiction author to my list of faves, especially one with quick reads and longer listens.

Creepy Sh#t! Awesome.

Absolutely some of the creepiest stuff I've ever heard.
My Husband's Hands? Thought about it all day. That one with the survey? Holy Shot!
It's not blood and guts horror. None of that vampire crap either. It's cerebral and imaginative.
Sure, there were 1 or 2 stories that were less than the others... get over it. If you don't like the intros... There's a button for that.
Just... wow.

Excellent.

It's nice to hear horror that is optimistic. Adam-Troy Castro's writing comes from a place of love.