Deus X and Other Stories

This collection consists of a novella and two short stories. All three tales entertain the reader with intriguing looks at society and how "abnormal" individuals try to fit or hide in plain sight. Thus Norman Spinrad does what he has done quite nicely since the 1960s, spin radical stories of odd relationships that cross horror and science fiction but all contain a reader looking at Alice looking in the Looking Glass with a ten foot tall twist to them.The short stories focus on the bulimia vampire crowd fitting quite nicely with high society in a fancy restaurant or puking in a toilet ("The Fat Vampire"). Count Dracula provides a series of tiny vignettes on taking a bite out of the Big Apple after relocating to NYC because he knows the murders there are more sensational than any of his killings ("Vampire Junkies").The title piece novella is Deus X. As the End Times seem to be upon humanity, the Pope must deal with a different "soul" than any he ever dealt with before in his Christian programming. This is a thought-provoking solid science fiction tale that ponders robotic dreams that are similar to Bradbury on Penguin Island.Harriet Klausner