Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0969485328, Paperback)

THE REALITY MACHINE is Cliff Burns' first major release in seven years, a compilation of fifteen tales that stake out bold, new territory and reaffirm his status as one of the most daring, provocative and mind-bending prose stylists of our time. This volume contains stories that have appeared in seven major anthologies, including THE 20 (All-Time) BEST SF STORIES, THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR and TESSERACTS IV & V. Other offerings in this collection have been featured in leading literary and genre magazines in Canada, the United States and elsewhere.

Burns' surreal, sharply satirical and often hallucinogenic short fiction has evoked comparisons to the likes of Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, J.G. Ballard, William S. Burroughs and Samuel Beckett...but his voice is entirely his own. Whether his subject matter is sex, politics, drugs or rock 'n roll (all figure prominently in Cliff Burns' literary canon), his unique take on the near future has earned a cult following among fans of the macabre and bizarre...and generous praise from the likes of Timothy Findley, Kim Newman and Andrew Vachss. Of Burns' first, full-length collection, SEX & OTHER ACTS OF THE IMAGINATION (1991), Mr. Findley wrote:

"This is a book of hot dreams and frozen nightmares. It floats on a plane few writers achieve, where the imagery is raw but the insights are tender. The people in these stories will stay with me for a long time to come."