QUANTUM NIGHTMARES

A woman kidnapped by invaders dreams of angels, demons, and more otherworldly creatures.

Debut novelist Rodriguez unloads a truckload of nightmares in a baker’s dozen worth of stories, enveloped in a weird, circular narrative. When Betty Hill is abducted by little gray men, she’s sure she’s gone around the bend and will wake up back in the 1960s. To her horror, she learns that they’re really hyperevolved humans who left Earth to travel through space and time. Unfortunately, her recruitment as savior of the human race opens her up to all sorts of alternative stories playing out across dimensions and, as it turns out, in her mind. Leaning mostly into science fiction, questions of faith, and the nature of humanity, the stories that spin out in Betty’s mind are shocking, imaginative, and messy. Many deal with societal conflicts, ranging from sexuality and identity in the opener, “Gender Reveal,” to a creepy caste system for teens in “Five Hives.” You wouldn’t go amiss thinking you’re watching TV under the influence via several stories about cops where past and future police officers tackle everything from the horror of confronting human evil in “Crazy Shark” to takes on racism and authoritarianism in “Sunday Funday” and even a shot at Minority Report in “RCPD: Reincarnation Pre-Crime Division.” Most of the stories lean pretty dystopian, but the heightened absurdity provides a welcome break in the tension. “Untitled YouTube Commercial” is one of these throwaway gems, satirizing web grifters and hustle culture, while “The Council” uses biblical and epistolatory tradition to Behind the Music the Bible. After a grand tour of fantasized futures, Rodriguez eventually brings us back around to Mrs. Betty Hill—yes, that Betty Hill, for you alien abduction truthers—and closes the circle with one more reveal.

Let’s twist again: A chaotic first effort laced with surreal shades of Philip K. Dick and other unusual suspects.