The Lion and the Aardvark: Aesop's Modern Fables

These confusing times of Internet trolls, one-percenters, toxic fame, and impending singularity cry out for clarity — the clarity found in Aesop’s 2,500 year old fables. 70 writers from across the creative spectrum bring their modern sensibilities to this classic format. Zombies, dog-men and robot wasps mingle with cats, coyotes and cockroaches. Parables ranging from the punchy to the evocative, the wry to the disturbing, explore eternal human foibles, as displaced onto lemmings, trout, and racing cars. But beware — in these terse explorations of desire, envy, and power, certitude isn’t always as clear as it looks. Authors include: Robert Jackson Bennett, Jason L. Blair, Jesse Bullington, Jim Demonakos, Ray Fawkes, Matt Forbeck, Ed Greenwood, Dave Gross, Taniah Hershman, Jonathan L. Howard, Stephen Graham Jones, John Kovalic, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Adam Marek, Sandy Petersen, JT Petty, Wena Poon, Richard Scarsbrook, Ekaterina Sedia, Greg Stafford, Chuck Wendig, Jim Zubkavich & more. Contents: The Story of the Moral -- An Introduction by Robin D. Laws Can't Learn New Tricks from an Old Dog -- Greg Stafford The Amok -- Sandy Petersen The Lion & the Aardvark -- Ekaterina Sedia Cow & Dog -- Matt Forbeck Shrew & Sloth -- Halli Villegas The Beaver & the Trout -- Richard Scarsbrook The Lemmings & the Sea -- Graeme Davis The Little Meme That Could -- Emily Care Boss Wasp & Snake -- Livia Llewellyn The Cat & the Cell Phone -- Ann Ewan The Wolf & Death -- Julia Bond Ellingboe Mother Knows Best -- Steve Dempsey The Very Rude Salmon -- Chris Lackey The Toymaker -- Will Hindmarch The Phone & the Fifteen-Year-Old -- Heather Wood The Microbe Who Had Perspective -- Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan The Songbird's Famous Tune -- Ray Fawkes The Man Who Tried to Hide in a Crowd -- Jonathan L. Howard The Ass & the Rain -- Robert Jackson Bennett Two Cats on a Ledge -- Chad Fifer Keeping Up With Jonesy -- Aaron Rosenberg The Axolotl -- Silvia Moreno-Garcia The Loquacious Cadaver -- Kyla Ward The Terrible Lizard -- Colin Beaver The Unicorn at the Soiree -- Richard Dansky The Dowager Rabbit & the Dead Account -- JT Petty The Fox & the Quantum Physicist -- Jesse Bullington A Real Princess -- Daniel Perry The Cockroach & the Fly -- Dennis Detwiller The Raccoon & the Cat -- Katarina Gligorijevic The Dragon & the Mouse -- Ed Greenwood The Brood, the Murder & The Tale of the Weasel Boyfriend -- Epidiah Ravachol The Tiger the Dove -- Nadia Bulkin The Backwards-Bent Badger & The Forward-Facing Frog -- Jim Zub One For The Girls -- Sue Train Shotaro & Haruka -- Wena Poon The Scientist & the Zen Master -- Benj Tentt The Stray Dogs Learn Their Lesson -- Nick Mamatas The Three Zombies & the Crypt Keeper -- Peter Freeman The Mouse & the Supermall -- Dave Gross The Goat Who Wished to Go to Market -- Genevieve Valentine The Minotaurs & the Signal Ghosts -- Peter M. Ball The Rats & the Cockroaches -- Julie McArthur Bored To Fu -- Monica Valentinelli The Poison-Well -- Molly Tanzer The Squirrel & the Pigeons -- Susannah Dainow The Coyote & the High Density Feed Lot -- Greg Stolze The Singer's New Story -- Rob Heinsoo The Game of Death & Dragon -- Sarah Newton The Man & the Fish -- Jim Demonakos The Snake & its Skin -- Stephen Graham Jones The Boy & his Imaginary Enemy -- Chuck Wendig The Scientist & the Tiger -- Tania Hershman The Clan of the Crazy Babies -- Ursula Pflug Jackdaw & Doves -- Laura Lush Great Grandmother & the Blessing of the Sea God -- Janqui Mehta The Muskrat & the Deadline -- John Kovalic Grandma's Dragon -- Adam Marek Barking John -- Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer