The Eleventh Commandment

and Other Very Short Fictions

By: Rhys Hughes

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Paperback | 15 June 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
182 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 1.07

Paperback

RRP $26.39

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Rhys Hughes' unique observational, aphoristic humour abounds in this collection of artfully crafted, extremely short stories. A perennial master of invention, Hughes explores our perceptions of humanity, mining truths beneath the clutter of culture with incisive wordplay and trademark wit.

Hughes has arrayed eighty-eight narrative gems into three groups, The Zodiacal Light, Beyond Necessity, and The Ostraca of Inclusion-clever new takes on mythology, history, and science. A thirteenth star sign, minotaurs and gorgons, a dog ventriloquist, gears and cogs, a clock-wrestling octopus -- all are semantic M¶bius strips where fantasy and philosophy are seamlessly melded as only Hughes can do; both thought provoking and entertaining.

Industry Reviews

"Brilliantly written and conceived, Hughes' fiction has few parallels anywhere in the world. In some alternate universe with a better sense of justice, his work triumphantly parades across all bestseller lists."

-Jeff Vandermeer

"Rhys Hughes seems almost the sum of our planet's literature...drunk on language and wild imagery, sober on the essentials of thought... A sensuality, a relish, an addiction to the delicious."

-Michael Moorcock

"Hughes' style, with all that means, is among the most beautiful I've encountered."

-Samuel R. Delany

"Like Kafka with a brighter sense of humour."

-A.A. Attanasio

"Wit and whimsy and word-relish, high spirits and bittersweet twists."

-Ian Watson

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