A Potpourri of E. W. Farnsworth: Weird, War, Supernatural and Steampunk Tales (ePub)

Potpourri contains a wealth of literary tales exhibiting the author's range and depth, from horror to science fiction and from steampunk to paranormal. Most of the contents have appeared in small collections worldwide.

Often crossing the boundaries of traditional genres, E. W. Farnsworth's works are highly allusive, full of droll humor, sometimes savagely satirical and always hewing closely to distressing shared memories while remaining fictions.

"The Chronosphere" series of tales, for example, follows actual events that preceded the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many included war stories, like "American Penelope," while rooted in myth, and "The Shkval" are closely patterned after experiences of real people.

"Soul Train to Nogales" explicitly acknowledges the author's debt to a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. "Wind Joiner" and "Curse of Anpu" scarily portray fundamentally different religious perspectives (American Indian and ancient Egyptian).

Frequently Farnsworth's allusions extend to his own voluminous canon of works, and his fans will enjoy the connections to stories and novels in other anthologies. With prose that is both popular and erudite, these tales comprise a sampler as well as an invitation.

The short stories can be read between tasks or just before bed. The author's intention is not only to entertain, but also to cause his readers to reflect on the ironies of the human condition.