Scott Stein

The Great American Deception Scott Stein. Tiny Fox, $14.27 trade paper (228p) ISBN 978-1-946501-21-9 Stein (Mean Martin Manning) delivers a madcap sci-fi take on the hard-boiled detective genre in this fun, near-future romp that’s chock-full of rapid-fire wit, tongue-in-cheek literary allusions, and playful futuristic absurdity. Arjay, a sentient, top-of-the-line coffee machine with an excess of pep, tags along on the cases of old-school PI Frank Harken within the luxurious but dystopian confines of the Great American—a giant, autonomous, U.S.-coast-spanning shopping mall. Though the grumpy gumshoe is not always thrilled by Arjay’s presence, he can’t deny that the bot makes a “damn fine” cup of coffee. When one of the Great American’s inhabitants, Pretty Lovely, hires Harken to find her sister, kidnapped heiress Winsome Smiles, Harken and Arjay are plunged into Great American’s underbelly, where they encounter genre staples including mobsters and incompetent cops. Stein keeps the stakes high and the laughs coming, juxtaposing the gritty mystery and dystopian setting with Arjay’s perky narration to excellent effect. Sure to appeal to fans of Douglas Adams, this zany, uproarious mystery is a constant delight. (May)

screenshot of review of The Great American Betrayal in Vulture.com naming it one of The Best Comedy Books of 2022 full text at https://www.vulture.com/article/best-comedy-books-2022.html

I'm writing book 3 in a sci-fi detective trilogy narrated by a coffee machine robot. Book 1 got a star from Publishers Weekly; book 2 was named one of the best comedy books of 2022 by Vulture.

www.amazon.com/dp/B08RB4S319

scottsteinonline.com/books/the-gr...
scottsteinonline.com/books/the-gr...

The Great American Deception Scott Stein. Tiny Fox, $14.27 trade paper (228p) ISBN 978-1-946501-21-9 Stein (Mean Martin Manning) delivers a madcap sci-fi take on the hard-boiled detective genre in this fun, near-future romp that’s chock-full of rapid-fire wit, tongue-in-cheek literary allusions, and playful futuristic absurdity. Arjay, a sentient, top-of-the-line coffee machine with an excess of pep, tags along on the cases of old-school PI Frank Harken within the luxurious but dystopian confines of the Great American—a giant, autonomous, U.S.-coast-spanning shopping mall. Though the grumpy gumshoe is not always thrilled by Arjay’s presence, he can’t deny that the bot makes a “damn fine” cup of coffee. When one of the Great American’s inhabitants, Pretty Lovely, hires Harken to find her sister, kidnapped heiress Winsome Smiles, Harken and Arjay are plunged into Great American’s underbelly, where they encounter genre staples including mobsters and incompetent cops. Stein keeps the stakes high and the laughs coming, juxtaposing the gritty mystery and dystopian setting with Arjay’s perky narration to excellent effect. Sure to appeal to fans of Douglas Adams, this zany, uproarious mystery is a constant delight. (May)

screenshot of review of The Great American Betrayal in Vulture.com naming it one of The Best Comedy Books of 2022 full text at https://www.vulture.com/article/best-comedy-books-2022.html

I'm writing book 3 in a sci-fi detective trilogy narrated by a coffee machine robot. Book 1 got a star from Publishers Weekly; book 2 was named one of the best comedy books of 2022 by Vulture.

www.amazon.com/dp/B08RB4S319

scottsteinonline.com/books/the-gr...
scottsteinonline.com/books/the-gr...

I am once again reminding you that the album Darkness on the Edge of Town is great and you should listen to it if you have ever wondered what the big deal is with this Bruce Springsteen fellow.

Bee covered in pollen in a flower. Lavender chiffon purple pillar rose of sharon

It’s autumn but the backyard bees are still working.

bsky.app/profile/sste...

Always a good idea. bsky.app/profile/sste...

Talking with students today about the Poul Anderson story "The Man Who Came Early," an opportunity to cultivate generational intellectual humility. I will ask them if their being from 2025 would make them superior to other people if we sent them back in time 100 or 1000 years.

These are anxiety-inducing times and it's hard not to feel like the world is out to get you, but rereading Kafka over the next few months should help.

The Great American Deception Check out this great listen on Audible.com. A damsel in distress. A dangerous dame. A metric ton of coffee. Private investigator Frank Harken’s worldwide fame has only made him more cynical. And livin...

By the way, if you like audio books, you might enjoy listening to The Great American Deception. The narrator did a fantastic job with my 2020 novel. Read the reviews.
www.audible.com/pd/The-Great...

The fresh (rude) prince

I hope this doesn't count as a spoiler @bcdreyer.social

Three squares next to each other that read, left to right: PEA TAPE FILM

Connections might be getting political.

Alternative names for Trump’s “Department of War” As the president signs an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, we managed to get our hands on other names t

whenfallsthecoliseum.com/2025/09/05/a...

People, seriously, fight authoritarianism but try to leave the bridges intact.

I don't know about ALL—I won't be quizzing them and if someone does not read, I won't know. But my experience (25 years) is that students taking a creative writing elective like my Writing Fiction course want to do the reading and most of them will have read it before class.

The Great American Deception Check out this great listen on Audible.com. A damsel in distress. A dangerous dame. A metric ton of coffee. Private investigator Frank Harken’s worldwide fame has only made him more cynical. And livin...

By the way, if you like audio books, you might enjoy listening to The Great American Deception. The narrator did a fantastic job with my 2020 novel. Read the reviews.
www.audible.com/pd/The-Great...

Tomorrow in my Writing Fiction course, we will spend pretty much the full hour and twenty minutes examining the craft of Flannery O'Connor's story "Everything That Rises Must Converge." #academicsky

Yeah. Even my footnotes have footnotes.

I would make cake part of the plot.

This week, my "Strangers in Strange Lands" students are reading/discussing Poul Anderson's "The Man Who Came Early" and then starting to read Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes [Monkey Planet]. They're also writing papers about what Gulliver would think if he came to the US in 2025. #academicsky

Two books on a wood table. The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka and The Trial by Franz Kafka. Schocken Books for both.

It’s only week three of fall academic quarter, but I’ve picked the required books for my winter quarter course, “Major Authors: Franz Kafka”

Philadelphia Eagles game on outside television on deck. Beer glass

Go Beerds.

Outdoor tv on a stand showing the Philadelphia Eagles game. Labradoodle lying on the deck. Outdoor furniture

Go birds.

Tony Romo doesn’t know what litmus test means.

When Falls the Coliseum a journal of American culture (or lack thereof)

We're still looking for writers, essayists, reviewers, humorists, cartoonists, bloggers who have something to say and want a place to say it. Visit whenfallsthecoliseum.com and see the submissions page. Might be of interest to professors, students, and recent grads. #academicsky

Going to start using "enjoined" more in casual conversation.

Merlin app says it’s a hairy woodpecker.

Black and white bird profile on cedar tree

Bird in backyard cedar tree. Maybe someone can tell me what it is.

the abyss: Block and report spam

I am willing to teach a course in Reply-Guying