Learning to Hate Yourself as a Self-Defense Mechanism

"Read individually, these are brilliant stories. But together, they are something greater-- in her characteristically deft prose, Kriz offers a deep and extended meditation on the commodification of identity and authenticity, plagiarism and loss of the self, the personal and the cultural memory of war. Readers will find so much to love in this collection; rereaders will find even more."

—P.H. Lee, author of the Nebula-award nominated Just Enough Rain

“Andrea Kriz’s uncompromising, subversive, and elegant stories address all the big themes—and the little ones too—with a clear eye and post-modern sensibility. While her stories address race and colonialism and Covid, they also examine connection and loneliness, our assumptions about each other, and what it means to be human. Literary SF at its best!”

—Shariann Lewitt, author of Memento Mori and "Fieldwork"

“I’d encountered some of these stories when they first appeared online. On first read, Kriz’s irreverent take on sentient AIs and sendup of influence culture had left me chuckling. Now, upon re-reading, I realize that how non-human the AIs were in their thinking was Kriz’s point, and I like the stories even more. In these tales of the Internet generation, Kriz doesn’t shy away from confronting the racism, colonialism, cultural appropriation, and aggression that often lurk therein. The silliness draws you in, but you stay for the messages she slips between the lines. I hadn’t previously read Kriz’s stories on the other topics she includes in this collection. She’ll make a story out of formal scientific correspondence or play with our notions of linear time. I especially enjoyed her alternate history based on WWII French resistance figures—some fighting for freedom, some only for France—and the rabbit holes of real history she inspired me to dive into. The kicker—she managed to get all of the stories from this first collection (aside from the one new one) published within a two-year period of time. How did she manage to do this while actively engaged in scientific research as a day-job? Kriz’s style is unique; I eagerly anticipate seeing where it will take her in the future.”

Allan Dyen-Shapiro, Ph.D Biochemistry, Stanford '94, and author of short stories in venues including Dark Matter Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, and others 

About the Author

Andrea Kriz writes from Massachusetts, where she does research as a molecular biologist. In addition to the stories in this collection, her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld and Lightspeed Magazine, among others, and been translated into French in Galaxies SF. She is also part of the Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project, a collaboration between authors and Dartmouth faculty to create short stories exploring the future of humanity. You can find her online at https://andreakriz.wordpress.com/ or on Twitter @theworldshesaw.

About the Cover Artist

Dante Luiz is an illustrator and occasional writer from an island in southern Brazil. He’s the interior artist for Crema (comiXology/Dark Horse), and his work with comics has also appeared in anthologies, like Wayward Kindred (TO Comix Press), Mañana: Latinx Comics From the 25th Century (Power & Magic Press), and Shout Out (TO Comix Press), among others. Find him online on Twitter and Instagram (@dntlz) or his website (danteluiz.com).