Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: The Fiction Works ISBN-10:  1581244134 Type: Fiction Copyright: Jan 1 1999 An EPPIE 2000 Award winning collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories.

Review by Greg F. Gifune
Review by Greg F. Gifune
Highly Recommended


It’s rare to sit down with a collection of short stories, particularly such an eclectic one, and so thoroughly
enjoy each offering, but S. Joan Popek’s “The Administrator” delivers, and delivers big. Presented in an
electronic format, on disk, this collection is nicely produced, easy to read and showcases this talented
author’s work in a no-nonsense format. There are no distracting graphics or bells and whistles here,
which allows you to focus on what truly matters, Popek’s solid and often disturbing dark fiction.

With thirteen stories in all, “The Administrator” covers a wide range of compelling subjects, and one
quickly realizes this is not “fluff” genre fiction, rather a thought provoking array of stories laced with
bold social commentary. As but one example, the story this collection is named for deals with the
question of justice, and specifically, the criminal justice system, a theme sprinkled generously
throughout the collection, though Popek somehow manages to do this without being redundant.
“And the Gang’s All Here”, a tale that conceptually, is perhaps the most intriguing plot I’ve
encountered in some time, had the most impact on me personally. Set in a time and place where street
gangs are given amnesty one day a year, Halloween, in exchange for relative peace the rest of the year,
gangs and other assorted hoodlums are allowed to roam the streets, free to literally do whatever they
please without fear of breaking the law, because on this single night of the year, there is no law. Centered
on a single mother and her young son, this story is terrifying, and stayed with
me long after I’d read it.

Other stories, “Legal Tender” (a drug called “Happydaze”, organ selling, skin transplants, and again, the
criminal justice system gone wild), “The Alien Feeder”(which won third place in the 1997 ‘Best of the
Web’ contest by Predators & Editors, will never allow you to view Alzheimer’s Disease in quite the same
light), “Being God Is Hard” (What happens when a ten-year-old boy realizes he is God?), “A Job Well
Done” (organ harvesting and suicide), “This Old House” (Recycling with a new twist dropped in the
middle of an otherwise traditionally structured horror story), “Skull” (a
painter and a strange skull that holds secrets both enlightening and terrifying), “The Idea Seeder” (as
original a tale on the alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 one is likely to find), and
“Shining Eyes” and “The Prodigals”, both of which approach the concepts of alien life and space travel
from what can only be described as a satisfyingly unique angle, all follow suit, offering wildly original
adventures.

But there is also humor here (albeit dark), evident in the stories, “The Incredible, Edible Mr. Glump” (An
alcoholic’s hallucination or a delicious little alien bred as a delicacy?), and “Yes, We Have No Virgins
Today”, a nice change of pace tale at the end of the collection about a dragon in search of—you got
it—virgins.

What makes “The Administrator” worth buying and ultimately a wonderful reading experience, is
Popek’s taut, lean style, and thoroughly original approach. In a time when much fiction is unnecessarily
padded with filler and fat, Popek’s concise writing is a welcome change. She has the skill to get to the
heart of a matter with few words wasted, and while gently lulling you into a false sense of comfort,
casually lunges for your jugular. This, coupled with Popek’s originality, is the true source of her power.
There are no stories here that will cause you to mutter through a yawn, “This
has been done a million times before.” While she tackles subjects that are often familiar, each story has
her own unique style branded across its pages, and takes the reader on a fun, frightening, dark, and
sometimes even guiltily hilarious journey all her own.


Review by John Hamilton
Reviewed and
Very Highly Recommended
by John Hamilton

A collection of short stories in varying genres, mostly science fiction and fantasy, THE
ADMINISTRATOR a wild ride through one woman’s incredible imagination and polished writing skills.
The stories range from the frightening to the delightful to the oh-dear-God-I-hope-that-never-happens.
Opening this disk made me feel like a kid at Christmas, all these goodies were arrayed before me and all
I had to do was read, enjoy, gasp, shiver, and sigh. And, in the case of "Yes, We Have No Virgins
Today," laugh until my stomach hurt. All in all, it was a grand experience from the beginning chill of
"The Administrator" right on through the rest of the book.

You know, I’m not really sure how many stories there are, maybe seven or eight—every time I started
to count them, I started reading something and kept on reading and forgot to count—but enjoying is
more fun than counting any day. I think some of the tales are horror, not Steven King’s commercial
scare-everybody silly, but real horror, the kind that wakes you up in the dark and scares you all over
again because they might be true some tragic day in our future.
But, Ms. Popek took pity on her readers, gave them light to go with their dark, laughter to go with the
fear, hope to go with the despair. As an old man, who admits to being a mite forgetful, I have to say "The
Alien Feeder" was my favorite of all the tales—and, you know, I wish it was true. I can’t say the same
about "The Idea Seeder," it made me sad—but it was a real different explanation of the supposed alien
space ship crash in New Mexico several years ago.

I hope I get to see more of this writer’s work, because this book, THE ADMINISTRATOR, is a rare
find—and a real keeper. If I still wore one, I’d tip my hat to the author, but I guess maybe a baseball cap
works just as well. Well done, Ms. Popek, you have given this reader a marvelous read. Thank you.
It is my understanding that this work is going to be available in audiobook form from The Fiction Works
some day soon. It will be a dramatic reading, and from my observations, this is pretty dramatic work to
begin with, so the audio will be incredible. I can hardly wait.

{Mr. Hamilton was a dear friend and fine man. We shall miss him very much. Thank you, John. I
know you can see us from Heaven.}

S. Joan Popek