For those of your who have never read Rich Larson, here's the short version of what you need to know: he writes crisp, vivid scenes exploring messy human behavior in mostly near future SF contexts. His work often digs into the darker corners of technological advancement, examining how innovations might amplify or twist our existing flaws and desires. He also writes short, and fortunately for all of us, he writes a LOT.
Instead of belaboring how great his short fiction is, I want to tell you about the first time I met him in person. I was in the audience at a Worldcon panel (the topic of which I don't remember). One of the panelists was a classic "old dude who doesn't want the world to change" and he started editorializing about people clutching pearls ruining science fiction and fantasy.
The place devolved into mild pandemonium, with folks in the back yelling at the panelists, standard culture war stuff.
This was many years ago so I don't remember the exact moment, but I had given a tshirt to Rich. He proceeded to take his shirt off and put mine on, and everyone was so incensed that nobody even noticed him shirtless in the auditorium.
That's one of my favorite Worldcon memories, and is a Rich Larson signature: injecting humor into serious situations.
Anyway you should buy Rich Larson's new collection,
The Sky Didn't Load Today and Other Glitches. It's a lot of reprints, but there are some new stories there, and having all these gems collected in one place is wonderful.
If you want a taste before you buy, and you want the highest entertainment to word count possible, read this flash story:
Mind Blown.
Joe