Colin Barrett: Stories

"Computers don't think, all they can do is calculate. But when does calculation become thinking?" That's is the question keypuncher Jack Heyward keeps asking himself when the system he's using suddenly starts talking back. But Jack has more problems; this system is an especially sensitive one, and he's suspected of a major security breach. And even if he, his new computer friend and his girlfriend can elude the massive manhunt, a new and more deadly peril awaits.

Second-rate opera singer Nick Volker is having a bad day, until he finds a stray cat. Almost immediately his life begins to change, dramatically. And then even more dramatically. Suddenly he's no longer a second-rater, he's now in line for lead roles and a beautiful soprano is on his doorstep. But the Federal Department of Homeland Security is also interested in him, and not for reasons he likes. What is there about this cat that's made such a differe / (Reviews)

What were human beings like thousands of years before the dawn of civilization? Lawyer Linda Powell, herself suffering through a deep personal crisis, begins to learn for herself when a man of that era is involuntarily catapulted forward in time by happenstance to appear as if by magic in her front yard. With her help he hesitantly begins to adapt to the vast changes that have occurred since his prior life as a spearhunter. But can such a man find a true place in the modern world? / (Reviews)

It's been said that there are two intelligent species inhabiting the Earth, humans and dolphins, but intelligent in very different ways. But suppose they could actually communicate with each other? How would they interact? That's the goal of marine biologist Maggie Russell, who starts her quest with but a single captive dolphin. Then a second dolphin mysteriously appears, and things suddenly get complicated, first professionally and then in her personal life. / (Reviews)

The ancient art of dowsing is mainly used to find water, but sometimes it works for other things, too.

A Story in the Eden Universe
Humans have been looking for years for another planet on which life has arisen. When they finally find one, the relationship with its denizens gets off to a rough start. As the relationship between the two races develops, each finds it must re-examine what it means to be an intelligent species.

A Story in the Eden Universe
Humans have not been in contact with the enigmatic Edenites for more than half a century, each nursing their wounds from their previous encounters. But an unprecedented event drives them together once more; the Edenites are in dire danger, and only human intervention can save them. But will the profound differences between them allow this? Or must each race concede to its separate fate-utter destruction for the Edenites, and failure for the humans. This is the final book of the Eden trilogy.

An unhappy man just had his girlfriend break up with him. She wouldn't tell him why. But now she's back in a really odd sort of way. And he's off on an unexpected adventure with her, one he isn't sure he wants. But he wants her, and the adventure is part of the package. No direct sex, but lots of talk about it now and then. / (Reviews)

He saves her from being raped, and protects her later, too. But he holds her at a distance. How come? / (Reviews)

It happened on an archaeological dig a few years ago.