A hypnotist, his alien companion animal, and a little girl with terrifying powers. Also a barbecue festival. What could possibly go wrong?
He came for the barbecue.
He stayed to help the little girl.
The Amazing Conroy travels to the edge of human space to attend the best barbecue competition in the galaxy.
When a six-year-old becomes infatuated with Reggie his buffalito, the hypnotist discovers something amiss with the child.
Gel possesses potentially dangerous abilities – abilities she can’t control. It will require all of Conroy's hypnotic skills, and lots of audacity, luck, and barbecue sauce for him to save her.
Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, is a past Astounding, Hugo, and Nebula, nominee, twice won the Cóyotl award for best novel, founded the Klingon Language Institute, and occasionally does work as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. He is a chimeric cancer survivor.
His science fiction includes many light and humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist and his alien animal companion. Other works take a very different tone, exploring aspects of determinism and free will, generally redefining the continua between life and death. Sometimes he blurs the funny and the serious. Lawrence lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife and their dog.
I read this originally right after reading the short story "Buffalo Dogs," but I felt I understood a little bit more this time now that I'd read Buffalito Bundle, a collection of Amazing Conroy stories.
Barry's Tale follows Conroy as he attends a prestigious barbecue festival on a closed planet in the hopes of getting a marketing endorsement. Nothing goes as planned of course, especially when there's a special little girl that Conroy might be able to help. I really enjoyed this novella--it's well written and I liked learning a bit more about hypnosis and some interesting aliens Schoen introduces in this.
Barry's Tale is a fun and creative science fiction story about a hypnotist, his buffalo dog, a barbecue festival, and a little girl with mysterious abilities. It's an original premise with likeable characters and a satisfying conclusion.