Shvartsman, Alex
Entry updated 9 November 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1975- ) Russia-born author in USA from adolescence; he began to publish work of genre interest with "Superior Firepower" in Bards and Sages Quarterly for July 2011, becoming best-known for his substantial output of short fiction, much of it Humorous with a moderately gonzo infusion of Horror in SF. Two series are of interest: the humour of H G Wells Secret Agent sequence beginning with H G Wells Secret Agent (2015) derives from its Alternate World Steampunk setting; The Conradverse Chronicles beginning with The Middling Affliction (2022) follow the adventures of an unqualified magician in a fantasy New York, the tone darkening in Kakistocracy (2023), when a dictator takes over the city.
As full of Easter eggs and jokes as these series, but also gaining Satirical intensity from its use of Voltaire's Candide (1759), The Best of All Possible Planets (2026) is a rompish Space Opera in which a small band of companions [for Seven Samurai see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below] must save a decrepit Earth by obtaining a protective Force Field. Several self-inflicted catastrophes are dodged.
From 2018 Shvartsman also edited Future Science Fiction Digest. [JC]
Alex Shvartsman
born Odesa, USSR [now Ukraine]: 19 November 1975
works
series
H G Wells Secret Agent
- H G Wells Secret Agent (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [H G Wells Secret Agent: pb/]
- The Case of the Dirigible Heist (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [H G Wells Secret Agent: pb/]
- The Case of the Weather Machine (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [H G Wells Secret Agent: pb/]
- The Case of the Yellow Submarine (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [H G Wells Secret Agent: pb/]
The Conradverse Chronicles
- The Middling Affliction (Rockville, Maryland: CAEZIK SF and Fantasy, 2022) [The Conradverse Chronicles: pb/]
- Kakistocracy (Rockville, Maryland: CAEZIK SF and Fantasy, 2023) [The Conradverse Chronicles: pb/]
individual titles
- Eridanis Crown (New York: UFO Publishing, 2019) [hb/Tomasz Maronski]
- The Best of All Possible Planets (New York: UFO Publishing, 2026) [hb/Ethemos]
collections and stories
- Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [pb/Dixon Leavitt]
- The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories (New York: UFO Publishing, 2018) [pb/M Wayne Miller]
- Dreidel of Dread: The Very Cthulhu Hanukkah (New York: UFO Publishing, 2024) [story: chap: hb/]
works as editor
series
Unidentified Funny Objects
- Unidentified Funny Objects (New York: UFO Publishing, 2012) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Dixon Leavitt]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 2 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2013) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Annie Swekel]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 3 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2014) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 4 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 5 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2016) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 6 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2017) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 7 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2018) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 8 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2020) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 9 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2022) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Unidentified Funny Objects 10 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2026) [anth: Unidentified Funny Objects: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
individual titles as editor
- Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic (New York: UFO Publishing, 2013) [anth: pb/Emerson Matsuuchi]
- Funny Science Fiction (New York: UFO Publishing, 2015) [anth: pb/Flavio Greco Paglia]
- Funny Fantasy (New York: UFO Publishing, 2016) [anth: pb/Tomasz Maronski]
- Humanity 2.0 (New York: UFO Publishing, 2016) [anth: pb/Holly Heisey]
- Funny Horror (New York: UFO Publishing, 2017) [anth: pb/Michelle Tolo]
- The Cackle of Cthulhu (New York: UFO Publishing, 2028) [anth: pb/Dave Seeley]
- The Rosetta Archive: Notable Speculative Short Fiction in Translation (New York: UFO Publishing, 2022) with Tarryn Thomas [anth: pb/]
- The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI (Rockville, Maryland: CAEZIK SF and Fantasy, 2023) [anth: pb/K A Teryna]
links
previous versions of this entry