Caution: Contains Small Parts is an intimate, unsettling collection from award-winning author Kirstyn McDermott.
A creepy wooden dog that refuses to play dead.
A gifted crisis counsellor and the mysterious, melancholy girl she cannot seem to reach.
A once-successful fantasy author whose life has become a horror story - now with added unicorns.
An isolated woman whose obsession with sex dolls takes a harrowing, unexpected turn.
Four stories that will haunt you long after their final pages are turned.
‘Kirstyn McDermott’s prose is darkly magical, insidious and insistent. Once her words get under your skin, they are there to stay.’ - Angela Slatter, British Fantasy Award-winning author of Sourdough and Other Stories
‘The supernatural lurks in the shadows of Kirstyn McDermott’s first collection, an ambiguous or mundane presence that keeps these four quasi-horror stories feeling palpably real ... McDermott’s poignant stories defy genre labelling, being primarily about damaged people seeking solace, escape, or meaning. The otherworldly merely gives them a chance to find it, and makes these unflinching but touching stories even more evocative and irresistible.’ - Aurealis, Issue 64
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What Amanda Wants
- Horn
- Caution: Contains Small Parts
- The Home for Broken Dolls
"Kirstyn McDermott gives us another unique new voice in her powerful Caution: Contains Small Parts" - Locus Magazine
"McDermott’s stories are offbeat, spellbinding tales where suspension of disbelief never staggers thanks to her hypnotic narrative style." - British Fantasy Society
"McDermott's first collection explores the unfamiliar among the known, in worlds where nothing works quite right. Her insight into the individual condition draws readers down into dark places." - Honourable mention, 2014 Norma K Hemming Award
"The Home for Broken Dolls" - winner Ditmar for Best Novella/Novelette 2014
Locus Recommended Reading List for 2013 for Best Collection, Best Novella and Best Novelette
ABOUT THE TWELVE PLANETS SERIES
Twelfth Planet Press is an independent publishing house challenging the status quo with books that interrogate, commentate, inspire.
The Twelve Planets are twelve boutique collections by some of Australia’s finest short story writers. Varied across genre and style, each collection offers four short stories and a unique glimpse into worlds fashioned by some of our favourite storytellers. Each author has taken the brief of 4 stories and up to 40 000 words in their own direction. Some are quartet suites of linked stories. Others are tasters of the range and style of the writer. Each release is a standalone and brings something unexpected.
The Twelve Planets
Book 1: Nightsiders by Sue Isle
Book 2: Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Book 3: Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex
Book 4: Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti
Book 5: Showtime by Narrelle M Harris
Book 6: Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren
Book 7: Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan
Book 8: Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer
Book 9: Caution: Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott
Book 10: Secret Lives of Books by Rosaleen Love
Book 11: The Female Factory by Angela Slatter and Lisa Hannet
Book 12: Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin
