The best books about ordinary people thrown into bizarre and extraordinary circumstances

Following an attack by a jilted lover, renowned TV variety show host Jason Taverner awakens in a cheap motel and discovers that he’s unknown to the world. Neither his current girlfriend nor his lawyer recognizes him when he calls. Further, all records of his identity have been erased.

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said is an exciting, fast-paced story with a protagonist both capable and mysterious. I’m a sucker for the theme of the “lone hero against impossible odds” and as usual with Philip K. Dick, the antagonist is not merely a single character, such as the unethical police general or his drug-dealing sibling/spouse. Rather, the enemy is the corrupt state, the totalitarian government, and the decaying society.

It’s easy to see why Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said earned the John W. Campbell award as well as nominations for a Hugo and Nebula.

In a time when cryo-technology allows the recently deceased to maintain brain activity for years in cold storage, successful businessman Glen Runciter consults with his late wife, Ella, who has been dead for over two decades.

Glen and Ella manage a company that employs a team of anti-telepaths with a unique ability to seek out and neutralize telepaths who pose a danger to society. One of Runciter’s senior recruiters, Joe Chip, introduces a new prospect with a unique ability to telepathically travel into the past and alter history. 

As someone who enjoys both science fiction and the paranormal, I was fascinated by Philip K. Dick’s ingenious blending of these genres. His characters communicate with the dead, but do so via a unique and creative technology rather than seances or other paranormal means.

The variety of subjects covered in this collection of 22 short stories demonstrates Bradbury's prowess as a master craftsman and the reason why I count him among my literary heroes. 

More than a few of these tales have become legendary, including “A Sound of Thunder.” Bradbury's premise of how the death of a butterfly in prehistoric times could have drastic changes in the future is a variation on the famous “butterfly effect” and a fine example of the relationship between chaos theory and the physics of time travel.
For me, the most incredible story in the collection is “The Fog Horn” in which an elusive sea monster attacks a lighthouse after being attracted by its foghorn for years. This story was the inspiration for the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

The Book of Philip Jose Farmer is a collection of 16 brilliant short stories ranging from SF and horror to fantasy and satire. 

The most memorable and frightening tale of all—and one that I often use an example of a perfect paranormal tale—is “Father in the Basement.” An eleven-year-old girl employs her supernatural ability to help her father work around the clock for days to complete the first draft of his novel. He wanted it to be his final act, after all.

One of the most chilling endings of any horror story out there. 

Harlan Ellison’s Shatterday holds two of the most memorable short stories I’ve ever read.

In “Jeffty is Five,” a young boy never ages and is somehow able to listen to new episodes of cancelled radio shows and conjure up new issues of pulp magazines long out of print. He is oblivious to the changing world around him until he is brutally exposed to the harsh realities of modern life. 

In “Shatterday,” a callous, insensitive young man finds himself confronted by a doppelganger who not only takes over his life, but improves it until the original simply fades away. 

In the introduction to his collection, Ellison indicates that his stories reflect the underlying theme of human frailty and ugliness. His goal is to shock his readers into seeing how this common fear unifies all people. This is one of the reasons why Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite writers of all time.