David Barr Kirtley

Science fiction author and podcaster

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Stories
  • Books & Magazines
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

Short Stories


“Power Armor: A Love Story”
An inventor from the future never removes his invincible armor for fear of a lurking assassin.
Read    About    Listen

“Three Deaths”
A story about one of the Green Martians from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel A Princess of Mars.
About

“Beauty”
A twisted, modern-day retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.”
Read    Listen    About

“The Ontological Factor”
A nervous philosophy student finds himself in a house full of doorways to other worlds.
About

“Family Tree”
A young wizard is drawn into a conflict between the two sides of his tree-dwelling family.
Read    About
 

“The Skull-Faced City”
A sequel to “The Skull-Faced Boy.”
Read    About

“Cats in Victory”
On a postapocalyptic earth, a band of catmen pursue the last of the dogmen.
Read    Listen    About

“Red Road”
Two mice set off on a quest.
Listen    About

“Transformations”
A boy befriends an alien robot who can transform into a car.
About
 

“Save Me Plz”
A young woman sets out to locate her ex-boyfriend, who disappeared after becoming obsessed with an MMO.
Listen    About
 

“Blood of Virgins”
A college student comes to fear the blood-guzzling dragons ridden by his classmates.
Listen    About

“Veil of Ignorance”
A group of friends experiment with a mind-bending alien drug.
Read    About

“Seeds-for-Brains”
A good-natured headless horseman enlists the aid of a local schoolmaster in hopes of tracking down his missing head.
About

“Seven Brothers, Cruel”
A knight rescues a beautiful maiden from her wicked family.
About

“They Go Bump”
A squad of space soldiers are given invisibility suits.
Listen    About
 

“The Prize”
Government agents attempt to catch a fugitive by cloning his comatose lover.

“The Skull-Faced Boy”
An intelligent zombie organizes hordes of mindless zombies into an unstoppable army.
Listen    About

“The Disciple”
A disturbed young man enrolls in a college course in black magic.
Listen    About

“The Black Bird”
The Maltese Falcon challenges Sam Spade to solve an existential mystery.
Read    Listen    About
 

“The Second Rat”
A dying man discovers that he has the power to rewind time.

“The Cold Beach”
A teenage romance unravels during a family outing.
 

“The Trial of Thomas Jefferson”
A court uses time travel to put historical figures on trial.
Read    Listen    About

“Lest We Forget”
A pair of teenage friends debate the ethics of erasing painful memories.
Read    About
 

“Pomegranate Heart”
A boy falls in love with a computer-simulated girl.
Read

“The Sorcerer and the Charlatan”
A lord hatches a plot to ensnare a wizard.
Read

“The Rats of War”
A spy finds himself trapped in the body of a lab rat.

“Recreational Suicide”
Thrill-seekers of the future kill themselves and are resurrected repeatedly.

“Guilty as Charged”
A guilt-wracked man is told that his memory has been manipulated and that his crimes never happened.
 

“Special Effects”
A pair of friends discover that the world is secretly ruled by a cabal of all-powerful special effects artists.
 

David on Social Media

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy is a podcast hosted by author David Barr Kirtley and produced by Lightspeed Magazine editor John Joseph Adams. The show features conversations about fantasy & science … Read more

“The Skull-Faced Boy”

By David Barr Kirtley

View Book

“Family Tree”

By David Barr Kirtley

View Book

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Stories
  • Books & Magazines
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • Roger Barr
  • Noah Manners
  • Top 10 Geeky YouTube Videos
  • Felicia Day Issues a Geek Call to Arms
  • Alpha Workshop Readings 2013

Roger Barr

My grandfather Roger Barr passed away early this morning at the age of 98. He was my mom’s father, and was my last surviving grandparent. He was being cared for by my uncle Steve (his son) and aunt Denice — both medical professionals — and was still sharp and good-humored in his final days. Yesterday […]

David on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter
  • Deviant Art
  • Goodreads
  • Amazon

David Barr Kirtley

David Barr Kirtley is an author and the host of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast on Wired.com, for which he’s interviewed well over a hundred guests, including George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Paul Krugman, Simon Pegg, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
Content © 2022 David Barr Kirtley unless noted. Site by Sunray Computer.