Are we just a glitch in the matrix? Brain Games: Stories to Astonish, from Third Flatiron Anthologies, is a collection of twenty-seven short science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories that speculate where the brain’s logical and creative sides might lead us. Tales feature puzzle solving and ingenuity, inverted tv tropes, inventions (clockwork, biomedical, and Rube Goldberg), masterful creations, mythology, technology and robotics, and social commentary. A flash humor section ( Grins & Gurgles ) is included. Contributors are Brian Trent, Jetse de Vries, Geoff Taylor, Ellen Denton, M. K. Hutchins, Henry McFarland, Graham J. Darling, Monica Joyce Evans, Lisa Timpf, David Rogers, M. Richard Eley, Maureen Bowden, Dennis Conrad, Joseph Sidari, Paula Hammond, Alyce Campbell, C. J. Peterson, Jess Hyslop, Dominick Cancilla, Jenny Blackford, Justin Short, Eleftherios Keramidas, Brenda Kezar, Rebecca Fung, Steve Zisson, Aidan Doyle, and Lauren Lang. Edited by Juliana Rew.