Heart transplant recipient Arthur Feldman serves as a frame narrator, sharing an otherworldly story he believes was experienced by his organ donor, Rodwell Richards.  The story begins with Rodwell’s untimely murder, then shifts to a surreal alternate reality as Rodwell’s consciousness leaves his body.  Instead of going to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell, Rodwell finds himself in a strange world—reborn, as it were, into a new life in a universe enigmatically connected to Earth.  His experiences are interrupted by intermittent breaks back into "reality" in the form of nightmares--visions and sensations of being in a hospital room, barely clinging to life, the voice of his wife desperately trying to come to terms with his comatose condition.  Over time, Rodwell becomes increasingly involved and connected with this new world, until the new life replaces the old, suggesting that there is no afterlife, but rather jumps from one universe to the next.

Another Space in Time is a refreshing and provocative look at our world and the world beyond, speculating existence, purpose, and God in thoughtful and meaningful ways.  At times, Bunning’s style seemed similar to that of Olaf Stapledon, one of my favorite speculative fiction authors.  I recommend this book to fans of ‘50s pulp sci-fi and readers who enjoy a literary edge to their science fiction.

Of Mind and Matter is a collection of three related stories that together speculate aliens and space travel from three very different points of view.  In “Buying Peace,” society must reconsider its longstanding belief that theirs is the only planet inhabited  by intelligent life when radio telescopes receive a light-years-old intergalactic transmission—but unfortunately some beliefs die hard.  In “Of Mind and Matter,” experimentation with alien DNA has nightmarish consequences. “The Search for  Intelligent Life,” explains just where that alien DNA came from.

Excerpt from the title story:

Diana Conner, a young woman I had met through the project, became my good friend. We had begun meeting at least once a week after the memories started, spending most of our time discussing the project. Diana always spoke objectively on the issues at hand, with more hope than anything in maintaining her faith in our safety and well-being. When we met after our last  check-in, however, she had begun to see things in a completely different light.

She nervously searched the coffee house patio with her eyes, watching for spies who may have tagged along. She spoke in a barely audible whisper: “Something’s happening.” She looked around again, suspicious of the two men sitting beside the exit to the parking lot.

I gave a confused look.

She placed one of her hands beside a vase of flowers in the center of the table.“Watch my hand.” She moved her hand toward the vase. It seemed to make contact, but then passed through it as if nothing were there.

My hand went over my mouth. “Oh my God.”

With the same hand, she lifted the vase. She smelled the flowers, then set the vase back onto the table. “I can control it, at least for now. I think I’m turning into . . . him.”

My throat went dry and my chest grew tight. I wanted to respond, but the words wouldn’t come.

“I’m afraid,” she said. “What if the next treatment makes me. . . .” Her words trailed off. “Why didn’t they tell us the truth?” she asked instead.

I shrugged, feeling faint and heavy. I thought about Chris, how he had talked me into this, and I shook my head, willing away a knot that was forming in my throat.

“They can’t find out about this.” She looked around again. “If they do, I have a feeling they’ll want more than just weekly check-ins.”

I agreed.

Diana’s voice began to shake. “I want you to help me break into the lab tonight. I can walk right through the walls, so—”

“Wait a minute. I’m not so sure about that. They’ll be swarmed with security.”

“But if they examine the samples they took today—”

“I’m sure they’ve already begun.” I began to feel a little paranoid, myself, and I glanced around the patio, watching for watchers. The two men at the gate, both clad in black suits, glanced back at us.

Diana stared at me, silent, her eyes wide with panic.

The two men began toward our table.

Of Mind and Matter is available for only .99 through Amazon.