Perhaps the most curious thing about this anthology is that the title is wrong in almost every detail. Yes, there are Little People, but not The Little People. There are stories, to be sure, but, well, they're rather peculiar. They're extremely peculiar, each in its own peculiar way.

At no time since the legendary appearance of Leprechauns in CheeseburgerBrown's groundbreaking tale The Rule of Glittering Veal has there been such a refreshing take on small speaking peoples, mythological and otherwise. This reviewer was reduced to a heap of giggling protoplasm by the recurring character of Ed Hulver, differently imagined in each story, but there with cameo appearance after cameo appearance, as the irritating co-worker in the next cubicle, the DBA with a passion for SQL and a heart of gold, the guy who opens his car door into traffic, the victim of a grisly murder, the disembodied voice on a repeating loop from a distress beacon -- you get the idea.

Each riveting story clocks in under 2000 words, making the collection an ideal way to pass those otherwise idle moments in one's day. The entertainment value was high, originality remarkable, intelligence crackling. Overall rating: , would read again. I look forward to the next such collection.

That's right, folks, this here's the announcement of the first-evar HulverSite Writing Fun Challenge. Write the stories in the collection reviewed above the fold. Rules:

• Stories may be of any fiction genre, but must incorporate the theme of "The Little People" in some form and a character named Ed Hulver. Creative interpretations up to, including, and beyond those described above are encouraged.

• Stories may have no more than 2000 words. There is no lower limit.

• Submissions will be anonymous and should be uploaded to http://256k.org/wfc1/index.php as text or html files. Files should contain the title and the text of the story; please do not include your name or Husi username.

• Deadline for submissions is May 7, 2006, at 5pm Eastern Daylight Time == 2100 GMT, at which time judging will begin, by poll in another diary here on HuSi.

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If I've misrepresented what 256's upload site can do, I'm sure he'll clarify in a comment. Thanks also to Kellnerin, for sharpening up the review and the rules.