At first, the short story collection, Esoterika, seems like a disjointed collection of stories from all different genres mashed into one collection without rhyme or reason. It goes from the literary fiction settings of \"A World Apart,\" \"Crash\" and \"All Good Things...\" through haunted tales like \"The Quiet Man,\" and the various \"Supernatural\" stories. It dips through science fiction in \"The Games\" and \"The Revelation,\" and ends in the magical realism of \"Literal Fiction.\" There are even two tales that are hard to quantify: \"The Three Horsemen,\" a fantasy with a heavy theological influence and \"One Nation under Ground,\" a hard to label epistolary/historical fiction/sci fi/ thriller. Although it seems an astronomical improbability that these varied stories could fit well into a collection, they actually do work. The collection does have a loose thread connecting some of its stories which take place in a fictional town described as the sister city to Salem, Massachusetts. Esoterika uses various writing techniques and storytelling devices to subvert the truth and give readers a feeling that not all is what it seems with these tales. From brutal, post-apocalyptic, theocracies that question the role of religion in a modern society to a personal tale of a degenerate has been who finds solace in the most shocking places, this collection tackles issues most would shy away from and subverts reader's expectations in a variety of ways. Esoterika has something for every reader no matter their tastes and offers an easy transition into genres one might not otherwise read. The collection brings together genres that are normally not seen together, offering fantasy alongside literary fiction for example. It is the short story collection for those that embrace the esoteric and understand what makes those other readers tick.
","abstract_html":"<p>At first, the short story collection, <i>Esoterika</i>, seems like a disjointed collection of stories from all different genres mashed into one collection without rhyme or reason. It goes from the literary fiction settings of "A World Apart," "Crash" and "All Good Things..." through haunted tales like "The Quiet Man," and the various "Supernatural" stories. It dips through science fiction in "The Games" and "The Revelation," and ends in the magical realism of "Literal Fiction." There are even two tales that are hard to quantify: "The Three Horsemen," a fantasy with a heavy theological influence and "One Nation under Ground," a hard to label epistolary/historical fiction/sci fi/ thriller. Although it seems an astronomical improbability that these varied stories could fit well into a collection, they actually do work. The collection does have a loose thread connecting some of its stories which take place in a fictional town described as the sister city to Salem, Massachusetts. <i>Esoterika</i> uses various writing techniques and storytelling devices to subvert the truth and give readers a feeling that not all is what it seems with these tales. From brutal, post-apocalyptic, theocracies that question the role of religion in a modern society to a personal tale of a degenerate has been who finds solace in the most shocking places, this collection tackles issues most would shy away from and subverts reader's expectations in a variety of ways. <i>Esoterika</i> has something for every reader no matter their tastes and offers an easy transition into genres one might not otherwise read. The collection brings together genres that are normally not seen together, offering fantasy alongside literary fiction for example. It is the short story collection for those that embrace the esoteric and understand what makes those other readers tick. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jernigan, Michael"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z","subjects":["Fiction"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Michael Jernigan"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/280","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jernigan, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fiction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Michael Jernigan"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/280"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["At first, the short story collection, Esoterika, seems like a disjointed collection of stories from all different genres mashed into one collection without rhyme or reason. It goes from the literary fiction settings of \"A World Apart,\" \"Crash\" and \"All Good Things...\" through haunted tales like \"The Quiet Man,\" and the various \"Supernatural\" stories. It dips through science fiction in \"The Games\" and \"The Revelation,\" and ends in the magical realism of \"Literal Fiction.\" There are even two tales that are hard to quantify: \"The Three Horsemen,\" a fantasy with a heavy theological influence and \"One Nation under Ground,\" a hard to label epistolary/historical fiction/sci fi/ thriller. Although it seems an astronomical improbability that these varied stories could fit well into a collection, they actually do work. The collection does have a loose thread connecting some of its stories which take place in a fictional town described as the sister city to Salem, Massachusetts. Esoterika uses various writing techniques and storytelling devices to subvert the truth and give readers a feeling that not all is what it seems with these tales. From brutal, post-apocalyptic, theocracies that question the role of religion in a modern society to a personal tale of a degenerate has been who finds solace in the most shocking places, this collection tackles issues most would shy away from and subverts reader's expectations in a variety of ways. Esoterika has something for every reader no matter their tastes and offers an easy transition into genres one might not otherwise read. The collection brings together genres that are normally not seen together, offering fantasy alongside literary fiction for example. It is the short story collection for those that embrace the esoteric and understand what makes those other readers tick.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Esoterika"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Jernigan, Michael"],"dc:description.abstract":["At first, the short story collection, Esoterika, seems like a disjointed collection of stories from all different genres mashed into one collection without rhyme or reason. It goes from the literary fiction settings of \"A World Apart,\" \"Crash\" and \"All Good Things...\" through haunted tales like \"The Quiet Man,\" and the various \"Supernatural\" stories. It dips through science fiction in \"The Games\" and \"The Revelation,\" and ends in the magical realism of \"Literal Fiction.\" There are even two tales that are hard to quantify: \"The Three Horsemen,\" a fantasy with a heavy theological influence and \"One Nation under Ground,\" a hard to label epistolary/historical fiction/sci fi/ thriller. Although it seems an astronomical improbability that these varied stories could fit well into a collection, they actually do work. The collection does have a loose thread connecting some of its stories which take place in a fictional town described as the sister city to Salem, Massachusetts. Esoterika uses various writing techniques and storytelling devices to subvert the truth and give readers a feeling that not all is what it seems with these tales. From brutal, post-apocalyptic, theocracies that question the role of religion in a modern society to a personal tale of a degenerate has been who finds solace in the most shocking places, this collection tackles issues most would shy away from and subverts reader's expectations in a variety of ways. Esoterika has something for every reader no matter their tastes and offers an easy transition into genres one might not otherwise read. The collection brings together genres that are normally not seen together, offering fantasy alongside literary fiction for example. It is the short story collection for those that embrace the esoteric and understand what makes those other readers tick.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/280"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2015 Michael Jernigan"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Fiction"],"dc:title":["Esoterika"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z"}