James Pyles's Blog, page 25
October 11, 2023
The Yellow Shed
It had been a long time since Jack had been to Sunset Beach. The ugly yellow paint the caretaker put on the shed two summers ago was already flaking off. Jack pulled the key out of his pocket and inserted it in the lock. Anyone watching wouldn’t notice, but a series of biometric tests were […]
October 5, 2023
Review of Quantum Leap S2E1 “This Took Too Long!”
So, against my better judgment, I decided to watch the season 2 opener of the current Quantum Leap television show titled This Took Too Long! For S1, I tended to “soft soap” my reviews, giving the show the benefit of the doubt, even though I knew it’s stated intent was to completely highlight representation as […]
October 4, 2023
The Name
Griffith hated “blipping” into random places, especially late at night, but that was how the quest worked. This yarn shop wasn’t an unanticipated destination. The next clue was here. In fact (he quickly counted the words he already had) this should be the last one. Then he could assemble The Name. This had been centuries […]
October 3, 2023
Book Review of “Fire Time” (1974)
I wish I could say I liked Poul Anderson’s 1974 novel Fire Time. It was being offered from Amazon at a pretty low price and wasn’t available at my local public library. I’d read and liked other books by Anderson. I figured what the heck? The novel begins with several prisoners being transported to a […]
October 2, 2023
“Shoot the Devil II: Dark Matter” Coming Soon!
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. Some of my regular readers may remember that a short story of mine “Wolf in the Wind” was included in the 2022 Crucifixion Press anthology Shoot the Devil: Ten Tales of Humans Defeating the Demonic. It’s a collection of science fiction, […]
September 27, 2023
If I Could Turn Back Time
“No! This is not what I meant!” Eight-year-old Erin pounded her fists on the back of the chair and then recoiled when it hurt so much. She squealed in her too squeaky, little girl voice. She wanted to go back and fix the past. The experiment held that promise. The forty-two-year-old physicist stepped into the […]
September 24, 2023
Book Review of “Hacking Galileo” by Fenton Wood
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. I became aware of Fenton Wood (a pseudonym) when he reviewed my SciFi/Fantasy novelette Ice on twitter (but alas not on Amazon or goodreads). Curious, I took a look at his twitter/X account, which led me to his e-book Hacking Galileo. […]
September 20, 2023
The Exploding Candy Store
“Annoying,” Phil complained. One of the tiny cameras he had hidden throughout the candy shop showed him the place wasn’t empty. The clerk was out front having a smoke, but the customer with the backpack was still shopping inside. “Come on,” he whispered in the basement darkness, fingers poised on the toggle while his eyes […]
September 19, 2023
Book Review of “A Call to Duty”
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. After I returned my previous book to the library, I was wandering the stacks trying to decide if anything looked interesting. I eventually came across A Call to Duty (2016) by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. It’s the first book in […]
September 13, 2023
Dinner for Two
Larry sat at his usual table by the window, always dinner for one. His wife had died when their daughter Chrissie was four. He tried to be a good Dad, but that ended with the drunken car accident. Chrissie was ten when she died and it was his fault. A few weeks ago, he found […]
