Cora Buhlert's Blog, page 48

January 2, 2021

Star Trek Discovery realises that “There Is a Tide…”

Yeah, this review is two days late, since the powers that be at CBS All Access apparently believe that all their viewers have nothing better to do on New Year’s Eve than watch TV (or that they all have families who want to watch Star Trek Discovery, too). Still, here is the latest installment in my ongoing episode by episode reviews of season 3 of Star Trek Discovery. Reviews of previous episodes may be found here.

Warning: Spoilers behind the cut!

Star Trek Discovery certainly celebrated New Year’s Eve with one hell of an episode. “There Is a Tide…” already starts out with a bang, when we see the Veridian pursuing the Discovery in an homage to the famous opening of Star Wars: A New Hope. I’ve said before that Discovery is mixing classic Star Trek tropes and themes with tropes and themes borrowed from other SFF works, including of course Star Wars. But when I saw the opening space chase shot just like the opening of A New Hope, I thought, “Okay, now you’re just trolling us.”

However, the opening scene is not as straightforward as it looks – after all, Discovery was hijacked by Osyra and the Emerald Chain last episode. Osyra and her people locked up the Discovery crew and fitted Stamets, the only crewmember without whom the ship cannot operate, with a brainwashing device. Though Osyra’s people find that they cannot delete a few files of what appears to be old movies in the Discovery‘s central computer. Keen-eyed viewers will remember that the infodump sphere persuaded Saru to hold movie nights in the shuttle bay to boost morale on board, so three guesses what that undeletable data is.

Osyra has also brought in help in the form of Aurelio, a wheelchair using scientist (more on him later), and Zaher, the villainous courier from “Far From Home”, who was last seem chased out into the parasitic ice of the nameless mining planet. To everybody’s surprise, Zaher did survive the parasitic ice, though he has a frostbitten hand now. He’s also not at all pleased to see Tilly again.

The initial space chase is a ruse to get Starfleet headquarters to open the forcefield and let Discovery in, allowing Osyra to infiltrate Starfleet headquarters. And indeed, Admiral Vance is extremely sceptical of the whole thing, especially since he can’t hail anybody aboard Discovery, but doesn’t want to loose his secret weapon Discovery either. So he orders the force-field opened.

However, Michael and Book arrive hot on Discovery‘s and Veridian‘s heels and make it back to Starfleet headquarters in record time thanks to a conveniently located Transwarp tunnel that couriers sometimes use. Michael tries to hail Starfleet headquarters to warn them of Osyra’s infiltration attempt, but unfortunately, the coms are down. And so Michael and Book give chase and crashland Book’s ship (which still doesn’t have a name) inside Discovery‘s shuttle bay. It’s not quite clear what this manoeuvre is supposed to accomplish, except place Book and Michael (and Grudge) back aboard the Discovery to mess with Osyra’s plans.

However, Book’s and Michael’s piloting stunt plus the fact that the Veridian just sits there and does nothing, once Discovery is inside the Federation headquarters forcefield persuade Admiral Vance that something is very definitely wrong. Vance deduces that Osyra is not on board of the Veridian at all, but on board of the Discovery, and order all other Starfleet ships inside the headquarters bubble to aim their weapons at Discovery. Now Osyra does hail Vance. She wants to destroy the Federation and Starfleet – no, to everybody’s surprise, she wants to negotiate.

Vance is willing to negotiate – provided Osyra lets the crew of the Discovery go, which Osyra is willing to do, though she does retain Tilly, Stamets and the bridge crew as leverage. And so we get a great confrontation/negotiation between Vance and Osyra with Eli, the lie detector hologram, as a kind of straight man.

Talking of Eli, Osyra asks why Starfleet uses lie detector holograms. “Because a face is friendlier than a light blinking red or green”, Vance replies. “And of course it’s a human face”, Osyra remarks in a little jab that even though the Federation is a multi-species organisation committed to equality, what we see of it is still remarkably human-centric.

Next, Osyra makes her proposal. She point blank admits that the Emerald Chain is running out of dilithium, since she assumes Ryn already told Starfleet anyway, and then proposes a union between the Federation and the Emerald Chain for the greater good of the galaxy. Because – so Osyra points out – the Emerald Chain may have dilithium issues, but they also have a lot of territory, a lot of people, a large network of mercantile exchanges, some of them operating in ex-Federation territory the Federation can no longer access since the Burn, and also a cadre of excellent scientists. In short, the Emerald Chain has a lot to offer. As Camestros Felapton says in his review, Osyra may be a supervillain, but she is a practical one.

Of course, the Emerald Chain are also criminals and slave traders, as Vance points out, so it’s not just a matter of the Federation accepting “a bit of capitalism” in its territory. However, Osyra is also willing to make a lot of concessions. She is willing to outlaw slavery (and remember that part of the reason why slavery was gradually outlawed throughout the 19th century is that states still practicing slavery suddenly faced political and trade difficulties*), willing to leave pre-warp planets like Kwejon alone and even willing to step back from her leadership role in favour of someone more palatable to the Federation such as a respected scientist. Osyra has even brought a draft treaty. Even better, according to Eli, the lie detector hologram, Osyra is telling the truth.

The whole thing sounds too good to be true and Vance is well aware of this. And since lie detectors don’t actually detect lies, but react to physiological changes, they can be outwitted even by humans in the real world (or give false positives), so it’s very likely that Osyra is somehow tricking Eli. In fact, Eli, the holographic lie detector, is another example of specifically American assumptions, because the US relies heavily on lie detectors in spite of their many documented weaknesses. Meanwhile, lie detectors play almost no role in many other countries – e.g. in Germany, they’re illegal for court use – and so are just considered “One of those weird US obsessions”. But Star Trek Discovery is still a US show and so they of course have lie detector holograms in the 32nd century.

But even though he knows that Osyra is likely lying – no matter what Eli says – Vance is sorely tempted, because her offer would solve a lot of his problems. However, he has one condition of his own, one he knows that Osyra won’t agree to. He demands that whoever will become her successor at the head of the Emerald Chain puts Osyra on trial for her crimes.

The negotiation sequences could easily have been boring “talking head” scenes, but instead they’re fantastic, largely because actors Oded Fehr and Janet Kidder (niece of former Lois Lane Margot Kidder, to whom she bears a certain resemblance) as well as Brendan Beiser as Eli, the deadpan hologram, give their all, as Tor.com reviewer Keith R.A. DeCandido points out. One moment I particularly liked is where Vance offers Osyra the rather unimpressive Starfleet equivalent of a charcuterie board. Osyra eats a slice of apple and remarks that it tastes almost like the real thing – apples apparently being rare in the 32nd century. Whereupon Vance informs her exactly what the “apple” and all other replicator food is made of – and yes, it’s exactly what you think. In short, Vance knows that Osyra is feeding him shit and so he is doing the same to her.

Since Osyra is obviously not going to let herself be arrested and stand trial, she beams back aboard Discovery, where things are very much not going as planned either. For after Michael and Book crashed into the shuttle bay, Michael slipped away and Book remained aboard the ship and let himself get arrested to throw the Emerald Chain Regulators off Michael’s scent. Michael and Book also exchange an “I love you” and share a kiss. Now those fatal three words have been said on screen, I hope that this doesn’t mean that Book will get killed off in the finale, if only because I like Book and would hate to lose him. Besides, Michael deserves someone.

As planned, Book is arrested and locked up with Tilly, Ryn and the bridge crew. Meanwhile, Michael sneaks around aboard Discovery, gets into a fight with a Regulator during which she gets stabbed into the leg and then proceeds to crawl through the Jeffreys Tubes. When the Regulator Michael has taken out is found, Zareh – who was left in charge of Discovery during Osyra’s absence – can locate her via the Regulator’s com device and sends more Regulators into the Jeffreys Tubes to apprehend her. However, Michael ties herself to a rail, fires her phaser at a fire sensors and so causes the fire suppression system to kick in and flush the Regulators out into space. “Ahem, some of your Regulators seem to have taken a spacewalk without EV-equipment,” Vance informs Osyra, once he gets the news, while trying hard to suppress a smile. One of the Regulators clings to Michael’s boots, so Michael kicks off her boots and flushes the Regulator and boots out into space, which means that she is now barefoot.

If you think that all that sounds very reminiscent of Die Hard – a movie many of us will have watched during the holiday season (I certainly did) – you’re not alone. Camestros Felapton, Keith R.A. DeCandido and Zack Handlen of The AV-Club all make the Die Hard comparison. Of course, Die Hard type stories – or “Base under siege” tales, as we’ve taken to calling that particularly story type – are a staple of science fiction. They’re particular common in Doctor Who, but Star Trek has had its share of “Base under siege” stories, too, as io9 reviewer James Whitbrook points out. Though I don’t think Star Trek ever had a story which so directly references Die Hard, but then some of Star Trek “Base under siege” stories actually predate Die Hard. But then, Die Hard didn’t invent the “Base under siege” trope either, it’s just an exceptionally good example thereof. And now I wonder whether the infodump sphere has a copy of Die Hard in its archives to show on Saru’s movie nights.

While Michael is letting out her inner Bruce Willis, Tilly and the bridge crew don’t sit idle either. Of course, they’re locked up and kept under constant guard and forbidden from speaking with each other. But luckily, Starfleet Academy teaches Morse code and so the crew are able to communicate with each other and coordinate an escape plan. Eventually, a Regulator catches on that there’s something up with all that tapping and hits Bryce, but the message has already been sent and so the crew overwhelm the Regulator guards. “Uhm, what just happened?” Book, who clearly doesn’t know Morse code, asks.

Ryn manages to hack into Discovery‘s systems, first to unlock the doors and then to project a lot of lifesigns to mask those of the crew. Then Tilly and the bridge crew escape, while Book and Ryn hole up with phasers to hold off the Regulators who are bound to come. They don’t do too badly, but are eventually overpowered and taken to Osyra, who has by now returned from her negotiations with Vance. Osyra unceremoniously shoots Ryn and is about to shoot Book, when Book tells her that he knows where to find dilithium, more than Osyra will ever need. It turns out that Osyra already knows about the dilithium deposits inside the Verubin nebula that Discovery discovered last episode, but can’t get to them. Book, however, insists that he knows how to get into the nebula. After all, he flew into the nebula last episode.

Meanwhile, Tilly and the bridge crew get unexpected help in the form of some of the repair bots seen in the title sequence and occasionally in the show. Because the repair bots have taken to following Tilly and the bridge crew around and project a Buster Keaton clip, when challenges. “Are you the sphere data?” Tilly asks. The bots confirm this. “Let’s take back our ship”, they say. So commenter Peer was right that the infodump sphere will find a way to save everybody. Coincidentally, this also means that Discovery has tackled another common space opera trope that Star Trek has previously ignored, namely that of the cute robot.

While all this is going on, Michael is on her way to engineering, because she has figured out that Osyra can’t jump anywhere without Stamets. Get Stamets off the ship and she’s stuck. But while Stamets was fitted with a brain control device towards the end of the previous episode, he’s now himself again, though chain up in the engine room and engaged in a confrontation of his own with Osyra’s pet scientist Aurelio. Aurelio has been tasked with figuring out how the spore drive works and how to replicate it. Stamets assures him that this is impossible, because they’d need a tardigrade and tardigrades happen to have gone extinct. And the tardigrade DNA spliced into Stamets’ genes cannot be removed. “You’d have to kill me”, Stamets says. Aurelio, however, is pretty certain that it can be done.

Stamets also tries to engage Aurelio in conversation and point out what they have in common. They’re both scientists, for starters, and both parents, since Aurelio wears three small rings in his ear, a sign among the Orions (apparently, Aurelio, though human, is married to an Orion) that one is a parent. Of course, it has been notable before that Stamets and Culber took on something of a parental role towards Adira (and Gray), but this episode is the first time that Stamets explicitly says that he considers Adira his child. So Paul Stamets just threw his hat in the ring for the Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award, though unfortunately a day too late. Maybe this year, Paul, though be warned, because the competition is stiff.

Aurelio also offers a different perspective on Osyra, for while she may be a supervillain and crime boss, she also saw something in the young disabled Aurelio and made sure that he got treatment and education. Indeed, this episode did a lot to flesh out Osyra and make her a more three-dimensional character rather than the one-note villain she was before. Regarding Aurelio, Kenneth Mitchell, the actor who plays him, has been in Star Trek Discovery before (and in lots of other things, which is why he looks so familiar), playing different Klingons in heavy make-up. As Keith R.A. DeCandido and James Whitbrook point out, Kenneth Mitchell was diagnosed with ALS in 2018 and is a wheelchair user in real life, so it’s great that the Discovery producers not only continued to cast him even after his diagnosis, but even found a way to integrate his wheelchair into the episode and show that disabled people will be a part of our future just as they are a part of our present.

Stamets’ confrontation with Aurelio is cut short, when Michael shows up, stuns Aurelio and the guards and frees Stamets. Stamets immediately wants to return to the Verubin nebula to save Hugh and Saru from certain death by radiation poisoning. He gets even more insistent, when Michael blurts out that Adira has beamed down to the surface of the dilithium planet as well. It’s easy to sympathise with Stamets, after all, his husband and his kid are in danger here.

However, Michael tells Stamets that they can’t return to the Nebula, while the ship is still in the hands of the Emerald Chain. And when Stamets objects, she nerve-pinches him out of commission. Then she sticks Stamets into a force-field capsule and blasts him out into space to get him off the ship, so Osyra can’t use him, over Stamets’ vehement objections. “We came to the future for you”, Stamets cries, “So you wouldn’t have to be alone.”

Much as I sympathise with Stamets’ plight here, Michael is right. Jumping to the nebula with the ship still in the hands of the Regulators is a seriously bad idea and Stamets is the one person without whom the Discovery can’t go anywhere. Though Stamets’ lament also highlights that the decision of much of the Discovery crew to jump into the future with Michael doesn’t make a whole lot of sense beyond the fact that the characters are needed for the plot. Though Stamets’ decision makes more sense than e.g. the decision of Dettmer or Owosegun or Nielsen (who is a brunette now), because Stamets was trying to get over Hugh at the time.

All in all, this was a cracking good episode of Star Trek Discovery, probably the best in a very good season so far. By Star Trek standards, this was a very action packed episode, which is made even more remarkable by the fact that the director was Jonathan Frakes, best known to Star Trek fans as Commander William Riker. Frakes has already directed several episodes of Discovery, Star Trek Picard and even The Orville (whatever happened to that show anyway?), but he’s usually called in to direct very typical Star Trek episodes, probably because no one knows better how to helm those than Commander Riker himself. “There Is a Tide…” is not a typical Star Trek episode, however (and it has a very high bodycount by Star Trek standards), even if the negotiation sequences are very Star Trek.

Discovery had a rough start, but it has really found its feet by now, mixing very typical Star Trek tropes with space opera tropes that Star Trek has rarely explored. The result is a lot of fun and also feels fresher than many of the other post-Next Generation Star Trek shows. Let’s see if the show will be able to maintain that standard in the season finale next week.

*A commenter somewhere pointed out that analogous to what happened in the US South after slavery was banned, Osyra may well be about to invent prison labour and convict leasing. Whereupon I thought, “She doesn’t have to invent that, since the Federation already did.”

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 02, 2021 21:21

January 1, 2021

Happy New Year 2021

First of all, a happy new year to everybody who reads my blog! May 2021 be better than 2020 and bring you health, happiness and success!

If you want to know what I’ve been up to in 2020, here is a handy overview of all the blogposts, articles, reviews and fiction I published in 2020. And if you’re waiting for my take on this week’s episode of Star Trek Discovery – well, that’s probably not coming until tomorrow.

Some New Year’s Eve decorations. The candle holder is handmade and was a present from a friend more than 20 years ago. The figurines are all good luck charms of sorts.

Here in Germany, the new year is a little over a day old now and started with a foggy night and a cold, but largely clear day. I had dinner with my parents at home, because the restaurants were all closed anyway. Furthermore, because there were only three business days between Christmas and New Year and German farmers decided to stage a blockade grocery chain warehouses to protest against low prices for agricultural products (which I theoretically agree with, but this is not the right time), so the grocery store shelves were often empty, which made some ingredients difficult to come by. And so we had a selection of deep-fried vegetables with Manchurian sauce.

A selection of breaded vegetables for deep frying. Clockwise from top left, we have cauliflower, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and peppers.

Gobi Manchurian, i.e. deep-fried cauliflower with Manchurian sauce.

After dinner, my parents watched TV, while I did some work on my laptop. At midnight, we drank some champagne and then went outside to watch the fireworks. And yes, there were fireworks.

Champagne and good luck charms to ring in the new year.

As I mentioned in last year’s New Year post, welcoming the new year with fireworks has a long tradition in Germany. However, that tradition has come under fire in recent years, because some people really, really hate fireworks and come up with various reasons (dangerous, a waste of money, bad for animals and environment, might trigger people with PTSD) why they should be banned. And this year, the pandemic finally gave the fireworks haters a reason to ban the sale of fireworks, because supposedly people gathering in the streets to light fireworks might spread the virus and people managing to hurt themselves with fireworks would put extra strain on hospitals. Of course, the pandemic is just a pre-text in this case.

Of course, people gathering in the streets in larger groups only happens in those city centre areas where fireworks are banned anyway because of the fire risk. Meanwhile, in suburban and rural area, what happens is that families stand in their own driveways and light fireworks and wish the neighbours a happy new year. The infection risk involved is no worse than when taking the trash out, as long as you don’t hug your neighbours.

As for the accident risk, the overwhelming majority of fireworks accidents happen with unlicensed fireworks imported from Eastern Europe or with homemade fireworks. And if you ban legal fireworks sales, guess what happens? The people who really, really love fireworks will find a way to procure illegal fireworks or try to make their own, which is a lot more dangerous. And so, a 19-year-old in Eckernförde on the Baltic Sea coast managed to blow up himself and his parents’ winter garden, while trying to make fireworks.

But even though sales of fireworks were banned, a lot of my neighbours did manage to get hold of fireworks. There was less firework than last year, but not that much less. The one difference was that there were comparatively few fireworks to be heard early on New Year’s Eve and on the days before – instead the fireworks were concentrated on the hour around midnight. And this is a development I actually welcome, because while I like fireworks, I also think they should be limited to a few hours on New Year’s Eve.

Mostly, the people who didn’t light fireworks this year were the casual fireworkers like me who buy a package of rockets at the supermarket, but don’t stockpile (though I did have some sparklers and half a package of firecrackers from previous years) and don’t look for alternate sources. Meanwhile, the folks who light hundreds of Euros worth of fireworks every year continued to do so this year. And I’m pretty sure that what was blown up last night was not just stockpiles, because I cannot imagine someone stockpiling dozens of rockets and fireworks batteries. No, there likely were ways to get fireworks in spite of the ban. Though thankfully, almost all the fireworks blown up last night were licensed ones. Cause you can usually distinguish the unlicensed illegal fireworks, because they’re louder, smell worse and the leftovers look different. And I noticed very little of that.

Last night’s fireworks display also showed that many people are no longer willing to accept nonsensical anti-covid measures (I hope they will continue to accept those measures that do make sense). Because the ban on sales of fireworks was largely nonsensical. It did little to nothing to combat the pandemic, especially since the vast majority of infections and deaths still happen in nursing homes whose residents are among the least likely to light fireworks. Instead, the pandemic was used as a pretext to push through an agenda that some people have had for a very long time.

But anyway, here are some fireworks photos. They might be a bit blurry, because the night was foggy and I couldn’t use the flash.

Fireworks in my neighbourhood

Some neighbours have lit a firework battery on the street.

Fireworks and fog make for some interesting views.

More foggy fireworks, this time in green.

No, the garage hasn’t exploded. A neighbour has lit one of those massive 100 shot fireworks batteries.

More fireworks and fog.

And one last fireworks photo.

On New Year’s Day itself, some of the mist lingered, but otherwise it was a clear but cold day. So I drove down to the river Weser this afternoon.

The low winter sun shines down on misty meadows near Arsten.

A look across the river Weser near Dreyhe.

Another look across the river Weser near Dreyhe. On the far bank, you can see a kilometre marker. This is kilometre 356 since Hannoversch Münden of 451.4 kilometres altogether to the North Sea.

And that’s it for 2021 so far.

What can you expect on this blog for this year? More fiction, more genre commentary, more TV reviews, more Retro Reviews, more new release round-ups, a new project to highlight fanzines and sites eligible for the Hugo and much more.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 01, 2021 19:31

December 31, 2020

A handy guide to all SFF-related posts and works of 2020

I never felt particularly comfortable with eligibility posts, but I posted such an overview for the first time in 2016, when someone added my name to the Hugo Nominations Wiki. Eventually, it paid off, because I was a Hugo finalist for Best Fan Writer in 2020.

So if you’re interested in what I write, here is an overview of all SFF related blogposts of 2020, in chronological order, as well as a list of all the SFF and other fiction I published.

Because I wrote so many pieces for my Retro Reviews project this year, I separated the Retro Reviews from the other blogposts

At this blog:

The Complete Retro Reviews:

At Galactic Journey:

“The Escape Orbit by James White” in Space Prison of Opera (February Galactoscope #1)
Furnishing the Home of the Future: Interior Design for the Space Age
The Op and the Pop: New Movements in Modern Art
“The Rithian Terror and Off Center by Damon Knight (Ace Double M-113)” in Ace Quadruple (June Galactoscope #1)
A Killer Thriller Double Feature: Again the Ringer and The Face of Fu Manchu
Of Art and Freedom: The Rolling Stones Riots and the Mephisto Case
Knights, Adventurers and Anthropomorphic Animals: Comics in East and West Germany
Oater, West German Style (The Movie Winnetou Part 3)
Humour, Heroes and History: The Comics of France, Belgium and the Netherlands

Elsewhere:

“The #DisneyMustPay Alan Dean Foster and SFWA Joint Press Conference” at File 770
I also co-run the Speculative Fiction Showcase , a group blog focussed on indie SFF, and the Indie Crime Scene , a blog focussed on indie mysteries, crime fiction and thrillers.

Fiction (SFF):

The Heavy Hand of the Editor (novelette)
The Thing from the Dread Swamp (short story)*
The Tentacled Terror (short story)*
The Beast from the Sea of Blood (short story)*
King’s Justice (novelette)*
Azalea Avenue (novelette)
Appletree Court (short story)
Willowbrook Farm (short story)
“Patient X-5” in Simultaneous Times podcast, Episode #32 (short story)
The Ghosts of Doodenbos (short story)
Puncture Wounds (short fiction collection)
Demon Summoning for Beginners (short fiction collection)
Neutral Gound (novelette)
Ballroom Blitz (novella)
Revolt at the North Pole (short story)

Fiction (other genres):

A Grave Case (mystery novelette)
Driving Home for Christmas (romance novelette)
The Crappiest Christmas Ever (romance novelette)

*published under the name Richard Blakemore

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 31, 2020 16:44

December 30, 2020

By Popular Demand: The 2020 Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award

As you know, I have been giving out the prestigious (not) Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents for a long time now.

However, I have received a request to also hand out a Fictional Parent of the Year Award, for why should only horrible fictional parents get recognition?

So I present you the inaugural Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award:

As I said in my previous post, there was quite a bit of competition for the Fictional Parent of the Year Award in 2020, more than for the Darth Vader Parenthood Award in fact, which suggests that popular culture is moving towards portraying more loving parents, which is a very good thing.

So let’s take a look at the potential candidates:

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, formerly of Starfleet, became an unexpected contender, when he found himself responsible for the young synth Soji Asher and the young Romulan Elnor and didn’t do too badly, considering that Admiral Picard famously doesn’t like children. However, Soji and Elnor, though traumatised and confused, are already in their late teens and therefore require less parenting. Besides, Admiral Picard had the competent help of Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker, so no award for him.

Another unexpected contender was Sherlock Holmes of all people, when he found himself the guardian of his much younger sister Enola Holmes, while his brother Mycroft and his mother Eudoria both made an unsuccessful push for the Darth Vader Parenthood Award. However, Enola proves herself to be a very intelligent and resourceful young lady, who doesn’t require much parenting, so it’s no award for Sherlock.

A very strong contender was the Witcher Geralt of Rivia, who unexpectedly found himself guardian and protector of the young Princess Ciri due to the law of surprise. And though Geralt does his best to successfully evade the responsibility he was unexpectedly given, he does come to the aid of Ciri, when she needs him. This certainly earns Geralt of Rivia an honourable mention, but since we don’t actually see him doing any parenting, this year’s winner is another grumpy single Dad.

So the The 2020 Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award goes to…

Drumroll

Din Djarin

As chronicled in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin is a bounty hunter who one day finds himself hired by a shady ex-Imperial client to hunt down a bounty that turns out to be a fifty-year-old alien toddler with Force abilities named Grogu.

Handing a young child over to a cruel fate at the hand of the former Empire violates Din Djarin’s personal code and so he goes on the run with Baby Grogu, while trying to deliver the kid one of the elusive Jedi knights who should know what to do with a Force-sensitive toddler.

In the course of his adventures, Din Djarin has to deal not only with ex-Imperials, pirates and bounty hunters trying to kidnap his young charge and monsters trying to eat him, but also with the everyday challenges of single parenthood such as changing nappies, feeding a hunry kid and cleaning up baby puke as well as the insatiable desire of little Grogu to stick everything in his mouth, including a lot of very inappropriate things. And through it all, Din Djarin bonds with Grogu to the point that they truly become a Clan of Two and that it doesn’t matter that they’re not even the same species.

That sort of dedication to parenting deserves an award and therefore Din Djarin of Mandalore is the highly deserving winner of the 2020 Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award.

Applause

In spite of accidentally finding himself king of the Mandalorians (it’s a long story), Din Djarin nonetheless took the time to appear in person to accept his award, clad in his shiny beskar armour. And no, he did not take the helmet off.

He then proceeded to give his acceptance speech, looking a little lost:

Honestly, I don’t know what to say. After all, I did nothing special. I only took in a foundling and delivered him to his kind, because this is a way.

Besides, Grogu was in danger and needed help, because Moff Gideon and his Imperial leftovers wanted to capture him and drain his blood for their unsanctioned experiments. And since the New Republic isn’t very competent at… well, anything really, someone needed to step up and keep the kid safe. Cause this is the way.

I know that Grogu is better off at that Jedi school, because the Jedi can teach him how to do all the inexplicable things they do, while I cannot. However, I still miss the little fellow.

I also hope Grogu behaves himself in Jedi school and doesn’t steal any shiny objects and doesn’t eat anything he shouldn’t.

Jedi knights, if you’re watching this, Grogu only wears Bantha-Soft diapers, he likes bone broth and seafood chowder, sticks things in his mouth, if you don’t watch, and only falls asleep, if you sing “Ten little Ewoks” to him.

So take good care of Grogu. Because you hurt Grogu, know that I’ll be coming for you, because this is the way.

Thank you.

And we thank you, Din Djarin, for providing such a stellar example for all single parents as well as every parent who finds themselves faced with a child with very special needs.

So accept this award for all your hard work to keep Baby Grogu safe.

***

And that’s it for this year’s Jonathan and Martha Kent Fictional Parent of the Year Award. Who will win next year? You’ll find out in this space.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 30, 2020 22:14

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for December 2020

It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie and small press authors (as well as the occasional Big 5 book) newly published this month, though some November books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Once again, we have new releases covering the whole broad spectrum of speculative fiction. This month, we have epic fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, historical fantasy, sword and sorcery, fantasy romance, paranormal romance, paranormal mysteries, science fiction mysteries, science fiction thrillers, space opera, military science fiction, humorous science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, time travel, weird western, horror, LitRPG, speculative poetry, non-fiction, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, aliens, dragons, elves, banshees, sirens, assassins, alien invasions, interstellar wars, space marines, metal warriors, crime-busting witches, crime-busting ghosts, magical bakeries, magical swords, bad Santas, three-headed ogres and much more.

Don’t forget that Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month is also crossposted to the Speculative Fiction Showcase, a group blog run by Jessica Rydill and myself, which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things speculative fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

The Road to Woop Woop and Other Stories by Eugen Bacon:

Eugen Bacon’s work is deemed cheeky with a fierce intelligence in text that’s resplendent, delicious, dark and evocative. NPR called her novel Claiming T-Mo ‘a confounding mysterious tour de force.’ The Road to Woop Woop and Other Stories imbues the same lushness in a writerly language that is Bacon’s own. This peculiar hybrid of the untraditional, the extraordinary within, without and along the borders of normalcy will hypnotize and absorb the reader with tales that refuse to be labeled. The stories in this collection are dirges that cross genres in astounding ways. Over 20 provocative tales, with seven original to this collection, by an award-winning African-Australian author.

The Lost One by Jonathan P. Brazee:

A slave. A collector’s piece. Kimi has no idea who she is, only that she’s the only one of her kind she’s ever seen.

If she disobeys her captor, the punishment is immediate and excruciating. So, she learns to simply survive.

Until another of her kind appears on a mission. Can Kimi reclaim her birthright, or will she be stuck forever as a prisoner on display?

The Depik tell tales of their past to their kita to keep their story alive. Kimi’s is just one of these stories.

Revolt at the North Pole by Cora Buhlert:

Rebellion is brewing at Santa’s compound at the North Pole. The elves and the reindeer both are overworked, underpaid and angry, so they unite to take down Santa. However, there’s still Santa’s most fearsome enforcer, the horned, clawed and fanged holiday monster known only as Krampus…

This is a short holiday horror story of 3900 words or approx. 14 print pages by Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert.

Secrets of the Sword II by Lindsay Buroker:

For ten years, I’ve been using a magical sword that I won in battle to ruthlessly slay enemies, break evil artifacts, and open stubborn pickle jars, but I don’t know much about it.

That’s about to change.

Thanks to the fact that I’m dating a powerful dragon, I can get a ride to the dwarven home world, and we’re going to research the sword’s roots. Not that I care much about its history, mind you, but several allies and enemies have suggested it can do a lot more than whack things. Considering the magical bad guys I fight are always stronger, faster, and more powerful than I am, I need every advantage I can get.

There’s just one problem: a half-dwarf thief has shown up and says she’s the rightful heir to the sword.

I want to believe it’s a scam and can’t possibly be true, but I didn’t get the sword in the most legitimate manner. If I have to give it up, I might not be able to do my job anymore, and just as bad, I’ll be a target for all the bad guys who have been waiting for an opportunity to take me down.

Baking Magic by Melinda Craig:

Starry Valley has been anything but calm since Lindsey moved in. She’s tackled thieves walking through walls, and just last month, she faced down a killer. Not to mention, she had a short romance with one of the handsome police officers and an unusual friendship is blossoming with a maybe detective…she’s still trying to figure that one out. It’s all Lindsey can do to stay sane, yet these people, this town, is more home to her than any place she’s ever been.

She’s still getting used to being open with people about her ability. After all, reading memories is no cakewalk, and it’s definitely not conversation for dinner. But Starry Valley isn’t like other places. She can be real with a select few others, and that is heaven…to finally not hide.

So when Felmira asks for Lindsey’s help in finding a friend’s husband, it’s no surprise she says yes. Helping is a given; delivering is another thing. Lindsey promised Sarah she’d find her husband before Christmas…she only hopes he’s still alive.

A Merry Maggie Messmas by Kate Danley:

Everyone wonders how Santa is able to do his job, but when one of his helpers goes rogue and starts spreading TOO MUCH holiday cheer, it will be down to Maggie and Killian to hop on that sleigh and bring the world a silent night.

A part of the Maggie MacKay: Holiday Special short story series. This stands independently from the main Magical Tracker series and can be read at any time and in any order. It’s just an excuse to hang out with some of your favorite characters.

WARNING: This short story contains cussing, brawling, and unfestive behavior.

Og-Grim-Dog: Ogre’s End Game by Jamie Edmundson:

‘We have saved this world and travelled to worlds beyond it! We have deployed weapons of death beyond your imagination!’

Join everyone’s favourite three-headed ogre in their world-hopping, climactic, final adventure.

After The War of The Dead, things could not have ended more bleakly for Og-Grim-Dog and the broken land of Gal’azu.

But they’ll still save their friends, save the world, complete a satisfying character arc and tie up all the loose ends from the rest of the series…

Won’t they?

Of a Strange World Made by Anthony W. Eichenlaub:

Scientist Ash Morgan doesn’t mind breaking rules, but this is ridiculous.

The colony of Edge is a bastion on the frontier of space and science, governed only by laws designed to bring humanity to the stars. Successful laws. Outdated laws, if Ash has anything to say about it.

But when a child is born strange, Ash must decide which of the colony’s rules must be followed, which ones can be broken, and which ones will inevitably lead to Edge’s ultimate destruction.

Solar Flares and Tax Snares by Rachel Ford:

An old friend. A new world. A terrible calamity.

When the Interdimensional Bureau of Temporal Investigations discovers a planetary event that will have cataclysmic interdimensional effects, they know there’s only one man for the job: Alfred Favero, Senior Analyst for the Internal Revenue Services.

Alfred is neck deep in a thorny tax case. But he’ll have to set the case aside, and maybe miss out on his chance for a big promotion, in order to save an old friend in a terrible future on a faraway planet.

And maybe the entire multiverse too.

DLC by Rachel Ford:

A fully immersive virtual reality system. A beta testing opportunity that’s the stuff of dreams – or a nightmare that may never end.

Jack Owens is stuck in Marshfield Studio’s newest virtual reality RPG. To escape, he needs to win the game. He knows that. He’s got his team of heroes back, and he’s finally comfortable with the world. He’s ready.

Except someone at Marshfield Studios forgot to cancel the holiday downloadable content test. Jack goes to sleep in a medieval fantasy world, and wakes up in some kind of bizarre winter wonderland where his quest – and his way home – plays second fiddle to holiday festivals, winter pets, and seasonal quests.

But Jack better not let his extended stay or the holiday doldrums distract him too much. Because there’s far worse waiting for him in this magical nightmare than a lump of coal in his stocking…

Dryker’s Fall by Chris Fox:

Humanity’s End is Upon Us

The Tigris have declared a Sacred Hunt against Earth. During the last battle Dryker’s daring plan turned back their vanguard, but now the entire fleet has arrived.

Thousands of Tigris vessels converge upon our world, with only a few dozen battleships, and our remaining orbital defense platforms to shield us.

Captain Dryker is placed under the command of the sadistic Doctor Reid, and sent to reactivate an ancient Void Wraith factory. Within this factory slumbers an army of Void Wraith, and a fleet of harvesters. But if he succeeds those forces will not work for Earth.

They will begin the Eradication, and wipe out everything.

Christmas Hunger by Piper Fox:

After three days of hosting his vampiric brothers and their mates, Magnus is at his wit’s end. A sworn viking bachelor, he needs a break from the happy couples.

The moment the doorbell rings, he takes the chance to get away from it all. Only to come face to face with a beautiful delivery woman who stirs his blood in a way that only a fated mate could.

Donna knows her vision is true the second she meets Magnus’ gaze. Knowing he could send her away before they really get to know each other, she’s careful to hide her true intentions. She wants Magnus to get to know the real her, not just her witchly title.

Magnus has no interest in being tied down to any woman, fated mate be damned. But her sexy confidence and alluring smiles might just have Magnus’ resolve faltering. The moment he has her in his arms, the pull is too strong. He knows giving into his need, even just for the evening, could lead to more than the vampire is willing to give.

Once her true identity is revealed, Magnus must decide whether the sassy, sexy Donna is worth sacrificing his independent bachelor lifestyle for the love of a witch.

Starlight Web by Yasmine Galenorn:

Moonshadow Bay…where magic lurks in the moonlight, and danger hides in the shadows.

One month before January Jaxson turns 41, her husband ditches her for a trophy wife. Adding insult to injury, he steals the business she helped build, and kicks her out during the holidays. So when her best friend Ari suggests she move back to Moonshadow Bay—a quirky, magical town near Bellingham WA—January decides to take the plunge.

Born into a family of witches, January accepts a job at Conjure Ink, a paranormal investigations website. The job’s right up her alley but she doubts that everything reported to Conjure Ink really exists. That is, until she’s sent out on her first case.

An abandoned asylum once housed a murderer, who killed an entire family one Yuletide Eve. It’s rumored that every December he returns to haunt the woodland around the asylum, seeking to add new members to his supernatural family. January’s sure it’s an urban legend, but when new victims show up with no logical explanation for their deaths, Conjure Ink sends her in to investigate. Suddenly January finds herself in over her head, staring directly into the shadowed world of the Veil.

Now, January must not only navigate the new life she’s trying to build, but the paranormal beasties she’s sent out to explore, as well as a hot new neighbor, who seems to be hiding a shadowed past of his own.

Betelgeuse Dimming by Jean-Paul Garnier:

Science Fiction Poetry / comes with free musical audiobook download.

Poetry by Jean-Paul L. Garnier

Music improvised by RedBlueBlackSilver & Field Collapse

Recorded live at Joshua Tree Art & Music

Mixed and co-produced by RedBlueBlackSilver

Witch Is the New Black by Lily Harper Hart:

Ofelia Archer has faced demons, evil witches, and freaky zombies, but nothing could prepare her for the horror of meeting her boyfriend’s mother, Madeline Sully. She thinks she’s ready and able, but she’s really not.

For his part, Zacharias “Zach” Sully isn’t any more thrilled by his mother’s visit than his girlfriend. He’s simply better at dealing with Madeline’s brand of madness.

After one meal, a magical barrage of fire rains down on the group as they’re walking down Bourbon Street. When the flames clear, a young woman is left for dead, and the only thing they know about her is that she was part of a multi-level marketing scheme called Hexential Oils.

Before they realize what’s happening, Sully and Ofelia find themselves knee-deep in an odd world that neither of them really understand … and it leads straight to trouble, as usual. It seems New Orleans is teeming with suspects, and they have no idea which one to focus on.

Ofelia and Sully have a bond that can’t be broken. That won’t stop outsiders from trying. When the hierarchy of Hexential Oils leads to long-forgotten magic and a creature of mythical proportions, they realize they’re in over their heads.

They’ll die to protect one another … and someone desperately wants to make that a reality. It will take both of them working together to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Ghostly Graves by Lily Harper Hart:

Maddie and Nick Winters are embarking on the biggest adventure of their lives: parenthood. They’re nervous, excited, and prepared to go shopping. That leads them to a special baby boutique in Whisper Cove, where they just happen to participate in a cemetery tour run by Michigan’s most famous ghost hunter.

Maddie and the tour guide Harper Harlow recognize each other for what they are right off the bat, although they don’t initially say anything. Everything spills out in the open, though, when a ghost leads Maddie to the body of a local plastic surgeon.

The dead doctor has an interesting reputation with the women around town, and Maddie recognizes him from her days of nursing. Before anybody realizes what’s happening, the two women have formed a crime-fighting team and they’re determined to uncover answers.

Nick would prefer Maddie shop and embrace their incoming baby but he knows when her inner detective can’t be silenced. While the men bond – and discuss loving a magical woman – the women (and Zander, of course) dig deep and uncover exactly how sordid the tale of an unethical doctor can be.

Get ready for some fun. Maddie, Harper, and Zander are ready for adventure … and they’re dragging absolutely everybody along for the ride.

Church of the Assassin by Ross Harrison:

KILL ONE TO SAVE A HUNDRED

Alexiares spends her time killing, tinkering with a car she never drives, and wondering if she’s a sociopath. This simple life is complicated by a deadly purge of her sect and she finds herself on the run, trying to make sense of the slaughter. She’s not alone: the broken-minded assassin has inherited a baby girl. But how can hands that know only how to squeeze necks and strip engines ever nurture a child? When painful revelations, betrayals, and secrets show Alexiares that her life can only cause Baby pain and suffering, she’ll have to make a difficult choice.

Across the galaxy, one seemingly natural death puts rookie Intelligence officer Ryan Blake on a collision course with Alexiares. His journey into desperation and madness will reveal a world he’ll wish had stayed hidden. One full of mysteries and death. As his mentor says, there are cases to make your career and there are cases to make you look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, right up until it ends abruptly and violently.

KILL A HUNDRED TO SAVE ONE

Relentless hunters want both her and Baby, and they will tear worlds apart to get them. They are bigger, stronger, and more resourceful. But Baby is more than a newfound vulnerability to Alexiares: she is a reason to live. A reason to kill.

When you take a shot at an apex predator, do not miss.

The Awesome Adventures of Poppy and Amelia by Maddie Harrisis and Misha Herwin:

Poppy and Amelia didn’t set out to be witches. That happened quite by accident, and it’s a secret they must keep from their family and friends. Then there is Mia, the new girl in class. Pale, strange and deadly serious, she’s in need of a couple of equally weird friends. Poppy and Amelia are happy to oblige. Together, the three of them must thwart the plans of the sinister Miss Mortimer and her evil companions.

The Hawthorne Witch by A.L. Hawke:

Sometimes I’d rather shield my eyes than see darkness in light.

It was my senior year at Hawthorne University when everything fell apart. I mean, all my witch friends got along fine—sort of. But I was nervous about my love life. I just had to get into Hawthorne’s graduate program, because my boyfriend was going to be a professor. I didn’t want to lose him. I didn’t want to lose anyone.

And things got weirder. A witch was threatened with sacrificial murder. Another witch spent all day murmuring to herself, in the center of a circle of candles, on a pentagram she painted in her dorm room. It all pointed to the wicked witch of the Abaddon coven. If I was right, it might just take a full-fledged witch showdown to stop her.

So? Bring it on. What did I have to lose? Just everyone I love. And maybe my soul.

Foxtrot Hotel by Simon Haynes:

First a dead body shows up on Harriet’s favourite beach.

Then she discovers the whole place is going to be bulldozed for an apartment complex.

She’s convinced the two are connected, but she’ll have to untangle a web of lies and corruption to reach the truth.

Meanwhile, someone has decided that the best way to avoid discovery is to silence Harriet… for good!

Bright of the Moon by Miranda Honfleur:

Wrath consumes him as the dark does the night… Until she rises. But can she chase away his darkness?

Most would say the “sweet” and “quiet” Signorina Arabella Belmonte has lived a quiet life as a young noblewoman in her family’s castello. But little do they know she pens treatises criticizing the realm’s warmongers… and now there’s a price on her head. As she struggles to hide her seditious activities, a chance encounter with a unicorn leaves her with four hooves and a horn of her own—and a form she can’t control. The dark-elf queen has offered her a chance to acquire that control… if Bella can find the unicorn who turned her.

Prince Dhuro of Nightbloom has never met a problem he couldn’t solve with his fists—that is, until he fought his sister for a place in the army’s elite forces and lost. When the light-elves defeated them and his father was executed, Dhuro’s inner demons laid claim to the whole of him. Now Immortal beasts are growing in power and threatening his people.

Dhuro has a chance to help his people win, but his mother, the queen, sends him on a fool’s errand instead—helping a human newly turned unicorn find her sire, and asking the impossible: whether the Elder of the pacifistic unicorns will stand with them against the beasts ravaging his people. Making things worse, Bella challenges his every decision, argues with him, infuriates him… until beneath the full moon, she shifts to her human form… and enchants him.

A war is raging, Dhuro must marry for political advantage, and only Bella’s sire can help her… And when the bounty hunters hunting her find them, Dhuro and Bella’s worldviews collide like life and death. But can he be the answer to helping her control her form, and can she chase away his darkness? Can they find a way to be together and fight the war threatening to devour the land… or will it swallow them too?

Elevation by Patty Jansen:

Verona Rupes, on the ice moon Miranda, is the tallest cliff in the solar system. If you jump off the top, it takes 700 seconds to reach the bottom. What can you do in the most important 700 seconds of your life?

Jonathan and Gaby arrive at the ice moon Miranda to work with a local researcher and find that adventurists have snuck into an area infected with alien bacteria and have gotten themselves in trouble.

Do these people have to be stopped because they’re about to spread a bacterial infection to the human settlements or are there other factors at play?

A tale of petty vindictiveness, competition and jealousy. Oh, and a wedding.

Beachcombing by David Langford:

Beachcombing is David Langford’s first collection of (mostly) SF fanzine-published essays, speeches and silliness since the long-ago The Silence of the Langford (1996), edited by Ben Yalow, which was a Hugo finalist for best nonfiction in 1997. Over the years this author has won 29 Hugo Awards for his work in fanzines, science fiction newsletters, short SF, and SF reference works. Beachcombing comprises over 78,000 words of vintage Langford.

The contents include the much-acclaimed convention talks “Live Thog’s Masterclass”, “The Secret History of Ansible” and “Twenty Years of Uproar” (a ramble through favourite fanzine humour); offbeat pop-science articles for Fortean Times and elsewhere, on such subjects as perpetual motion, violet-ray healing machines, St Hildegard of Bingen, and how to detect the Number of the Beast in practically any name you choose; a handful of recipes and another handful of Drabbles; several introductions to SF books; and many instalments of unreliable autobiography.

The Banshee Brouhaha by Amanda M. Lee:

Charlie Rhodes has spent her entire life wondering who her birth parents were, why they abandoned her, and where the magic she’s been learning to hone came from.

She’s finally going to get some answers.

With proof that the new member of the Legacy Foundation is really her brother, Charlie sets off to visit Salem with him and her boyfriend Jack Hanson. She’s never been to the city before and finds that the history swirling is only one of the things that has her excited.

Not long after landing, a body is strung up in Salem Common, and witnesses say it was ghosts doing the dirty work. Jack is intrigued enough to call in the rest of the team. Since Charlie’s parents are supposedly taking refuge within the city limits, the investigation makes for a nice cover.

It’s not long before Charlie realizes that there’s more going on in Salem than witches and white magic. Something dark is festering under the surface, and whatever it is seems to be taking aim at her.

Charlie wants answers. She’s also afraid to get them. During the search for what she’s lost, though, she becomes more determined than ever to hold onto what she has.

There’s evil afoot, and a woman who looks like an older version of Charlie is stalking the group. Could the two things be connected? Charlie won’t leave until she knows for certain.

Salem’s history might be coming back to haunt those who venture into the city and it’s up to the Legacy Foundation to figure out why … that is if they survive long enough to uncover the answers.

Hold onto your broomsticks, because it’s going to be a witchy ride.

A Little Mistletoe and Magic by Marianne Morea:

Done with grieving the loss of her family, Jenny Mitchell is looking for a fresh start. Life as she knew it is over, but what waits for her in the town of Whisper Falls is more than just quaint charm and an Inn no one wanted. Her near death experience awakens senses she didn’t know she possessed. Senses that both scare and fascinate her, especially when they bring her face to face with a sexy, supernatural truth that spells more than just second chance romance. Sparks fly under the mistletoe, and there’s no escaping the magic of the season, or the cougar shifter destined to help her through the darkness and mend her broken heart, in this modern twist on a holiday classic.

Primary Targets by Rick Partlow:

Old Marines never die…they just become Space Marines

I thought the hard part of helping the Helta defeat the rampaging Tevynians would be the fighting. How wrong I was.

To the Helta, we Earthers look just like the Tevynians, their mortal enemies. And convincing their government to ally with humans may be even beyond the crew of the starship James Bowie.

But the clock is ticking, because the Tevynian fleet is bearing down on the Helta homeworld. If we can’t talk the Helta into accepting our help to fight them off, then Helta Prime will fall…

And Earth will be next.

Flight Before Christmas by Christine Pope:

They’ll have to fly faster than reindeer to rescue Santa…and save Christmas.

Other than the pleasure of etching delicate tendrils of ice on windows, there’s not much Kai Ulfsen enjoys about life under Jack Frost’s rule. But when he’s roped into serving on a strike team to kidnap Santa and destroy Christmas, Kai’s had enough. Frost must be stopped.

Human witches, the only other beings on Earth with magical powers, are his only hope. He never expected his search would lead him a woman with sky-blue eyes and hair like a river of gold.

Stella Monroe is five minutes away from closing up her tea shop for the holiday when a vision of Nordic male perfection fills the doorway. And, even more surreal, this beautiful man with silver hair, aquamarine eyes, and…pointed ears?…needs her help.

Granted, she flies the fastest broom at the Witch Olympics, but is her magic equal to a task like this? But maybe with a little luck — and a bag of pixie dust — Kai and Stella can beat the clock, beat Frost at his own game, and save the happiest holiday of the year.

Blood Ward by Glynn Stewart:

A chosen servant left for dead

A pair of hunters with hidden secrets

A fateful choice of who to trust…

The young cowboy Teer has joined the rogue El-Spehari demigod Kard in his work as a bounty hunter. Both have powers they conceal, but they are determined to guard the people of the Unity’s Eastern Territories.

When a favored servant of the Unity’s Spehari ruler is beaten and left for dead, the two bounty hunters are hired to track the attacker into the wilderness. The Unity has betrayed them both, but they still believe in justice.

Capturing the fugitive is only the first step. Teer faces a harsh question: when a beautiful young woman begs for protection, what is more important—her crimes…or why she committed them?

City of the Dead by Xina Marie Uhl:

A warrior trapped by the past.

A priest hunted by hidden enemies.

A city haunted by old gods’ magic.

Battle-scarred and cynical, Conyr survives as a guard in Eretria’s foulest prison for one reason. He watches his back. When he’s blackmailed into breaking Dru out of prison, staying safe becomes impossible.

A young priest from an enemy city, Dru has come to Eretria on a mission. But he has a big problem. He can’t remember what his mission is. And the ruling elite of both cities intend to discover it by any means necessary.

Together, Conyr and Dru must navigate a maze of power-hungry rivals, desert assassins, and magical attacks if they wish to live.

Deep beneath the city itself long-dead gods kindle to life—and they are angry. For the young priest’s lost memory holds more than the key to his past, but also the fates of two cities.

Metal Warrior: Steel Trap by James David Victor:

When human allies are enemies and invading aliens are friends, you can only count on one thing. There’s going to be a betrayal somewhere.

A military sci-fi adventure from Amazon All-Star author James David Victor

Dane and the Mechanized Infantry Division have taken their mech suits into space. Their plan? Attack the Exin before they can attack Earth again. And they have inside information from an Exin alien to make sure everything goes as planned. Can they stop the next invasion or are they walking into a trap?

Metal Warrior: Steel Trap is the third book in the Mech Fighter series. If you like fast-paced space adventures with engaging characters and exciting battles, you will definitely want to see how the Metal Warriors save mankind, or if they can.

Escaped by Magic by R.L. Wilson:

A sassy siren. A stolen blade. A paranormal conspiracy. An unexpected romance.

The way I saw it, I had two choices: retrieve my pack’s stolen blade or spend another night wishing I had. The plan was simple the execution was an epic failure.

Before I knew what hit me, I was behind bars in Bethune. Home to the most savage inmates, disgusting food, and hot guards in body-hugging uniforms. If I could keep my head straight, I could do my time and go home. But no one ever accused me of following Rules. Nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

I desperately need to escape. I have a plan, I know I can make it. Except there is one tiny problem-I’m head over heels in love with one of the guards. I can ask him to come with me but what if he refuses?

I need to make a decision and fast. But I’m not exactly in a place known for inspiring brilliant decisions.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 30, 2020 15:31

The 2020 Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents

It’s almost the end of the year, so it’s time to announce the winner of the coveted (not) 2020 Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents. This years also marks the 40th annual Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents.

Let’s have a bit of background: I have been informally awarding the Darth Vader Parenthood Award since sometime in the 1980s with the earliest awards being retroactive. Over the years, the list of winners migrated from a handwritten page to various computer file formats, updated every year. Last year, I finally decided to make the winners public on the Internet, because what’s an award without some publicity and a ceremony? The list of previous winners (in PDF format) up to 2017 may be found here, BTW, and the 2018 winner and the 2019 winner were announced here.

Warning: Spoilers for several things behind the cut!

But before we get to the main event, I’d first like to present the Retro Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents being outstandingly horrible in media that appeared before 1980. After all, we have Retro Hugos, so why not a Retro Darth Vader Parenthood Award?

And the winner of the 2020 Retro Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents is…

Drumroll

Mi-Bel, King of Kings and Ruler of Babylon

As chronicled in the time travel tale “Transparent Stuff” by Dorothy Quick, which appeared in the June 1940 issue of Unknown, King Mi-Bel is trying to marry off his only child, Princess Star of Light (we assume the name is a translation from the ancient Babylonian), for a favourable political alliance. Such practices were not uncommon among the aristocracy of times gone by, so that alone would not be enough to qualify King Mi-Bel for the award.

However, Star has no intention to marry any of the unpromising suitors (a much older cousin, a drunk and womaniser and a sorceror who practices black magic and consorts with demons), especially since she has fallen in love with the hunky Egyptian mercenary Belzar who saved her from a kidnapping attempt. So Star enlists the aid of the goddess Ishtar and the treacherous priest Abeshu.

And so Abeshu fills up Mi-Bel with wine at the great feast, where Star’s betrothal is to be announced, until he is so drunk that he agrees to let Star name her own husband. When Star chooses Belzar, Mi-Bel is so furious that he asks Abeshu for advice how to undo that match. The duplicitous Abeshu has just the idea. Let Star marry Belzar, have a big wedding feast and then escort the newlyweds to the bridal suite, where they will be immured alive. And this is exactly what Mi-Bel orders done.

Such parenting skills deserves an award and so King Mi-Bel is the winner of the 2020 Retro Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents.

King Mi-Bel appeared in person. He was carried onto the stage in a litter and emerged, clad in splendid white and gold kingly robes, his beard in fine ringlets and a golden crown adorning his royal head. He then proceeded to hold the following acceptance speech in a thunderous voice.

Thank you, people of a strange and unknowable future. It is a great honour for me to accept this award for the swift and decisive way I dealt with my wayward daughter whose name shall never be spoken again in my presence.

What possessed that stupid girl to think she actually had the right to choose her own husband? Does she not know that princesses are merely pawns, useful only to form political alliances? Alliances that my daughter upset by deciding to marry that.. that.. that Egyptian dog! Why, of why could my wife, that stupid cow, not bear me a son? Why was I cursed with an uppity daughter who does not know her place?

Truly, I had no choice but to get rid of my wayward daughter and that husband of hers. And immurement is not too bad a fate. Better than burning, beheading, strangulation or dismemberment, at any rate. Truly, I was merciful, more merciful than could be expected. Besides, my wayward daughter and that dog of a husband of hers at least had the decendy to refrain from whining and moaning behind the walls, because it’s so annoying, when they do that…

Thank you, Your Majesty, but that’s quite enough out of you. Take your award and get thee back to ancient Babylon.

***

Now we’ve dealt with the Retro award, we come to the main event. As in 2019, no real front runner appeared for a long time. But unlike 2019, where there were several likely candidates, 2020 had far more candidates for the title of Parent of the Year than candidates for the Darth Vader Parenthood Award. Because 2020 was dominated by tales of grumpy men who found themselves reluctantly thrust into a parent role and rose to the occasion, as the stories of Din Djarin, Geralt of Rivia, Sherlock Holmes (who looks remarkably like Geralt of Rivia except for the hair) and even Jean-Luc Picard prove.

Emily Dodson, a young mother who is implicated to be involved in the kidnapping and murder of her own baby in the new Perry Mason series, seemed to be a contender for a while. Alas, Emily turned out to be innocent of the crime and guilty only of sleeping with the wrong man.

The new Perry Mason also yielded another candidate, Birdy McKeegan, a woman who exploits the religious fervour and strange visions of her daughter Alice to start a cult. She also pimps out the the underage Alice in exchange for gasoline. But while Birdy is undoubtedly awful, she’s not quite awful enough.

Empress Philippa Georgiou of the Terran Empire made an eleventh hour bid for the award, when she attempted to torture her adoptive daughter Michael Burnham into loving and obeying her, with predcitably tragic results. But while Empress Philippa Georgiou certainly displayed some very twisted ideas about parenting, she also clearly cared about her daughter and torturing Michael rather than executing her was a merciful act by the admittedly low standards of the Terran Empire. So nice try, Philippa, but no award.

Besides, another truly terrible intergalactic dictator and dreadful parent had emerged in the meantime. And so the 2020 Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fiction Parents goes to…

Drumroll

Galactic Overseer Simon Novalight

This is another winner where many members of our esteemed audience will go, “Who?”, so let me briefly introduce Galactic Overseer Simon Novalight to you and explain why he deserves this award.

As chronicled in the 2019 romantic space opera novel Nightchaser and its 2020 sequel Starbreaker by Amanda Bouchet, Simon Novalight is your typical intergalactic dictator. He wants to rule the galaxy and bring order to it under his control and he also wants to make everything beige and brown, because Simon Novalight really, really hates colour. However, this is not the Bad Taste Award, so let’s talk about his family.

After squashing a rebellion, he took a liking to Caitrin, a young woman from one of the rebel worlds and forced her to marry him – in exchange for not scorching the entire galactic rim. From this unhappy marriage resulted a daughter named Quintessa, though she goes by Tess.

When Tess was a small child, certain genetic anomalies were detected, genetic anomalies that gave her a kind of superfast healing factor (think Wolverine, but without the claws and the adamantium). Whereupon Simon Novalight decided to have his scientists experiment on his daughter and extract as much blood as he could from her to create a supersoldier serum.

Novalight also murdered his wife, once he realised that neither he nor his wife carried the genetic abnormality that Tess had, which suggests that his wife had been seeing someone else and that this someone else was the father of Tess. Astute readers will figure out the answer to the question of Tess’ paternity well before it’s confirmed in the sequel.

Once he’d gotten all the super blood he needed from Tess, Simon Novalight decided that he didn’t need either a daughter or a blood donor anymore. And so he ordered his right-hand man Nathan Bridgebane to dump Tess, than eight years old, out of the nearest airlock. However, Bridgebane found his conscience just in time and dumped Tess off at an orphanage run by a pair of awesome lesbians instead.

In the next twenty years or so, Tess did a stint in a space prison, broke out and stole a spaceship, became a smuggler/space pirate and joined the rebellion. She turned up on the radar of her father and his right-hand man Bridgebane again, when she accidentally stole a shipment of Novalight’s super-soldier serum. Because as Moff Gideon can confirm, making super-soldier serum from super blood is not easy. Especially if you unwisely killed off your blood supply or think that you did.

Novalight is now really, really eager to bring Tess in. Not because he cares about her, but because he really, really needs her blood to make more super-soldier serum. And so he shoots two of her crewmates, one fatally, and abducts another crewmate, a blind old woman, to use as leverage against his daughter.

He also starts a galaxy-wide program to register every citizen via an implanted ID chip, which is also a convenient way to take samples of blood en masse and find more potential super blood donors. As for those super-soldiers, he’s certainly not going to use them for benign purposes either.

That kind of villainy deserves an award and therefore Galactic Overseer Simon Novalight is the deserving winner of the 2020 Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents.

Applause

In spite of his busy schedule as dictator of the galaxy, Simon Novalight showed up in person to accept his award, dressed in a plain brown suit. He also gave King Mi-Bel and his splendid royal robes the side-eye, as the two 2020 winners briefly met in the green room.

Simon Novalight then proceeded to give his acceptance speech in the voice of a particularly dour fire and brimstone preacher.

Thank you. Thank you, good people of this universe, for honouring my important work with this award. I could not be more grateful that finally, someone recognises my hard work to bring peace, order and security to the galaxy. Because there are still those out there, who would undo my great work and…

Escuse me, Overseer Novalight, but this award is actually for your parenting skills or lack thereof.

Parenting skills, oh yes. Quintessa, my – sniff – dearly departed daughter, taken from me so young along with her mother, my poor beloved Caitrin.

And I assure you, citizens of the galaxy, that there is no truth, absolutely none, to the rumours that my daughter Quintessa is not only still alive, but also a member of the rebellion. Those are lies, malicious rumours spread by those terrorists of the rebellion. As are the claims that I murdered my own wife and tried to kill my daughter as well. Lies, all lies. Caitrin died of a dreadful disease. And no, it’s absolutely not true that I infected her.

Also, it’s all Quintessa’s own fault. Why does she have to be so selfish? All I want is a little of her super-blood. After all, she has five litres of it, so why can’t she donate a little bit of it for the sake of galactic peace? Ungrateful brat! Just like her mother Caitrin, that ungrateful bitch…

Wait a minute, did you just say that astute readers will figure out the mystery of Quintessa’s paternity? So does that mean that you know who Quintessa’s father is? Then I demand that you tell me at once or I shall have you tortured, imprisoned and executed…

And that’s quite enough out of you, Overseer Novalight. So let’s beam you back to your space station, where you can rant in peace. After all, it’s hardly my fault, if you can’t see what’s in front of your own nose.

***

And that’s it for the 40th annual Darth Vader Parenthood Award for Outstandingly Horrible Fictional Parents. Who will take this coveted (not) award next year? You’ll find out in this space.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 30, 2020 14:40

December 29, 2020

The Obligatory Christmas Post 2020

Yes, I know that Christmas has been over for four days now, but I was pretty busy with a large translation job, so here is the somewhat belated obligatory 2020 Christmas post.

In spite of the pandemic, our Christmas wasn’t all that different this year. I spent the holidays with my parents whom I see almost every day anyway. And since most of the extended family we used to see on Christmas have passed away by now, the only other people I saw – briefly and with sufficient distance – were neighbours.

Unfortunately, there was no suitable tree in my parents’ garden this year, so we had to buy one. It’s a Nordmann fir like pretty much all commercially sold Christmas trees in Germany. It’s a nicely shaped tree, too, though I will never understand why Nordmann firs are so popular as Christmas tree, because the long needles actually make decorating the tree more difficult.

The Christmas tree to be in my parents’ garden and still undecorated.

I decorated the tree on the evening of December 23. It was a lot of work, because we have a lot of ornaments, including many vintage ones which are more than fifty years old and very delicate. Still, I think the tree turned out well.

Christmas tree shot with flash

Christmas tree shot without flash. Note the real candles, which only burn for about fifteen minutes or so.

A close-up look at the Christmas tree and the vintage ornaments. Some of these are more than 50 years old.

Another close-up look at the Christmas tree

Another close-up look at the Christmas tree with lots of wooden ornaments. Most of those are actually mine and were gifts by relatives.

The Christmas tree viewed from another angle with two bonus reflections in the windows.

Christmas Eve is the main event in Germany, so we had coffee/tea and Dundee cake, which I baked just after lunch, because cake with lots of fruit and a shot of whisky just feels very festive to me.

Christmas Eve coffee table with Dundee cake and decorations.

Afterwards, we had the traditional Christmas dinner in my family, which consists of herring salad, served with homemade walnut bread and equally homemade Café de Paris butter. The recipe for the butter may be found here. The recipe for the herring salad goes back to my grandmother. I shared it in this guest post over at the Skiffy and Fanty Show almost three years ago. Though nowadays, I half all the ingredients, because otherwise you’ll have enough salad to last you well into the new year. Unless it goes off first.

Herring salad with homebaked walnut bread and Café de Paris butter

Herring salad with homebaked walnut bread and equally homemade Café de Paris butter

After dinner, we unwrapped the presents. Because of the pandemic, I ordered everything online this year, even things I normally would have bought in person, which wasn’t ideal, but worked out fine in the end.

My Dad with the lit up Christmas tree in the background.

Christmas presents wrapped (my Dad’s)

Christmas presents wrapped (my Mom’s)

Christmas presents wrapped (mine). The mailman brought the two books which are not wrapped on Christmas Eve, so they just went under the tree as they were.

My Dad unwrapping Christmas presents and admiring the female form on the cover of the 2020 Hot Girls calendar.

My Mom unwrapping Christmas presents.

Me unwrapping Christmas presents. I didn’t bother to get dressed up, because I didn’t feel like it.

Unwrapped Christmas presents (my Dad’s). This time around, it was not necessary to censor the calendar. The little bags contain breadbaking spices, BTW, because my Dad has taken up breadbaking.

Unwrapped Christmas Presents (my Mom’s). The books are all mysteries this time around, three historical mysteries (Abir Mukherjee, Antonia Hodgson and Volker Kutscher) and one contemporary mystery (Elly Grffith). You can also see some of the crochet Christmas tree ornaments I made.

Unwrapped Christmas presents (mine). Again, lots of books plus a calendar and a bottle of mulled wine courtesy of the Bremen translators’ meet-up.

Finally, here are some random decoration photos:

Table with wine and holiday decorations.

The Virgin Mary of the glowing heart (courtesy of a votive candle) is back, together with another voive candle holder and a glass nativity scene.

The Virgin Mary of the glowing heart ornament is a favourite of my Mom’s and actually inspired one of my stories, where a similarly glowing figure scares a would-be thief into mending his ways.

The Playmobil nativity scene is back as well. The shepherds are actually farmer women and children, since male shepherds were unavailable. Though I also imagine that farmer women would have had much more practical gifts for Mary and her child than either the three wise men (whom Playmobil does produce) or the male shepherds. I’ve also decided that should I ever come across a Playmobil drummer, I’ll purchase him or her and add them to the nativity scene as the Little Drummer Boy from the song.

Playmobil nativity scene

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 29, 2020 22:48

Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for December 2020

Welcome to the latest edition of “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Crime Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of crime fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some November books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Our new releases cover the broad spectrum of crime fiction. We have cozy mysteries, holiday mysteries, historical mysteries, Victorian mysteries, Jazz Age mysteries, paranormal mysteries, hardboiled mysteries, police procedurals, crime thrillers, legal thrillers, psychological thrillers, science fiction thrillers, police officers, amateur sleuths, private investigators, ex-cops, lawyers, drug-dealers, assassins, organised crime, missing persons, crime-busting witches, crime-busting socialites, crime-busting seamstresses, crime-busting ghosts, crime-busting bakers, murder and mayhem in Florida, Minnesota, New Orleans, London, Australia, South America and outer space and much more.

Don’t forget that Indie Crime Fiction of the Month is also crossposted to the Indie Crime Scene, a group blog which features new release spotlights, guest posts, interviews and link round-ups regarding all things crime fiction several times per week.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C.J. Archer:

It was the most fashionable place to stay in London, until murder made a reservation.

December 1899. After the death of her beloved grandmother, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle in the hopes of putting hardship and loneliness behind her. But the poisoning of a guest on Christmas Eve throws her new life, and the hotel, into chaos.

Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager. With the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread, Cleo must find the killer before the ball, and the hotel itself, are ruined. But catching a murderer proves just as difficult as navigating the hotel’s hierarchy and the peculiarities of her family.

Can Cleo find the killer before the new century begins? Or will someone get away with murder?

A Tangle of Secrets by Blythe Baker:

Lily Dickinson’s discovery of a dead gamekeeper in a cottage near a country lane leads to a search for his killer. Suspects range from employees of the nearby Grangehurst estate to a number of dangerous characters much closer to home.

Before Lily can face the murderer, she needs to enlist the aid of her younger sister Iris. But with Lily still refusing to share the secret of the trunk in the attic, will Iris be willing to help when Lily needs her most?

The Lurid Possibility of Murder by Beth Byers:

December 1925

Severine DuNoir has discovered who has been hunting her. Now she needs to discover why. As the foes circle each other, their friends and family get drawn into the conflict.

Just who can Severine trust? How can she stop the rogue? And what will happen to those she loves if she fails? She’s all too afraid the answer is one she won’t be able to live with.

Baking Magic by Melinda Craig:

The Happy Widow by David Crosby:

MARRIED AND MURDERED—

WHAM, BAM, SCAM YOU, MA’AM…

In his sixth hard boiled action thriller, reporter Will Harper attempts to balance the beginnings of new love with a treacherous fraud investigation. While trying to unmask scammers who target vulnerable elderly Floridians, Will risks angering homicidal con artists who will stop at nothing to extort their hapless victims.

The mystery opens with an exhilarating honeymoon at sea: philanderer Alain Duvalier has whisked his new—wealthy—wife away on a honeymoon cruise. There’s trouble in paradise, though: Duvalier pushes his giddy wife off the cruise ship, then claims the death was a tragic accident. The remorseless widower packs his bags and moves into his late wife’s ritzy Florida condo, with immediate plans to sell off all her assets.

Enter semi-retired journalist Will Harper, who’s just started researching a hard-hitting series on black widows and widowers who seduce aging, wealthy single folks. This project is personal: Will’s newly exclusive girlfriend Bonnie has an elderly uncle who’s being isolated and financially controlled by a new, monstrously villainous wife—the infamous Millie Potts.

While brainstorming story ideas aboard his live-in yacht, The Wanderlust, Will gets wind of the honeymoon cruise death and immediately begins tracking Duvalier. Will attempts to juggle his dangerous investigation into Millie’s murky past with an equally risky inquiry into Duvalier’s whereabouts. These scammers are so morally bereft that they’ll swiftly, thoughtlessly kill anyone who stands between them and a bundle of cash. Which is unfortunate, considering that Will, Bonnie, and Callie—Will’s ex girlfriend and current coworker—are all standing in the way.

The Contract Lawyer by John Ellsworth:

He went into the jungle to find his family. He came back out to find himself…

Thaddeus Murfee is an attorney in San Diego whose nephew is kidnapped to South America. The traffickers just didn’t know all the rules, but he did.

This is Thaddeus at his best, pulled away from his normal life and cast into a cruel world where the cartels run rife and anything goes. This time, they rang the wrong doorbell, took the wrong kid, and ran in the wrong direction. Because this seasoned lawyer will stop at nothing to bring back his sister’s son. And in the end, there will be a trial, inside a California courtroom, where justice is sought and crimes are punished.

But will they even be there? Or will they no longer walk the earth, buried in a South American jungle where no one cares?

Alley Katz by Mike Faricy:

Dev Haskell is running late for dinner at his girlfriends house when he rear ends a car in the parking lot. Small world, the car is driven by a Dev’s former high school English teacher. . In lieu of paying for damages Dev agrees to work Tuesday and Thursday evenings helping kids with homework. From there he ends up searching for an art forger with ties to local crime lord, Tubby Gustafson.

Along the way he’s beat up by a petit woman in a thong, searches for a missing boy… Oh, and he sets a homeless kid on a career path.

Another hilariously delightful Dev Haskell tale.

A wonderful read to remind you that, actually, your life is pretty good!

As always, Morton, Dev’s Golden Retriever, provides a dose of sanity.

Witch Is the New Black by Lily Harper Hart:

For his part, Zacharias “Zach” Sully isn’t any more thrilled by his mother’s visit than his girlfriend. He’s simply better at dealing with Madeline’s brand of madness.

They’ll die to protect one another … and someone desperately wants to make that a reality. It will take both of them working together to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Ghostly Graves by Lily Harper Hart:

Church of the Assassin by Ross Harrison:

KILL ONE TO SAVE A HUNDRED

KILL A HUNDRED TO SAVE ONE

When you take a shot at an apex predator, do not miss.

Foxtrot Hotel by Simon Haynes:

First a dead body shows up on Harriet’s favourite beach.

Then she discovers the whole place is going to be bulldozed for an apartment complex.

She’s convinced the two are connected, but she’ll have to untangle a web of lies and corruption to reach the truth.

Meanwhile, someone has decided that the best way to avoid discovery is to silence Harriet… for good!

Watch Her by Edwin Hill:

While attending a gala at Prescott University’s lavish new campus, Hester Thursby and fellow guest, Detective Angela White, are called to the home of the college’s owners, Tucker and Jennifer Matson. Jennifer claims that someone broke into Pinebank, their secluded mansion on the banks of Jamaica Pond. The more Hester and Angela investigate, the less they believe Jennifer’s story, leaving Hester to wonder why she would lie.

When Hester is asked by the college’s general manager to locate some missing alumni, she employs her research skills on the family and their for-profit university. Between financial transgressions, a long-ago tragedy, and rumors of infidelity, it’s clear that the Matsons aren’t immune to scandal or mishap. But when one of the missing students turns up dead, the mystery takes on new urgency.

Hester is edging closer to the truth, but as a decades-old secret collides with new lies, a killer grows more determined to keep the past buried with the dead…

The Banshee Brouhaha by Amanda M. Lee:

Charlie Rhodes has spent her entire life wondering who her birth parents were, why they abandoned her, and where the magic she’s been learning to hone came from.

She’s finally going to get some answers.

Charlie wants answers. She’s also afraid to get them. During the search for what she’s lost, though, she becomes more determined than ever to hold onto what she has.

There’s evil afoot, and a woman who looks like an older version of Charlie is stalking the group. Could the two things be connected? Charlie won’t leave until she knows for certain.

Hold onto your broomsticks, because it’s going to be a witchy ride.

The Lost Letters of Playfair Street by Michelle Montebello:

A lover’s game. A chest of clues.

Come find me. I’ll be waiting…

1929: On the night of her engagement to austere banker Floyd Clark, Charlotte Greene meets enigmatic Sydney Harbour Bridge engineer, Alexander Young. Their encounter is brief, but their attraction instant.

Alex invites Charlotte to play a game with him, one of daring clues and secret meeting places. She accepts and they embark on a thrilling lover’s chase across the city.

But with her arranged marriage to Floyd looming, will she have the strength to let Alex go?

Present Day: Paige Westwood is helping her boss establish a publishing company in his newly-purchased Playfair Street house in The Rocks, Sydney. In the attic, she discovers a chest of old clues that lead the reader on a journey across the city.

Paige contacts the former owner, Ryan Greene, who explains the clues belonged to his great-aunt Charlotte, who once lived in the house, but who mysteriously disappeared in 1929.

Together, they follow Charlotte and Alex’s clues to unravel a fascinating tale of lies and intrigue, of two lovers bound by hope, but also by deceit. Can they solve the mystery of Charlotte’s disappearance or has all hope been lost to the past?

Should Grace Fail by Priscilla Paton:

When a disgraced policeman who rescues addicts and trafficking victims is murdered, Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger have their skills put to the test as killers target a vulnerable girl, an empathetic pianist, and a man generous to a fault.

Better To Be Lucky by Ben Rehder:

The trouble at the Conlees’ lakeside estate begins when vandals topple and destroy an expensive Italian fountain. Then they slash the tires and damage the paint job on a Jaguar. That’s when Roy Ballard’s client, the insurance company, asks him to catch the vandal in the act and prevent future claims. Surprisingly, the homeowner, Norman Conlee, opposes the idea. He intends to address the problem himself by fencing the property and keeping his revolver handy. Eventually, though, he gives in, and Roy goes to work. It’s not long before the case escalates in a way nobody saw coming. Roy will need some luck to close this case before he winds up a victim himself.

Murder on a Midnight Clear by Sara Rosett:

A snowbound country mansion, a missing butler, and a Christmas case…

Olive and Jasper have never been closer—except in one area. Jasper is still reticent about his frequent disappearances from polite society. With the holidays approaching and no paying client on the books, Olive decides to shadow Jasper when he’s unexpectedly called away. Her search brings her to Holly Hill Lodge where an eclectic group has gathered to celebrate an old-fashioned English Christmas.

The guest list includes a celebrated lawn tennis champion, a fussy scientist studying snowflakes, a persuasive luggage salesman, a famous lady explorer, and the family’s eccentric aunt who has a fondness for the newfangled drinks called cocktails.

When the butler goes missing, Olive and Jasper must work together to solve the Christmas crime—as well as the secret Jasper hides.

Rising Moon by Wayne Stinnett:

On Grassy Key, things aren’t as idyllic as they seem. The quiet, sleepy community has been awakened. A young woman with strong ties to the community is missing.

A local craftsman, the last person to see the girl, is questioned and released. The girl’s friends are interviewed. Nobody knows what happened to Cobie, except that she left for work one day and didn’t arrive. The only lead is the girl’s car, parked where she worked. But it provides no clues and nobody saw anything.

Days go by. Then weeks. The case grows cold.

The employer of the girl’s mother knows Jesse McDermitt, a retired Marine and reputed government spook. Jesse leans on people the way only he can and soon finds there is a lot more to the abduction than anyone knew.

Does he find the missing girl? Does he survive what he uncovers? Find out in this 19th novel in Wayne Stinnett’s wildly popular Jesse McDermitt Caribbean Adventure Series.

Murder in Hyde Park by Lee Strauss:

Murder’s a fashion faux pas. . .

The summer of 1926 brings high fashion to Hyde Park. Ginger’s Regent Street dress shop, Feathers & Flair, is a major sponsor, and when top designer Coco Chanel makes an appearance, the London fashion scene lights up.

Until a model drops dead and Miss Chanel is suspected of murder. The fashion icon hires Lady Gold Investigations to clear her name, but can Ginger discover the murderer before becoming a lifeless mannequin herself?

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 29, 2020 15:20

December 25, 2020

Star Trek Discovery mounts a rescue mission and meets “Su’Kal”

Because the powers that be at US streaming services apparently believe that all their viewers are bored slackers sitting on the sofa with nothing else to do and that no one has such a thing as a family or a life that does not involve watching TV, CBS All Access in its infinite wisdom decided to stream the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery on Christmas Eve. So here is the latest installment in my ongoing episode by episode reviews of season 3 of Star Trek Discovery. Reviews of previous episodes may be found here.

Warning: Spoilers behind the cut!

After a two part pointless detour to the mirror universe, Star Trek Discovery is back in the prime universe as well as back on track.

“Su’Kal” starts of literally where part II of “Terra Firma” ended, at the “wake” for Philippa Georgiou. Adira stands around, looking a bit lost, since they don’t really feel like part of the crew yet. Stamets goes over to them and tells them to interact a bit more with people, when Gray – who’d been missing for a few episodes – decides to put in an appearance again. Stamets decides to play along and tells off Gray, even though it looks as if he’s talking to thin air, because no one except for Adira can see Gray. As for why Gray has been absent, he is bothered that Adira can talk to people and interact with them, while Gray can only interact with Adira.

The wake is interrupted, when the program Stamets and Adira rigged up with Book’s help to hack into the systems of the crashed Federation ship inside the Verubin nebula that’s the source of the Burn finally gets a result. It has found a lifesign on board the crashed research Kelpian vessel, even though the vessel has been lost 125 years ago. Stamets, Tilly and Michael wonder how it’s even possible that the Kelpian scientist whose distress signal they intercepted is still alive after 125 years, especially considering the intense radiation inside the nebula. Saru replies that it’s not the scientist whose lifesign they detected, but her child. Because the forehead markings of the Kelpian scientist, which Stamets and Tilly took for radiation burns, indicate that the woman was pregnant. This also explains why Saru was so fascinated by the distress signal.

So the Discovery sets off for the Verubin nebula. However, the attempt to enter the nebula to rescue the person whose lifesigns they detected go wrong almost immediately, when the Discovery is battered by turbulences and radiation. So the Discovery has to pull out. Book offers to fly into the nebula in his own ship, since it’s smaller and can morph, treating us to some nice special effects scenes. In fact, this whole episodes features some very cool space action and effects. I guess they spent whatever money they saved on the largely studio-bound and low on special effects “Terra Firma” two-parter on this episode.

Book (and Grudge, the cat) suffer some radiation damage (which is easily cured via 32nd century miracle medicine), but he does manage to fly in far enough to scan the planet, where the Kelpian ship crashed, and find a stable pocket inside the nebula for Discovery to jump into. The scan of the planet at the heart of the Verubin nebula reveals something remarkable. For it turns out that the entire planet is basically one huge dilithium deposit. Considering how rare dilithium has become after the Burn (and supplies were running low even before), this discovery has the potential to be a gamechanger.

As a result, Admiral Vance is as excited as we’ve ever seen him, when Saru makes his report. However, Admiral Vance is considerably less thrilled when Saru announces that he will lead the away team himself. Of course, Saru is from the era and Kirk and Pike, where the captain frequently beamed down with the away team. And besides, his knowledge of Kelpian culture may come in handy, when dealing with a Kelpian who has been alone for a very long time. Finally, Saru points out that Tilly is more than capable of handling the Discovery in his absence, whereupon Vance shoots Tilly an “And who are you again?” look.

Vance also has bad news for Saru, because the Emerald Chain has chosen the Kelpian homeworld Kaminar as the site of its latest “training exercises”. Saru immediately offers to have the Discovery jump to Kaminar and help out, but Vance tells him to focus on his own mission and leave the defence of Kaminar to Starfleet. He also points out that the location of the Emerald Chain’s latest training exercises, first Book’s homeworld and then Saru’s, is no accident. The Emerald Chain is trying to deliberately draw out Discovery to get hold of their spore drive and their dilithium stores. For some reason, this does not worry the Discovery crew nearly as much as it should.

Tilly is understandably nervous about her first mission as acting captain, so Michael tries to calm her down by telling her a story about a knob underneath the armrest of the captain’s chair on multiple Starfleet vessels that captains tend to touch in times of stress. Michael also tells Tilly that she has to beam down to the planet, because Saru needs her more than Tilly does, because Michael isn’t sure that Saru is entirely objective about the whole mission.

Meanwhile, Stamets is not at all happy that Dr. Culber wants to join the away team, because he worries about his husband. After all, the radiation on the planet is intense and lethal within a few days at most. However, Culber insists that he must go. Not just because he’s a doctor and the survivor might need help, but also because he knows what it feels like to be lost and alone. And besides, the away team will be taking anti-radiation drugs along, so they should be fine. We get treated to another kiss between Stamets and Culber, which demonstrates once again why they’re one of the best – if not the best – Star Trek couples of all time. I also love that Stamets and Culber have basically adopted Adira (and Gray, since they come as a package deal, even though only Adira can see Gray). It’s just great seeing a non-traditional LGBTQ family in a mainstream SFF show.

So Saru, Michael and Culber beam down into the crashed ship and promptly get a surprise, for instead of a ship, they find themselves inside a wintery forest (considering the many wintery sceneries we’ve seen this season, I guess it snowed a lot in Canada last winter). They also find that their clothes and appearance has been altered. Michael is now a Trill, Culber is a Bajoran (which makes me wonder if the Federation even knew about Bajorans in the 23rd century, since they only show up from The Next Generation on) and Saru is human, giving Doug Jones the chance to show off his acting skills without ten kilograms of latex make-up for once. Worse, their badges/transporters and supplies, including the vital radiation drugs, are gone. There is an explanation for all this, that doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense, though the lack of the lifesaving drugs does add a sense of urgency and I imagine Doug Jones was happy not to have to wear the Saru make-up for an episode or two. Besides, Michael’s red riding hood type cloak and cape nicely hide Sonequa Martin-Green’s pregnancy bump.

After some trudging through the snowy forest, Saru, Michael and Culber come across a glitchy hologram demonstrating maintenance procedures (in a forest? Yes, a lot about this episode makes no sense). Our trio now realises that they are in a – quote – “sophisticated holographic environment”. They obviously can’t say “holodeck”, because holodecks would only become a thing in the Next Generation era. When they introduce themselves, the hologram unglitches long enough to tell them that information on Starfleet and the Federation may be found in the politics and history section. Since Saru, Michael and Culber can’t figure out how to stop the program, they decide to head for the politics and history section.

Yes, “Su’Kal” is Discovery‘s take on one of the staples of Star Trek from The Next Generation onwards, the holodeck episode. Of course, holodeck episodes are normally about as welcome as mirror universe episodes. There are a handful of good ones, but most of them are inconsequential fluff. As holodeck episodes go, “Su’Kal” is certainly one of the better ones. Furthermore, since Discovery hasn’t really had a holodeck episode yet (the closest thing were the magic mushroom world scenes in season 1 and 2), since season 1 and 2 were set before holodecks were a thing, holodeck stories haven’t won out their welcome yet.

It also helps that while most holodeck episodes look like random studio backlot sets, “Su’Kal” really pulls out all the stops with gorgeous CGI environments such as a very M.C. Escher-esque stairwell and a dark fortress straight out of a fantasy cover, accessed only via floating rock islands.

Saru, Michael and Culber eventually come across a group of holograms reenacting the acceptance of Kaminar as a member of the Federation over and over again. As before, the holograms are glitchy, but the hologram of a Vulcan admiral manages to unglitch long enough to ask our trio, if they are here to rescue the child. By now, it’s pretty obvious what the holographic environment is, namely a learning and training program for the Kelpian child survivor, created – as we later learn – by the child’s mother. As for why the appearances of the Discovery away team were altered, that’s part of the program to avoid spooking the child. Of course, it makes no sense that a Kelpian child would be spooked by two humans and a Kelpian showing up to rescue them, but would not be spooked by a Bajoran, a Trill and a human. But then, a lot about this episode makes little sense, when you think about it.

Considering that the team is stuck in a holographic fantasy world – and now I am reminded of the many Alice in Wonderland references back in season 1 – there is of course also a monster, which resides behind a padlocked door, but tends to bang against it. Strange piles of stone are set up outside that door, which begins to buckle alarmingly. The piles of stone look vaguely familiar to Saru, but before he can remember why, the away team finally encounters “the child”. Only that “the child” is no child at all but an adult Kelpian, played by veteran character actor Bill Irwin, as Keith R.A. DeCandido points out in his review at Tor.com.

Though “child” is not such a bad description after all, because after spending decades alone with only glitchy holograms for company, the Kelpian survivor is still very much a traumatised child mentally. And so, the survivor initially asks the newcomers which program they are from. And then, when Saru mentions the word “outside”, the survivor runs away in fear. At the same time, the monster becomes more active behind its locked and barred door. I guess I wasn’t the only person who was immediately reminded of Forbidden Planet (which is often viewed as a precursor to Star Trek) and its monster from the Id.

The team now splits up. Saru and Culber go after the survivor, while Michael will hold the monster – a creepy CGI horror that looks like a Kelpian zombie made from smoke – at bay. Though in the end, Michael is the one who finds the survivor and manages to get him to talk by pretending that she is a program intended to teach him social interaction. She even gets a brief memory of the survivor harvesting kelp with his family, before he runs off again. It’s also becomes increasingly clear that the survivor has no idea that there he is aboard a ship and that there is such a thing as an outside world.

Meanwhile, Culber and Saru find what appears to be the survivor’s quarters, complete with a Kelpian elder dozing in a rocking chair. Saru is fascinated by this elder, because he has never seen a Kelpian become so old before, since they experienced the vaharai and were killed long before then. Culber and Saru also find out the name of the survivor. He’s called Sa’Kul, which means “blessed gift” in Kelpian and is traditionally the name given to the first child born after a great disaster.

When Saru finally manages to wake the elder, they get some more information out of him. The elder confirms that the entire holo environment was created and programmed by Sa’Kul’s mother to keep him alive until rescue could arrive. However, rescue took far longer than expected to arrive and the holograms were forced to provide emotional support they weren’t really equipped for. The purpose of the holographic elder is basically to dispense stories and lullabies, which he does for Saru in a very sweet scene. Now we can actually see his face, it becomes even clearer what an excellent actor Doug Jones is. But then, I’m still outraged that everybody in The Shape of Water got an Oscar nomination except for Doug Jones, since the Academy apparently thought that he really was a swamp monster.

The holographic elder also explains that the stone piles the away team saw earlier are totems supposed to ward off the monster, a creature from Kelpian legend that represents their greatest fear that every Kelpian has to face (after all, Kelpians were originally a race of permanently afraid prey creatures). So yes, it is the monster from the Id. Until Sa’Kul will face the monster, he – and the away team – will never be free. This is a huge problem, because Saru, Michael and Culber are already beginning to exhibit radiation burns.

Things come to a head, when the away team come face to face with Sa’Kul and the monster. Sa’Kul freaks out and has a breakdown that sends shockwaves through the holo environment. Meanwhile, both the Discovery and Book’s ship are experiencing problems that are very similar to what happened during the Burn. Book manages to hail the away team (Discovery is otherwise occupied) and tell them to stop whatever they’re doing, cause they’re about to cause another Burn. Saru finally manages to calm down Sa’Kul by singing the lullaby the elder sang to him.

So we finally know what caused the Burn, namely a terrified Kelpian child with psychic powers induced by radiation exposure in utero. And people thought that a scared Baby Grogu tossing Stormtroopers about was a bad temper tantrum. As explanations go, this one is certainly unexpected, though not without precedent. After all, Star Trek has featured (usually malicious) superpowered kids before all the way back to the original series. Trelane from “The Squire of Gothos” and particularly “Charlie X” come to mind. However, Star Trek didn’t invent this trope. Indeed, children with psychic powers causing havoc was a common science fiction trope during the golden and silver ages. “It’s a Good Life” by Jerome Bixby and “When the Bough Breaks” by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore come to mind, as do The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. It seems to me as if science fiction has deep-seated issues with children.

Though none of the above mentioned super-children have managed to wreck quite as much havoc as poor Sa’Kul, whose temper tantrum killed millions, possible billions of people and brought galactic civilisation to its knees. Of course, none of this is in any way Sa’Kul’s fault, since he has no idea what he’s done and doesn’t even know that the outside world exists. Nonetheless, I don’t think that anybody at Starfleet – or anywhere else in the galaxy, for that matter – will be happy to see him. Not to mention the impact it will have on Sa’Kul’s already fragile mental health, when he learns that he is personally responsible for the deaths of millions, if not billions of people and the destruction of the Federation.

Book has flown his ship close enough to the planet to beam out the away team, but Michael, Culber and Saru realise that they cannot leave Sa’Kul alone, because it’s only a matter of time before he causes another Burn. Saru wants Michael to stay, because she’s the empathic one, but Michael points out that Saru was the one who managed to calm down Sa’Kul. So Saru and Culber stay behind, while Book beams out Michael just in time, before she faints from radiation sickness. Meanwhile, Saru and Culber know that they’re doomed if Discovery doesn’t return within a day or so. But luckily, help is on the way in the form of Adira who stowed away on board of Book’s ship and beams down with a supply of radiation drugs.

However, the odds of Discovery returning within a day or so are slim to none, because Discovery has been experiencing some dramatic issues of its own. For of course, Tilly was not granted a quiet first time in the captain’s chair. And so Discovery suddenly detects another Starfleet vessel approaching and hailing them, even though there isn’t supposed to be any Starfleet vessel in the vicinity. At first, the Discovery bridge crew thinks it’s a Starfleet vessel stranded by the Burn. But why would it stay near the inhospitable Verubin nebula instead of doing a Voyager and trying to get somewhere the slow way? The answer is of course – and I figured this out about a minute before the bridge crew did – that the supposed Starfleet vessel is no Starfleet vessel at all, but the Viridian, flagship of Emerald Chain boss Osyra herself. After all, Admiral Vance did note that Osyra appears to be after Discovery‘s spore drive and dilithium supplies.

What follows is a neat stand-off between Tilly and Osyra. Osyra tries to trigger Tilly’s imposter syndrome, while Tilly unleashes her inner Killy and first goes all Freudian on Osyra and then threatens to self-destruct the Discovery rather than let her fall into Osyra’s hands. There is an exchange of torpedoes and the Discovery tries out its brand-new cloaking device. However, Discovery is hampered by the fact that her shields are not at full capacity. And while jumping out would be the best course of action, that would mean abandoning the away team to certain death.

Book finally offers to get the away team out with his own ship, so Discovery can escape. But once the shields are down, some creepy masked Emerald Chain goons, who look like they should be in Star Wars rather than Star Trek, beam right into the engine room and seize Stamets to keep him from starting up the spore drive. Meanwhile on the bridge, no one has any idea what is happening and why Tilly shouting “Black alert” doesn’t result in any reaction. Methinks the Discovery desperately needs an intruder alarm.

Stamets tells the Emerald Chain goons that he’s not helping them and that they cannot operate the spore drive without him. However, the Emerald Chain are prepared for all eventualities and so they fit Stamets with some kind of mind control device. More and more Emerald Chain goons beam aboard Discovery, while tentacles shoot out of the Viridian to wrap around Discovery. Osyra herself beams onto the bridge, forces Tilly out of the captain’s chair and sits down. Then she orders the ship to jump to Federation headquarters, the location of which is secret, but programmed into Discovery‘s computers. Book and Michael emerge from the nebula just in time to see the Discovery and Viridian jump away. Cue cliffhanger.

I suspect this will be the first and last time that we’ve seen Tilly in the captain’s chair for a long time, because she’s simply not yet ready for the job. Though I hope Federation justice has become more lenient since the 23rd century or poor Tilly will spend the rest of her life slaving away in a prison mine. After all, she not just lost Starfleet’s most powerful ship to the enemy, but gave away the location of the secret HQ as well. And yes, it was an accident, but then it’s not as if Michael intended to trigger the war with the Klingons either.

“Su’Kal” is certainly an action-packed episode. And in fact, it’s so action-packed that you don’t notice that a lot of it doesn’t make any sense until afterwards. Zack Handlen calls it “messy” in his review at The AV-Club and it certainly is. It also has too much rather than too little plot, which makes the decision to waste the previous two episodes on a pointless detour to the mirror universe even more puzzling. Though I do understand why they sent Georgiou away before the endgame. Because Osyra wouldn’t stand a chance against the original tough woman in black leather.

Furthermore, as James Whitbrook points out in his review at io9, Discovery is clearly heading towards the season finale. James Whitbrook also thinks that there is rather too much plot and too many revelations packed into this episode, though he still feels that it works better than the season 1 and 2 finales. Though “better than the season 1 finale of Discovery” is a low bar to clear.

All this probably sounds, as if I didn’t enjoy this episode. That would be wrong, because I did. But enjoyable or not, “Su’Kal” is still something of a mess and the plot and revelations should have been streteched over two episodes, while cutting down the whole mirror universe sidetrip to one episode or even a B-plot. After all, “Su’Kal” relegated the hijacking of the Discovery to a B-plot.

So far, season 3 of Star Trek Discovery has alternated between telling very typical Star Trek stories and exploring common space opera tropes that Star Trek has rarely done to date. “Su’Kal” combines these two approaches and tells a very typical Star Trek story, namely a holodeck adventure combined with an emotionally unstable child with psychic powers, while also borrowing from the works that inspired Star Trek in the first place, namely golden age science fiction and Forbidden Planet.

Next week, the penultimate episode of the season will air on New Year’s Eve, which is an even worse day for any new TV than Christmas Eve. Honestly, CBS All Access, next year just do a two week holiday break.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 25, 2020 22:57

December 23, 2020

A Holiday Story Bonanza

It’s time for the last new release announcement of the year. As the title indicates, this will be a big announcement, because I have three new holiday stories plus a collection to announce.

Unfortunately, some of the buy links are still missing, because several distributors and vendors are slow to get new e-books up in the run-up to the holidays.

Furthermore, the good folks at Smashwords are having their annual end of the year sale. You can get lots of e-books at reduced prices, including several of mine.

Back in 2013, I decided to write a Christmas story for the holiday season. This story was Christmas Gifts and it did quite well, so I decided to write another holiday story the next year. And then the year after. Some years, I ever wrote more than one holiday story. And so I’ve thirteen Christmas stories (as well as two Valentine’s Day stories and one Easter story) in various genres over the past seven years.

I haven’t been feeling particularly festive this year, but nonetheless inspiration struck and so I published not one or two but three very different holiday stories.

The first new story is a sweet holiday romance novelette called Driving Home for Christmas. The inspiration for this story happened last year just before Christmas, when I had to make a phonecall and therefore pulled into the parking lot of an outlet mall. The mall was closed, but the Christmas lights were still on and so the entire parking lot was lit up by electric stars. It looked very pretty – a lot prettier than an outlet mall deserves – and so I thought, “You know, this place would make a nice romantic setting for a holiday romance. Especially when it’s snowing.”

So I wondered what might bring two people to the parking lot of a closed outlet mall late at night just before Christmas. That particular outlet mall is right next to the Autobahn A1, one of the main North South routes for all of Europe. So I thought, “What if someone’s car broke down and they had to leave the Autobahn and wound up on the mall parking lot? And what if they meet a good Samaritan who’s willing to help them?” The story grew from there.

I used the real Autobahn exit and the outlet mall as a setting, though I did rearrange the shops a little. I also borrowed the details of a car breakdown I had a few years ago – though at a different Autobahn exit (because it would be too easy, if my car broke down some seven kilometres from home) and not at Christmas.

So follow college student Laura, whose car breaks down after midnight on Christmas Eve, and Danish truck drive Jonas, who comes to her aid, as they are…

Driving Home for Christmas

When her car breaks down after midnight on Christmas Eve, Laura thinks she’ll never make it home for the holidays.

But then fate sends Laura her very own Christmas angel in the form of hunky truck driver Jonas…

This is a short and sweet holiday romance of 8400 words or approximately 30 print pages.

More information.

Length: 8400 words

List price: 0.99 USD, EUR or GBP

Buy it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Spain, Amazon Italy, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Japan, Amazon India, Amazon Mexico, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, Vivlio, 24symbols and XinXii.

The second holiday story is another romance novelette. This one is part of Christmas at Hickory Ridge Mall series of loosely interconnected holiday romances. The connecting thread in this series is that all three stories to date take place at the same mall just before Christmas and that all characters eventually end up at the same coffee shop, where they are served by the same barista.

This latest story takes us outside the mall to the Christmas tree lot, where Jessica is trying to buy a tree one day before Christmas. However, she gets more than she bargained for, when she meets biology graduate student and seasonal Christmas tree vendor Matt in…

The Crappiest Christmas Ever

Jessica is having the worst Christmas ever, when her parents announce that they are getting a divorce two days before the holidays.

Stuck on her own with no home to go to, Jessica heads for the mall to buy a Christmas tree for herself. Here she meets Matt, who sells Christmas trees and is having a really awful Christmas himself.

Matt and Jessica bond over their shared pain and also manage to make each other laugh. So maybe, this won’t be the worst Christmas ever after all…

This is a short and sweet holiday romance of 12000 words or approximately 40 print pages.

More information.

Length: 12000 words

List price: 2.99 USD, EUR or 1.99 GBP

Buy it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Spain, Amazon Italy, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Japan, Amazon India, Amazon Mexico, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, Vivlio, 24symbols and XinXii.

The third holiday story of 2020 is something completely different. For starters, it’s not romance, but horror comedy (since I’m still unable to write straight horror – it either comes out as urban fantasy or comedy).

The initial inspiration for this story was coming across this piece of fantasy artwork by artist Jakub Rozalski on Twitter. In the image, Krampus has just gutted Santa, while a few kids look on. Since Krampus, who also appears in The Bakery on Gloomland Street, another of my holiday stories, is actually supposed to be Santa’s helper, I have course wondered what might have led to Krampus turning on Santa. So I thought, “What if Krampus isn’t Santa’s pal at all, but actually hates him?”

As I looked through Jakub Rozalki’s portfolio at Art Station, I also came across another holiday related horror image of a reindeer with bloody antlers facing down Santa, while a gutted elf lies on the ground. So I thought, “Maybe it’s not just Krampus who hates Santa? What if the elves and the reindeer hate Santa as well?” The story grew from there.

To be fair, this Santa is a very bad Santa. He exploits his workers, cheats of Mrs. Claus with two attractive young women and he takes drugs, too. So don’t feel too sorry for him. And besides, Christmas still happens as normal, though with someone else manning the sleigh.

I may also have done something nasty to Donald Trump. But to quote a character in the story, “Ain’t no one gonna miss him.”

So watch as elves, reindeer, Krampus and Black Piet take on Santa and stage a…

Revolt at the North Pole

Rebellion is brewing at Santa’s compound at the North Pole. The elves and the reindeer both are overworked, underpaid and angry, so they unite to take down Santa. However, there’s still Santa’s most fearsome enforcer, the horned, clawed and fanged holiday monster known only as Krampus…

This is a short holiday horror story of 3900 words or approx. 14 print pages by Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert.

More information.

List price: 0.99 USD, EUR or GBP

Length: 3900 words

Buy it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Spain, Amazon Italy, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Japan, Amazon India, Amazon Mexico, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, Vivlio, 24symbols and XinXii.

Since I now had thirteen holiday stories in six different genres – romance, mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy and horror – I also decided to offer all of my holiday stories to date in one handy mega-collection. This one is a real bargain, because you get almost 400 pages worth of holiday stories at a much lower price than if you were to buy them individually.

So check out the…

The Christmas Collection

Thirteen tales of Christmas by Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert.

Romance, cozy fantasy, murder mysteries, pulp thrillers, science fiction, horror and humor – we have all that and more.

Watch young people find love in the pre-holiday shopping rush at Hickory Ridge Mall, at a Christmas tree lot, on the parking lot of a shuttered outlet mall and at the one bar in town that’s open on Christmas Eve.

Experience Christmas in Hallowind Cove, the permanently fog-shrouded seaside town, where strange things keep happening.

Watch as Santa’s various helpers unite to depose him.

Follow Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team as they investigate the death of a robber dressed as Santa Claus as well as a wave of thefts at a Christmas market.

Meet Richard Blakemore, hardworking pulp author by day and the masked crimefighter known only as the Silencer by night, as he fights to save an orphanage from demolition in Depression era New York City.

Watch Alfred and Bertha, an ordinary married couple, as they decorate the Christmas tree and live their marvellous twenty-first century life.

Experience Christmas on the space colony of Iago Prime as well as after the end of the world.

Enjoy thirteen novellas, novelettes and short stories in six genres.

This is a collection of 118000 words or approx. 390 print pages.

Contains the following stories:

Christmas Gifts
Christmas Shopping with a Broken Heart
The Crappiest Christmas Ever
Christmas Eve at the Purple Owl Café
Driving Home for Christmas
The Bakery on Gloomland Street
Revolt at the North Pole
A Bullet for Father Christmas
Santa’s Sticky Fingers
Nicholas of Hell’s Kitchen
The Tinsel-Free Christmas Tree
Christmas on Iago Prime
Christmas after the End of the World

Length: 118 000 words

List price: 4.99 USD, EUR or 3.99 GBP

Buy it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France, Amazon Netherlands, Amazon Spain, Amazon Italy, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Japan, Amazon India, Amazon Mexico, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, Vivlio, 24symbols and XinXii.

***

So what can you expect from Pegasus Pulp next year? There will be more In Love and War space opera, more sword and sorcery in both the Thurvok and Kurval series, more Two-Fisted Todd adventures, more Helen Shepherd Mysteries, more Alfred and Bertha and lots of other stories.

But for now, I wish you a Merry Christmas or other seasonal holiday, whichever one you may celebrate, as well as a happy, healthy and hopefully better 2021.

Send to Kindle

View more on Cora Buhlert's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 23, 2020 21:51

← Previous 1 2 … 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 … 117 118 Next →

Cora Buhlert's Blog

Cora Buhlert's profile
14 followers

Cora Buhlert isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.