Cora Buhlert's Blog, page 81

New Story Available: Blasters of Forever

It’s time for another new release announcement. While the last new release announcements were all parts of existing series, this story is a true standalone. It’s also something for those of my readers who enjoy the lighter and funnier side of my writing.

Blasters of Forever is another story to come out of the 2017 July short story challenge. One of the big challenges of the July short story challenge project – beyond writing a story every day – is coming up with ideas for a whole month worth of short stories. So I sometimes need a little help to generate story ideas.

And so I found myself looking around the various generator sites on the Internet, while doing the 2017 July short story challenge, and eventually came across something called , which generates names for the sort of toy franchises that come with tie-in cartoons. I played around with the generator and wrote down the best names I got, hoping that one of them would spark the inspiration for a story. In the end, however, I liked the various titles so much that I thought, “Why don’t I use all of them and write a story about someone who writes toy tie-in cartoons for a living?” And this is how Simon St. John and his many creations were born.

Now I have a deep and abiding love for cartoons, particularly for the toy tie-in cartoons of the 1980s. Of course, I know that they were basically just advertising, even though the toys they were advertising often weren’t even available in Europe. What is more, toy tie-in cartoons or indeed almost any kind of action cartoons were hardly ever seen on German TV in the pre-private television era, when only the most harmless and wholesome fare was permitted and even Porky Pig was cancelled as “too violent”. As for cartoons meant to advertise anything, including toys – forget it. That sort of thing was far too commercial and would never have been permitted.

However, in the 1980s my Dad worked in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and lived in an apartment which had cable TV, at a time, when cable TV was still a distant dream at home. Via cable TV, we received about ten different channels, which was a huge number in the three channel world of the pre-private TV era. Four of those channels were Dutch and Belgian TV (mostly dull, but sometimes it had cartoons and music), then we got the regular three German public channels (dull as usual) plus two German language private channels (much better, since they had soap operas and US TV shows).

But the very best TV channel available was the earliest incarnation of Sky, back when it broadcast nothing but music videos, 1960s US TV series and cartoons, lots of cartoons. The cartoons were broadcast in the context of a program called The DJ Kat Show, hosted by Linda de Mol and a puppet called DJ Kat. I loved The DJ Kat Show and in particular, I loved the cartoons. And the best cartoons were the many toy tie-in cartoons such as M.A.S.K., Jem, Transformers, Go-Bots, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra – Princess of Power, Bravestarr, Galaxy Rangers, Defenders of the Earth, Dungeons and Dragons, Thundercats, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony and many others. I already homaged The DJ Kat Show in Cartoony Justice. Blasters of Forever is an homage to the cartoons I loved so much back in the day.

Rewatching some of these cartoons as an adult shows that much of what I loved about them existed merely in my head (and that I totally missed all the hints that many of the characters are gay – well, they had to be, considering how very few women there were), because frankly they are not very well made. The animation is jerky, the stories often make little sense, any depth the characters have existed primarily in my mind and the “morality bits” at the end are as patronising as I remember them. However, you cannot help but admire the enormous inventiveness displayed in stories whose main purpose was selling some pretty silly toys to children.

Regardless of their actual quality, the toy tie-in cartoons I watched as a kid had a huge influence on me and also on my writing. These neon-coloured adventures embedded themselves in my subconscious and bits and pieces of them quite frequently emerge in the stories I write today. And yes, it is kind of embarassing, when you realise that some of your best ideas can be traced to some rather silly cartoons whose main purpose was selling stupid toys. Therefore, Blasters of Forever is also a story about how – to quote Captain Chronos – inspiration can be found in the strangest of places.

Now we are living in an era where we regularly see big budget Hollywood adaptations of things none of us ever expected to see on the big screen, whether it’s a whole series of Transformers movies or the Marvel movies which give even the most obscure superheroes their moment in the spotlight. When they created the Marvel universe in the 1960s, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko et all could never have foreseen that these stories and characters would one day become bid budget movies and that they would break box office records. And whoever created the Transformers probably never expected to see a live action version on the big screen. Just as Simon cannot imagine the lasting impact his own throwaway creations will have.

I’ve noticed that stories about writers and their creations are one of the themes I keep coming back to. After all, I already wrote a story bringing a creator face to face with his creation in the “Crisis” portion of Muse and Crisis. And come to think of it, the Silencer stories also fall under the broad umbrella of stories about the relationship between writers and their creations, except that Richard Blackmore actually is the character he created or at least cosplays as the Silencer to fight crime.

The reunion of Steve, the protagonist of “Crisis”, and his character Channa is exactly a happy one – well, Steve does write dark and gritty comics. Meanwhile, Simon’s meeting with the Blasters of Forever is a much happier and lighter story, even if it is interrupted by a time travelling assassin. But then, the Blasters of Forever come from the generally goofy world of toy tie-in cartoons, where even the villains are not too villainous.

None of the toys and cartoons described in Blasters of Forever ever existed. However, they are not all that different from many that did. 1980s toy tie-in cartoons were full of cyborgs, dinosaurs, time travellers, talking dogs, teen pop stars and characters with very silly names. The voice chips, the colour-changing and transforming action and the infrared targeting were all used in real toys of the period, too. And yes, most of them never really worked as advertised. My lone Transformer has been a sportscar for ages, since no one can figure out how to safely transform him back. Coincidentally, Simon’s magnum opus People on a Bridge never existed either, for which we can be thankful, for it’s easy to imagine just how awful that movie would have been.

Designing a cover for Blasters of Forever was something of a challenge, because 1980s cartoons had a very distinctive look that’s not easy to capture. Luckily, I came across the striking pop art inspired graphics of Valeriy Kachaev, which were perfect for my purpose. The character depicted is clearly Amy Extreme – dancer, cyberneticist and Kung Fu blackbelt – because Felicia Galaxy, the other female member of the Blasters of Forever, is black. The typography and the garish and clashing colours are also inspired by real cartoon logos of the 1980s.

So let’s step back in time and prepare to meet the Blasters of Forever, time cops with superpowers, as they meet their creator and inspiration Simon St. John. But of course, mayhem ensues, for the evil Doctor Chronos never rests…

Blasters of Forever

[image error]1985: Screenwriter Simon St. John makes his living writing toy tie-in cartoons and dreams of finally getting his screenplay “People on a Bridge” produced.

But one night, when Simon has just come up with his latest creation, a group of time travelling cops known as the Blasters of Forever, a portal opens inside his living room. Out of the portal hop none others than the Blasters of Forever or at any rate, people who look very much like them.

The Blasters explain that they are from the future, where Simon is considered not just one of the greatest creative minds of the twentieth century, but also the inspiration for the time travel program that eventually led to the formation of the Blasters of Forever.

However, not just the Blasters of Forever are real. The villainous Doctor Chronos, sworn enemy of the Blasters of Forever, is real as well. And so is his cadre of time travelling assassins.

More information.

Length: 5500 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 iTunes, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, Playster, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

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Remembering Wolfgang Völz (1930 – 2018)

German actor Wolfgang Völz died today aged 87. Here is a video obituary with clips of some of his most famous parts.

Wolfgang Völz was a German TV legend. If you watched TV in Germany at some point in the past sixty years, you have seen Wolfgang Völz and you have definitely heard his voice, because Völz was also a prolific voice actor, lending his distinctive voice to Walter Matthau, Peter Ustinov, Peter Falk, Mel Brooks, Majestix, the Gallic chieftain from the Asterix and Obelix films, as well as dozens of puppet and cartoon characters. It’s certainly fitting that Wolfgang Völz’s last credited role was the voice of God in the 2012 movie Der Gründer (The Founder).

However, the part which I will always associate with Wolfgang Völz is that of Lieutenant Mario de Monti, weapons officer aboard the fast cruiser Orion in the German science fiction series Raumpatrouille – Dia phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffs Orion. In many ways, Mario de Monti was typical of the sort of characters Wolfgang Völz played – the joker, the good friend, the guy you’d want to have a beer with. His wife Roswitha Völz also appeared in Raumpatrouille Orion, by the way, as a dancer in the famous Starlight Casino dance sequences. With Wolfgang Völz’s death, almost the entire Orion cast is gone. The only surviving members of the cast are Thomas Reiner and Friedrich G. Beckhaus, who is the sole survivor of the actual Orion crew, since Thomas Reiner played an earth-based military official.

Raumpatrouille Orion wasn’t Wolfgang Völz’s only foray into the science fiction genre. For in 1979, he lent his voice to the android Otho for the German broadcast of the anime series Captain Future, based on Edmond Hamilton’s eponymous pulp novels of the 1940s. The constant bickering between Otho and the robot Grag, voiced by fellow Orion alumnus Friedrich G. Beckhaus, was a true delight and quite often overshadowed Captain Future, the nominal hero of the series. Both Raumpatrouille Orion and Captain Future (and therefore Wolfgang Völz) are what ignited my love for science fiction, together with the original Star Trek, Star Wars and Time Tunnel. And considering what a prolific voice actor Völz was, I wouldn’t be surprised if his voice turned up somewhere in Star Trek, Star Wars and Time Tunnel as well. Considering that Wolfgang Völz was the German dubbing voice of Mel Brooks, he was very definitely in Space Balls.

But even though I mainly associate Wolfgang Völz with his science fiction roles, he did so much more. Looking at shows that he was literally in everything. In the 1960s, he appeared in the popular crime series Stahlnetz (Steel net) and Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (Count Yoster has the honour), where he played the butler of the crime-busting count. He had a small part in Fritz Lang’s 1960 thriller Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse (The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse), which brought the great body-hopping supervillain Dr. Mabuse into the 1960s. Coincidentally, the Dr. Mabuse films definitely count at least as borderline science fiction, though 1000 Eyes is one of the more subdued ones. Like pretty much every German actor in the 1960s, Wolfgang Völz also appeared in the Edgar Wallace film adaptations, most notably as bumbling Sergeant Higgins in The Green Archer in 1961. Higgins was eventually promoted to inspector and was played by the more classically heroic looking Joachim Fuchsberger from that point on, but Wolfgang Völz lived long enough to portray Sir John, the head of Scotland Yard, in the 2004 Edgar Wallace parody Der Wixxer and its sequel Neues vom Wixxer.

Wolfgang Völz was also strongly associated with children’s television, particularly due to his voice acting work, and appeared in many SFF films and TV shows for kids. He played a pirate in the 1970 Astrid Lindgren adaptation Pipi in Taka-Tuka Land and an aristocratic major in the 2006 film Hui Buh – Das Schlossgespenst (Hui Buh – The Castle Ghost). He voiced the Blue Klabauter in the Pumuckl cartoons, the melancholic sea elephant in the cartoon adaptation of Max Kruse’s Urmel aus dem Eis (Urmel from the Ice) and Yetipletikreti in the cartoon adaptation of Michael Ende’s Jim Knopf and Lukas, the Train Engine Driver.

However, the part with which everybody who was a child in Germany in the 1990s and beyond will associate Wolfgang Völz is that of Käpt’n Blaubär (Captain Bluebear in English), the sailor’s yarn spinning retired sea captain who just happens to be a blue-furred bear. Käpt’n Blaubär was created by writer and cartoonist Walter Moers, but it was the voice of Wolfgang Völz that brought him to life.

I was already out of the children’s TV age by the time Käpt’n Blaubär premiered in Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Show with the Mouse). But considering how beloved the Käpt’n Blaubär character is, almost eclipsing the Mouse itself in fame, it is only fitting to end this post with the following tweet of the Die Sendung mit der Maus Twitter account.

Auf Wiedersehen, Wolfgang Völz. Danke, dass du Käpt‘n Blaubär deine unverwechselbare Stimme gegeben hast. Du wirst immer bei uns sein! #blaubär #diemaus pic.twitter.com/zSwvO5dHXE

— Sendung mit der Maus (@DieMaus) May 4, 2018

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Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for April 2018

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 authors newly published this month, though some March 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, historical fantasy, paranormal mystery, paranormal romance, science fiction romance, space opera, military science fiction, near future science fiction, science fiction mystery, science fantasy, post-apocalyptic fiction, alternate history, horror, weird fiction, non-fiction collections, dragons, knights, dark elves, gargoyles, grim reapers, shifters, superheroes, airships, aliens, mercenaries, yakuza, space mages, mutants, killer plagues, windwalkers, space cops, lovers on the run, foiled weddings, Bonnie and Clyde redeemed, new books by a Hugo finalist, a Nebula finalist and a Kitschies winner 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:

Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures by Alex Acks:

Captain Marta Ramos, the most notorious pirate in the Duchy of Denver, has her hands full between fascinating murder mysteries, the delectable and devious Delilah Nimowitz, Colonel Geoffrey Douglas (the Duke of Denver’s new head of security), a spot of airship engineering and her usual activities: piracy, banditry and burglary. Not to mention the horror of high society tea parties. In contrast, Simms, her second in command, longs only for a quiet life, filled with tasty sausages and fewer explosions. Or does he? Join Captain Ramos, Simms and their crew as they negotiate the perils of air, land and drawing room in a series of fast-paced adventures in a North America that never was.

Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures includes 4 novellas and a short story about piracy, banditry, burglary, jail-breaking, several brilliant bits of detective work and all manner of otherwise lawless hijinks performed by the valiant Captain Ramos and her crew.

Murder on the Titania: Colonel Geoffrey Douglas, the Duke of Denver’s new head of security, is drawn into a high society murder mystery on the Airship Titania. None of the passengers are quite what they seem, including the mysterious young woman who always turns up where she is least expected.

The Curious Case of Clementine Nimowitz (and Her Exceedingly Tiny Dog):

A simple burglary goes horribly awry when Captain Ramos and Simms stumble across a dead body, a small dog and the deceased’s heirs, the noisome Morris and the rather too interesting Delilah.

The Jade Tiger: a mysterious woman enlists Captain Ramos’s aid in getting her revenge on her former employer and Captain Ramos finds herself doing an unintentional good deed.

The Ugly Tin Orrery: Captain Ramos and her crew embark on what appears to be a perfectly ordinary train robbery, only to be drawn into the Duke of Denver’s political machinations via a strange metal artifact. Throw in a spot of jail breaking and an encounter with the lovely Delilah, and it’s all in a day’s work for Captain Ramos and Simms.

The Flying Turk: The Airship Titania is entering a new era and welcoming its first automaton pilot. Or, perhaps not. Captain Ramos and Simms are back aboard the Titania for a heady mix of murder, robbery, peeved scientists and oblivious peers, with a spot of engineering thrown in.

[image error] The Knight’s Secret by Jeffrey Bardwell:

Sir Corbin, the retired Hero of Jerkum Pass, rides for honor, glory, and his pension with the aid of a magic ring. The knight’s mission takes him to the capital of the Iron Empire. The city is in an uproar. The emperor has been slain by rogue mages. The new empress is livid. Soon all mages are suspect . . . including Corbin’s daughter.

When Corbin dies on the eve of the mission, his granddaughter Kelsa dons his armor, his manner, and his face to save her mother. Hidden behind the magic ring, she infiltrates his old regiment. The army has become a slithering nest of vipers. Imperial mages and cavalrymen move warily around each other. Both sides snare the disguised hero in tight coils of suspicion, politics, and lies. When the vengeful empress launches a vendetta against all mage kind, Kelsa must decide whether to save her family or preserve the empire.

Unravel The Knight’s Secret, the first fantasy adventure of The Mage Conspiracy series. Discover a world of lurid entanglements and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword.

Fire Ant by Jonathan P. Brazee:

Floribeth Salinas O’Shae Dalisay is an Off-Planet Worker, employed as an exploration pilot by the giant corporation, Hamdani Brothers. Sent on a routine mission to analyze one of the millions of systems in the galaxy, she stumbles across something that could threaten humanity’s very existence. She barely escapes with her life, but in the process, has to shut down her scout’s AI.

As with all OPWs, she has few rights, and instead of being lauded as a hero, the corporation thinks she is lying. Her managers believe she found something valuable and shut down her AI in an attempt to hide that fact, hoping she can sell that information to the highest bidder. Grounded, and with a huge debt now over her head, Beth has to convince the powers that be that a very real danger to humanity is lying in wait out there in deep space.

C.H.U.D Lives! A Tribute Anthology, edited by Eric S. Brown:

Today’s top Horror and SF authors pay tribute to C.H.U.D. in this anthology of original fiction.

C.H.U.D. is a genre defying, cult classic film featuring monsters living in the sewers below New York. The stories in this anthology expand the world created by the film and add depth to the C.H.U.D. universe like never before. From stories of apocalyptic horror and all out monster action, to tales of underground parties interrupted by uninvited guests and evening strolls that end in death, this anthology will leave you both smiling and breathless.

Relive the fear as these original stories take you beyond the movie to events that occurred before, during, and after the scenes we remember so well.

Includes C.H.U.D. related stories by Jonathan Maberry, Tim Waggoner, JG Faherty, Mort Castle, Michael H. Hanson, Martin Powell, Ben Fisher, Jason White, Chad Lutzke, Ross Baxter, Philip C Perron, David Bernstein, Nick Cato, Alex Laybourne, Christopher Fulbright, Angeline Hawkes, David Robbins, Robert Waters, Greg Mitchell, Ryan C. Thomas, and Eugene Johnson.

With an introduction by David Drake. Compiled by Eric S. Brown.

C.H.U.D. Lives! also features in-depth interviews with Andrew Bonime (producer) and Parnell Hall (screenwriter), as well as never before seen behind-the-scenes photos from the classic 80s horror film.

Vampire Vigilante by Elena Bryce:

A kick-ass heroine and a gargoyle with a stone age view of women

Iona Thorn is an immortal with a gift. She can see into the hearts of man and know exactly how much evil dwells there. But as a Guardian, Iona won’t take a human life, no matter how corrupt they may be. Instead she uses her talents to rid the world of the darker strain of vampires, and L.A. is rife with them.

While battling to hold on to her most treasured possession, a stake that contains a genuine nail of the cross, Iona accidentally awakens a gargoyle. Edrick might share her passion for justice, but he has the manners and instincts of another era, and is determined to protect her, even from herself.

Iona wants to reclaim her holy stake, but the enemy may be too formidable to beat, unless a strapping hunk of stone can be convinced to weigh in. But the longer Edrick remains awake the weaker he gets, and even a rock can break…

[image error] Freedom’s Horizon by Cora Buhlert

Once, Anjali Patel and Mikhail Grikov were soldiers on opposing sides of an intergalactic war. They met, fell in love and decided to go on the run together.

Now Anjali and Mikhail are trying to eke out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

After a run-in with a Republican spy on the rim world of Metra Litko, Anjali and Mikhail need to get off planet fast. So they sign on as security aboard the freighter Freedom’s Horizon, which is supposed to transport a valuable cargo through pirate infested space.

But they have far bigger problems than pirates, for the Republic of United Planets sends no less than three battlecruisers after them, commanded by none other than Colonel Brian Mayhew, Mikhail’s former superior and now their most determined pursuer.

The chase culminates in a stand-off in orbit around Metra Litko, where Anjali and Mikhail have to make a fatal choice. Fight and endanger the innocent crew of the Freedom’s Horizon or surrender and face death and worse at the hands of the Republic.

This is a short novel of 55000 words or approximately 185 print pages in the “In Love and War” series, but may be read as a standalone.

[image error] Double-Cross by Cora Buhlert:

Once, Anjali Patel and Mikhail Grikov were soldiers on opposing sides of an intergalactic war. They met, fell in love and decided to go on the run together.

Now Anjali and Mikhail are trying to eke out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

When they are hired to retrieve a shipment of bootleg medical nanobots, it seems like a routine job at first. But it quickly turns out that they are not the only ones who are after the nanobots. And their client has an agenda of her own.

This is a story of 5100 words or approx. 20 print pages in the “In Love and War” series, but may be read as a standalone.

[image error] Oaths by Lindsay Buroker:

General Ridgewalker Zirkander is getting married.

Sardelle—the woman who’s battled dragons, shamans, and countless enemy soldiers at his side—has accepted his proposal, and it’s the perfect time for a wedding. It’s been two months since any dragons or sorceresses attacked the city, the Cofah haven’t come after their kidnapped emperor, and King Angulus has stopped yelling at Ridge for his inadvertent role in destroying the castle.

Yes, it’s the perfect time for a wedding.

Never mind that the resident dragon who thinks he’s a god is pressuring Ridge to build a temple for him, or that the pirate-turned-scientist Tolemek has disappeared. Or that Ridge’s mother is on the verge of discovering that magic exists and her future daughter-in-law is a sorceress. These are small hiccups, and the wedding will go smoothly. Ridge is sure of it. Really.

Windwalker: Forbidden Flight by H.G. Chambers:

Sixteen-year-old Kiva Fariq has always dreamed of soaring on the four-winged raptors that scour the desert skies. But the windwalker sect is closed off to women. What’s more, it’s said the deadly predators can only be bonded by men.

Undeterred, Kiva attempts the deadly windwalker trials in secret. Should she survive, she will face an even greater challenge: bonding a raptor of her own. When signs of an ancient enemy appear upon the plains, she desires more than ever to protect her people. But the threat is closer than anyone realizes, and will soon bury them all in a tomb of sand and stone—unless she can stop it.

Shards of the Nightmare by Joel Cornah:

They expected her to die within hours of being born, this strange child with blue skin. But she grew; unnatural, wild, curious and defiant.

And then her mother found the Sea-Stone Sword, and her father became a tyrant.

Torn between who she is and who she wants to be, Sini follows her bodyguard into the forgotten lands and the forbidden seas, searching for an answer that the Seers have sought for centuries: how can they defeat a tyrant? How can the Sea-Stone Sword be silenced?

And the answer lies in the Shards of the Nightmare.

Scylla and Charybdis by Lindsey Duncan:

Anaea Carlisle, raised on an isolated space station populated solely by women, believes the rest of the universe has been plunged into anarchy and ruin by an alien-engineered disease known as Y-Poisoning. On a salvage mission, she helps rescue a hypermental named Gwydion who challenges everything she thought she knew.

Forced to flee the station with Gwydion, Anaea finds herself in an inexplicable, often hostile world, permanently divided between the Galactic Collective and the Pinnacle Empire. She longs for some place to call home, but first, she’ll have to survive …

Yesterday’s Spacemage by Timothy Ellis

Pirates and Slavers Beware, the Space Mage is coming for you!

All Thorn wanted, was to be a Battle Mage.

He had the talent, and his whole future was before him.

On the day of Choosing, he finds things don’t always go as planned. Suddenly Thorn’s life is thrown into fast forward, and he finds himself in a world not of his own choosing.

In a world of spaceships and blasters, instead of horses and swords, Thorn needs to adapt and survive, make new allies, and rediscover that although nothing is familiar, he’s still a Mage, and pirates and slavers beware.

Yesterday is history, and today he’s become, Yesterday’s Spacemage.

[image error] The Big Bumper Felapton Digest 2017 by Camestros Felapton:

An exciting compilation of essay, pictures and nonsense from the 2018 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanwriter, Camestros Felapton. Featuring Timothy the Talking Cat and Susan Triceracopter, the collection is a meandering sample of posts from the eponymous blog camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com. Covering topics such as The Last Jedi, Doctor Who and the sureal politics of 2017, the digest is Lancashire hotpot of gravy, potatoes and strange bits of meat in a tasty gravy. Enjoy!

 

Magic After Midnight by C. Gockel:

Magic is real, and Marcia’s life is a fairy tale. Except, according to her stepdaughter, she’s the wicked stepmother. Undermined by a meddling godmother, Marcia is struggling to raise three teenagers in a world of enchantment and monsters. When she’s introduced to a Night Elf who appears half her age, love is the last thing on her mind.

Count Darerick Razvano is a Night Elf–please don’t call him a vampire! Fighting for the survival of his race, he has no time for matters of the heart. When a charming widow inadvertently threatens the Night Elves’ most carefully guarded secret, Darerick must seek Marcia out to save his people.

Marcia’s devoted to get children. Dare’s determined to save his race. They aren’t looking for love, but love might find them.

In a world of monsters, love may save Night Elves and humans alike.

A standalone, slow burn, paranormal romance in the world of I Bring the Fire.

Harriet Walsh: Peace Force by Simon Haynes:

Harriet Walsh is desperate for work, but when an intergalactic crime-fighting organisation offers her a job she’s convinced it’s a mistake. She dislikes puzzles, has never read a detective mystery, and hates wearing uniforms. So why did the Peace Force pick her?

Who cares? Harriet needs the money, and she’s happy to go along with the training for as long as they keep paying her. She’d better dig out some of those detective mysteries though, because she’s about to embark on her first real mission…

Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall:

THE REDEMPTION OF BONNIE AND CLYDE

Saving the working class from a river of greed.

The year is 1935 and the Great Depression has America in a death grip of poverty, unemployment and starvation. But the New Deal is rekindling hope, with federally funded infrastructure projects, like Hoover Dam, putting people back to work. Set to harness the mighty Colorado River for electricity and irrigation, the dam is an engineering marvel and symbol of American can-do spirit.

So, why is someone trying to blow it up?

When an informant on the construction site is murdered, Bonnie and Clyde—spared from their gruesome deaths and forced into a covert life working for the government—are given their second assignment: stop the bomb and protect the thousands of laborers and families in the company town. It’s their most dangerous mission yet: working for a living.

Can the notorious lovers put aside their criminal ways long enough to find out who wants to extinguish the American dream, and hopefully reclaim a shred of redemption along the way?

The thrilling story cuts back and forth between the modern era where a reporter interviews the now-elderly Bonnie Parker, and the dangerous 1930s undercover exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, as they are thrust into a fight to defend the working class against corporate greed.

Dam Nation continues the explosive “what-if” series about two unlikely heroes fighting to defend the working class during America’s Great Depression, a historical thriller with unsettling contemporary parallels.

Kiss of the Demon Girl by Eddie R. Hicks:

Ruthless, foulmouthed, and sometimes drunk. That’s me on a good day. Just imagine what I’m like on a bad day.

My name is Reika. I don’t know who I am anymore other than the following facts:

I’m unlikeable.

I used to be a member of the Yakuza.

I think a succubus has a thing for me.

The police shot me six times.

After my discharge from the hospital I learned that I had the unique talent to control fire. That’s right, a modern day pyromancer. I have no idea where these powers came from, the doctor that worked on me upped and vanished, along with all records of me ever being admitted to the hospital.

That’s when shady people from the shadows began to stalk me, some even had the balls to attack me. Don’t worry, I flambéed them all, I can take care of myself. What I am worried about are the people of New York City. Who’s going to defend them when my war with these shadow people reaches a boiling point?

I don’t want to be a heroine. I just want my life back.

Star Warrior by Isaac Hooke:

In a galaxy where the fabric of reality can be bent and shaped by a privileged few, and almost any skill desired is a mere injection away, one young man is thrust into the fight of his life.

Tane, a hydroponics engineer with some mean crop gene-splicing skills, decides to get chipped. The operation gives him full control over his autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, plus the ability to install custom memories.

All seems well until a couple of days later aliens come knocking at his door. And they aren’t the friendly type.

Soon Tane finds himself on a frenzied flight across the galaxy with a woman who can warp the very fabric of spacetime, her partner–who’d just as soon kill Tane than protect him–and a starship that calls him snarky pet names. He’s on the run not simply from the aliens but the whole damn human space navy.

He only wished he knew why.

Unfortunately for Tane, the answer might just destroy him. Not to mention the entire known universe.

Rectifier – The Electric Man by Brian D. Howard:

Oliver Stewart just wanted to be left alone after his life fell apart. He never expected to be kidnapped by a secret lab and dumped in a mass grave, left for dead as a failed experiment.

Except it didn’t fail.

Now he can control electricity.

When the people he feels most responsible for, some only teenagers, are abducted by the same men in their van, the clock ticks down before they end up dead—or worse.

To save them he’ll have to confront his most shameful mistakes, find the lab to mount an impossible rescue, and pick sides in a vicious gang war with far-reaching implications.

This gritty, must-read adventure is the second book in the After the Crash superhero series but stands alone as a complete story.

Blank Tapes Volume 2: more weird and dangerous tales, edited by Paul Huxley:

‘blank tapes’ returns with 17 new weird and dangerous tales. This is not a typical collection of stories. If you feel discomfort, uneasiness, a sense of disassociation and mild paranoia after reading these stories the publisher cannot be held responsible.

‘blank tapes’ is a challenging and daring mix of poetry, experimental fiction and short stories with dark themes. It is not for the faint of heart, weak of bladder and narrow of mind. Inside you will find missives from the outer parts of human experience, and a few from beyond that, which have slipped through the cracks in reality to find their way into your hands.

Perimeter by David M. Kelly:

PERIMETER – Deceit has no boundaries

Joe Ballen’s working on a new ore-processing platform in the harsh environment around Mercury. When a savage Atoll attack decimates his crew, Joe is injured and must return to Earth to recover. While it’s a setback for the project, at least it means he can rebuild his relationship with his wife after nearly a year away.

But then the security forces come calling. Vital starship engineering files are missing, and without them Earth has no hope of escaping Atoll domination. Someone has to locate the files, and Ballen is bulldozed into the not-so-choice assignment.

But he’s not the only one in the hunt. As Joe struggles to find the data, he becomes tangled up in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. It’s a journey that will take him to the perilous depths of space, where no one is quite what they seem. Can old enemies ever make good allies? And can Joe trust even the people closest to him?

Ballen’s back in another action-packed sci-fi noir thriller, guaranteed to keep you turning the pages.

Blood Lore by Erme Lander:

You are always welcome to come home… aren’t you?

“The saw rasped against bone and Mika clenched her jaw as her own teeth remembered the red stained ivory sliding beneath them. A crack of powerful muscles and the marrow laid bare. Ears back, eyes hooded – watching. She knows the man will die on the table.”

After five years of hard study, Mika has achieved the rank of Journeyman Medici. Few know that she is a girl pretending to be a boy in the male dominated world of Ackbarr. Far fewer know of the animal concealed beneath her skin.

Searching for any knowledge of her kind, she is determined to travel back to Cassai. The forests of her childhood are seductive, calling to the memories buried deep within but she discovers that her world has moved on without her. Or maybe it never was as she remembers.

The events in this book take place about five years after those in “The Lion of Ackbarr.”

Book One of The Medici Chronicles

Grim Tempest by Amanda M. Lee:

Life should be good for Aisling Grimlock. She’s engaged to a great guy, she’s getting the hang of being a reaper, and her rich father spoils her rotten on a regular basis. All that changes when a series of storms hit and the Michigan populace starts turning downright dangerous.

The streets are running with blood as people turn on one another for no good reason and the hospital is filling up with the sick and injured. That’s on top of the ones who are dying in terrible fashion … and leaving nothing but angst in their wake.

Right from the beginning, Aisling is convinced the storms are magical in origin. Of course, because she’s prone to theatrical fits, no one believes her … until the storms hit a little too close to home and Aisling herself is in danger from the one person she trusts above all others.

As a cop, Griffin Davenport is used to putting his life on the line. What he’s not comfortable with is being a threat to the people he’s supposed to be helping. The storms, you see, don’t affect reapers but those they love are in a heap of danger.

Aisling is determined to find the source of the storms, even if it leads to someone in her own family. She’s willing to claw, scratch and fight until the danger is eliminated. She’s also willing to whine, cajole and beg if it means she gets her way.

A big fight is coming, and it will be under a cloudy sky. Will the Grimlocks live to reap another day or have they finally found an enemy that’s big enough to take them out?

Suicide Run by Nathan Lowell:

A new ship. A young crew.

A dream job gone horribly wrong.

When circumstances drive Zoya and Natalya to accept an offer from the most powerful organization in the Western Annex, it looks like their ship – literally – comes in. The job fails to live up to its promise and the pair soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a booby trapped ship and its unseen master.

Will they unmask their enemies and survive their Suicide Run?

Of Blood and Ashes by Kyoko M.

The world’s deadliest dragon, the infamous Baba Yaga, is loose on the streets of Tokyo.

Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali have been tasked with helping the government take down a dragon the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex after it sends part of the city up in flames. Things worsen when they lose track of dragon in none other than Aokigahara, the Suicide Forest–a section of woods in Japan that is rumored to be one of the most haunted places on earth. They’ve also got the yakuza who cloned the dragon hellbent on getting her back, and they don’t care who they kill in order to re-capture the dragon.

Jack and Kamala are joined by CIA field agent William Fry and dragon-hunting expert Juniper Snow as they infiltrate the forest to hunt the dragon before she can hurt anyone else. Between the ruthless yakuza hot on their trail and the growing mistrust in their small hunting party, it will take a miracle for Jack and Kamala to make it out alive…

Of Blood and Ashes is the second book in the series, following the Amazon bestselling Of Cinder and Bone.

hypnoSnatch by Trisha McNary:

Is it love, or is it alien abduction?

A young human, Antaska, encounters love and its dark side while traveling in outer space with her psychic cat and a giant alien. Mischievous but evil part-reptile humanoids team up with Antaska’s nemesis, a genetically enhanced fitness instructor, to take revenge on her to the ends of the universe. But her unexpected kidnapping spoils their plans.

Relationships can be complicated, especially between different species. A fast-paced dark comedy set one million years in the future.

Alien Pets, formerly Pets and Masters in Space, is the prequel to this book.

Misfortune of Song by Christy Nicholas:

~ Even a soldier cannot fight love ~

In 12th century Ireland, all Maelan wants is to do his duty to his Chief and maintain his family’s good name. However, his granddaughter Orlagh, is hell bent on wreaking havoc, with no care for the consequences

When Orlagh falls in love with an itinerant bard, Maelan must rule with an iron fist to keep her from running away. However, her rebellion against his strictures results in disaster and he almost loses her in the same way he lost his beloved wife.

Maelan must make some difficult decisions and bargains with the Fae to save his granddaughter’s life and future. Can he save her happiness as well?

Emergent by Michael S. Nuckols

An emergent artificial intelligence immobilizes the world’s computers on the same day that a genetically-modified influenza virus begins killing millions. Is it war? Or something worse?

At his new job with a Seattle biotech company, Ridley Pierce refuses to use artificial intelligence to code software for synthetic organs. Fuzzy calculations,sweeping assumptions, and infinite loops can kill. What Ridley doesn’t know is that an AI is already in control and his parents are among its first victims.

Can Ridley rescue the digital world before society collapses? Or, has the Information Age already been lost to history?

The Lunar Deception by T.E. Olivant:

Alya has anxiety issues. Well, so do a lot of people. But not everyone explodes their enemies when they lose control.

Alya is a Geep, a mutant. Her genes were contaminated by an accident on the moon. This gives her extraordinary powers, but it also makes her a threat.

Determined to discover the secret of the contamination, Alya takes a position in the Lunar University. Unfortunately, the Continuum controls the moon, and it doesn’t like Geeps. There’s nothing the organisation would like better than to wipe out Alya’s people completely. But Alya is not about to let that happen.

Section 12 by Krista Street:

To save them, she’ll risk everything.

The last time Dr. Meghan Forester saw Davin and the other infected Kazzies, she made a heart-wrenching choice. Now, her new life is filled with loneliness.

Trying to carry on while Davin and her friends are held captive on Reservation 1, Meghan begins a daunting position at Compounds 10 and 11 in Washington state. There, she is thrust into a challenging new world with a handsome assistant as her guide.

But Meghan refuses to abandon her friends, so when reports surface of atrocities being committed within Reservation 1, she returns to South Dakota and discovers the only way to save Davin and her friends is to face her old enemy. An enemy who will stop at nothing to keep the Kazzies contained, even if that means taking a life.

Alliance Stars by Michael Wallace:

Captain Jess Tolvern of HMS Blackbeard is leading a Royal Navy expedition across long-dormant space lanes toward Old Earth when an alien fleet ambushes her battle cruiser. The aliens are Adjudicators, an ancient race whose ethos is to judge other species and reduce their survivors to a stone age existence.

Tolvern sends a desperate message back to headquarters and retreats with her damaged ship to friendly systems. By the time she returns, the aliens have already invaded Alliance territory with a powerful fleet of star fortresses and accompanying dragoon ships, trapping and laying siege to the allied fleet.

While repairing her ship, Tolvern cobbles together a squadron of damaged allied warships, former raiders, and the local survivors of an Adjudicator attack to drive off the alien fleet.

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Indie Crime Fiction of the Month for April 2018

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 speculative fiction by indie authors newly published this month, though some March 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, international mysteries, British mysteries, YA mysteries, paranormal mysteries, science fiction mysteries, steampunk mysteries, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, legal thrillers, romantic suspense, spy fiction, lawyers, spies, traitors, gunrunners, stalkers, serial killers, school shooters, grim reapers, the Greek mafia, innocents in prison, foiled weddings, murder on theatre stages, aboard airships and in outer space, spy action in the Middle East, crime in Las Vegas, Chicago, Alaska and Greece 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 on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures by Alex Acks:

Captain Marta Ramos, the most notorious pirate in the Duchy of Denver, has her hands full between fascinating murder mysteries, the delectable and devious Delilah Nimowitz, Colonel Geoffrey Douglas (the Duke of Denver’s new head of security), a spot of airship engineering and her usual activities: piracy, banditry and burglary. Not to mention the horror of high society tea parties. In contrast, Simms, her second in command, longs only for a quiet life, filled with tasty sausages and fewer explosions. Or does he? Join Captain Ramos, Simms and their crew as they negotiate the perils of air, land and drawing room in a series of fast-paced adventures in a North America that never was.

Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures includes 4 novellas and a short story about piracy, banditry, burglary, jail-breaking, several brilliant bits of detective work and all manner of otherwise lawless hijinks performed by the valiant Captain Ramos and her crew.

Murder on the Titania: Colonel Geoffrey Douglas, the Duke of Denver’s new head of security, is drawn into a high society murder mystery on the Airship Titania. None of the passengers are quite what they seem, including the mysterious young woman who always turns up where she is least expected.

The Curious Case of Clementine Nimowitz (and Her Exceedingly Tiny Dog):

A simple burglary goes horribly awry when Captain Ramos and Simms stumble across a dead body, a small dog and the deceased’s heirs, the noisome Morris and the rather too interesting Delilah.

The Jade Tiger: a mysterious woman enlists Captain Ramos’s aid in getting her revenge on her former employer and Captain Ramos finds herself doing an unintentional good deed.

The Ugly Tin Orrery: Captain Ramos and her crew embark on what appears to be a perfectly ordinary train robbery, only to be drawn into the Duke of Denver’s political machinations via a strange metal artifact. Throw in a spot of jail breaking and an encounter with the lovely Delilah, and it’s all in a day’s work for Captain Ramos and Simms.

The Flying Turk: The Airship Titania is entering a new era and welcoming its first automaton pilot. Or, perhaps not. Captain Ramos and Simms are back aboard the Titania for a heady mix of murder, robbery, peeved scientists and oblivious peers, with a spot of engineering thrown in.

A Staged Death by A.G. Barnett

When showbiz gets ugly…

The world of showbiz comes to Bexford when the new series of hit TV show Foul Murder is launched there. Soon, life imitates art as a murder is committed, live on stage.

Luckily, Detective Sergeant Guy Poole and Detective Inspector Sam Brock are in the audience to take charge of the scene.

When it becomes clear that one of their own is the prime suspect, they are determined to help prove his innocence, no matter how annoying he is.

The Gate House Secret by Debra Burroughs:

Reporter Jenessa Jones’ wedding is right around the corner…until her nemesis Grey Alexander digs up an explosive, long-buried secret and threatens to expose it unless she calls off the wedding.

Feisty Jenessa is determined to fight to keep her skeletons buried, but soon she is rocked to the core when a scandalous murder puts her entire future in jeopardy…not to mention her life. Can she uncover the killer, hold on to her fiancé, and make it to the altar alive?

 

Blind Justice by Nathan Burrows:

Gareth Dawson is an innocent man. Not a murderer. His main problem is that the British justice system doesn’t agree with him.

He might be a reformed thief guilty of many things in his past, but not murder. In the space of a few short months, he’s gone from being married to the woman of his dreams to facing a life sentence.

Inside Her Majesty’s Prison Whitemoor, a Category A prison in Cambridgeshire, Gareth’s got all the time in the world to go over the events that led to the guilty verdict. The guilty verdict which cost him everything in the world that he loved. His dignity. His freedom. His wife.

Gareth is approached by a lawyer, Paul Dewar, who claims to have information that will vindicate Gareth. But is it enough to set him free? As threats against Gareth increase on the inside, Paul Dewar’s challenge, and Gareth’s fight for freedom, begins.

Against All Odds by Stacy Claflin:

Betrayals. Secrets. Tragedy.

It started as a day like any other for Alex Mercer. Then he heard the news. Something that only happens in other places is happening in his hometown.

Just a few miles away at his daughter’s middle school, a shooter is on the loose. Alex does what every other parent in town does—he races to the school to find out if his loved ones are safe.

His world falls apart around him, and he can’t turn to his best friend because they’re both dealing with scathing terror.

As the motive behind the shooting comes to light, secrets and betrayals spiral out of control.

Will Alex give into old temptations in the face of the current situation, or will he be able to move past everything and help those he loves the most?

No Direction Home by John Ellsworth:

Michael Gresham is the lawyer you’d want to call about a crime. Especially if you were guilty…

Visana, proudly packing away her brand new medical license, leaves for Iraq. She has accepted a medical mission to the Kurds. After landing in Baghdad, her driver heads north toward Kirkuk. For six straight months, Visana treats maimed and burned children who wandered into the path of the war. Saddam Hussein’s soldiers are now in charge. And they are looking for her. Baghdad knows she’s there, knows she’s a doctor, and wants to use her in the war to treat Saddam Hussein’s soldiers. Or so they say.

But once she’s in their grasp, her whole world turns upside-down. Hussein uses her to commit crimes more horrible that any she’d ever imagined. Meanwhile, outside the walls of the clinic, the war rages. After six months of back-and-forth fighting, the American Army gains control of Kirkuk. Visana is released from the horror of her captivity. But she is a broken woman with no idea how to fix herself. Using every resource she can muster, she is on a jet bound for Chicago by the next evening. Home has never looked better: a place to rest and weep and start to heal.

Instead, one afternoon as she’s walking along Michigan Avenue, she is arrested. The U.S. Army is charging her with war crimes. If she’s convicted she will be put to death–the Army prosecutors make that very clear. There can be no forgiveness.

Her family knows nothing about lawyers in Chicago, especially criminal lawyers. But then, “Several years ago,” her grandfather tells her, “there was a lawyer here who never lost. His name was Gresham.”

Michael Gresham gets the call. Visana has tracked him down. She tells him her story. He has never heard of such horror before, but he agrees to help.

And why not? He believes she’s actually innocent.

As innocent as they ever are.

Winter City Wolf Moon by Elvis English:

When the bodies of two young Alaska Native women are discovered along the banks of Ship Creek, and their deaths are ruled “accidental” and “undetermined” by police, burned out gumshoe Lewis Bocarde, well-acquainted with life on the gritty streets of Anchorage, senses something sinister rising. Allied with a suicidal social worker named Grace and a street-savvy group of indigenous contrarians, Bocarde races to discover what flocks of ravens already know.

And to thaw the frantic screams frozen in the snow.

 

Harriet Walsh: Peace Force by Simon Haynes:

Harriet Walsh is desperate for work, but when an intergalactic crime-fighting organisation offers her a job she’s convinced it’s a mistake. She dislikes puzzles, has never read a detective mystery, and hates wearing uniforms. So why did the Peace Force pick her?

Who cares? Harriet needs the money, and she’s happy to go along with the training for as long as they keep paying her. She’d better dig out some of those detective mysteries though, because she’s about to embark on her first real mission…

Betrayal by Ethan Jones

A hero, sent out as a mark. Who’s behind the betrayal?

Spies on the hunt.

A traitor in their midst.

Suspicions are high and time is short.

Who is behind the betrayal?

Spy Master Javin wants to eliminate two terrorist masterminds, but he’s not the only one looking for them. When the mission suspiciously goes awry, his team is now forced into a dubious alliance with Mossad and the infamous Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Pursuing the terrorists deep into hostile Saudi Arabia, they not only discover an assassination plot that could topple the Saudi kingdom, but also suspect a traitor has infiltrated their team. Who is behind this betrayal? With suspicions high and time short, can Javin and Claudia unmask the traitor and stop the assassination plot before the Middle East is plunged into an all-out war?

Good Crime by Alex A. King:

Have Greek car, will travel?

The bad news:

Kat Makris’ car just went up in flames.

The good news:

Kat has a new …

Well, it’s not technically a car, but it could be if she squints and ignores the braying.

Kat is going nowhere fast on her new mode of transport, but the world is changing shape around her. Dad is thinking of selling her childhood home; the devastatingly sexy Detective Nikos Melas is no longer speaking to her; and scrumptious Xander, double agent, has been keeping his distance.

The ground under her feet lurches sideways again when the Godfather of the Night himself, Baby Dimitri, rocks up to the family compound, begging for sanctuary. An old enemy has clawed his way out of the grave. He wants Baby Dimitri dead. He wants Grandma dead. Basically he wants everyone dead. And he wants them to do their dying to the beat of a 1980s soundtrack.

With a funeral to orchestrate, a long-neglected filing cabinet to sort through, and a KGB agent’s familiar flunkies following her every move, Kat doesn’t want to get involved.

Until Grandma’s kidnapping leaves her with no other choice.

Grim Tempest by Amanda M. Lee:

Life should be good for Aisling Grimlock. She’s engaged to a great guy, she’s getting the hang of being a reaper, and her rich father spoils her rotten on a regular basis. All that changes when a series of storms hit and the Michigan populace starts turning downright dangerous.

The streets are running with blood as people turn on one another for no good reason and the hospital is filling up with the sick and injured. That’s on top of the ones who are dying in terrible fashion … and leaving nothing but angst in their wake.

Right from the beginning, Aisling is convinced the storms are magical in origin. Of course, because she’s prone to theatrical fits, no one believes her … until the storms hit a little too close to home and Aisling herself is in danger from the one person she trusts above all others.

As a cop, Griffin Davenport is used to putting his life on the line. What he’s not comfortable with is being a threat to the people he’s supposed to be helping. The storms, you see, don’t affect reapers but those they love are in a heap of danger.

Aisling is determined to find the source of the storms, even if it leads to someone in her own family. She’s willing to claw, scratch and fight until the danger is eliminated. She’s also willing to whine, cajole and beg if it means she gets her way.

A big fight is coming, and it will be under a cloudy sky. Will the Grimlocks live to reap another day or have they finally found an enemy that’s big enough to take them out?

Chicago Creed by Stuart Matthews:

She took an oath to uphold the law, but oaths can be broken.

Chicago PD Detective Shannon Rourke is falling apart, but by now, she’s used to it.

Her misfortune, however, has infected the people she loves. Her boyfriend worries she’s concealing a dark secret, and his daughter is tormented by memories of a deranged serial killer–who targeted the girl because of Shannon.

She needs a break from work before she snaps, but her problems have to wait when she’s called to a puzzling crime scene on Chicago’s deadly West Side. With a killer dropping fresh corpses every day, she fights to keep her demons shackled while she goes on the hunt. A single misstep could turn her misfortune into deadly tragedy–not only for herself, but for the family she loves.

The Dead Woman by Jennifer Samson:

Secrets can kill …

Tim Kelly makes a deal with Mexican gunrunners that will bring him much-needed cash and improve his standing in Vegas’ criminal underworld. Then he gets stiffed, and the only person with an explanation isn’t talking.

Lupe Delgado is on the run from a powerful cartel and her only goal is to put distance between her and the man who wants her dead. Her escape is thwarted when she ends up in Tim’s hands.

Tim offers an exchange: information on the location of his weapons shipment for Lupe’s freedom. Lupe reluctantly agrees to help Tim, but refuses to tell him why she fled Mexico.

When hitmen arrive in town, Tim and Lupe take the fight to Mexico. Surrounded by enemies, Lupe must reveal her secret if they’re going to survive – and it’s one the cartel will kill to keep.

Because… Anonymous by Diana L. Sharples:

It’s tough to be a good guy … when everyone thinks you’re a stalker.

On the run from an abusive father, Noah Dickerson is supposed to be lying low and staying out of trouble.

Mistake #1, falling in with a group of anime fans who aren’t as harmless as they seem.

Mistake #2, crushing on a beautiful girl who isn’t fooled by Noah’s good looks and charm.

Mistake #3, being in the wrong place when she receives threatening notes in her locker.

But the biggest mistake, Noah learns, was when his mother escaped North Carolina with him. Because, it turns out, transporting a minor over state lines in the middle of the night is a felony.

Secrets and Lies by Rachel Sinclair:

A young billionaire, Silas Porter, is accused of murdering his socialite wife, Ava.

Damien takes the case, not knowing the real reason why Silas, CEO of Porter Enterprises, an international tech firm, is so determined that he represent him. Him, and only him.

As Damien digs deeper into the case, he realizes that nothing and nobody are as they seem. After finding out Silas’ deep, dark secrets, Damien attempts to withdraw from the case. But there’s no way that he’s going to let him drop his case so easily.

By the time the trial rolls around, Damien doesn’t know if he’s coming or going with his client. Then a surprise witness emerges that tosses everything on its head.

With a surprise twist that you’ll never see coming, and the twists and turns that you’ve come to expect from a Damien Harrington Legal Thriller, Secrets and Lies is not to be missed!!!

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Open Thread for File 770 Refugees

File 770 is having ISP problems, so if the site goes down again, here is an open thread/substitute gathering place for File 770 refugees.

The comment setting is so that every poster must have a previously approved comment. I’m not always at the computer, so be patient if I don’t get to your comment right away.

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Some Reactions to the 2018 Hugo Award Finalists

For my own take on the 2018 Hugo Award finalists as well as the 1943 Retro Hugo Awards finalists, go here. Meanwhile, reactions from around the Internet are trickling in, though the debate seems rather muted this year, compared to the last five years (yes, there were intense debates about the merits of the Hugo finalists even before the puppy years). Mostly, people are just happy that we have a very good Hugo ballot that is entirely free of puppy poo.

This is more or less the tenor of Joe Sherry’s post about the 2018 Hugo finalists at the Hugo-nominated fanzine nerds of a feather. He’s really happy about the overall high quality of the finalists as well as happy about the nominations for nerds of a feather as well as for fellow nerds of a feather contributor Charles Payseur in the best fanwriter category.

At Dreaming About Other Worlds, Aaron Pound also shares his thoughts on the 2018 Hugo finalists and is happy to have a strong and puppy-free ballot. He also weighs in about the new YA Award and the insistence on stressing that it is “not a Hugo Award”, even though to most fans and voters there won’t be much of a difference.

In his post at Patreon, Aidan Moher is also pleased with the overally high quality of the 2018 Hugo ballot with some reservations. One is that Aidan Moher is not happy with the best fanzine nomination for Rocket Stack Rank following some controversies in the past year and wishes Quick Sip Reviews had been nominated instead. Never mind that Charles Payseur of Quick Sip Reviews has been nominated for best fanwriter, so it’s not as if he’s been forgotten. Not to mention that there is room for more than one (or even more than two, for that matter) SFF short fiction review sites. Besides, even though the approach of Rocket Stack Rank and Quick Sip Reviews to reviewing short fiction is very different, both do good work and both are valuable resources that complement each other well. And coincidentally, I disagree with both of their reviews much of the time, because tastes differ. That’s precisely why it’s important to have more short fiction review sites.

Another issue that Aidan Moher raises is that of repeat nominees, i.e. that the same names keep showing up on the Hugo shortlist year after year after year. Now repeat nominees are definitely is an issue, though it’s far from a new phenomenon, but instead one we’ve been seeing for more than thirty years now. Mike Resnick got at least one nomination per year for twenty years or more. Michael Whelan practically owned the best pro artist category in the 1980s and early 1990s. Hell, best fanwriter was a two person race between David Langford and Mike Glyer for approx. twenty years. I also think everybody can name one or two finalists (not necessarily the same finalists) in any given year that you personally suspect were nominated more because their fanbase will nominate anything they produce and less on the strength of this particular work. For example, I was a bit surprised that The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi made the ballot, for while the book is perfectly fine and enjoyable, I don’t find it particularly outstanding. There are more interesting and innovative space operas out there, but Scalzi is popular with the Hugo electorate. And while I like a lot of Seanan McGuire’s work, I have to admit that the Wayward Children series just doesn’t do it for me like it evidently does for others. And then of course, there is the annual nomination for whatever Doctor Who episode is eligible that year. Though the Doctor Who dominance has receded compared to previous years (there was one year where the best dramatic presentation ballot consisted of four Doctor Who episodes and one episode of something else, which I disliked, so I wound up ranking four episodes of a show I had already given up on) and it’s been a while since the good Doctor has been able to win the category. Just as we regularly see new names and also a churn of established names in categories like best fan writer, best fan artist, best pro artist, best semiprozine and best fanzine, which used to be dominated by the same names year after year after year.

And besides, many people continue to do good work year after year. Should we not nominate them, because they’ve been nominated before, if we honestly think they are the best choice for the category in question? There are names I nominate year after year as well, because I simply like their work a whole lot and because I honestly think they are among the five best in the respective category. Though I also have to admit that when I have a choice between someone who has had plenty of Hugo nominations before and someone who has never been nominated, I tend to go with the new voice, all else being equal.

Talking of new voices, at the Singapore Straits Times, Toh Wen Li celebrates the two Singaporean Hugo finalists, J.Y. Yang and Vina Jie-Min Prasad, who has a great Cyberpunk story in Uncanny this month. The Straits Times also has a nice double review of J.Y. Yang’s Hugo nominated novella The Black Tides of Heaven and its sister novella The Red Threads of Fortune.

The Indian site Scroll.in celebrates the two Indian Hugo finalists, Mimi Mondal, who is nominated in the best related work category, and Gautam Bhatia, who’s on the staff of Strange Horizons.

Meanwhile, the Australian publishing news site Books + Publishing focusses on the various Australians nominated for the Hugo Awards this year. Initially they forgot Camestros Felapton and best fan artist nominee Mia Serreno a.k.a. Likhain, but they’ve been added in a corrected version of the article.

At the Washington Post, Michael Cavna focusses on the best graphic story category and profiles Emil Ferris, artist/author of My Favourite Thing Is Monsters, ironically the lone nominee on the best graphic story shortlist I am entirely unfamiliar with. Turns out that Emil Ferris is female in spite of the name.

Meanwhile, over at the puppy camp, there is resounding silence regarding the 2018 Hugo finalists. I checked out a lot of puppy blogs, but there’s nothing. It seems that the puppies have all moved on to the Dragon Awards or the Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance Book of the Year Award (for which you can vote here) or the Planetary Awards. They are also happily proclaiming the impending pulp revolution. This is a good thing, because it means that the movement formerly known as sad and rabid puppies is finally doing something constructive and building up their own structures rather than trying to hijack and take over someone else’s. Plus, this is the first year of Hugo voting where I finally have a ballot completely free of puppy poo to vote on. Yes, there are still nominees I’ll probably no award, but that’s because I dislike these works that many other people evidently like, not because the puppies or anybody else for that matter cheated them onto the ballot.

Though Camestros Felapton, most worthy nominee in the best fan writer category, did uncover some puppy activity after all on Facebook, where I don’t have a account and therefore cannot see it. Because it seems that Larry Correia – the man who started it all, when he lost the Campbell Award to Lev Grossman back in 2011 and couldn’t come to terms with the fact that the Hugo electorate liked another writer more than him – is bitching on Facebook that the 2018 Hugo shortlist is an April’s Fool joke, because it is full of Tor books, women, writers of colour and people and works puppies don’t like, that people are nominating works based on the author’s gender, race or sexual orientation and not because they actually like them and that the Hugos are only good for academics trying to get tenure anyway. Oh yes, and the Hugos, WorldCon and Tor are doomed. In short, it’s more or less the same stuff we’ve heard from that crowd before. Camestros had some highlights here, while Larry Correia’s original post and the comments may be found here.

As usual, the puppy arguments are easy to debunk. As for Tor’s supposed dominance, as pointed out in my original Hugo post, Tor or more precisely Tor.com Publishing only dominates in the novella category for obvious reasons, because Tor.com Publishing’s novella line is the biggest market for novellas around. Some magazines do accept novellas and indeed Uncanny could get one nominated, and of course, writers can always self-publish them. However, magazine and self-published novellas are competing both with Tor.com Publishing’s marketing dollars as well as with the very high quality of their novella line. If you’re an indie, you really have to be someone of the calibre of Lois McMaster Bujold to even get noticed.

Meanwhile, Orbit actually dominates the best novel category, but then a few pups have noticed by now that Orbit a) exists and b) that they hate it, too, which is progress, I guess. Meanwhile, the short fiction categories are a mixed bag with Uncanny winning six nominations (plus best editor and best semiprozine), Tor.com and Clarkesworld winning two each and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex and Asimov’s winning one each. But then, the puppies have decided that they hate Uncanny, too. Best series is another mixed bag with two nominations for Tor, and one each for DAW, Broadway Books, Nightshade and Harper Voyager. The YA Not-a-Hugo Award is yet another mixed bag with one nomination each for Viking Press (owned by Penguin Random House Bertelsmann), Harper Teen, Alfred J. Knopf (also owned by Penguin Random House Bertelsmann), Big Mouth House (operated by Small Beer Press), Henry N. Abrams Books (operated by Hachette) and a small press/self-published book. So in short, the alleged dominance of Tor/Macmillan/Holtzbrinck is very much a fiction outside the novella category.

As for the “But what about the poor white menz?” complaints, I already addressed this point here one and a half year ago. The short version is, it took fifteen years for the first woman writer to win a Hugo in a fiction category and seventeen years for the first writers of colour to win a Hugo in a fiction category. A few years in a row of Hugo shortlists and winners that are majority female don’t change this balance. Maybe, after fifteen years of only women winning Hugos, the men can start whining.

Besides, there are men, some of them even straight and white, on the 2018 Hugo shortlist. Looking at the fiction categories alone, there are John Scalzi, Kim Stanley Robinson, Yoon Ha Lee, K.M. Szpara, Robert Jackson Bennett, Brandon Sanderson, Sam J. Miller and Philip Pullman. All of them are male and all but one are white. However, the problem of our canine friends is not so much that there are no male Hugo finalists, but that the wrong men got nominated. The puppies’ IMO inexplicable hatred for John Scalzi is well documented, Yoon Ha Lee, K.M. Szpara and Sam J. Miller are all LGBT writers, Kim Stanley Robinson is an environmentalist, Philip Pullman is known to be highly critical of organised religion. Okay, so I have no idea what their objection to Robert Jackson Bennett and Brandon Sanderson could be, especially since Sanderson’s bestselling fantasy series should be right up their alley.

As for the puppies’ insistence that people nominate and vote for women, writers of colour and LGBT writers as a form of virtue signalling and not because they genuinely like those works, Hugo voters across the board have repeatedly been saying that they nominated and voted for the works they liked. I certainly have been nominating only works I like and my Hugo ballot has been full of women, writers of colour and LGBT writers these past four years. However, I have also nominated Tim Powers, a white conservative Catholic man, because I love his fiction. However, as has been amply demonstrated, the puppies have problems accepting that tastes differ and that other people might genuinely love works that they dislike. Hell, there are works on the Hugo shortlist that I don’t particularly care for or outright dislike, but enough people apparently felt differently and so those works made the shortlist.

As for the claim, that authors are using Hugo nominations and wins to persuade universities to hire them for teaching positions and/or give them tenure, as was extensively discussed in the comments at Camestros’ post, university hiring committees usually don’t care about the genre fiction or the Hugo Awards and may not even know what the Hugos are. A literary award might help an author to nab a university job, a genre award won’t. Besides, there only is a single author on the 2018 Hugo shortlist who is a university professor in a field related to writing and literature, namely Nnedi Okorafor. All other authors on the shortlist don’t work in academia and aren’t currently applying for any teaching positions.

Meanwhile Jon Del Arroz’s Happy Frogs site has put out its Hugo voting recommendations. It’s obvious that his picks aren’t even remotely serious, since he intensely dislikes many of the people he recommends, but then recommending works and people you hate for Hugo Awards is a thing among the remnants of the puppy movement – Vox Day did it last year as well and recommended N.K. Jemisin. Apparently they think that if people they hate win Hugos, it will devalue the award or something. And no, I don’t get it either. And just in case there was any doubt regarding the Happy Frogs slate, Jon Del Arroz has also posted a video in which he shares his thoughts on the 2018 Hugo finalists. That is, he mostly mocks the Hugo finalists’ names, complains that there are too many women and that he hasn’t heard of most nominees and generally displays his complete and utter ignorance of pretty much everything. He also feels offended and persecuted by commenters at File 770 yet again. Nonetheless, his Hugo picks are actually pretty good, but then we do have a really good ballot this year, so even if you picked your first choice at random, you have a high chance of hitting something good.

Comments are closed – puppies and frogs whine elsewhere.

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A Triple New Release and Some Thoughts on Cozy Space Opera

Now that the excitement caused by the triple whammy of Easter, Passover and the announcement of the 2018 Hugo Finalists has died down somewhat, I have an announcement of my own to make. And it’s a big announcement, because I have not one but three new In Love and War stories to announce, two short stories and one short novel.

The first of the two short stories isn’t quite that new, because it has been available as part of the anthology The Guardian for a while now. However, if you want a standalone edition, here is your chance.

Like Dreaming of the Stars and Graveyard Shift, Baptism of Fire is a prequel to the In Love and War series proper, though it is listed as Part 2 at most vendors, because they don’t support prequels very well.

With Baptism of Fire, there now are three prequel stories to the In Love and War series, because I like showing who Anjali and Mikhail were before they became the people they are today. In Dreaming of the Stars, we meet them both as teenagers and learn what drove them both to join their respective militaries. The next two stories focus on their respective military careers. We’ve already briefly seen Mikhail as an operative of the Republican Special Commando Forces in Graveyard Shift, though he’s only a supporting character in that story. In Baptism of Fire, we now see Anjali as a young cadet with the Shakyri Corps.

If you’ve read some or all of the In Love and War stories, you know that it isn’t exactly a conventional space opera series, let alone conventional military SF. In Love and War is basically the story of two people who decide to run away from the typical space opera/military SF plot, in this case an endless intergalactic intergalactic war. Only that the plot keeps coming after them, trying to drag them back. In fact, as mentioned here, the In Love and War series was born out of frustration, because after the third or fourth time of running into a science fiction plot featuring a couple that couldn’t be together because of reasons, I got very sick of the whole thing and wished they’d just run away together to become space pirates or intergalactic outlaws or open a restaurant on a far away planet or something. However, space opera and military SF characters don’t normally run away from the plot, no matter how logical that would be, so I had to write that story myself.

However, while the In Love and War series isn’t conventional space opera or military SF, Baptism of Fire is as close as it probably comes to that. After all, the story was deliberately written to attract new readers to the In Love and War series, many of whom may well prefer a more traditional adventure in space. And so the story follows Anjali as a seventeen-year-old cadet on her very first mission with the Shakyri Corps, where things go of course disastrously wrong. We also meet Anjali’s commanding officer Captain Vikram as well as fellow recruit and later Anjali’s good friend (and he’s really just that, no matter how much Mikhail might suspect otherwise), Anil Golkhari. Both characters will probably appear again in future In Love and War stories.

Baptism of Fire

[image error]Cadet Anjali Patel had hoped for something more exciting than guard duty for her first mission with the legendary Shakyri Expeditionary Corps, the best fighters in the Empire of Worlds.

However, this boring job quickly turns hot, when an enemy convoy comes up the mountain pass Anjali is supposed to guard.

This is a prequel story of 4500 words or approx. 18 print pages to the “In Love and War” series, but may be read as a standalone.

 

More information.

Length: 4500 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 iTunes, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, Playster, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

While Dreaming of the Stars, Baptism of Fire and Graveyard Shift are all prequels of sorts, Freedom’s Horizon is (to date) the first book proper in the In Love and War series. Coincidentally, it’s also the longest at 55000 words, which makes it a novel, albeit a short one, by SFWA standards.

Though Freedom’s Horizon is the true beginning of the In Love and War series in more ways than one, because it was – at least in part – the first In Love and War story I ever wrote. For approximately two years ago, a scene popped into my head: Two intergalactic mercenaries, a man and a woman were bantering while walking through a grimy spaceport. I knew at once that they were a couple and that they came from very different backgrounds which they had left behind to be together. They worked as mercenaries now, not because they wanted to, but because it was the only option left open to them. They were also on the run and about to apply for a security position aboard a freighter, because the ground had gotten too hot for them. This early scene became, in slightly altered form, the second chapter of Freedom’s Horizon.

I was intrigued by the bantering couple, so I started writing. As I followed them through the spaceport, I learned a lot more about them: Their names, that they had both been elite soldiers on opposite sides of an endless intergalactic war, that they had fallen in love and run away together. I also got, in bits and pieces, the story of how they’d met and fallen in love and what had prompted them to leave behind everything they’d ever known and run away together. Eventually, I went first back in time to the story of how they met and fell in love against all odds (which will eventually be published, though it is emotionally draining to write) – and then forward to other adventures set when Anjali and Mikhail were already an established couple. Because by Freedom’s Horizon, they haven’t been together long and are still trying to figure out how they feel about each other. That is, Anjali is trying to figure out how she feels about Mikhail and their relationship and the loss of her old life. Because Mikhail already knows very well how he feels about her.

After I’d published several stories of varying lengths in the In Love and War series, I went back to take another look at that very first story I wrote that I’d never finished and noticed that I had a solid story there that was approximately two thirds finished, even though it wasn’t the story I’d initially thought I was telling. Because originally, I had intended for the story that eventually became Freedom’s Horizon to be a kind of Firefly-esque space opera, chronicling the adventures of the crew of the Freedom’s Horizon, including new recruits Anjali and Mikhail, during their voyage through pirate-infested space. However, as I wrote the story, trouble found Anjali, Mikhail and the Freedom’s Horizon before they could even leave the orbit of Metra Litko. And the trouble that found them was a lot more exciting than any altercation with space pirates could ever be. I also realised that Anjali and Mikhail were the true focus of the story, while the crew of the Freedom’s Horizon, though interesting people, were secondary characters. Coincidentally, Elijah Tyrone, Captain of the Freedom’s Horizon, also appears in Graveyard Shift, where you learn more about his family and his background.

So is Freedom’s Horizon a typical space opera? Well, it has spaceships, shoot-outs, fight scenes, chase scenes, desperate last stands, a seedy spaceport bar named The Scuttling Cockroach, a big space battle and a dramatic stand-off in orbit – in short, lots of the good stuff. However, it also has romance, friendship, emotions, people talking about their feelings, characters bonding over vid dramas and food – in short, lots of the mushy stuff. It even includes a recipe, because there is so much talk about food, I thought that some readers might like to know how to make one of the dishes. And yes, I know that recipes in the backs of novels are a thing in the cozy mystery genre and occasionally pop up in romance as well, but they aren’t very common in science fiction, though Joyce Chng includes recipes in some of her novels.

Coincidentally, I also added a new author’s note to Graveyard Shift, where I talk a bit about the pastries that the members of the military tribunal eat, while plotting cover-ups and handing out death sentences. No recipes this time, because these aren’t my pastries, but those of one of my favourite bakeries. And yes, I tuckerized the bakery.

When I was getting Freedom’s Horizon ready for publication and writing a different In Love and War story, where food also plays a big role, at the same time, I thought, “Other writers put recipes into their cozy mysteries, but I put them into my space opera. I guess I’m writing cozy space opera here.”

And then I thought, “Actually, cozy space opera sounds pretty cool.”

Of course, I didn’t invent that term. A bit of googling revealed that the newly Hugo-nominated podcast Sword and Laser referred to Becky Chambers’ debut The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet as cozy space opera, which it absolutely is. Ditto for A Closed and Common Orbit, Becky Chambers’ second novel.

Also of interest in this context is Liz Bourke’s Tor.com article on domestic space opera from last year, in which she names Becky Chambers’ books as well as C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner series and Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya Universe stories as examples.

Liz Bourke defines domestic space opera as follows:

Yet the operatic element—the intensity of emotion and of significance—still comes to the fore in all of these stories, for all the ways in which they take place in intimate settings and concern, often, small acts. It is this reaching for the high pitch of intensity, albeit in small and sometimes domestic contexts (and whether always successful or not), that makes them space opera, I think.

There is enough emotional scope within one single person’s life and relationships to cover any artist’s canvas in furious colour. And there’s something faintly radical about treating an individual in quieter settings as just as worthy and interesting a subject as the clash of empires…

Shaun Duke responds to Liz Bourke’s post with his own reflections on domestic space opera and points out that the personal is political, in space opera as in life. He also adds parts of Frank Herbert’s Dune, Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy and her novel Provenance and the works of Joyce Chng as examples of domestic space opera.

Let’s have a quote from Shaun as well:

I’d like to add one thing more: the personal is fundamentally representative of the political, and the use of domestic spaces can reveal the influences of the political sphere on everyday life. How people live, what they do in their homes or among friends or family, etc. are all fed by the larger political systems in play, such that the traditional space opera tensions are echoed in the tensions within the domestic. Indeed, you might say that much of space opera — and its fans — has focused on the macro level, looking at the tensions produced by big sweeping motions of the writer’s brush; domesticity, however, focuses on the micro level, giving us a glimpse into how those much larger tensions actually impact individual relationships and behavior at home.

These definitions definitely fit the In Love and War series, where the eighty-eight year war between two galatic powers is reflected in the relationship between two people, who manage to fall in love with each other, even though their respective nations are at war and have been for longer than either of them have been alive. We also see the endless war and its consequences reflected in other characters such as Elijah Tyrone, Captain of the Freedom’s Horizon, and Colonel Brian Mayhew, Mikhail’s former mentor/surrogate father turned antagonist, who is probably the character who surprised me most, considering that I originally intended him to be just a simple villain.

The In Love and War series has quite a bit of action – after all, Mikhail and Anjali are elite soldiers turned mercenaries, and fighting is what they do. However, there are also plenty of quieter moments, plus love, friendship, family, characters bonding and of course, food.

But this is still a new release announcement, not a rumination about cozy space opera, so why don’t you give Freedom’s Horizon a try, cause it really has all of the good stuff – seedy spaceport bars, chases, shoot-outs, space battles, emotions, feelings, love, friendship, family – all that and recipes, too.

Freedom’s Horizon

[image error]Once, Anjali Patel and Mikhail Grikov were soldiers on opposing sides of an intergalactic war. They met, fell in love and decided to go on the run together.

Now Anjali and Mikhail are trying to eke out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

After a run-in with a Republican spy on the rim world of Metra Litko, Anjali and Mikhail need to get off planet fast. So they sign on as security aboard the freighter Freedom’s Horizon, which is supposed to transport a valuable cargo through pirate infested space.

But they have far bigger problems than pirates, for the Republic of United Planets sends no less than three battlecruisers after them, commanded by none other than Colonel Brian Mayhew, Mikhail’s former superior and now their most determined pursuer.

The chase culminates in a stand-off in orbit around Metra Litko, where Anjali and Mikhail have to make a fatal choice. Fight and endanger the innocent crew of the Freedom’s Horizon or surrender and face death and worse at the hands of the Republic.

More information.

Length: 55000 words

List price: 3.99 USD, EUR or 2.99 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 iTunes, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, Playster, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, , Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

The final new release for today is another In Love and War short story. I should maybe say something about the reading order for the In Love and War series now. In principle, all In Love and War stories can be read as standalones in any order, because they’re all self-contained. However, if you want an official reading order, start with Dreaming of the Stars (which is also the quiestest story of the series), then Baptism of Fire and Graveyard Shift, then Freedom’s Horizon, followed by Courting Trouble. Then Bullet Holes, Dead World and finally, the last new story for today, Double-Cross. This is also as good a moment as any to point you to the special In Love and War series bundle, where you can get all of the stories in the series to date at a drastically reduced price. Only at DriveThruFiction.

Double-Cross is another story to come out of the 2017 July short story challenge, where the goal was to write a story per day in July 2017. Baptism of Fire was another July short story challenge story, by the way.

Like many of the July short story challenge stories, Double-Cross was inspired by a piece of science fiction concept art, namely this lovely piece of Cyberpunk art. The image intrigued me, so I sent Anjali and Mikhail into that rain and neon-drenched environment on a retrieval mission. They successfully completed their mission and retrieved the McGuffin and I was stuck regarding what should happen next. So I looked through my folder of inspirational images again and came across this piece of Cyberpunky concept art, which sort of matched the first image. And suddenly I knew what would happen next.

While we’re on the topic of art, I’d also like to add a shout-out to the wonderful artist Tithi Luadthong a.k.a. Grandfailure, whose striking artwork graces all of the In Love and War covers so far.

Like all of the In Love and War stories, Double-Cross has plenty of banter between Anjali and Mikhail. It also has nanotech, noodles, space ninjas and a double-crossing client.

So go and check out…

Double-Cross

[image error]Once, Anjali Patel and Mikhail Grikov were soldiers on opposing sides of an intergalactic war. They met, fell in love and decided to go on the run together.

Now Anjali and Mikhail are trying to eke out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

When they are hired to retrieve a shipment of bootleg medical nanobots, it seems like a routine job at first. But it quickly turns out that they are not the only ones who are after the nanobots. And their client has an agenda of her own.

More information.

Length: 5100 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 iTunes, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, Playster, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

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Some Thoughts on the Hugo Award Finalists, Part II: The 2018 Hugos

For my comments on the 1943 Retro Hugo Awards, go here. Meanwhile, here are my comments on the main event (sorry, long dead authors, filmmakers, artists and fans of 1942), the 2018 Hugo Award finalists.

For other comments on the finalists, see the discussion in the comments at File 770. Also at File 770, JJ has compiled a list of where the find the 2018 Hugo finalists online. Best novel nominee John Scalzi is delighted to be nominated and finds some kind words for his fellow nominees, too. Joel Cunningham weighs in at the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, while Andrew Liptak weighs in at The Verge. Newly minted best fanwriter nominee Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the 2018 Hugo finalists here. Meanwhile, a certain jerk who managed to get himself kicked out of WorldCon 76 months before the con, attended the public announcement of the Hugo finalists, managed to behave himself enough that he was not kicked out and still feels persecuted. He’s also been saying nasty things about the Hugo finalists on Twitter.

Overall, the 2018 Hugo Award finalists are a very good and diverse ballot with some notable exceptions (more on that later). Best of all, they are completely puppy free – no dinosaur erotica, no Castalia House, no Vox Day, no John C. Wright, no umpteenth take on Appendix N – and contain quite a lot of people that the various puppy groups and offshots hate.

So let’s jump right into the categories, starting off with best novel: It’s a solid ballot: Provenance by Ann Leckie and Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee were both on my ballot as well. And of course, both Ann Leckie and Yoon Ha Lee have had previous nominations for other works in the same worlds. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty is a neat murder mystery on a generation ship that was on my longlist, but didn’t make my shortlist. Plus, Mur Lafferty seems to be popular with Hugo voters. After a few years of absence, John Scalzi is back with The Collapsing Empire, a solid space opera. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin was an obvious nominee, considering that the previous two books in the trilogy won this category in the past two years. The only finalist in this category I don’t care for is New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. I know that Robinson is popular with the Hugo electorate and has been nominated several times, but I have bounced off every book of his that I tried. I also don’t care for Robinson’s public persona as displayed in articles like this recent one from The Guardian. He reminds me of the joyless eco activists with whom I tangled in highschool. My father worked in the waste disposal industry at the time (and not the eco activist approved part thereof), which means I got a lot of backlash and open hatred from radical eco activists. Some of them were classmates, some of them even were my teachers. Ironically, my Dad has probably done more for the environment than any of those people. Of course, none of this is in any way Mr. Robinson’s fault, but I still react badly to his articles and don’t like his fiction. Coincidentally, the best novel category is very science fiction and particularly very space opera heavy this year. Even The Stone Sky, the most fantasy of the finalists, sits on the borderline of science fiction and fantasy.

Diversity count: 3 women, 3 men, 2 POC, 1 LGBT (as far as I know)

On to best novella: This is another very good list of finalists. All Systems Red by Martha Wells and River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey were both delightful and were also both on my nomination ballot. “And Then There Were (N-One)” by Sarah Pinsker is another fine novella that was on my longlist, but did not make my personal shortlist. The Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor is lovely and besides, Binti: Home is the sequel to a previous winner. I haven’t yet read J.Y. Yang’s The Black Tides of Heaven and its sister novella The Red Threads of Fortune, but I have enjoyed other works by J.Y. Yang and the novellas got a lot of positive attention. Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire is another novella I haven’t read, but it is a prequel to last year’s winner in this category (which I didn’t particularly care for, so I never read the prequel), so it’s far from a surprise.

Diversity count: 5 women, 1 non-binary, 2 POC, 2 international authors, 1 LGBT (as far as I know)

Let’s take a look at best novelette: “Children of Thorns, Children of Water” by Aliette de Bodard and “Extracurricular Activities” by Yoon Ha Lee are both excellent stories (and tie in to the authors’ respective Xuya Universe and Hexarchate/Heptarchate series). “A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad got a lot of positive attention, though the story didn’t quite work for me. I somehow missed “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzette Palmer, though I have enjoyed other stories by her. I also missed “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time” by K.M. Szapara, even though I recognise the title from this year’s Nebula ballot. “Wind Will Rove” by Sarah Pinsker is another story I haven’t read, because I don’t have access to Asimov’s. Coincidentally, this is also the sole nominee to originate in the print magazines.

Diversity count: 4 women, 2 men, 3 POC, 2 international authors, 2 LGBT (again as far as I know)

On to best short story: “The Martian Obelisk” by Linda Nagata is a very good story and coincidentally was also on my ballot. “Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad, “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience (TM)” by Rebecca Roanhorse and “Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon are all lovely stories. I also think Rebecca Roanhorse is the first Native American ever nominated for a Hugo Award. “Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand” by Fran Wilde didn’t quite work for me, though I have enjoyed other stories by this author. As mentioned in my comments on the 2017 Nebula nominees, “Carnival Nine” by Caroline M. Yoachim also didn’t work for me, though once more I have enjoyed other stories by the author. And while I think the worldbuilding of “Carnival Nine” is interesting and I can see what Caroline M. Yoachim was trying to do, the story carries an IMO problematic subtext (possibly unintended) of “women must take care of sick children, elderly parents and relatives and wayward partners and shouldn’t expect help from anybody” and also “Stay at home and don’t even try to get away, because your place is here”. Worse, whenever the story’s protagonist tries doing something for herself, usually going to the carnival, bad things happen. I probably react stronger to this subtext than others, because as a women with several elderly and ill relatives, I have had to fight against such attitudes.

Diversity count: 6 women, 3 POC, 1 international writer

So let’s take a look at best series. This is the category where my personal tastes are completely out of step with those of the Hugo electorate, since none of my nominees made it. Worse, there are several series here I have never read at all and also have zero interest in. Not sure how and if I will vote in this category. I’ll probably leave the series I don’t know off my ballot altogether. Lois McMaster Bujold is of course a perennial favourite and last year’s winner in this category for the Vorkosigan saga. This year, she is nominated for her World of the Five Gods series, which includes The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, The Hallowed Hunt as well as the Penric and Desdemona novellas. And indeed, I nominated one of the Penric and Desdemona novellas this year (as well as in the previous years), though I did not nominate the series as a whole. Still, a fine and worthy nominee and I wouldn’t be surprised, if Lois McMaster Bujold managed to win this category two years in a row. Seanan McGuire is of course another perennial favourite with the Hugo electorate. Last year, she was nominated in this category for her October Daye series, this year she is up for the InCryptid series. I read and enjoyed the first two books in the InCryptid series, though the series had blossomed to seven books since then, largely without me noticing. Nonetheless, this is a fine and worthy finalist. I’m also really happy to see Martha Wells recognised twice on the 2018 Hugo ballot, in best novella and best series, especially since her work has been largely ignored by the various genre awards. I also read and enjoyed The Cloud Roads, the first book in The Books of the Raksura series, which is nominated in this category, but again I haven’t read any of the sequels. With both the Raksura and the InCryptid series, part of the problem is that both are not easy to find in Europe, unless you specifically order them. I read and enjoyed Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court books, but I have to admit that I never read any of her nominated Memoirs of Lady Trent books, largely because dragons aren’t really the catnip for me that they evidently are for many other SFF readers. I do read books about dragons, but I do not seek them out and a dragon on the cover does not mean an instant sale with me. The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett did get a lot of positive buzz and one of the earlier volumes just missed the best novel ballot during one of the puppy years. However, again this is a series I have never read, partly because I tried one of Robert Jackson Bennett’s earlier urban fantasy novels and did not particularly care for it and partly because the description for the Divine Cities series did nothing for me. Brandon Sanderson finally is a hugely popular fantasy author, but so far, none of the works by him that I tried (two Hugo nominated novellas and his novel Steelheart) did much for me. For some reason, I quickly tend to forget Brandon Sanderson’s works after reading them to the point that I had to look up what the novel by him that I tried was called and whether it was part of the nominated Stormlight Archives series (it’s not). So in short, I haven’t read a lot in this category and I have no idea how I will vote or if I will even get to all finalists in time, particularly since some of those books are really long. Interestingly, while science fiction dominated in the best novel category, best series is completely dominated by fantasy.

Diversity count: 4 women, 2 men

As in the past few years, Orbit dominates the best novel category and Tor.com unsurprisingly dominates the best novella category. However, the Tor.com dominance is no longer quite so notable in the other short fiction categories, which is a good thing.

Best Related Work promises to be another category that will be really difficult to judge, if only because the finalists are all so very good, which is a relief, particularly considering what a trashfire this category was during the puppy years. Talking of puppies, Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate by Zoe Quinn will absolutely infuriate them. It is also a highly worthy nominee. Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal, is another highly worthy nominee and coincidentally a book I purchased in the green room at WorldCon 75 from one of the editors herself before it was even officially out. And yes, it was on my ballot as was Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Liz Bourke, a collection of her Tor.com columns, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Paul Kincaid’s critical overview of the works of Iain M. Banks got a lot of positive buzz and the only reason I haven’t yet read it is because I bounced so badly of Banks imitators during the New British Space Opera era of the early 2000s that I could never really bring myself to try the original. I guess I should remedy that some time. The collection No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters by the late Ursula K. Le Guin is a logical nominee in this category, especially since this is probably the last chance to honour one of the true greats of our genre. A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff kind of passed me by, though I will be interested to read it.

Diversity count: 5 women, 2 men, 1 POC, 1 LGBT (again as far as I know)

Best graphic story is another really strong category this year. Monstress, Saga and Paper Girls are all previous nominees in this category and also really great comics. A previous volume of Bitch Planet just missed the ballot during the puppy years, so I’m glad to see it recognised this year. Now I have never particularly cared about Marvel’s Inhumans – they were always some of the weirder characters in the Marvel canon – Volume 1 of Saladin Ahmed’s and Christian Ward’s Black Bolt comic, which dumps Black Bolt, a normally not very likeable character, into a space prison, was excellent. Okay, so I have something of a weakness for prison stories, particularly space prison stories. They are catnip for me, just like dragons are catnip for other SFF readers. And the best graphic story ballot this year has two space prison stories with Black Bolt and Bitch Planet (and Saga and Monstress may well have had prison scenes, too, I can’t remember right now), so I’m pretty happy right now. The final nominee in this category, My Favourite Thing Is Monsters, is the only one I don’t know.

No diversity count, too many people are involved in making comics.

On to best dramatic presentation long form: The two best picture Oscar nominated SFF films of 2017, The Shape of Water and Get Out!, both unsurprisingly made the Hugo ballot. They are both worthy nominees as well, though I find that the backlash after The Shape of Water won the best picture and best director Oscars, while Get Out! took best screenplay, has slightly soured me on Get Out!. Thor: Ragnarok was the best superhero film of 2017 and I’m very glad to see it nominated here. Wonder Woman was another hugely popular superhero film, though I have to admit I don’t love it quite as much as many others do. It’s a perfectly fine film and definitely the best of DC’s recent superhero movies and Gal Gadot is wonderful, but I don’t quite get the intense love for this movie. I guess a lot of people were just really desperate for a decent superheroine movie that it overshadowed the flaws. Coincidentally, I rewatched both Thor: Ragnarok and Wonder Woman only a few days ago, since both are now out on DVD and TV is crap during the Easter weekend, and found that Thor: Ragnarok has become better the second time around, while Wonder Woman got weaker. My parents, both of whom are long term Wonder Woman fans going back to a stack of Golden Age comics with my Dad and to the Lynda Carter series of the 1970s with my Mom, were also underwhelmed by the film, because it was basically a WWI film with a bit of the Wonder Woman they remember thrown in the final half hour. Star Wars: The Last Jedi may have been divisive – and its nomination will almost certainly piss off the puppies – but it was also a movie that a lot of people loved (my own feelings were somewhat mixed, as chronicled here) and besides, it is Star Wars and Star Wars always gets nominated. The Hugo nomination for Blade Runner 2049 somewhat surprised me, because while the film was visually stunning, it was still an unnecessary sequel to a movie that didn’t really need one. And it didn’t even answer the questions left open by the original all that well. The overall reception also wasn’t that positive – unlike with almost every other movie on the ballot – so I’m surprised that enough people nominated it.

Again no diversity count, since there are too many people involved in making movies. Though I’m pleased that we have a female director and two male directors of colour nominated in this category.

Let’s take a look at dramatic presentation short form: This is usually the category where my personal tastes are most out of step with those of the broader Hugo electorate and this year is no exception. Though at least one of my nominees made it, the excellent Black Mirror episode “USS Callister”, which I discuss in greater depth here. Star Trek Discovery may have been a mess of a show, but it did have a handful of really good episodes and the best of those, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” won a Hugo nomination. And while I may have been pretty harsh on the show overall, I have absolutely no beef with this nomination, because it was a really good episode that gave the cast and characters a chance to shine and – more importantly – it actually felt like proper Star Trek rather than grimdark mirror Star Trek. Besides, Gabriel Lorca gets killed 47 times in a row, so what’s not to enjoy? Perennial Hugo favourite Doctor Who is represented by the 2017 Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time, which was a multi Doctor and a regeneration episode and also pretty good. Last year’s surprise nominees Clipping managed to score another nomination with their song “The Deep”. Considering how dominated this category is by various Hollywood and BBC juggernauts, I’m really happy for them.

Then finally, there is the Hugo finalist which had me literally screaming in frustration, namely The Good Place. Now I mentioned in my 2017 Nebula reaction post that I had zero interest in The Good Place, because I don’t care for US style sitcoms, don’t care for afterlife stories and don’t care for religious “heaven, hell and all that jazz” stories. Whereupon people urged me to give The Good Place a try anyway, because it was really, really good. So I did. More precisely, while channel-surfing, I came across The Good Place (which I didn’t even know was airing in Germany until that point) on a fairly obscure channel. “Hey, it’s that Good Place show the Americans are all into these days”, I said, “Let’s give it a try.” So we watched about five minutes, until we looked at each other and said as one, “What the fuck is this shit?” and changed the channel. About a week later, I chanced to come across The Good Place again while channel surfing, managed to watch another five minutes or so, before I had to switch the show off, because the show was literally painful for me to watch. Now part of that may be due to the German dubbing – sitcoms are often dubbed in a screechy, hysterical style that I can’t stand. But considering that I hated both the new Battlestar Galactica and Orphan Black (and no awarded the latter, when it was up for a Hugo), I nonetheless managed to watch three whole episodes of the new Galactica and one whole episode of Orphan Black. Of Fringe, which I also did not like, I still managed to watch the whole first season. The Good Place, however, grates so much on my nerves that I cannot abide watching even a whole episode (and these episodes are short, only 25 minutes). It’s everything about it – the characters, the actors (and I usually like Ted Danson), the screechy dubbing, the sitcom suburb sets (yes, American suburbs are literally hell. We get it by now, so why do US films and TV shows have to repeat that point). And this show which is literally painful for me to watch gets not just one but two Hugo nominations at a time where there is a lot of very good SFF TV out there. The Handmaid’s Tale, undoubtedly the standout SFF show of 2017, which won both the Emmy and the Golden Globe, doesn’t even get a single nomination and The Bloody Good Place gets two. Lucifer (which actually does something interesting with this whole heaven and hell thing), Preacher (ditto), Outlander, The Expanse, The Orville (which occasionally falls into the sitcom trap, but manages to balance the SF and sitcom elements so much better), Game of Thrones, the various DC Arrowverse superhero shows, Gotham, The Defenders, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Stranger Things and lots of other decent to good SFF shows didn’t make the ballot and the bloody Good Place does. Hell, if you want afterlife stories, why not watch Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, two very good interconnected series, which used the “Welcome to the afterlife” so much better (it’s not longer a spoiler more than ten years on, is it?), and never even won a single Hugo nomination over five seasons. I may give The Good Place one more try, but frankly I suspect I will be no awarding this and I will absolutely not feel sorry about it. Luckily, we have four good nominees and only two dreadful ones in this category.

Again no diversity count, too many people are involved in making TV shows and music.

So now I’ve ranted enough, let’s go on to the two editing categories. Best editor is a fine ballot of highly worthy nominees. The finalists are largely the same as last year, though Joe Monti and Diana M. Pho are new.

Diversity count: 5 women, 1 man, 2 POC

The best editor short form category is also largely the same as last year. Lee Harris is new to this category, though he was nominated in the long form editing category a few years ago.

Diversity count: 2 women, 5 men

So let’s take a look at the two art categories. Best pro artist is a mixture of returning favourites such as WorldCon 76 guest of honour John Picacio, Sana Takeda, Galen Dara and Victo Ngai and new names such as Kathleen Jennings and Bastien Lecouffe Deharme. I suspect that the latter profited a bit from Terry Goodkind behaving like an arsehole and saying unkind things about Lecouffe Deharme’s cover for his latest novel. Though Lecouffe Deharme does some really great work as well.

Diversity count: 4 women, 2 men, at least 3 POC, 3 international artists.

Best fan artist is another mix of returning favourites such as Likhain a.k.a M. Serreno, Spring Schoenhuth and Steve Stiles and new names such as Geneva Benton, Grace P. Fong and Maya Hahto (who designed the WorldCon 75 mascot Major Ursa among others).

Diversity count: 5 women, 1 man, at least 3 POC, at least 2 international artists.

The best semiprozine category again looks very similar to last year’s. Uncanny, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Strange Horizons and The Book Smugglers are all returning favourites. The two new nominees are Fireside Magazine, which has been doing some very good work these past two years, and Escape Pod. It’s also nice to see an audio magazine nominated in this category.

No diversity count, too many people are involved in editing and publishing semiprozines.

Best fanzine is another mix and longtime favourites and new names. File 770 has been nominated and winning in this category for more than thirty years now and also holds up the traditional fanzine flag together with Journey Planet, another longtime nominee and previous winner. Chris Gracia introduces Journey Planet and the team behind it in this post at File 770, BTW. nerds of a feather, Rocket Stack Rank and SF Bluestocking are all returning nominees from last year and they all continue to do good work in their respective niches. Newcomer Galactic Journey is a fanzine with a twist, since it reviews all SF magazines, films, novels, etc… – from 55 years in the past, because for Galactic Journey, it’s 1963 and they’re probably very surprised to be nominated for a Hugo in the far off future of 2018. It’s a great site and seeing reviews of vintage SFF mags in context – with the good, the bad and the ugly – is fascinating. It was one of my nominees these past two years and I’m really glad that it made it this year.

Again no diversity count, too many people.

The best fancast finalists also include plenty of returning favourites such as Galactic Suburbia, The Fangirl Happy Hour, Ditch Diggers and The Coode Street Podcast. Verity! wasn’t nominated last year, though it has definitely been nominated in the past, because I remember listening to it. Sword and Laser is new to this category, though the podcast has been around for a while and is usually good. All are fine nominees, though I’m a bit sad that my pals of the Skiffy and Fanty Show didn’t make it this year.

Diversity count. 13 women (some of them nominated twice), 5 men

While a lot of the other categories have plenty of returning nominees, the best fanwriter category has plenty of new names. Mike Glyer is of course a multiple nominee and winner in this category. Foz Meadows has been nominated a few times as well, but hasn’t won so far. Camestros Felapton is a new name and one I’m really happy to see here, because I always enjoy his blog, even when it has been taken over by cats and dinosaurs. A highly deserved nomination. Charles Payseur of nerds of a feather and Quick Sip Reviews is another fanwriter who does good work, but hasn’t been recognised before, at least not individually. I follow Bogi Takácz on Twitter, but I haven’t read all that much of their fanwriting so far, though I’m looking forward to remedying that. Sarah Gailey is a curious case, because I love her fiction (River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow were personal favourites), but her non-fiction writing doesn’t do nearly as much for me. Still a very worthy nominee. Coincidentally, I suspect that both Foz Meadows and Camestros Felapton profited indirectly from recent puppy attempts to smear both of them (follow the whole silly and sordid saga here), since some people are apparently unable to imagine that Australia is a big place and that more than two people live there. Because the smear attempts exposed a lot of people to Foz Meadows’ and Camestros’ respective blogs and several of them probably liked what they saw there.

Diversity count: 2 women, 3 men, 1 non-binary, 3 international writers

Now we get to the two “no a Hugo” categories. The first is the John W. Campbell Award for the best new writer. The nominees are all excellent choices. Vina Jie-Min Prasad and Rebecca Roanhorse wrote some excellent short fiction last year, Rivers Solomon’s debut novel An Unkindness of Ghosts got a lot of attention, as did Jeanette Ng’s debut novel Under the Pendulum Sun. I haven’t read Katherine Arden’s debut novel The Bear and the Nightingale and its sequel The Girl in the Tower, but a lot of people seem to like them. Sarah Kuhn had a self-published or small-press published novel a few years ago, which doesn’t count for the Campbell, and is now nominated for her fun superhero novels Heroine Complex and Heroine Worship.

Diversity count: 6 women, 4 POC, 2 international authors.

The final “not a Hugo” category is the new YA Award, which will eventually be called the Lodestar Award. The inaugural ballot is very strong indeed. Philip Pullman’s return to the world of the His Dark Materials trilogy in La Belle Sauvage was one of the biggest YA books of the year. Frances Hardinge, who is nominated for A Skinful of Shadows, is another highly acclaimed YA author, though I have to admit that I have never read anything by her so far. I adore Sam J. Miller’s short fiction, so I am very happy to see his debut novel The Art of Starving nominated. Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher a.k.a. Ursula Vernon was lovely (and coincidentally, the only indie published work on the whole Hugo ballot) and Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor was another very good YA SFF book. And while I have enjoyed previous books by Sarah Rees Brennan, I haven’t yet read In Other Lands, the book for which she is nominated. Still, it’s a strong ballot and – more importantly – these are the sort of books that actual teens read rather than adult SFF author’s ventures into YA, which are often nominated for the Andre Norton Award.

Diversity count: 4 women, 2 men, 1 POC, 1 LGBT

Finally, let’s take a look at my hit rate: I got 35 nominees out of 114, i.e. 30.7%. My Mom, who did not nominate in every category, got 9 out of 114, i.e. 7.8%.

I can’t see any notable themes this year. Space opera is clearly popular in several categories, while the fairytale trend of the past few years has abated somewhat. The 1980s nostalgia trend also seems to have abated a bit. 2017 has also been a really strong year for Asian writers and artists. Finally, I’m also really happy to see several trans writers recognised, particularly since March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility.

All in all, this is a very good Hugo ballot. A lot of things I liked, some I don’t care for, but where I can see why other people like them, a few things I don’t know, but look forward to trying and only three nominees I really, really don’t like (New York 2140 and The Good Place times two). Compared to the puppy years, where you were often happy to have one decent nominee in a category, this is great. Looks like the Hugos are back on track.

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Some Thoughts on the Hugo Award Finalists, Part I: The 1943 Retro Hugos

So the finalists for the 2018 Hugo Awards and the 1943 Retro Hugo Awards were announced tonight, following some controversy, because the announcement happens to take place not just on Easter Saturday, but also on Passover. Coincidentally, it’s not a great time for me either – I just had a triple new release, plus it’s Easter and the end of the quarter, which means I have to do my quarterly taxes. But then, I doubt it’s possible to find a time to announce the nominees that works for all of fandom.

So let’s take a look at the nominees. Retro Hugos first, than the current year Hugos in part II:

The 1943 Retro Hugo ballot is – as usual with Retro Hugos – rather Heinlein heavy (well, even I nominated the two Heinlein novellas and I’m not a big fan of his). Best graphic story, best series and best dramatic presentation long are all conspicuous by their absence. Now I’m not surprised that best related work, best semiprozine, best fan artist, best editor long form and best fancast are missing, since nominating for the Retro Hugos in these categories is difficult to nigh impossible. But 1942 had some very good comics (Wonder Woman, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Tin Tin and you still couldn’t find anything to nominate?), some fine series (Captain Future, The Spider, The Shadow, Doc Savage, Lensmen, Jules De Grandin, Pellucidar, The Avengers, G-8 and His Battle Aces and once more not enough nominations?) and even a few dramatic presentations over 90 minutes. The Perils of Nyoka serial is still great, for example, and was one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones.

But let’s look at the categories which do have nominees:

The two fan categories – best fan writer and fanzine – are full of familiar names, who had a long career in fandom and also in the pro field. All look like solid choices. Alas, only one female nominee – Morojo a.k.a. Myrtle Douglas who co-edited a fanzine with Forrest J. Ackerman.

Best editor is also full of good choices: Whatever you think about John W. Campbell, Astounding and Unknown published a whole lot of outstanding stories in the 1940s. Dorothy McIlwraith is not just the lone female nominee in this category, but also did very good work at Weird Tales. Malcolm Reiss was the editor of Planet Stories, the home of planetary romance, which published a lot of highly enjoyable stories in the 1940s, including a lot of Leigh Brackett’s, C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner’s (either apart or together) work. I’m also really happy to see Oscar J. Friend, editor of Captain Future Magazine, here. I have a deep and abiding love for Captain Future (and keep nominating him for the Retro Hugos), because the 1979 anime adaptation of Captain Future was one of the properties that turned me into an SF fan in the first place. Raymond Palmer’s star has sunk somewhat in later years due to stuff like the Shaver mysteries, but that only started a few years later. In 1943, he did good work as the editor of Amazing Stories and Famous Fantastic Mysteries. Donald A. Wollheim is the only surprise in this category. Now Donald Wollheim was a fine editor, but in 1942 his only pro editing work was Stirring Science Stories, a largely forgotten short-lived science fiction pulp.

Best pro artist is also full of excellent choices: I’m particularly glad to see Margaret Brundage – resident cover artist of Weird Tales in the 1930s and early 1940s – nominated, because her art is still stunning (and so sexy that Amazon wouldn’t let an indie publish a book with a cover like that). Hannek Bok and Virgil Finlay also did excellent work on Weird Tales. Edd Cartier was mainly an interior illustrator and contributed his atmospheric artwork to Weird Tales and The Shadow (so why no best series recognition for The Shadow and Captain Future?). Hubert Rogers was the resident cover artist for Astounding Stories. Harold W. McCauley is an artist I mainly associate with later work on SF magazines and sleazy paperbacks in the 1950s, though he apparently did a few covers for Amazing Stories in 1942. He’s another artist specialising in scantily clad attractive women – well, it was the 1940s.

Best dramatic presentation short form is a bit of a mixed bag. Bambi, Cat People and I Married a Witch are all fine, if very different movies. The Ghost of Frankenstein and Invisible Agent are both lesser later entries in series (Universal’s Frankenstein and The Invisble Man respectively) and I’m actually surprised to see them nominated, since there were better choices in the respective year and category. Invisible Agent is a WWII propaganda film as well, but then WWII propaganda stuff is difficult to avoid in 1942. However, if people screech about the 1943 Münchhausen movie – which is not a propaganda movie, but only happened to be made during the Third Reich and involved a lot of people who were more or less openly anti-Nazi – I will point them at Invisible Agent. The Korda Brothers’ Jungle Book adaptation is the film that introduced Sabu to the world and is actually over ninety minutes long. It was eclipsed by the later Disney version, but it is still a good movie. Talking of Sabu, my favourite 1942 film starring Sabu and Jon Hall (who also stars in Invisible Agent) as well as Maria Montez, namely Arabian Nights, sadly did not make it. Now I have a deep and abiding love for the Maria Montez films of the 1940s, since they were a TV staple of my childhood, but I guess others don’t share that fondness.

So let’s take a look at the best short story nominees for 1943: “Runaround” by Isaac Asimov, one of his Mike Donovan and Gregory Powell stories, and “The Twonky” by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner are both classics and were on my ballot. I haven’t read these particular stories by Fredric Brown, Hal Clement, Fritz Leiber and Donald Wollheim (writing as Martin Pearson), but all are great writers with lengthy careers. I’m a bit sad that none of the Leigh Brackett stories that were eligible made it and that Isaac Asimov’s “Victory Unintentional” and “Robot AL-76 Goes Astray”, both of which are utterly hilarious, didn’t make it either, especially since I clearly remembered both stories thirty years after I first read them.

Best novelette has two absolute classics with “Foundation” a.k.a. “The Encyclopedists” and “Bridle and Saddle” by Isaac Asimov, the first two stories of what would eventually become the Foundation series. These stories blew my mind at 16 and I still love them at almost 45. “There Shall Be Darkness” by C.L. Moore is another fine story by one of the best women writers of early science fiction. “The Goldfish Bowl” by Robert A. Heinlein under one of his many pseudonyms was actually on my personal longlist, but did not make my final ballot. “The Star Mouse” by Fredric Brown I haven’t read (I haven’t read a lot of Fredric Brown, for some reason, though I generally liked what I did read). “The Weapon Shop” by A.E. Van Vogt, finally, is the most problematic nominee on the Retro Hugo ballot. Now I freely admit that Van Vogt’s fiction doesn’t work for me. I tried reading him repeatedly, but he just doesn’t work for me and I suspect he never will. However, the presence of “The Weapon Shop” on the Retro Hugo ballot doesn’t just bother me, because I don’t care for Van Vogt’s work. Because “The Weapon Shop” is basically an anti-gun control story, which was probably not that problematic in 1942, but is hugely problematic in 2017. I’m honestly surprised that this story was nominated, especially since the Parkland Shooting, which heated up the gun control debate in the US anew, happened in the middle of the Hugo nomination period. Okay, maybe all the pro-gun people nominated it. Once more, none of the three Leigh Brackett novelettes, which were eligible in 1942, made it, which is a pity, because Leigh Brackett was one of the best science fiction writers of the pulp era period.

The best novella category consists of two more Heinlein stories, “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag” and “Waldo”. Both of them are classics and coincidentally were also on my ballot. Yes, I do like some Heinlein works and in fact, my issues with Heinlein mostly involve his later works. A lot of his stories from the 1940s and 1950s were very good. It’s only with Starship Troopers that everything goes to hell. Though I’m surprised that Heinlein was so prolific in 1942, in the middle of WWII, since he worked as an engineer for the US Navy. “The Compleat Werewolf” by Anthony Boucher is another fine story and coincidentally was also on my ballot. I also did nominate Alfred Bester in the best novella category, though I went with a different novella (“Push of a Finger”) than with “Hell is Forever”, the one that made it. I haven’t read the Van Vogt (like I said, not a fan) and Lester Del Rey stories.

So let’s take a look at the Best Novel category for the 1943 Retro Hugos: I’m really great to see The Uninvited by Dorothy McArdle, a classic gothic ghost story, nominated here. Donovan’s Brain by Curt Siodmak is another classic, though probably better remembered via its film adaptation these days. Now I have to admit that I could never get into E.E. Smith’s Lensmen series, probably because by the time I tried to read them in my mid twenties, I had already read and seen plenty of imitators who took the ideas Smith pioneered and did something more interesting with them. Nonetheless, the Lensmen series was hugely influential and Second-Stage Lensmen is an obvious nominee in this category. One of Heinlein’s many pen names is once again present with Beyond This Horizon – again not an unsurprising nominee. Darkness and the Light by Olaf Stapledon I haven’t read, since Stapledon is another classic author who just doesn’t work for me. And while I tried to read Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright, I found it pretty boring.

Still, it’s a pretty good ballot for the 1943 Retro Hugos, even with no Leigh Brackett and no finalists at all in the best graphic story, best series and best dramatic presentation long form categories. I wonder what the puppy types will make of this, especially since many of them claim to champion pulp era science fiction and keep complaining that Heinlein couldn’t get nominated for a Hugo these days (he only got nominated four times) and that authors like C.L. Moore are completely forgotten (two Hugo nominations, one joint and one on her own, are not bad for a forgotten author.

Hit rate: 23 out of 54 in the categories that actually have nominees, i.e. 42%, which is pretty good actually. My Mom got 8 out of 54, but then she only nominated in a few categories, including series and graphic story, which have no nominees.

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Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for March 2018

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 authors newly published this month, though some February 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, dark fantasy, paranormal mystery, science fiction romance, space opera, military science fiction, funny science fiction, science fantasy, horror, weird fiction, weird western, dragons, dragon thieves, elves, werewolves, shifters, superheroes, aliens, mercenaries, starship mages, killer asteroids 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:

[image error] Last Dragon Standing by Rachel Aaron:

Dear Reader,

There is no way to write a blurb for this final book without spoiling all of the others. Suffice it to say, mysteries resolve, dragons war, pigeons abound, and no one is safe as Bob’s grand plan finally comes to fruition.

But the Great Seer of the Heartstrikers isn’t the only one whose schemes are nearing completion. The Nameless End is coming, and even the machinations of the world’s most brilliant dragon seer might not be enough to stop it. As everything comes crashing down, it’s up to Julius to prove what he’s always known: that seers can be wrong, and Nice Dragons don’t always finish last.

[image error] Baptism of Fire by Cora Buhlert:

Cadet Anjali Patel had hoped for something more exciting than guard duty for her first mission with the legendary Shakyri Expeditionary Corps, the best fighters in the Empire of Worlds.

However, this boring job quickly turns hot, when an enemy convoy comes up the mountain pass Anjali is supposed to guard.

This is a prequel story of 4500 words or approx. 18 print pages to the “In Love and War” series, but may be read as a standalone.

[image error] Gold Dragon by Lindsay Buroker:

Now that Trip’s siblings are safely back in the capital, he would like it if life got back to normal. As normal as possible for a half-dragon army officer learning to use his magical powers when he isn’t busy piloting with Wolf Squadron.

But trouble keeps popping up, and the capital isn’t the safe haven Trip had hoped. More and more dragons are working together, with attacks growing frequent as they scheme to claim the country for themselves. Equally daunting, Rysha wants to introduce Trip to her parents, parents who want a proper nobleman for their daughter, not some odd commoner sired by a dragon.

If Trip is to have any chance of bringing peace to the country—and impressing Rysha’s parents—he’ll have to finally and fully embrace what he is and what he can do. Before time runs out.

Right Ascension by Nicole Claire:

“This is Captain Anderson. Brace. Brace. Brace.”

Sophia Anderson has a heritage she should be proud of, but to those onboard the AUS Corvus, she’s not earned her position like the rest of them.

Every day she has to prove herself to the Anderson Universal crew onboard her ship. And then the worst thing happens.

The captain is killed in battle and Sophia, as First Officer, must take his place.

Teaming up with the unflappable Lieutenant Commander Leo Sait?, Sophia finds her footing onboard the beleaguered vessel as well as something much more precious.

Intimacy and destiny align amongst the planets and stars, but can the chief science officer and captain overcome the pressures of command when falling in love and still save their fleet?

And can any of them hope to survive the treacherous voyage to New Earth unscathed?

When humanity reaches for the stars in a race for survival, only the most daring amongst them will succeed.

Going for Broke by Zen DiPietro:

There’s no place like home.

Cabot’s adventures have brought him all the way around to his home planet.

Ditnya Caine has turned on the PAC, even as it continues to battle the Barony Coalition.

At least Cabot’s on a familiar battleground.

He’ll dig up some old connections and forge some new ones to figure out what Ditnya and Barony are plotting. In the process, he’ll even have to deal with some personal unfinished business.

They say you can never go home, but Cabot’s about to prove them wrong.

This book concludes the Mercenary Warfare series, but fear not—Cabot, Nagali, and Omar will continue in the overarching Dragonfire Station series. It’s always a good day to be a trader.

Berserker by Dyane Forde:

“Love…can destroy, it can build, or it can do both at once…”

With the Papilion’s whereabouts unknown, the Shadow pursues its plan for Marathana’s destruction. In control of the Northern tribes and strengthened by allies in the Deep Southernlands, the Shadow prepares to unleash its ultimate weapon, the berserker.

Jeru’s sudden reappearance reveals the presence of a powerful, new will at work. Blessed by the Lightbearer and supported by a ragtag group of survivors and unexpected allies, Jeru prepares to lead the small army into enemy territory.

As war breaks, Kelen and Jeru clash one last time. One brother seeks to destroy, the other to save. The strongest will prevail, sealing Marathana’s ultimate fate.

Hal Spacejock 8: Double Trouble by Simon Haynes:

Hal Spacejock dons a flash suit, hypershades and a curly earpiece for a stint as a secret agent, while Clunk is invited to a ‘unique business opportunity’ by a pair of rusted friends.

Inevitably, things turn sour, and it’s all hands to the pumps as the good ship Spacejock springs leaks from stem to stern.

 

The Empire of Dust by Robert I. Katz:

Michael Glover survived every mission the Empire assigned him and then he survived the revolution that ended it all.

But can he survive when everything he knew and held dear has vanished into the past?

Awakened after 2000 years to find a new Empire rising to replace the old, Michael is given a second chance to make a difference. Can he take advantage of that chance? Does he even want to?

Trouble is brewing among the stars. Ships are vanishing. Military bases are being attacked. Chaos is spreading. Is this random piracy or a wide-spread conspiracy?

Naval intelligence is desperate to find out and Michael Glover, a soldier without a country, a man thought dead for over 2000 years, reluctantly decides that he cannot stand by when duty calls.

It’s a new Empire but the same old mission, and Michael Glover, deep in his soul, is still a soldier who can be counted on.

But Michael Glover has an independent streak. He’ll carry out the mission but he’ going to do it in his own inimitable way, whether naval intelligence likes it or not.

Gods and Demons by B.R. Kingsolver:

Life’s tough as an Elf girl stranded in Earth’s realm. Humans don’t believe in Elves or magic, so I try to stay low key.

Then a jaguar shifter drops in out of nowhere and tells me about an ancient blood-magic statuette, powerful enough to blow holes in reality. She needs an Elf to track it down, and I’m the only Elf available.

But every blood mage in the world also wants it. Enter stalker werewolves in a black Mercedes, a master magician leaving a calling card on my door, and demons every time I turn around. It wouldn’t be so bad, but some of them are really rude.

Time for a lesson in manners.

Not a Mermaid by Madeline Kirby:

It’s July in Houston, and when heat waves and storm warnings finally give way to flooding rains, Jake Hillebrand’s strange dreams take a sinister turn. When the flood waters recede, the body of a young woman is found on the banks of Buffalo Bayou – a young woman whose life overlaps with that of Detective Victoria Perez.

With Perez on the sidelines, maybe she and Jake can finally come to an understanding. Or not.

Petreski’s working with a new partner, Jake’s declared a major, Jennifer Katz is moving on with her life, and Don has no idea that the new cat hanging around his apartment is not what she appears.

Contains even more carbs than “Not a Werewolf”, plus all you can eat shrimp!

[image error] Dragon Lost by Lisa Manifold:

I’m Aodan. A thief. A really good thief.

My best friend Margrite and I are nearly out of this crappy city. With this last job, we’ll have enough to disappear on an island somewhere. We’re so close I can practically smell the rum drinks.

But then all hell breaks loose when I wake up as a dragon. You know, teeth, claws, blue scales, furniture exploding under my massive form. The feeling of smoke is a permanent fixture in my throat. The dragon appears when it wants to, and I black out.

I don’t have time for this.

To add to all this drama, I think someone is trying to kill me. My home is gone. I have nowhere to hide while I sleep off the crazy dragon hangover that comes after each appearance of the beast. As if the dragon scales weren’t enough, I’m now plagued by this new voice in my head – some annoying guy wanting to talk, and meet, and who knows what else? All I want is for me and my best friend to get out of town alive.

If I could stop sprouting a tail at inappropriate times, that would be pretty great too.

Dragon Lost is the first book in the Dragon Thief series.

Oblivion by David Neth

Ethan still doesn’t know what happened to his missing brother four months ago. No idea where he went, who took him, or where to find the answers. But then he discovers Fizz, a mutant whose acid spit can melt off a man’s face, and he has a new lead.

Meanwhile, Carlo Martelli is in a rage. His cousin’s murder can only be a threat to his rule in the local mafia. The immediate suspect is the traitorous Michael Bello who ratted him out to the police. As the mob war erupts, Fuse finds himself in the cross-hairs, which may have been a trap for him all along.

Frozen Shadows And Other Chilling Stories by Gene O’Neill:

Hitch a ride with the master of setting as he blends and bends genres with science-rich, thought-provoking short stories. “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

“A maestro of the field, Gene O’Neill’s stories are consistently well-executed. He writes with authority, depth, and loads of worldly and writerly experience, and delivers fascinating stuff.” – Darren Speegle

Along the way you will travel to the top of Mt. George, up and down Napa Valley, through Sacramento, and into the heart of the Bay Area, to the ‘Loin in San Francisco, Hotel Reo, Chapel of the Chimes, the back streets of Oakland, and other familiar dark places. The stories explore quantum entanglement, Visual Migraine Events, electro-shock treatment, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Tourette’s syndrome experimentally treated with Temporary Deep Brain Stimulation. And as you read you may start to notice all these stories are connected in a way.

Includes:

“Frozen Shadows” – Coming of age autobiographical

“The Algernon Effect” – A transgressive love story

“Transformations at the Inn of the Golden Pheasant” – A damaged vet describes a bizarre transformation

“On the Right Side of the Road” – An ex-con suffering from Visual Migraine Effects may just save the world

“Black Tar/Red Alien” – A heroin addict’s confrontation with a horrific alien

“Broken Lady” – An aging singer pays a terrible price for defending herself during a rape

“The Shaking Man” – An ex-con receives an experimental treatment for his Tourette’s Syndrome with unexpected results

“3-Dot People” – An amnesiac man drops literally into the Tenderloin of San Francisco

“A Faint Scent of Musky Lime” – A fan of the writer Tom Really finds himself experiencing one of Reamy’s horrific stories

“At the Lazy K” – A historic epic of a ghost plaguing a rehab clinic on an old ranch

High Barrens by Alice Sabo:

Seeing into a soul is easy for Flint.

She can change a life or even the world with her words.

She should have kept her mouth shut.

Flint thought that having six older brothers and growing up in a dangerous frontier town would prepare her for anything. She soon discovers that the world is a lot more complex than she expected, and it’s going to take more than a strong back and good intentions to achieve her goals.

When it comes to magic, all the wishes in the world won’t change who you really are. And sometimes that’s okay.

300 Degree Days and Other Stories by Deborah Sheldon:

‘Sheldon’s stories lift the skin of small, suburban lives to expose the raw nerves beneath. Her writing is intimate, compelling and alarming…’ – The Short Review, UK.

Sometimes, the ties that bind are sharp enough to cut. In these eleven stories, set in contemporary Australian suburbia, Deborah Sheldon examines the darker side of family relationships. Unsettling and incisively written, each story of betrayal, envy, loss or bad blood resonates for a long time after reading.

[image error] Pursuit by Val St. Crowe:

The war between the humans and the aliens is over. The humans lost.

Gunner Jisse captains the Star Swallow, a ship that takes whatever job it can, from running guns for the Resistance to smuggling food to hidden human outposts. If the aliens discover what he’s doing, he and his crew are dead.

Eve Harlowe sees visions. She’s always known her future is to be the mother of a champion, who will finally defeat the aliens and set humans free. The first step toward her fate is setting foot on Gunner’s ship. He’s destined to be the father of this champion.

Gunner’s not interested in any of that. He thinks seeing the future is hogwash until Eve sees an attack that comes to bloody fruition. If it weren’t for annoyances like busted rescav thrusters and firefights in space, he’d have gotten Eve off his ship already.

Because the aliens have visions as well, and they’ve identified Eve as a threat. The aliens will chase her to the dark corners of the galaxy with one goal. Destroy.

Mage Provocateur by Glynn Stewart:

Vengeance hunts them.

Rebellion seeks them.

Loyalty commands them.

The shadows will fear them.

Captain David Rice and Mage Maria Soprano have made their choice, signing up with the Martian Interstellar Security Agency and converting Red Falcon into a covert operations ship for the Protectorate.

Their new duties drag them back into the very underworld they once strove to escape, intentionally provoking the Azure Legacy into a renewed conflict. They find unexpected allies with secret agents from Legatus’s rebellion against Mars as they seek to stop Mikhail Azure’s Blue Star Syndicate from being reborn.

The Azure Legacy wants revenge. Legatus wants blood. David and Maria are bound by the overriding duty of all officers of the Mage-King’s Protectorate:

Protect the innocent.

Spacer by J.A. Sutherland:

Jon Bartlett’s path is clear before him: finish his last year of schooling, then off on the family’s ships to learn the intricacies of interstellar trade. But a message of tragedy at home comes for him, and his expected life is flung far out of reach and he’s cast into a role he never wanted.

A portion of Spacer was previously published as the short story Wronged, by J.A. Sutherland

 

 

[image error] The Promise of a Battered Moon by Jack Teng:

A planet-killer asteroid is hurtling to Earth and everyone is freaking out. But not Manon Fontaine. She knows what the asteroid really is and it’s hers. Once she controls it, she’ll revive the world’s post-war economy and also her mother’s mining company. But first, she needs to navigate family betrayals and kidnapping attempts before she can finally determine her own fate.

Meanwhile, Ann Wilson, an augmented Union super-soldier, has been having problems (beyond the mental strains of indiscriminate killing): her last targets were blown up with fractional deuterium devices, and made things very messy. Ann hates messes. What she hates more is a commanding officer who jerks her around and then sends her, of all places, to Luna City. Little does she know she’s conducting illegal missions to gain control of the asteroid.

In the middle of it all, is Eric Lin, a Union-born-Chinese thruster mechanic. Because of the war with the PPA, he’s been ostracized and forced off-planet to Luna City and the orbital colonies. All he wants is to be accepted and left in peace. This apparently is too much to ask, as both the Union and the PPA send soldiers to drag him away for the-hell-knows what. The reason is in fact that he holds the key to controlling the asteroid.

Amidst traitorous double-agents and assassinations, Manon, Ann and Eric’s paths collide, leaving a wake of destroyed orbital stations and rampaging mobs, ultimately leading them into a confrontation on the moon.

Sparks Fly by Llinos Cathryn Thomas:

After twenty-five years of single-minded determination, Marianne Gordon has finally achieved her ambition and been promoted to Principal of the Vesper School for Zero-Gravity Artistic Display.

But her moment of triumph is cut short when she discovers that she must share her position with Josephine Knight, a celebrated zero-gravity performer who doesn’t know the first thing about teaching. Deeply insulted, Marianne does her best to carry on as though Jo isn’t there, but Jo has a way of making her presence felt.

When the future of Marianne’s beloved school is threatened, Jo may be the only person who can help – but only if Marianne can learn to let her in.

[image error] Nepenthe Rising by John Triptych:

In the far future, two major factions are locked in a galactic cold war. As tensions mount between the technocratic Union and the genome-harnessing Concordance, both sides anxiously watch for a chance to conquer the other.

The Nepenthe is a pirate vessel, loyal to neither. Led by the enigmatic Captain Dangard, her rough and ready crew includes the cat-like alien Commander Creull, Zeno the immortal synthetic, the dashing Garrett Strand, and Duncan Hauk, a promising young recruit.

Hired by a cryptic employer, the crew waylays a transport ship carrying a mysterious passenger. In due time, this incident sparks the beginnings of an interstellar conflict that could threaten the state of known space.

The first of an epic new sci-fi series, Nepenthe Rising delivers what today’s fans want: detailed world-building, thrilling action, and mind-blowing adventure on a grand scale.

[image error] Dustrunner by Dean F. Wilson:

Nox is a wanted man.

While searching for a criminal, the fabled Coilhunter wanders into a tribal village massacre. He didn’t do it, but that doesn’t matter. The clues point to him, and he’s made a lot of enemies over the years. Many would happily see the tables turned.

His pleas of innocence fall on deaf ears. No sooner does he try to find the real killers than posters go up across the Wild North—posters with his face and his name. He isn’t the only bounty hunter out there. Dozens assemble to cash him in.

Tasked with finding out who’s framed him, Nox must also survive the constant onslaught of frontier law. He’s used to hunting others. He’s not so used to life on the run.

This is a standalone book in the Coilhunter Chronicles series, which can be read in any order.

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