Cora Buhlert's Blog, page 94

New Collection Available: Southern Monsters

Yes, I know that the US is electing a new president tomorrow (actually today, where I am), but elsewhere the world is still spinning on and I have a new release to announce.

It’s another collection of stories to come out of the 2016 July short story challenge. One thing I have noticed during the two July short story challenges I did so far is that certain themes seem to emerge. And for the 2016 challenge, one of those themes was stories about monsters in the Louisiana bayous.

Now stories about monsters in the Louisiana bayous might seem like an odd thing for someone from Germany to write. However, at the age of five I spent almost a year living in Biloxi, Mississippi, because my Dad had a job there, overseeing the building of some ships. I talk a bit more about that in the Afterword/Author’s Note of Southern Monsters.

The time spent on the US Gulf Coast certainly had an impact on me and like everything that was important to me at some point in my life, it sometimes comes out in my writing. And during the July short story challenge, it did.

So if you need some relief from the ongoing election circus, why don’t you pick up Southern Monsters?

Southern Monsters

Three tales of monsters and terror in the Louisiana bayous.

When a young bride goes missing on her wedding day in Acadiana, the locals blame the Terror, the legendary monster that stalks the Crimson Bayou.

Remy Theriault does not believe in the Terror and he’s pretty sure the bride has done a runner. But the groom is his cousin and family is family. So Remy goes out to look for the runaway bride, only to find that sometimes, the old legends are true…

When their car crashes into the bayou on a dark Louisiana night, the swamp creature known only as Big Puffball might just be one family’s salvation…

When fishing boats go missing on the Mississippi River Delta, few people link these disappearances to the mysterious light that lit up the Louisiana sky only weeks before. But an astronomer from Tulane University makes the connection and discovers the horror that is the sphere that ate the Mississippi delta.

More information.

Length: 7700 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, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, txtr, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, OmniLit/AllRomance e-books, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

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Introducing the “In Love and War” trailer

Yeah, it’s NaNoWriMo and all that and I really should be writing.

But instead, I found myself creating a trailer for my In Love and War space opera romance series, using a bunch of stock photos and public domain space art and assembling them into a trailer using the free program Stupeflix.

I talk a bit more about my process for making book and series trailers here. Basically, what you need are some stock images and a story to tell. If you’re a writer, you should already have the latter, and if you’re a publisher, you should know where to find the former.

So enjoy the In Love and War trailer. And buy the books, while you’re at it.

In Love and War

For more videos, visit my YouTube channel.

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Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for October 2016

It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”, this time with a special Halloween edition.

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 September 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. We have a whole lot of horror this month (well, it is Halloween), but also epic fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, historical fantasy, Asian fantasy, space opera, military science fiction, post-apocalyptic science fiction, Cyberpunk, science fiction romance, fantasy romance, paranormal romance, vampires, witches, monsters, aliens, superheroes, nanotechnology, outlaw hackers, smart bullets, perilous hunts, killer viruses, operatic zombies, Greek gods, barbarian generals, druid genes, Singaporean monsters, a whole lot of LGBT characters 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:

Bullet Holes 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 a seemingly routine courier job turns out to be a trap, Anjali is hit by a so-called smart bullet, a Republican weapon that slowly and inevitably kills its victims. Mikhail is given a choice by his former commander Brian Mayhew: Surrender or watch the woman he loves die in excruciating pain.

It is a choice between two equally horrifying fates. But maybe, there is a third option…

This is a story of 6200 words or approx. 22 print pages in the In Love and War series, but may be read as a standalone.

Perilous Hunt by Lindsay Buroker:

After failing to catch up with her daughter Jelena so many times, Alisa’s optimism is battered, but her determination has never waned. She, Leonidas, and their eclectic crew are hunting down a Starseer research station in the heart of the Kir Asteroid belt—Jelena’s supposed location. Alisa vows that she will find her daughter if she has to search a million asteroids to do so.

But Jelena and her close friend, Prince Thorian, have attracted the interest of many factions, and the Star Nomad isn’t the only ship on the hunt…

Night Conjurings: Tales of Terror by Harvey Click:

For fans of Clive Barker and Laird Barron… Ghosts, vampires, demons, serial killers, and other deadly denizens of the dark haunt this collection of chilling short stories by horror master Harvey Click.

*An unhappy and unloved boy summons a substitute mother–with sharp teeth.

*Two teenage boys learn it’s better to leave a spooky abandoned house alone.

*Can ghosts kill? Denise is about to find out the hard way.

*When her creative writing instructor offers to teach Kathy how to write a horror story, she finds herself trapped inside one.

*A man discovers he may be a killer, though he can’t remember the murders.

*A man with a terrible past, a wizard from the dark side of the moon, and a pitchfork perform a dark drama of murder and madness.

*A time traveler attempts to bring his dead fiancée back to life.

*Many people wish to be ageless, but what happens when an immortal woman begins to lose her mind?

*An artist literally draws a dead woman out of her grave.

*An elderly woman seeks to recover her forgotten past, but some things are better left forgotten.

*A petty swindler tries to buy good luck but ends up with the sort of luck nobody would want.

*And finally, a brief fable about a box of very sharp silence.

The Deep by Amanda Creiglow:

Anna was a psychologist before the world ended. Now, she’s just a member of the not-yet-dead, waiting out the days until sickness takes her. But when an indecipherable signal from the depths of the sea hints at hope, she goes along on a mission to discover its source. She’s supposed to keep the rest of the crew sane, and they’re supposed to keep her alive. But not everything goes as planned…

Will the secrets of the deep hold hope for the future of the human race? Anna’s adventure to discover the truth begins.

 

Monster Maelstrom – A Halloween Anthology, edited by George Donnelly

24 Extremely Short Halloween Stories for your Briefest Moments

From a Hillary Clinton stripper to mythical beast-women in the harsh Scandinavian tundra and from an unusual band of steadfast teddy bears to the last man in zombie-occupied Chicago, fill your briefest moments with pulse-pounding frights and off-beat chuckles with this collection of 24 flash fiction stories.

Commuting to work? Grabbing a quick coffee? Each story tells a complete tale in but a few short minutes with the added promise of a lifelong introduction to new indie writers.

You never know, you might just find your next favorite author.

Monster Maelstrom, the second anthology in the Flash Flood series, is a hand-picked selection of master works in humor, horror and fantasy themed for Halloween and guaranteed to keep you engaged.

Sign up now to get free copies of book 1, Bite-Sized Stories, and future flash fiction anthologies themed for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, May the 4th and Independence Day.

Eidolon by Carlyle Edmundson:

After Lance’s contact, Wyatt, is driven underground by the followers of a crusading hacker known only as Eidolon, Lance gets saddled with the unenviable task of digging up dirt on them—one made even less tolerable as he finds himself working alongside a clickbait blogger whose only concern is the next big controversy.

But as Lance gets to know Eidolon and what he stands for, he becomes less and less sure that he’s on the right side. Is Wyatt merely taking advantage of him, or could there really be a dark secret at the heart of Eidolon’s attempts to right the world?

Eidolon is the second book in the Lance Canela series, following The Arcology. It features a special bonus short, Thoughts as Gray as Ash.

Stolen Magic by Marina Finlayson:

Lexi Jardine may be a thief, but she’s not stupid. When a crooked fireshaper wants her to steal a ring from the boss of his order, she knows it’s a one-way ticket to sleeping with the fishes. Her answer is to drop off the face of the earth.

Safely hidden in a quiet seaside town, she just needs to keep her head down and pretend to be a regular human. Since her only magical ability is the power to control animals, that should be easy, right?

Then a new fireshaper shows up in town. He’s hot as hell but oddly hostile. With his suspicious eyes watching her every move, her safe haven starts feeling more like a trap. When her best friend disappears, Lexi knows the time for hiding is over. Though the fireshapers are more powerful, Lexi’s not one to abandon a friend—but it will take everything she’s got to save them both from the flames.

The Druid Gene by Jennifer Foehner Wells:

Darcy has a ten-thousand-year-old secret buried in her genetic code.

As a second year medical student, her life revolves around classes, studying, and her boyfriend Adam—until she treks through the desert, touches some mysterious stacked stones, and a network of glowing blue lines radiates under her skin.

Then she saw the spaceship. And it was coming for her.

She faces impossibly bad choices and a missing boyfriend.

Darcy struggles to accept her heritage and master her newfound powers as she navigates deception, betrayal, and danger in order to prevail in the galaxy’s most dangerous game—and survive to save Adam.

This new series also takes place in the Confluence Universe.

Repulsive by Brian W. Foster:

Zack Zurick loves superheroes. Lives them. Knows everything about them. And hey, he is a classic underdog and has an alliterative name, so maybe he could one day be chosen to join their ranks.

His life drastically changes when he becomes Repulsor. He’d hoped the fame and money would make Hayli see him as more than a friend. Instead, she can’t even look at him without literally getting sick. And the whole saving-the-world thing turns out to be harder than he thought, too. The villains have teamed up, and the heroes have a traitor in their midst. Zack must figure out who’s betraying them, defeat the bad guys, and, oh yeah, not get killed.

Right. Why not just go ahead and win the girl while he’s at it?

Maybe he could. If she weren’t dating the most popular, most famous, and most handsome superhero of them all. And if only he weren’t … Repulsive.

Mind Behind the Mind by Alexa Grave

A witch who believes one of her own kind could never kill…

In a world where people believe the crimson sun is a dead witch’s head and the witch hunter who killed her stalks the night sky, a witch who ventures outside of Haven risks losing her life. Tessa is one such witch. Like many of her kind, she hopes to help the people of Leera, not harm them, and she’s on her first mission to heal an ailing man named Jeremiah. But when she crosses paths with a witch hunter, instead of avoiding him like she knows she should, she succumbs to her desires and ends up in his bed.

The local Enforcers believe a witch is behind Jeremiah’s sickness, so they call Bastian to town. He’s a young witch hunter who normally has a knack for sniffing out witches. But when he runs into the striking Tessa, she scrambles his senses. He’s inexplicably drawn to her and abandons his usually cautious nature.

As Tessa and Bastian uncover clues about Jeremiah’s illness, Tessa has to face the possibility that another witch may have had a hand in the incident. And if Bastian learns she’s a witch, he may point his finger at her. Then her head will surely roll.

The Tyro by Carol Holland March:

Larreta, home of the dreamwalkers, is being torn apart.

Rifts are forming and swallowing everything in their path. People, structures, entire villages, are disappearing. No one knows where the rifts come from or how to stop them. And they are getting worse.

Leo, a Senior Dreamwalker, is recalled from Earth, where he fled rather than face his failures. His heightened ability to connect with the past is crucial to combat the rifts. He’s drafted to train a handsome new dreamwalker, Jesse: a young man whose own talents are part of the solution to stopping the destruction.

Together, the two must form a complicated passage through time and space, and they can only succeed with mutual trust. First, Leo needs to overcome his personal demons in order to make the necessary connection. But getting closer is not something he wants to do, in spite of his attraction to Jesse. However, the fate of more than one world rests on their success. And time is running out.

Extinction Cycle: From the Ashes by Michael Patrick Hicks:

n an effort to contain the spread of the Hemorrhage Virus, the United States government launched an attack on its nation’s cities. Hundreds of thousands of lives, and a number of major cities, were lost in Operation Reaper but the monsters created by the bioengineered virus remained.

A small team of Army Rangers have entered the ruins of Detroit in an effort to save whatever refugees they can, and stop whatever creatures they encounter. In an all-or-nothing gambit, the Rangers will soon discover that in the heart of the Motor City, evil rises from the ashes.

All Roads Lead to Hell by S. Hunter Nisbet and Artemis Fay:

Good intentions only go so far.

Regretting his decision to let Simon Flaherty leave Buchell without admitting his feelings, Mick Perry follows his ex-fighting student to Scioto City looking for closure.

What Mick finds is a teenager barely coping with his new life, adrift in a metropolis that pays lip service to progress while accepting bribes from all-powerful criminal syndicates.

Mick thinks he’s prepared to do anything to help Simon, but his own past is catching up, from the family that betrayed his beliefs to the war he can’t seem to stop fighting in his dreams. Not to mention the contracts he’s bent on securing with the city bosses. The right move forward has never been less clear.

When the local syndicates realize exactly who Simon’s father was, all bets are off for the future. Mick will have to choose—does he want Simon as a lover, or does he want to use the power of the Petrowski name?

Or do all roads lead to hell?

Beacon’s Hope by Jim Johnson:

When Rachel Farran accepted her calling to become a new Beacon, a reborn Fate and weaver of ley magics, she barely understood the world she was diving into. Lost souls, poltergeists, an ancient magical journal, and more await her in her journey, and she has to balance all of that with time for her girlfriend, training her magical ally Malcolm, and oh yeah, also trying to find a job to help make ends meet. It’s enough to make a girl go crazy!

Beacon’s Hope is the second book in Potomac Shadows, a paranormal fantasy series set in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The Keeper of Pulau Purba by Brian J.W. Lee:

From an emerging writer in Singapore, a Military-Horror Novel just in time for a harrowing Halloween.

Alex Kee is an author. As he is working on his magnum opus, he is called up for military reservist duties. At 35 years old, this is far from the first time he is doing this – Except he has been transferred to a new branch of the military camped at Pulau Purba, a previously undeveloped island south of Singapore.

Unable to write, he finds solace instead in his old army buddies. The closest amongst them is Nur Aidah, who is voluntarily serving despite the law requiring only men to do so. While old wounds are reopened, new ones emerge:

Alex finds that there is something wrong with Pulau Purba. The soldiers stationed there are tense even by conscript standards. Anger boils in the hearts of many and violence is common. Meanwhile, a grotesque creature stalks Alex in his sleep. Although he suspects that he isn’t alone, no one talks about it.

A thunderstorm’s coming, and it will threaten everything that Alex holds dear.

Aizli: Between Worlds by Lindsay McKinney:

Tom Miller always thought of himself as being as average as they come. He had resigned himself to the job he hated and the little town he had grown up in. His stale life is turned on its head when his friend tells him of a strange stone box hidden in a nearby cave. In the process of attempting an amateur archaeological investigation, he finds a beautiful young woman in the sarcophagus. To his shock, she is very much alive. As she explains her story, Tom finds himself questioning everything he had ever dared to think about the universe. It isn’t long before he finds himself part of a painful choice between love and responsibility.

Aizli: Between Worlds is a novella with a length of approximately 30,000 words.

Four Barbarian Generals by T.A. Miles:

Han Quan’s dragon has been put to rest. The Empire beholds a moment of peace, a brief hour of victory, though at great cost.

The Imperial City has suffered significant damage from the dragon’s assault, the turmoil between the Five Kingdoms has escalated in the face of a continuing rise of dark forces now attributed as a curse upon the Song Dynasty, and Han Quan himself remains at large. Pursuit of the geomancer uncovers secrets connected to the persisting influence of the late Scholar General, and to the School of the Seven Mystics itself.

While the Phoenix continues to rise through Xu Liang, the dragons of the mortal plane begin to awaken. And as the southern kingdoms unite and rise against Xu Liang and his barbarian allies, the people of Ji continue to look to their ‘Silent Emperor’, some believing that he is favored by the gods, even above the Empress herself.

With Ying threatening to turn away from the Mandate and Du promising to join the southern rebellion, it seems that the heart of the Empire stands alone, unaware that the efforts of the Barbarian Generals will help determine the outcome of this battle between kingdoms.

War to the Knife by T.S. Paul:

War is on the horizon for the Galaxy. The Empire of Man has been thrust into civil war as the Cabal makes it’s presence known. Earth is on the rise as plans within plans come to fruition. Mars and the new Alliance intends to take the war to Earth directly and Athena Lee is smack-dab in the middle of it all. Again. Will she survive or will Earth and its clone army win as they reconquer the galaxy?

 

 

Poseidon and Cleito by Andrew J. Peters:

He became a god. Her story was forgotten.

From the shore of a frozen steppe, an outcast hunter embarks for the otherworld to ask his ancestors how to bring the mammoth back to the fields of sedge.

In a shining, island kingdom of wonders, the daughter of a high priest fights for her claim to wealth and power after her father is assassinated by the king.

Together they will build an empire recalled as an ancient legend and a cautionary tale. But how did he become a god while she became a mere footnote in history?

From the publisher: Poseidon & Cleito is the engrossing first book of a fantasy trilogy of myth and legend exploring the rise of the lost civilization of Atlantis. In the best traditions of an epic journey, one man’s struggle to discover his place in the world takes him across perilous seas into the epicenter of political strife in a foreign land. But a legend is not made of deeds alone. Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay’s historical fantasy and David Gemmell’s Troy series will enjoy this fantasy novel as it sets out to reimagine the inception of a Greek myth.

Determination by L.D. Silver:

Skye Denali promises herself that she’ll never enter The Highlands. But then her sister Bree is taken by a vampire, and her mother is overwhelmed by grief.

She has no choice. To help her family, Skye will have to face her fears. She’ll have to go into The Highlands – a town that’s governed by vampires. And once she crosses the border and leaves the human sector, she’ll lose her rights.

Any vampire can demand her blood and by law she can’t refuse.

She’ll have to avoid attracting attention, search the town, and free her sister. All without getting caught.

Because getting caught means an automatic death sentence, or worse…

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Photos: Bremer Freimarkt 2016

On Wednesday, I took my annual stroll across the Freimarkt, Bremen’s annual autumn fair. The Bremer Freimarkt is one of the oldest fairs in Germany, held every year since 1035 AD, which makes 2016 the 981st reiteration. I’ve blogged about the Bremer Freimarkt a couple of times before – you can find my old posts here.

When I was younger, I used to be a big fan of fairground rides, but most of my favourites are either gone by now (such as the late lamented Frisbee, sold off to Dubai two years ago), while those that are still there tend to be too hard on my back. And three minutes of feeling like Han Solo during the asteroid chase in The Empire Strikes Back isn’t really worth several days of backache.

So this year, I just focussed on the food and enjoyed the atmosphere. I had fish and chips (a fairly new Freimarkt addition that started showing up approx. five years ago to complement the more traditional fish rolls and baked fish), Chinese vegetable stir-fry (first showed up in the late 1980s), sweet potato fries (brand new – this was the first year I saw them), Schmalzkuchen, a doughnut like pastry that is a traditional fairground food and roasted almonds, another traditional fairground treat. My companion’s taste ran more towards the traditional: Thuringian sausage, French fries, Rossbratwurst (horse meat sausage, a regional specialty) and soft serve ice cream.

In general, I noticed fewer stalls selling candy and sweets – used to be that every second stall was a candy stall. It’s probably due to health concerns (fairground candy isn’t exactly healthy even by candy standards) and parents being less willing to buy candy for their kids. I also suspect the Freimarkt allowance, which was standard when I was a kid, is gradually dying out, so kids often don’t have money to buy candy for themselves. Coincidentally, balloon vendors, which were extremely common until a few years ago, have also nearly died out.

Another classic that has become rare is the gingerbread heart, which is decorated with icing spelling out a name or message. They used to be popular gifts for children, girlfriends, etc…, but I saw a lot fewer people wearing a gingerbread heart than usual. I guess people are no longer buying them, for while they make great decorations (I had one on my wall, when I was a student in London, sent to me by friends), they are nigh inedible.

Drink stalls and tents (beer, mulled wine and even hard liquor are normal at German fairs) were plentiful as ever, but thankfully, there were a lot fewer drunks around than usual. Meanwhile, pizza seems to have exploded in popularity. There used to be two pizza stands at the Freimarkt – this year, there were at least six or seven. New additions to the fairground food circuit were langos, a Hungarian specialty. I also saw a stall offering tacos, burritos and other Mexican street food, but it didn’t look very good. Plus, one of the usual fish stalls (fish sandwiches are a North German fairground classic) offered fresh oysters. Now I love oysters, but the Freimarkt is not where I’d eat them. A New Orleans type oyster po’boy I could imagine – po’boys aren’t that different from our traditional fish sandwiches, after all – but not fresh oysters for slurping.

As for rides, there wasn’t anything new this year, just a whole lot of more or less old stand-bys. But then, innovation in mobile fairground rides has slowed down since the early 1990s. Indeed, strolling over the Freimarkt it was striking how many of the rides were already thirty, forty or fifty years old. Ride design wasn’t particularly exciting either, though I question the wisdom of naming your space-themed ride Apollo 13.

One thing that was sorely missed were the barkers who comment on the rides and do their best to entice people to buy a ticket. Most barkers limit themselves to comment like “Come in, a new journey starts.” or “Do you want some more?”, but some are excellent entertainers. The best Freimarkt barker used to work on the rides owned by the Robrahn family, first the Ranger and later the Frisbee. This guy was so hilarious that people would stand in front of a ride they had no intention of boarding just to listen to him. When a power failure plunged part of the Freimarkt into darkness back in the late 1980s, he switched off all lights on the Ranger, while it was upside down, and kept apologising how sorry he was they’d have to stay that way now (no one realised that if the power had really been off, the loudspeakers would have been off as well – at least, I didn’t). Another year, when a couple of Canadian tourists were riding on the Frisbee, he played the Canadian anthem for them. But the Frisbee is now spinning in Dubai and the barker? I have no idea what happened to him, but I miss him.

Another thing that annoyed me was how many rides and stalls were Bavarian themed. Now there have always been some Bavarian themed rides and stall at the Freimarkt, but this year it was really excessive and it doesn’t fit here culturally. I suspect a lot of stall and ride operators couldn’t be bothered to switch out the backgrounds and decor after Oktoberfest – cause most stalls and mobile rides have multiple background and decorations, Bavarian themed for Oktoberfest, maritime themed for Freimarkt and Hamburger Dom, Christmas themed for Christmas markets, etc…

Meanwhile, one classic ride I was happy to see again at the Freimarkt after a few years of absence was a mobile go-kart race track. I suspect it dates from the 1950s and indeed my Dad claims that he rode it as a teenager. The ride is still in excellent condition (fairground rides are subjected to frequent safety checks in Germany, so accidents are very rare). It was massively popular, both among elderly gentlemen eager to relive their youth and teenaged boys (and yes, they were all men. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman or girl on the go-kart ride). The teen boys were a joy to behold – one look at their faces and you could see that they were imagining being Michael Schumacher or Sebastian Vettel at that moment. One kid even had its own cheering squad made up of mother, sister and little brother. Two other boys hugged and posed for a photo after the race was through. So cute.

There was more police and more paramedics in evidence than usual and the layout had been changed to reduce the number of exits. Security concerns are heightened this year due to terrorist fears, even though the only terrorist attack ever at a German fair and coincidentally the worst terrorist attack in postwar Germany, the Oktoberfest bombing of 1980, was committed by Neo-Nazis. And believe me, they weren’t afraid of Neo-Nazis this year. Whereas the people they were afraid of were enjoying the fair like everybody else.

I didn’t take my camera to the Freimarkt – too risky, because it’s a pickpocket hotspot. However, by now I have a smartphone which takes pretty decent photos, so I made use of that. You can find my Freimarkt photos below.

If you prefer moving pictures, here is a video documentary of the 2016 Freimarkt. I also found these two Freimarkt videos from 1987 and 1989, featuring many late lamented classics such as the Rainbow, the Sky Lab or the Alte Liebe. The 1989 video features the infamously noisy Sky-Rider (the hydraulics were so noisy that even the music couldn’t drown them out), while the 1987 video also features the Ranger barker – damn, I miss him. The Ranger itself is actually not nearly as much of a test of bravery as my teen self thought – I had the chance to ride one a few years ago. Never got to ride a Sky Lab or Enterprise (same ride, different names) sadly.

A look across the Freimarkt with the Ferris wheel in the background and a jewellery stall as well as a tin can throwing stall in the foreground.

Another looks across the freimarkt with the Ferris wheel in the background and a poffertjes (little Dutch pancakes) stall and a kiddie ride in the foreground.

A look up the Ferris wheel from underneath the awning of another stall: This is the so-called Steiger Ferris wheel. It’s about 60 meters tall, used to be the biggest mobile Ferris wheel in the world and was built by Kocks in Bremen in 1980.

A Freimarkt panorama featuring a Zierer wave-swinger in full flight. The sign in front says “Roasted chestnuts”.

The striking Alex Airport ride seen through some trees.

A look up the Alex Airport ride, really a Funtime Star Flyer.

This log flume ride at the Freimarkt is decorated with totem poles and other Native American imagery. Old West and general travel imagery is common for ride decorations in Germany.

The Olympia rollercoaster and its five loopings at the Freimarkt. In the background you can see the Ferris wheel again.

A closer look at the Olympia Coaster and its five loopings. Built by Anton Schwarzkopf, invetor of the rollercoaster looping, in the 1980s.

The other rollarcoaster at the Freimarkt is the Wilde Mouse, seen here in the background. The Wilde Mouse is infamous for making very sharp turns, which give the impression the car is about to derail.

A closer look at the Wilde Mouse coaster: This modern version dates from the 1990s, has steel tracks and was probably built by Mack Rides. The older version, common in the 1950s and 1960s, was made from wood. I rode a wooden Wilde Mouse once in the early 1990s. It was interesting.

The pirate pyramid, a drinks stall with a pirate theme, with the Wilde Mouse coaster in the background. Come Christmas time, the pirates are swapped out for angels and nativity scenes.

Most food and drink stall at the Freimarkt are fairly plain, but some feature interesting designs. This lighthouse is really a fried fish stall.

And another interesting stall design. This windmill is really a drinks stall.

The Haunted Mansion, a spectacularly designed ghost ride.

The Haunted Mansion again, this time drenched in pink light.

A view across the dry ice fog drenched floor of a bumper car ride.

A glittering and newly refurbished Music Express ride, probably from Mack rides. It sure looks great, though I miss the vintage late 1960 design of the old Music Express. As a student, my Dad used to work as a chip collector at the Music Express predecessor Caterpillar.

Traditional Caterpillar rides, once popular because couples could kiss when the canopy came down, still show up on German fairs occasionally. Here is a video of a beautifully preserved Caterpillar ride from the 1930s.

The Commander is one of the prettiest rides on the Freimarkt. Built by Mondial in the early 1990s and decorated with scenes from Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer by a Brinkum based design firm. The owner reportedly is a huge Rocketeer fan.

The Happy Traveller, a Huss Break Dancer with a stunning world travel theme. Still as great as it was when it premiered at the Freimarkt thirty years ago.

The Happy Sailor ride, built in 1979 and still a Freimarkt favourite.

For a look at the Happy Sailor in holiday dress at the Bremen Christmas market, see here.

The Polyp, a Schwarzkopf Monster III built in 1979. Colloquially called the Kraken, a Monster III has been found at every Freimarkt since 1979. I rode the Kraken and the Happy Sailor most years, too.

Back in 2011, The Kraken, a Schwarzkopf Monster III that had been fairly recently refurbished, suffered an accident at the Freimarkt, which injured a couple fo people. I blogged about that here and here. I was always a big Kraken fan, all the way back since 1979, so I’m glad to see a Schwarzkopf Monster III at the Freimarkt again, even though it’s not The Kraken.

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Free Halloween themed anthology “Monster Maelstrom” available

Yes, I have another new release announcement to make. I promise that eventually there will be regular blogposts again, but at the moment, the new releases are coming hard and fast, so please bear with me.

Today, I am pleased to announce Monster Maelstrom, a Halloween themed flash fiction anthology edited by George Donelly. There are 24 stories about monsters in this anthology, including one of mine.

Monster Maelstrom – A Halloween Anthology

From a Hillary Clinton stripper to mythical beast-women in the harsh Scandinavian tundra and from an unusual band of steadfast teddy bears to the last man in zombie-occupied Chicago, fill your briefest moments with pulse-pounding frights and off-beat chuckles with this collection of 24 flash fiction stories.

Commuting to work? Grabbing a quick coffee? Each story tells a complete tale in but a few short minutes with the added promise of a lifelong introduction to new indie writers.

You never know, you might just find your next favorite author.

Monster Maelstrom, the second anthology in the Flash Flood series, is a hand-picked selection of master works in humor, horror and fantasy themed for Halloween and guaranteed to keep you engaged.

Best of all, it’s free, so grab your copy now at the retailer of your choice:

Get 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, Smashwords and Google Play.

***

Our editor George Donnelly blogs a bit about the anthology here. Monster Maelstrom is part of a whole series of flash fiction anthologies and you can find out how to get the first volume, Bite-Sized Stories, and the next one, Christmas in the Family, for free at George’s blog.

My story in Monster Maelstrom is called “The Reanimated Reunion Tour” and is another story to come out of the 2016 July short story challenge. It’s a comedy horror story about a group of zombie opera singers, The Undead Tenors, post-humously reunited for one final performance.

Like many other stories to come out of the July short story challenge, “The Reanimated Reunion Tour” was inspired by a piece of fantasy art, namely this one.

However, “The Reanimated Reunion Tour” also draws on the love for opera I developed as a teenager. Because the five Undead Tenors (only three of whom are actually tenors, the other two are a baritone and a basso) were once the greatest opera stars of their time, they played all the great parts in all the big houses and festivals and they sure as hell won’t let anybody forget that. Resemblances to any actual opera singers living, dead or undead are entirely coincidental, of course.

I even managed to sneak in a reference to my all-time favourite opera aria, “Oh, wie will ich triumphieren” from The Abduction from the Seraglio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with lyrics by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner. You can see and hear it here, performed by the master himself, Kurt Moll (sorry, Anselmo).

However, my little quirky tale of zombie opera singers is only one of 24 stories about some common and very uncommon monsters to be found in Monster Maelstrom.

Oh yes, and did I mention that the anthology is free?

So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy today.

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“Bullet Holes” and the Creativity Pressure Cooker

Lately, I’ve been writing quite a bit about the 2016 July short story challenge, a writing challenge where the objective was to write a short story every day in July 2016. I’ve written a bit more about the July short story challenge over at the Pegasus Pulp blog – and yes, it is absolutely possible to do this.

One of the most interesting effects of doing something like the July short story challenge is that it get the stewpot of your subconscious working overtime and acts like a pressure cooker for your creativity. This becomes particularly apparent later in the challenge, when all the “easy ideas” have been used up, but you still have to produce a story, so your mind starts to combine all sorts of different influences in new and fascinating ways.

I’d like to illustrate how this works, using Bullet Holes, a science fiction story in the In Love and War series, as an example:

When you’re trying to write 31 short stories in as many days, you need to use writing prompts to spark ideas. I used all sorts of prompts for the July short story challenge, but one method that usually got results for me was using images as prompts. So among other sources, I perused io9‘s list of concept art writing prompts. I looked through the images and if one sparked an idea, I’d start writing.

This is the fairly straightforward version of the idea generation process. See image, start writing. However, sometimes an image would also sink into a great stewpot of my subconscious and spark an idea further down the line. This is what happened in the case of Bullet Holes.

The story was written fairly late in the challenge. It was July, a hot night and even hotter day, and I was trying to fall asleep. But the heat made it difficult and so I drifted in and out of sleep, while my mind was hard at work combining story ideas.

Now I had been writing a short story per day for almost a month at this point, so my brain was in story generation mode anyway. What is more, two of the stories I had written plus one I set aside (which later became Graveyard Shift) had been in the same series, the In Love and War space opera/science fiction romance series, so Anjali and Mikhail were also pretty close to the surface of my mind.

The 2016 Hugo votes also happened to be due by July 31, so I did part of my Hugo reading during the challenge period and had in fact just filled out my Hugo ballot. And while I was drifting in and out of sleep, my mind was fishing for story ideas, mentally reviewing the concept art writing prompts again and also thinking about the Hugo nominees and the way I’d ranked them.

For some reason, I found myself thinking about one particular story, Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds, a nominee in the novella category. At the start of that story, the protagonist is tortured with a so-called “slow bullet”, a projectile/data chip which slowly bores its way through her body. Now the “slow bullet” idea isn’t exactly new – I’ve come three variations in the past year or so – and the novella eventually went off into a completely different direction. Nor was Slow Bullets the top-ranked story on my novella ballot – I think I ranked it at number 3. Nonetheless, the opening scene stuck with me and so I found myself thinking about it, while drifting in and out of sleep.

Meanwhile, my mind in its infinite wisdom dug up an image I had seen among io9‘s concept art writing prompts, namely this one of a very dodgy Cyberpunk clinic/treatment room. Once again, this image did not speak to me immediately. In fact I initially dismissed with “Uhm, nope, next one please” after a quick glance. I didn’t even bookmark the image and had to hunt it down again. Nonetheless, my brain remembered it and combined it with the smart bullets from the Alastair Reynolds story and came up with an idea about someone hit in the leg with a smart bullet that was slowly boring its way towards their heart. And the only hope to remove the bullet lay in a dodgy backalley cyber-clinic.

While I was drifting in and out of sleep, my mind mused over the idea and eventually it hit me that this would make a great In Love and War story. Once I had that realisation, I was instantly a lot more awake. I worked over the idea, while lying awake in bed, and came up with a basic plot. Then I got up, switched on the air-conditioning (because I needed to work, damn it), sat down at my computer and wrote the story pretty much straight through with only a handful breaks to make tea and eventually lunch (because writing always makes me hungry).

Bullet Holes is the fourth story in the In Love and War series to date (you can get all four at a reduced price in this neat bundle available exclusively at DriveThruFiction, by the way) and the second to feature Anjali and Mikhail having adventures as an established couple.

In addition to Anjali and Mikhail as well as the new characters Draco and Sladjana Dragovich (Sladjana was named for a teacher colleague of mine, by the way), we also meet (well, hear, since he only appears as a voice in Mikhail’s ear) Colonel Brian Mayhew of the Republican Special Commando Forces, Mikhail’s former commander and mentor, again, who also appears in Dreaming of the Stars and Graveyard Shift.

When I first came up with the idea for what would eventually become the In Love and War series, Mayhew was something of a one-note villain, an SF-nal version of the doggedly relentless pursuer so common in “troubled difter solves problem of the week and moves on” TV-shows such as The Fugitive, The Pretender and the 1970s version of The Incredible Hulk (and indeed, such TV-shows were an influence on the In Love and War series).

However, as I wrote more stories in the In Love and War series, something odd happened, namely Brian Mayhew flat out refused to cooperate and made it very clear that he did not want to be a one-note villain or even a villain at all. And so Mayhew became an a lot more complex character, which thoroughly messed up some of my plans, but also made the overall storyline so much better.

The version of Brian Mayhew seen or rather heard in Bullet Holes is about as close to my original conception of the character, as he is likely to get. Because in Bullet Holes, he needed to be a fairly one-note villain, though even here it becomes noticeable that Mayhew isn’t entirely happy with all the things he’s forced to do in the name of the Republic.

But enough blathering about the writing process. Let’s get to the story itself (yes, this is a new release announcement, albeit one with a little bit of extra added) and follow Mikhail and Anjali onto the streets of the rim world of Varishka, as they deal with some very lethal…

Bullet Holes

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 eek out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

When a seemingly routine courier job turns out to be a trap, Anjali is hit by a so-called smart bullet, a Republican weapon that slowly and inevitably kills its victims. Mikhail is given a choice by his former commander Brian Mayhew: Surrender or watch the woman he loves die in excruciating pain.

It is a choice between two equally horrifying fates. But maybe, there is a third option…

More information.

Length: 6200 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, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, txtr, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, OmniLit/AllRomance e-books, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

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Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for September 2016

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 July 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. We have a whole lot of space opera this month, but also epic fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, military science fiction, dystopian science fiction, science fiction romance, time travel, vampires, witches, demons, dragons, aliens, nanitechnology, starship mages, disasters in space, intergalactic mercenaries, turncoat princes, outlaw swordfighters, FBI witches, psychedelic coffee 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:

Graveyard Shift by Cora Buhlert

While docked at the civilian space station Unity for repairs, the Republic of United Planets battlecruiser Great Endeavour undertakes a trial flight with an inexperienced bridge crew. Disaster strikes and the Great Endeavour crashes into Unity‘s shopping concourse, killing more than three hundred people.

A tragic accident, but in times of war, the public is not willing to accept tragic accidents. And so the Republic’s government sends its best troubleshooter, Colonel Brian Mayhew of the Republican Special Commando Forces to initiate a cover-up.

This is a novelette of 14100 words or approx. 48 print pages in the In Love and War series, but may be read as a standalone.

Courting Trouble 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 eek out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

But when Anjali and Mikhail stumble upon a protection racket during a routine shopping trip, they have to make a choice: Lay low to avoid attracting attention or stay true to their personal ethics and intervene?

This is a story of 6700 words or approx. 23 print pages in the In Love and War series, but may be read as a standalone.

Arkadian Skies by Lindsay Buroker

With the man who kidnapped her daughter imprisoned aboard her ship, Captain Alisa Marchenko is closer than ever to reuniting her family. But her new guest has been in a coma for weeks, with the secret to her daughter’s location locked away in his mind. She must find a way to sneak him into a state-of-the-art hospital on Arkadius, a planet in the heart of Alliance territory. Not an easy task when she and the cyborg Leonidas, her most trusted ally, are wanted by the Alliance army.

As if that mission weren’t daunting enough, the Staff of Lore has appeared on the planet. As has the man who stole it: Alisa’s father.

Bloodless by Tori Centanni

Henri Dunn would love to avoid all vampire bullshit for the foreseeable future, but the universe has other plans.

When an exsanguinated corpse is left in the dumpster behind her workplace, Henri knows it’s a some kind of twisted message meant for her. It’s just not one she can decipher.

In addition to that terrifying puzzle, Henri’s new ex-vampire roommate is not adapting well to human life and a Cure-obsessed vampire is stalking her. And of course, her enigmatic vampire sire, Sean, is being his usual elusive and infuriating self.

When a second body that’s been drained of blood is left in front of Henri’s apartment building, it becomes clear that a vicious serial killer is fixated on her. Using her ability to read memories in blood, Henri must figure out who’s behind these terrible killings and stop them before she becomes the next victim.

Bloodless is the second installment of The Henri Dunn Urban Fantasy Series, which features a snarky protagonist, intriguing mysteries, a captivating cast of characters, and elements of humor. Book 1, The Immortality Cure, is also available.

Osdal by Michael Chatfield

Masoul wasn’t just an uprising, it was the starting of a war. Harmony didn’t start on Masoul; they were using it as a testing ground.

Moretti has a lead on where Harmony might have come from. First they need to defeat Harmony’s forces in Osdal.

Nerva’s not going to throw his people at Harmony, this is not just a colonist uprising, this is a well-armed and backed military. They need more information. It comes down to the Triple-Two’s to find out that information.

Once again the Victor brothers and their platoon will be right at the heart of Harmony.

Nothing will be the same after Osdal.

Blooded by Shei and Annathesa Nikola Darksbane

Dakota Shepherd gained Hellfire from a demoness on the day she Awakened. She never asked for that power, but it worked out well…until the deadly fire turned against her, forcing her to strike a deal with her even deadlier benefactor.

A bloody quest. A score unsettled. A lesson finally learned.

Dakota must recover the demoness’ stolen blood before a thief with unparalleled power can turn it to his own dark purposes. Even with her wealthy and powerful girlfriend on her side, Dakota is way out of her league.

But when a demoness calls, only a dead girl says no.

Repulsive Origins – The Captain by Brian W. Foster

When a supervillain attacks civilians, the US Army is first on the scene. Lieutenant Samuel Shields is given the impossible task of protecting lives and property. His weapons won’t hurt a three-story tall enhanced hostile, and even if he could figure out a way to take the enemy out, he’s not allowed to engage under any circumstances. Instead, he must wait for the so-called superheroes to show up.

Leave it to the politicians to create such a FUBAR situation.

Two children are put in danger, and Samuel is forced to make a life-altering decision. If he follows orders, he’ll have the deaths of two kids on his conscience. But if he disobeys, he risks his life and, worse, a court martial.

The Night Watch by Chris Gerrib

In the chaotic and crime-ridden settlement of Boxtown on Mars, Minty Storey witnesses a bar fight she has no idea will change the course of her life.

Halfway across the planet, Janet Pilgrim and the Volunteer Space Rescue Service struggle to do something about the pirate menace on the spaceways between Earth and Mars.

But the problems both face are much bigger than pirates and bar fights. When a leader of Earth’s Manifest Destiny movement makes an appearance on Mars, events begin to roll to a climax that will hold the fate of the planet in the balance.

One Down by Bryce T. Hughes:

An impenetrable barrier keeps Earth’s ships from leaving. Teams of specially-trained heroes fly the limited allowed space wiping out the debris specialists suspect offended an alien force. Separated from her lover, Jane treasures her team and performs her duty, but she suspects a lie fuels the international sport. With her friend Julio’s life hanging in the balance, she faces the deadly force penning her planet and battles the hypocrisy of her government.

This is a LGBT short story with lesbian and gay content, and mild swearing.

True Colors of Betrayal by J.C. Kang

The world knows Kaiya as the Dragon Charmer.

After vanquishing the Last Dragon with the power of her voice, all she wants is to return to a quiet life of anonymity. Instead, the Emperor assigns her an onerous task: negotiating with the aggressive Teleri Empire for the extradition of her cousin, who tried to murder the imperial family and usurp the Dragon Throne.

The mission reunites her with her childhood friend Tian, now an assassin-spy who loathes killing. He is no longer the adorable, gullible boy from her memories, any more than she is the adventurous, sweet girl from his. Instead of rekindling nostalgia for a youthful innocence they both yearn for, their reunion ignites a mutual hatred.

When the Teleri Empire breaks off negotiations, Tian must help Kaiya escape. Orcs, Ogres, and enemy soldiers stand between them and home, and their volatile relationship could get them captured… or killed.

Stem by Aaron D. Lamb

After escaping the extermination of everyone they loved, Rome and Mae seek revenge.

However, the world outside their city sized prison is too busy to care. They form a desperate friendship with an unlucky Zoo guide, caught in the wrong place at the right time. Together they face the forces of a corrupt government, a sensationalist media, and an apathetic public.

And they only have a week left to live.

Suspenseful, political and awash with colourful characters and epic set pieces.

Stem the sequel to sci-fi hit Pollen, builds to a finale that pits hero against hero.

Cargo by V.M. Law

On the Age of Discovery, a massive cargo hauler, Kasey Lee works as a Custodial Technician, essentially a glorified janitor.

When the Ides, a hostile alien race, attacks Earth’s outposts, the Age must assist in the war effort.

But Kasey discovers that there is a conspiracy on board, one which led the Ides straight to the outposts, and is now pointing them right at Earth.

 

You Don’t Belong Here by Tim Major

Daniel Faint is on the run with a stolen time machine. As the house-sitter of a remote Cumbrian mansion, he hopes to hide and experiment with the machine. But is the Manor being watched by locals, his twin brother or even himself? Daniel is terrified about what the future may hold but, as he discovers, there can be no going back.

 

 

 

Dragon’s Trail by Joseph Malik

“I didn’t come here to sell my soul. I came here to buy it back.”

Once dubbed “The Deadliest Man Alive,” Jarrod Torrealday is a former Olympic saber hopeful and medieval weapons expert banned from competition for killing another fencer in a duel. Despondent, volatile, alcoholic, yet still one of the greatest swordsmen alive, he now works for third-rate fantasy films as a technical consultant and stuntman.

When Jarrod accepts the gig of a lifetime from a sorcerer looking for a hero, he finds himself facing an invading army in a world inhabited by creatures from Earth’s mythical past. He soon learns that the enemy mastermind is also from Earth, and has laid the foundations for a new kind of war.

Born a Witch… Drafted by the FBI by T.S. Paul

Agatha Blackmore came into her powers early as a child. Her first spell was a thing of beauty and wonder. It brought terror into the hearts of her family. Who wanted to accidentally become a pink chicken? Now that she’s older her magic is out of control. She needs a teacher and none of the Witch Schools will take her. How about a career in law enforcement? The FBI needs serious help in catching law breaking Paranormals. It’s a match made in heaven or is it in Hell? God only knows what happens next.

 

The Unmasking Engine by Ian W. Sainsbury

An experiment that began 2.8 billion years ago is about to end…

Seb Varden is starting to get used to life as a World Walker. With a body full of alien nanotechnology, the ability to travel anywhere instantly and – most surprising of all – a steady relationship with Meera Patel, things are finally looking up.

Until Seb has his first blackout, starts meeting aliens and discovers a plan that threatens the entire human race. And, of course, Mason, the most dangerous Manna user, picks this particular moment to come after him and Meera.

Scariest of all, Seb is learning his transformation into a World Walker is far from complete…

Monkeys, aliens, technology, parallel universes, music, psychopaths, A.I., a magic tech spider, The Unmaking Engine has it all, including the explanation of how all life on earth began. Did I mention monkeys?

The Unmaking Engine is book 2 in the The World Walker Series.

The Turncoat Prince by Amelia Smith

Darna is just a guildswoman, or so she’d like to think, but her alleged father was the prince of a backwater province. Her uncle assassinated him to claim the throne, and now he’s coming after her.

With assassins on her heels, Darna takes on a job in the remote province of Slaradun. The prince is irate to find that this limping woman has replaced the able-bodied man he hired, but according to the contract, he’s stuck with her for the season. Darna finds the prince arrogant and high-handed, but he’s also intelligent and well-read. As winter closes in on Slaradun keep, late night conversations turn from sea walls to more intimate territory, and the province’s lost dragon reappears.

This book is the second in the Dragonsfall trilogy. To enjoy it properly, read The Defenders’ Apprentice first, and perhaps also the beginning of Darna’s story in the prequel novels, Scrapplings and Priestess.

Phobos Eclipse of the Heart by Colin Spindler

Colin Spindler’s CULT Group Coffee Sequence is a mystical space yarn for lovers of psychedelic science fiction.

Phobos Eclipse of the Heart picks up the wild tale where Of Bots and Beans left off.

Follow the mysterious Participant’s continuing misadventures in Sequencing. Learn about The Scullythorne Thesis, an authoritative document which can be twisted into providing support for any and every argumentative perspective. Uncover a nefarious plot to bring down the Dos Boletos facility. Mourn the tragic end of Sir Francis Buildobare and the loss of the Vladimarino Gripebagger Expedition. Puzzle over the controversial Alley Cat Initiative.

Revel in the mysteries of the nanobot-haunted Cosmos!

Alien Arcana by Glynn Stewart

An alien ruin

A murdered archeologist

An ancient secret—and a conspiracy that will kill to keep it!

When a scientist is murdered after finding signs of alien magic in an archeological dig, Mage Damien Montgomery, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars, is sent to investigate both the murder and the alien runes.

His investigation is interrupted when a mysterious ship attacks the ruins with weapons only available to the Martian Navy. Despite saving the dig site, Montgomery is left with more questions than answers.

His investigations reveal questions about the origin of his magic and his nation—and lead him back to the one place that should be safe: the court of the Mage-King of Mars.

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New Release: Courting Trouble, an In Love and War story

Two weeks ago, I announced the start of a new space opera series and also that there would be more books coming soon. Then, three days ago, I announced the second novelette in the In Love and War series, again with the promise of more stories coming soon.

And today, I’m happy to announce Courting Trouble, the third story in the In Love and War series. Whereas both Dreaming of the Stars and Graveyard Shift are prequels of sorts, Courting Trouble features Mikhail and Anjali as an established couple on the run from their respective regimes.

The seeds for the In Love and War series were laid sometime last year, when a scene popped into my head: Two intergalactic mercenaries, a man and a woman, 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.

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 – Anjali Patel and Mikhail Alexeievich Grikov – 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. It was a pretty good story, so I decided to write it. I worked on that story on and off for several months, while it eventually blossomed into a novel or rather two.

However, I had always intended to give Anjali and Mikhail standalone adventures working together as an established couple. In many ways, Anjali and Mikhail are the ideal candidates for a series of standalone adventures. They are fugitives working as mercenaries, hopping from planet to planet trying to evade their pursuers. This gives them the opportunity to have a lot of different adventures on different worlds, solving other people’s problems, while trying to stay a step ahead of their own. Hey, it worked for Dr. Richard Kimble and the 1970s TV version of The Incredible Hulk. It’s still working for Jack Reacher.

Then July came along and I decided to take the 2016 July short story challenge. At this point, Mikhail and Anjali had been living in my head for several months. And while I was looking at SF concept art, trying to spark ideas for the story of the day, I came across this image and thought, “That place would make a great setting for an Anjali and Mikhail story.”

So I started writing and sent Mikhail and Anjali shopping. Or rather, I sent Anjali shopping, since Mikhail merely tags along. It wasn’t long until they found trouble or rather trouble found them.

By now, it has become something of a pattern that the In Love and War stories all have pretty extensive descriptions of food and Courting Trouble is no exception. I’m not sure why I write about food so much, both in this series and elsewhere, except that food is an element that’s traditionally missing in a lot of science fiction or is reduced to things such as food pills or protein sludge, which few people would willingly consume.

Food is also significant for Mikhail in particular, because his deprived childhood (chronicled in Dreaming of the Stars) has left him with massive food issues. These issues come to the fore in Courting Trouble, when going grocery shopping with Anjali triggers memories of Mikhail’s lost family and homeworld, which once again focus mostly on food and drink.

So follow Mikhail and Anjali, as they are…

Courting Trouble

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 eek out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

But when Anjali and Mikhail stumble upon a protection racket during a routine shopping trip, they have to make a choice: Lay low to avoid attracting attention or stay true to their personal ethics and intervene?

More information.

Length: 6700 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, Scribd, Smashwords, Inktera, txtr, Thalia, Weltbild, Hugendubel, Buecher.de, DriveThruFiction, OmniLit/AllRomance e-books, Casa del Libro, e-Sentral, 24symbols and XinXii.

BTW, if you want to read the entire In Love and War series, there is a series bundle available at a reduced price exclusively at DriveThruFiction.

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New Release: Graveyard Shift, an In Love and War novelette

Two weeks ago, I announced the start of a new series and also that there would be more stories coming soon.

So today, I’m happy to announce the second In Love and War story, a novelette called Graveyard Shift. Like Dreaming of the Stars, Graveyard Shift is a prequel of sorts, set approximately three years before the series proper.

I started writing the story that would eventually become Graveyard Shift during the 2016 July short story challenge, but set it aside, once I realised that the story was too big for the constraints of the challenge. Then, once July was over, I picked up the abandoned story and finished it.

As with many of the July challenge stories, Graveyard Shift also began with a piece of concept art, namely this rather cheerful image of a space station interior. So I spent a page or two describing the station and sending a character on a stroll through the concourse and then did something horrible to the station, the concourse and the character.

There is another inspiration for Graveyard Shift, namely my work as a translator. In the course of this work, I occasionally get what I privately call “It wasn’t my fault, honest” reports, blow-by-blow accounts of absurd, stupid and usually extremely expensive accidents. The intent of these reports is always to prove – sometimes even with lots of graphs and charts – that whatever unfortunate thing happened was totally not the fault of whoever commissioned the report. Those “It wasn’t my fault, honest” reports are more amusing than the usual stuff I get to translate, if only because so many of them are documents of truly stunning human incompetence. Luckily, so far none of these accidents killed anybody, though they cause a lot of property damage.

I always wanted to write an SF version of an “It wasn’t my fault, honest” report, a blow by blow account of human incompetence resulting in a huge accident. Since a lot of these accidents involve a ship crashing either into another ship or a stationary structure, I wanted my fictional incident to be similar, only involving a spaceship. And when I saw the image of the space station linked above, something clicked and Graveyard Shift was born.

Somewhere along the way, I decided that this story took place in the In Love and War universe, though it’s quite an unusual story for the series. For while the other In Love and War stories focus on Mikhail and Anjali, Graveyard Shift has six different POV characters, most of them new. Mikhail appears briefly during his time as a Republican operative, though he doesn’t get a POV. Anjali doesn’t show up at all, since Graveyard Shift is set entirely in the Republic.

Mikhail’s commander/mentor Brian Mayhew is one of the six POV characters and the only series regular. I’d initially intended Mayhew to be a fairly one-dimensional villain, who ruthlessly hunts Mikhail and Anjali (he has an Imperial counterpart as well). However, Mayhew steadfastly refused to cooperate and clearly did not want to be a villain. He also turned out to be rather conflicted about his job and his duty. I also realised that his connection to Mikhail goes a lot deeper than I’d initially assumed. This upset my plans for the series, though it also made Mayhew a more nuanced and interesting character. We will eventually see Mayhew in villain mode, but he’s a lot more than that.

Regarding the tribunal scene at the end, I gave a couple of friends the first half of the story to read and asked them who they thought was to blame for the accident. Though I didn’t tell them just what would happen to the parties found guilty, because I did not want their eventual fate to influence the decision. Coincidentally, all beta readers agreed that Commander Flynn and Lieutenant Kim should be held responsible, even though I initially hadn’t intended for Lieutenant Kim to be held responsible at all – but rereading the scene in question, I realised that she does goad Commander Flynn into taking that fatal trial flight. No one believed that Captain Woywood and Cadets Adeboye, Merrill and Watanabe should be held responsible. Opinions were divided on Cadet Giantano.

Just in case it wasn’t clear already, Graveyard Shift shows that the Republic of United Planets is a pretty awful place – and the Empire of Worlds isn’t any more pleasant, though a tad more competent.

Two days ago, I blogged about the 50th anniversary of the German science fiction series Raumpatrouille Orion, which was one of my big foundational SF influences. As a result, there are a lot of Orion references in the In Love and War series. It started when I needed a name for Mikhail’s lost homeplanet and decided to name it Jagellowsk, after the Orion‘s security officer Tamara Jagellowsk. Then it became something of a running gag that Republican worlds are named after Raumpatrouille Orion characters. There are a couple of other Orion references as well, six or seven altogther. Bonus points to anybody who manages to find them all.

However, the planet Burrichter, source of excellent cookies and pastries, is not a reference to Raumpatrouille Orion at all. Instead, I named it after one of my favourite bakeries, Café Burrichter in Vechta, one of whose specialties are Spekulatius cookies. You can see two photos of the real Café Burrichter here.

I included the coffee and pastries in the tribunal scene to give the characters something to do while discussing the case and also to show how blasé and desensitized Brian Mayhew, Roland Cox and Michelle Abasi are that they argue about whom to send to the firing squad, while having coffee and pastries.

Though I realised that all In Love and War stories to date have pretty extensive food scenes. And of course, Mikhail’s deprived childhood (chronicled in Dreaming of the Stars) have given him massive food issues, which also come to the fore in Graveyard Shift. But then, many of my stories include descriptions of food. I guess food is just something I like writing about and coincidentally also an aspect all too often ignored in science fiction.

So here’s a story of tragic disasters, rank incompetence and chilling ruthlessness:

Graveyard Shift

While docked at the civilian space station Unity for repairs, the Republic of United Planets battlecruiser Great Endeavour undertakes a trial flight with an inexperienced bridge crew. Disaster strikes and the Great Endeavour crashes into Unity’s shopping concourse, killing more than three hundred people.

A tragic accident, but in times of war, the public is not willing to accept tragic accidents. And so the Republic’s government sends its best troubleshooter, Colonel Brian Mayhew of the Republican Special Commando Forces to initiate a cover-up.

 

More information.

Length: 14100 words

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Rücksturz in die Zukunft – “Raumpatrouille Orion” at Fifty

1966 was a landmark year for science fiction television. It saw the premieres of Time Tunnel, Mission Impossible, the Adam West Batman series, The Green Hornet (which also introduced Bruce Lee to western audiences) and of course, Star Trek. What is more, 1966 also marks the first appearance of the Cybermen in Doctor Who as well as the first time the world saw the Doctor regenerate.

Amidst all these international anniversaries, one anniversary remains a bit overlooked. For 1966 was also the year that science fiction arrived on (West) German television, when the space cruiser Orion 6 took off from its underwater base for the first time in the TV series officially called Raumpatrouille – Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffs Orion (Space Patrol – The fantastic adventures of the space ship Orion), though it’s mostly referred to as Raumpatrouille Orion these days.

Want to see what it was like? The entire seven episode series is available on YouTube. Here is the first episode:

Raumpatrouille Orion is often called Germany’s answer to Star Trek, because both shows feature a spaceship with a maverick captain and an international crew having adventures in groovy 1960s settings. However, this is incorrect, for both shows premiered in September 1966 within nine days of each other (Star Trek on September 8 and Orion on September 17), much too close together for one to have influenced the other. Instead, the similarities between both shows are due to both Gene Roddenberry and Orion creator Rolf Honold being influenced by ideas floating around the zeitgeist of the mid 1960s.

Besides, the similarities between the two shows are largely superficial and Raumpatrouille Orion is very much its own beast. The series chronicles the adventures of Major Cliff Allister McLane, commander of the fast space cruiser Orion, and his crew, chief engineer Hasso Sigbjörnson, weapons officer Mario de Monti,  astrogator (Orion term for navigator) Atan Shubashi and surveillance and communication officer Helga Legrelle. In the first episode, the crew is joined by security officer Lieutenant Tamara Jagellowsk, who has been assigned to the Orion to keep an eye on the authority-challenged McLane and his crew.

I first saw Raumpatrouille Orion as a kid in the late 1970s, around the same time as the original Star Trek, Time Tunnel and Space 1999, all of which impressed this budding SF fan greatly and also had a lot of influence on me. Indeed, all these shows got hopelessly mashed up in the memory to the point that I spent years trying to identify a particularly scary Star Trek episode, only to find that it was really an Orion episode. BTW, those who’ve read my In Love and War series, may notice a lot of Orion references. For example, most Republican worlds mentioned are named after Orion characters.

The plots of the seven Raumpatrouille Orion episodes are borrowed straight from US science fiction of the 1930s and 1940s. Orion creator Rolf Honold was obviously a fan and indeed had been trying to get an SF series off the ground since 1960. And so the stories contain a lot of the old standbys of the golden age such as hostile aliens, prison planets, robots malfunctioning due to a conflict of the Three Laws of Robotics (which are actually quoted, though without attribution), intergalactic superweapons, hynosis rays, invasion via brainwashing and an undiscovered tenth planet inhabited by a matriarchical society ruled by a beautiful queen. Longterm science fiction fans can probably name the source material for every single episode. However, one must not forget that Raumpatrouille Orion was made for an audience unfamiliar with science fiction, for whom all of those old genre tropes were brand-new. And indeed, reviews from the mid-1960s often complained that the series was pseudo-scientific nonsense and the dialogues way too complicated.

To be fair, the dialogues can be techno-babble heavy at times, which is even more notable, because Raumpatrouille Orion used its own terminology such as astrogator instead of navigator, Lancet instead of shuttle, wholly imaginary Omicron rays and “Rücksturz” (return fall) instead of landing. Though it would be interesting to see if you can find those terms in German SF translations and original science fiction from the 1950s and 1960s or if the Orion writers made them up.

Besides, it’s not as if anybody watches Raumpatrouille Orion for the plots, at least not nowadays. No, the main attraction are the characters and the delightfully retro-futuristic look of the show.

It’s particularly the latter aspect that helped Raumpatrouille Orion achieve cult status via late night marathons in art house cinemas. In the 1990s, I attended such a marathon with a Trekkie friend at a local disco/concert venue/cinema, because in the pre-DVD/pre-streaming era, this was the easiest way to watch the show without breaking out the VCR tapes recorded from a TV rerun. It was kind of obvious that ninety percent of the crowd were not SFF fans, but were watching the show for the camp factor and found the whole things totally hilarious (which was rather irritating, if you actually want to watch the show).

Nowadays, Raumpatrouille Orion is notorious for its supposedly bad special effects and a set design incorporating common household objects such as pencil sharpeners, bathroom taps and – most infamously – a clothes iron which is part of the Orion’s engine room control stand. However, this is unfair and probably due to the fact that many younger people have never seen pre-Star Wars, if not pre-CGI science fiction. Because the special effects in Raumpatrouille Orion were actually excellent by mid 1960s standards, lightyears ahead of anything in Doctor Who and on par with, if not ahead of Star Trek (it’s difficult to tell, because Star Trek was shot in colour, whereas Orion was shot in black and white, which is more forgiving of ropey effects). The German Wikipedia entry explains how the different effects were achieved. Coincidentally, Raumpatrouille Orion was the most expensive German TV production at the time and indeed the high costs per episode probably contributed to the fact that there was only a single seven episode season.

As for the set design incorporating common household objects, Orion‘s set designer was Rolf Zehetbauer, Germany’s most famous set designer at the time. He would go on to work on Das Boot, The Neverending Story and Enemy Mine among others and won an Oscar for his work on Cabaret. He not just furnished the Orion‘s bridge with futuristic looking household objects (and the clothes iron is the only really obvious one, because every family had that clothes iron in the 1960s and 1970s), but also filled the space colonies and underwater bases with classic mid century modern designer furniture by the likes of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia and Joe Colombo. While Star Trek quickly went for a swinging sixties look with miniskirts and psychedelic colours, the visuals of Raumpatrouille Orion are a bit more Mad Men era mid century modern. It still looks great, though.

Fun fact: While the Daleks of Doctor Who fame were famously armed with a plunger and an egg whisk, Raumpatrouille Orion‘s robots were armed with an ice cream scoop and an ob-gyn forceps. I know which I find more scary.

Indeed, what sets Raumpatrouille Orion apart from other science fiction TV shows of the 1960s is that some of the top talent in German filmmaking at the time worked on the show. The music was by Peter Thomas, one of Germany’s best film composers. The famous dance scenes frequently seen in the background in scenes set at the so-called Starlight Casino may look terribly goofy today, but were created by a star choreographer. The cast were well known TV and film actors of the day. A lot of them worked on the Edgar Wallace and Jerry Cotton movies. Coincidentally, there is quite a lot of crossover between the Wallace and Jerry Cotton movies on the one hand and Raumpatrouille Orion, both in front of and behind the camera. And of course, Peter Thomas provided his squeaky jazz tunes for all three.

Indeed, the fine actors even in small roles are a large part of what makes Raumpatrouille Orion so good. Many of the characters are familiar types: the gung-ho spaceship captain, the drink-happy crewmember, the no-nonsense security officer, the shouty general and the icy general, the inept bureaucrat, the clueless and naive writer, the alien Amazon queen who is only looking for a real man and so on. In the hands of lesser actors, these characters would have been forgettable stereotypes. But in the hands of the cast, they came to life.

At the centre of the cast is Commander Cliff Allister McLane, played by Austrian actor Dietmar Schönherr. On the occasion of Dietmar Schönherr’s death in 2014, I wrote the following:

Cliff Allister McLane is basically your typical gung-ho space hero, a guy who goes into danger guns blazing, for whom orders are just optional suggestions and who regularly wrecks his spaceship (twice on screen and five times before the start of the series), which gets him demoted to patrol duties in the pilot episode and regularly brings him into conflict with the straight-laced security officer Tamara Jagellowsk. McLane is something of a womanizer, extremely loyal towards his friends and a “rather average kisser” according to Tamara Jagellowsk. In the hands of a lesser actor, McLane would have been a sterotype. Dietmar Schönherr turned him into an icon.

Lieutenant Tamara Jagellowsk, portrayed by the wonderful Eva Pflug, plays the Spock to McLane’s Kirk. A security officer assigned to the Orion crew to keep an eye on the authority-challenged McLane, Tamara is the odd person out among the closely knit Orion crew. Like Spock, she is said to have no emotions (and as with Spock that isn’t quite true) to the point that the Orion crew speculates whether she is an android. However, Tamara is also important to reign in the rather impulsive McLane at times and they quickly come to respect each other, even though they argue all the time and generate enough sparks to power not just the Orion, but also the planet destroying Overkill weapon seen in two episodes.

McLane and Tamara finally kiss in the fifth episode in a prison cell in an “OMG, we’re about to die” moment (spoiler: They don’t), whereupon Tamara famously remarks, “Well, now I’m relieved, cause that was a very average kiss.” How can you not love a female character like that? Though actress Eva Pflug complained that she was typecast as the bitchy official after Orion, because Tamara Jagellowsk ordering men around was a bit too liberated for mid 1960s audiences.

In spite of rather average kisses, McLane and Tamara get together after all in the final episode, giving at least the interpersonal plot a resolution even if the larger conflict between humanity and the alien “Frogs” remains unresolved.

Tamara Jagellowsk would be marvellous, even if she were the only female character of note in Raumpatrouille Orion. But – unusual for the 1960s – she isn’t, for there are several different and well developed female characters, even if they all wear the exact same 1960s beehive. I’m not sure if every episode of Raumpatrouille Orion passes the Bechdel test, but several of them do. The Orion‘s other female crewmember, communication officer Helga Legrelle, played by Ursula Lillig, is sadly not given a whole lot to do and her pining for McLane and jealousy of Tamara Jagellowsk are way too stereotyped. However, Lydia Van Dyke, fleet general and former commander (and, it is implied, lover) of McLane is another great female character. She is played by actress Charlotte Kerr, wife of Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Ms. Kerr BTW appeared in two other German SF productions (well, borderline SF, but they definitely were when made), the apocalyptic thriller Plutonium and the black market organ thriller Fleisch (Meat) in the 1970s. Lydia Van Dyke’s ship is called the Hydra BTW in a bit of unfortunate naming (all vessels in Raumpatrouille Orion are named after constellations). Margot Trooger, best remembered as Cora Ann Milton in the Edgar Wallace movie The Ringer (see my review here) manages to give some dimension to the stock role of the Amazon queen from outer space. After she has rendered McLane speechless and has him stammering “I don’t know what to say”, Margot Trooger’s Amazon queen from outer space replies, “Well, maybe you could yell some more.” Lieselotte Quilling, finally, has a recurring part as Ingrid, the wife of Orion chief engineer Hasso Sigbjörnson, who is not happy that her husband keeps following McLane on adventures which might get him killed. Kai Schwirzke’s article about the show’s 50th anniversary at Heise Online goes a bit deeper into the gender roles in Raumpatrouille Orion.

In spite of its good record on the gender front, Raumpatrouille Orion is still a very white show made in what was still a largely white country. The Orion crew and the space fleet personnel in general is international and indeed the opening narration (de rigeur for 1960s TV science fiction) explains that nation states have been abolished. However, international in this case means white European. And so the Orion crew consists of a Scotsman, a Russian, a Swede, an Italian and a Swiss woman. One member of the Orion crew, astrogator Atan Shubashi, is supposedly Japanese – however, he is played by white actor F.C. Beckhaus, one of the two surviving actors of the main crew together with Wolfgang Völz who played weapons officer Mario de Monti. There actually were a few actors of colour working in West Germany in the 1960s and 1970s, but apparently all of them were off filming Edgar Wallace or Jerry Cotton that month.

Another thing that Raumpatrouille Orion shares with Star Trek (and Firefly, for that matter) is that it ended much too soon. The original Star Trek at least got three seasons, while Raumpatrouille Orion got only seven episodes. Since the conflict between humanity and the hostile alien “Frogs” is far from resolved at the end, it is obvious that there was probably intended to be a second season. However, in spite of the sort of high ratings that only World Cup finals can achieve these days upon first broadcast, dozens of TV repeats over the years and the show’s cult status, those seven episodes are all there is.

As for why there never was any more Raumpatrouille Orion, there are several theories, listed by Frank Behrens in this Spiegel Online article. Probably the silliest, claimed by producer Hans Gottschalk, is that there simply weren’t enough ideas for further episodes. This is profoundly silly, because the first seven episodes did pretty well borrowing from forty years of American magazine SF and five years of Perry Rhodan. Indeed, even a single yearly run of the big American SF mags of the time would have yielded more than enough ideas for further episodes.

Another complaint against Raumpatrouille Orion was that the series was “too militaristic” and even fascistoid. Of course, leftwing German pop culture criticism of the 1960s and 1970s pretty much called any popular entertainment “fascistoid” that was not aimed at raising the consciousness of the working class. G-Man Jerry Cotton was fascistoid, even though he was played by a gay actor on screen. James Bond was fascistoid. Even poor Captain America was fascistoid, which makes Steve Rogers cry and Hulk smash.

Science fiction of any kind was inevitably suspected of fascistoid tendencies, because it was not overly connected to everyday lives, which was considered the only subject worth exploring in art, and also didn’t do much to raise the consciousness of the working class. And yes, you’ll find those words pretty much verbatim in German leftwing pop culture criticism of the 1960s and 1970s. These attitudes were still lingering on well into the 1980s, as plenty of debates with German teachers who attacked students for reading speculative fiction (because attacking and belittling your students’ reading choices is such a great way to get them to read) abundantly showed. Coincidentally, a lot of the complaints of the sad puppies about preachy leftwing message fiction that has supposedly infected speculative fiction sound as if they’re arguing not with today’s genre, but with the over-the-top leftwing pop culture criticism of the 1960s and 1970s which was way past its sell-by date even when I encountered the primary sources (rather than the watered down version spouting from the mouths of teachers) at uni in the 1990s.

1970s pop culture critics accusing anything at all of fascistoid tendencies were inevitably wrong and often hadn’t actually read/watched the work in question at all. For example, SF pulp hero Perry Rhodan, who was constantly slammed for his supposed fascistoid tendencies, actually allies himself with peaceful aliens against a militaristic Earth and proceeds to destroy all nuclear weapons on Earth – yeah, really fascist. As for how anybody could call Captain America fascist (proper, pre-Hydra brainwashing Cap), honestly I have no words except “Hulk smash.”

As usual, the critics accusing Raumpatrouille Orion of fascistoid tendencies and glorifying the military were wrong. The fascism accusation is actually offensive, considering that the star of the show was an outspoken peace activist and the cast included at least one Jewish actor and one actor who was banned from working during the Third Reich because of “non-aryan origin”.

Does the military feature prominently in the show? Well, it’s called Space Patrol Orion, so of course it does. And people involved in the production have said that the military content was even stronger in the original scripts (writer Rolf Honold was a WWII veteran, whose other writing credits include a couple of war movies) and was toned down during shooting. But that the show features military characters doesn’t mean that it glorifies the military. Quite the contrary, it’s actually quite critical of military structures, very much mirroring West German attitudes about war and the military some twenty years after the end of WWII.

The various generals and other high ranking military officials, all played by the creme de la creme of postwar German acting talent, are usually portrayed as inept, overly hierarchical and bureaucratic and unconcerned about the lives of those under their command. Plenty of scenes show overzealous generals ordering preventive strikes against alien planets, space colonies potentially under the control of hostile aliens and anything else that doesn’t respond as expected, regardless of the loss of human life. There are lots of tense moments as McLane is ordered to destroy some outpost or other, usually while either members of the Orion crew or other sympathetic characters are still on board, and either refuses to follow those orders or does his best to resolve the situation before someone else can carry them out. It’s also striking that all high-ranking officers in the series are universally unlikable – probably due to the lingering memory of WWII generals sendings thousands of soldiers to die in hopeless battles – except for the above mentioned General Lydia Van Dyke and Colonel Villa (delightfully played by Friedrich Joloff), head of the galactic intelligence service and Tamara Jagellowsk’s direct superior. Indeed, Colonel Villa is often the one who keeps the overzealous Generals Wamsler and Kublai-Krim from bombing the planet or outpost of the week to smithereens. When he is brainwashed and turned into a villain for the final episode, I actually felt betrayed, even though Friedrich Joloff’s evil Villa is probably the most chilling character in the entire series.

Meanwhile, Cliff Allister McLane is part of the military, but clearly supposed to represent the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s. McLane is a rebel, he considers orders merely suggestions and frequently ignores them. Interestingly, McLane also expects his subordinates to use their common sense rather than blindly following orders. When Atan Shubashi almost gets himself and Helga Legrelle killed maintaining an energy-intensive illusion, McLane berates him for blindly following orders rather than “switching the damn thing off”. Coincidentally, that scene is also the first instance – at least, to my knowledge – that the word “Scheiße” was uttered on German TV, fifteen years before Horst Schimanski shocked conservative audience doing the same. It’s striking that throughout the series, McLane’s first concern is always saving (human) lives, even against the opposition of his superiors and at times his own crewmates.

I often say that Raumpatrouille Orion permanently ruined me for the “Rah, rah, space marines” brand of US military science fiction, because after watching McLane go against orders again and again, I simply couldn’t take characters blindly following orders seriously. Also compare McLane refusal to bomb an outpost that has been taken over by hostile aliens, even though there are still two Orion crewmembers on board, to President Laura Roslin ordering a ship that may have been taken over by Cylons destroyed in one of the first episodes of the new Battlestar Galactica. When faux Starbuck and faux Apollo actually destroyed that ship, even though there might still be humans on board, it killed the new Galactica for me (to be fair, I disliked the show from the very beginning), because McLane would never have done that and he would have pulled it off, too.

Besides, there are plenty of hints that in spite of the optimistic opening narration, the pan-national society of Raumpatrouille Orion is not nearly as utopian as it looks at first glance. It not only has rather trigger happy military commanders, but there are also hints at widespread environmental pollution. When the Orion lands on the matriarchical planet Chroma, the crew are stunned how lush and green it is. What is more, poodles are nigh extinct, Orion astrogator Atan Shubashi is the proud owner of one of the last survivors. And when the Orion is forced to land on a prison asteroid in one episode, there is a throwaway line that the prisoners are not actually criminals but that the place is a gulag for rebels and malcontents, quite a few of them former celebrities. No, a utopia this is not. Coincidentally, I also think that in only seven episodes, Raumpatrouille Orion manages to present a more complete picture of the future world in which the series is set than the original Star Trek manages to do in ten times as many.

So if it wasn’t unfounded criticism of fascistoid tendencies, what is the true reason why Raumpatrouille Orion only lasted for seven episodes. The most likely answer is, as so often, money. For though the show was a huge success, it was also extremely costly to produce. And the impending switch to colour would have made the production even more costly, especially since sets, uniforms, etc… would all have to be redone, because as the few surviving colour stills show, everything was literally black and grey.

Of course, the question remains why – unlike Star Trek – Raumpatrouille Orion was never revived. There is a single feature film, which is basically key scenes of the series edited together with a bit of new framing material. However, there never was a movie version containing only new footage, there never was Raumpatrouille Orion – The Next Generation, there never was a reboot. Seven episodes, a few spin-off novels and audio dramas are all that remains of Germany’s first SF series.

In this Tagesspiegel article published on occasion of Orion‘s fortieth anniversary in 2006, Leila Knüppel attempts to answer the question just why there was no more German science fiction after Raumpatrouille Orion and the answer is depressing as hell.

First of all, Ms. Knüppel is wrong, because there was the occasional West German foray into science fiction post Orion (and the East Germans made a few as well) such as the brilliant dystopian media satire Das Millionenspiel (The Million Game), the near future thriller Das Blaue Palais (The Blue Palace), Roland Emmerich’s directorial debut Das Arche Noah Prinzip as well as his follow-ups Joey and Moon 44 (the latter two are hybrids with an international cast, but Germans behind the camera), the Tatort episode Tod im All (Death in Space), an X-Files parody starring former Orion star Dietmar Schönherr, and the apocalyptic depression fest Die Wolke (The Cloud), based on Gudrun Pausewang’s eponymous novel. True, most later German science fiction is dystopian or post-apocalyptic, but even German space opera still exists post-Orion. Roland Emmerich’s Noah’s Ark Prinziple and the vastly underrated Moon 44, Es ist nicht leicht, ein Gott zu sein (It’s not easy being a god), the adaption of the Strugatsky brothers’ eponymous novel, and the Spaceman Ijon Tichy series, based on Stanislav Lem’s eponymous stories, are all examples, as is Bully Herbig’s Star Trek parody Traumschiff Surprise.

However, Leila Knüppel is right that there is comparatively little German science fiction and that it is extremely hard to get the funding to make an SF series or TV movie in Germany. The argument that science fiction is simply too expensive for Germans to make is wrong, because the public TV stations ARD and ZDF have a budget comparable to the BBC’s (which manages to make SF just fine) and German public film funds are wasted on Hollywood productions that just happen to shoot in Germany all the time. And of the private TV stations, RTL manages to spend roughly one million per episode on Alarm für Cobra 11 and produce a slick product that looks like a Hollywood action movie with one hundred times a budget. So the money to make a German SF series would certainly be there.

The argument that German productions could not match the special effects of US productions is bunk as well, because there are actually quite a few special effects companies based in Germany these days. However, they work on those international productions we supposedly cannot match rather than on homegrown fare.

So a far more likely answer is that there is simply no will to make science fiction in Germany, because it is assumed that German audiences simply do not care for science fiction, even though both Raumpatrouille Orion and a few years later Star Trek were big hits. Leila Knüppel offers a few quotes along those lines from a spokewoman of the TV company Sat 1 group and the head of the Bavaria Studios in Munich, where Raumpatrouille Orion was shot fifty years ago.

The Sat 1 spokeswoman declares that they used to broadcast Star Trek weekly on their flagship channel as well as daily reruns of old original series and Next Generation eps on a smaller channel, but that the ratings were too low, because audiences supposedly want programming that has something to do with their everyday lives (I hear the echoes of 1970s pop culture criticism there). Telenovelas and reality shows are where it’s at, not science fiction. What she does not say is that Star Trek Enterprise finished in 2005, so by 2006 there was no more new Trek to broadcast. As for falling ratings for the reruns, considering how often both the original series and Next Generation have been rerun, I’m not surprised that ratings were falling. She also fails to mention that those telenovelas and reality shows the audience is supposedly craving are much cheaper to make than SF shows, even imported SF shows. Though she is correct that SFF shows of any kind, whether space opera, urban fantasy, epic fantasy, post-apocalyptic, superhero shows, etc… are often shunted to small channels in graveyard slots, which never gives them the chance to find their audience. However, it’s the anti-SFF prejudices of the TV stations which are to blame for this, not the audience which never had the chance to even find those shows.

The quote from the head of the Bavaria Studios is even sadder, because he simply states, “Well, science fiction is not a German topic.”

This is not just fucking depressing – “Hey, forget about the future. That’s not a German topic. Watch this TV show about a kindly doctor or a nun harrassing a small town mayor instead.” – it also shows why everybody who wants to make science fiction or fantasy in Germany quickly escapes to friendlier climates. This attitude is why we lost Roland Emmerich and Wolfgang Petersen to Hollywood (as well as Uwe Boll, but he’s not exactly a big loss). Coincidentally, it’s also why I write in English – because I grasped early on that there wasn’t a market for what I write in Germany and what little market there is prefers US imports.

So let’s celebrate fifty years of Raumpatrouille Orion and look back at a time, when German filmmakers and TV producers still had the guts to take a chance on a science fiction series, before drowning us in a swamp of kindly doctors, concerned cops and the insipid going-ons aboard cruiseliners.

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