Christopher L. Bennett's Blog, page 12

Reassessing ARACHNE’S LEGACY

Over the past month, I’ve been tooling along pretty well writing Arachne’s Legacy, the third book in my Arachne series — or so I thought. I’ve been focusing on just one of the book’s two parallel plotlines, since I often find it easier to write the A and B plots separately so I don’t have to keep shifting my mindset between them. As of early last week, I was getting close to the climax of this first plotline (I’m not sure whether to call it A or B, since they’re pretty equal), thinking about how to bring it all together… and I realized I’d been so focused on just moving through the outline and putting words to the page that I’d overlooked a problem.

Specifically, my outline for this half of the story was focused so much on plot and new characters that I’d failed to work out the specifics of the returning characters’ personal arcs. I didn’t really have them going on the kind of transformative personal journeys in this book that they underwent in the previous ones, since I’d pretty much resolved their arcs in Book 2 and hadn’t given adequate thought to where they would go next.

So I put the brakes on and reevaluated the story from a more character-driven standpoint, figuring out what the returning leads’ goals and states of mind were growing out of the end of Book 2, and how that would create dilemmas or growth opportunities for them going forward. Then I did a revised draft with that in mind, reworking some scenes and adding more material. It didn’t have too great an effect on the plot structure up to that point, but it did alter a lot of the character scenes and conversations to make them more substantial, and it let me plant some seeds of character growth or conflict that I hope will pay off in the climax.

In particular, the character arcs I set up led me to realize that a few characters needed to end the book in very different places than I’d originally intended. One character has become a more active antagonist than I expected, becoming the initiator of something rather than just being convinced to go along with it. Conversely, a new character I’d put in the outline as a secondary antagonist has blossomed unexpectedly into more of a protagonist in the latter half of the storyline. This is partly because my own opinion of a key element of the story has changed since I plotted it, so I’m more sympathetic to the point of view of the character who’s questioning and challenging the main characters’ goals. It’s also because I realized I had too many new characters, so I conflated this one with a more sympathetic figure in the outline.

Even with the clarification of the characters’ personal journeys and where I intend them to end up, I’m still wrestling some with how I want the climax to play out. It turns out that when I outlined it, I didn’t take the logistics of the situation into account well enough, failing to consider the days of travel time between different locations in a planetary system, so there are matters of timing that are harder to work out than I thought. Nor did I work out specifics for what all of the relevant characters are doing in the climax and how they achieve it.

Well, I guess it’s probably not as complicated as it was to choreograph the climactic action in Arachne’s Exile, which required a whole beat-by-beat breakdown and lists and a map of the battle scene. And this climax is going to be less action-oriented than that climax, or than the climax of the novel’s other plotline, which I haven’t tackled yet. But it still hasn’t fallen into place in my mind. I made essentially no progress yesterday, since I woke up at two-something in the morning because a neighbor was having a party or something, and though I eventually got a bit more sleep, I was pretty useless all day, and I’m still lethargic today. I am inching a little closer, though. Hopefully it’ll fall into place soon.

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Meanwhile, now that I have money in the bank again, I’ve begun buying a few of the things I’ve needed for a while, like new bedsheets and a protective case for my smartphone. I’ve been using a homemade phone case that I MacGyvered from a vinyl bank book sleeve, cutting a hole at one end for the power/USB and earphone jacks. But I hesitated to cut a hole for the camera/light and risk the structural integrity of the sleeve, so I had to take the phone out of the case if I wanted to use the camera or flashlight or put it in my car mount. Also, the vinyl kept coming apart and I had to retape the edges and spine repeatedly, with clear tape overlapping the screen.

So I was glad to finally get a proper phone case. I considered one of those wallet-style ones, which would be similar to the makeshift one, but I decided to go for one of those heavy-duty drop-proof rubber cases with a metal ring on back for holding the phone or propping it up on its side. It works well, and the ring really makes the phone easier to handle. (I’ve long found it bizarre that smartphones are so poorly designed for being held in the human hand.) The case makes the phone a bit wider, so it takes a bit more effort to fit it into the bracket of the car mount, but once it’s in place, the rubber grips much better than the bare metal of the phone, so it should stay in more securely.

However, I’ve had a rougher time with the protective screen cover that came with it. I didn’t get it aligned quite right the first time, so I peeled it off and tried again, which proved a mistake, since it wasn’t as pristine afterward. Also, the very first time I dropped the phone, a corner of the screen protector cracked. At first, I wanted to complain to the makers, but I decided not to. For one thing, I didn’t want to send the whole thing back when it was just the screen protector that broke. Also, I found that replacement protectors tend to be sold in packs of 2, 3, or more, suggesting that they’re not expected to be permanent anyway. And I realized that it was probably my own fault that the thing broke. I didn’t realize it was tempered glass rather than plastic, so I probably bent it too far and weakened it when I peeled it off and put it back on repeatedly in the attempt to align it perfectly. All told, I decided it would make more sense just to buy a set of 3 replacement covers than to ask for a replacement for the whole thing from the seller.

(I also decided to make this one a pickup order delivered to the Amazon center a few blocks away, since my last couple of mail deliveries have been iffy. This’ll be my first time trying that. To make the order large enough for free shipping, I’ve also bought a new wall clock for my bathroom, since the old one died years ago.)

Still on the agenda, for when I get around to it, is buying new shoes, and also a new laptop. But right now I’m mainly focused on writing the novel, and on catching up with a bunch of shows now that I’ve subscribed to HBO Max (after putting Netflix on hold for a few months, since I still have my old stingy habits and don’t want to spend too much at once).

Oh, and I know I promised some new Patreon fiction coming up soon, but I’d like to get this half of the novel finished up first. Hopefully it won’t be much longer.

Explore ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS for free with STAR TREK ADVENTURES!

My newest Star Trek Adventures product is out, and it’s free!

Star Trek Adventures Mission Briefs: Ancient Civilizations

The Galaxy is ancient beyond easy comprehension – on the order of a million times older than Human civilization. Uncounted civilizations have risen and fallen before the dawn of recorded history of any Federation world. While most of their remains have long since vanished, many have left ruins or artifacts that endure to the present. Other ancient societies live on, wielding technologies or mental abilities vastly beyond our own, though not always in a form recognizable to us. The discovery of these ancient civilizations, or their remains, offers immense potential for advancing Federation knowledge, but comes with great peril as well.

This packet presents ten detailed mission briefs you can modify for use as adventures in your Star Trek Adventures campaigns set during the original series or any other era of play with minor modifications. Each mission brief is designed to stand alone, though several are presented with a loose connecting story arc that may be used or disregarded at the gamemaster’s discretion. They may be added to an existing campaign with minor modifications.

These Mission Briefs are a different type of campaign, short, one-page summaries that gamemasters can flesh out on their own. If you’ve bought my previous few STA adventures, you’ve seen Mission Briefs appended to them as suggested followups. Ancient Civilizations is a set of ten such briefs.

Even though the briefs are, well, brief, this was one of my most challenging STA assignments, because I had to come up with ten different adventure ideas, and ideas have always been the hardest part for me. I discuss my creative process on the Modiphius Blog:

https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/ancient-civilizations

You can download Mission Briefs: Ancient Civilizations for free at:

Modiphius (US)Modiphius (UK)DriveThruRPG

An active week

This has turned out to be a busier week than I expected. After posting my new Troubleshooter story “Legacy Hero” on my Patreon, I figured I was free and clear to begin writing Arachne’s Legacy (whose similar title is coincidental, and indeed I only just noticed it). After I finished rereading Arachne’s Crime and Arachne’s Exile, I created the manuscript file on Monday evening… though I didn’t really add anything new until Tuesday morning, since the prologue is the short story “Comfort Zones,” which I wrote as a bonus for the duology’s Kickstarter (and reprinted on Patreon) but always intended to be the prologue of Book 3, before I knew it would be included in The Arachne Omnibus. Its inclusion will be redundant for people who have the omnibus, but necessary for those who bought the two books individually.

Anyway, on Monday night, I got an e-mail informing me that a story I wrote and submitted at the end of last year had been accepted! It’s my first sale of a “flash” story, i.e. less than 1500 words, and I’ll say more about it later. It hardly pays anything, but that’s less of a concern for me now than it was a month ago. Right now, the important thing for me is that it’s a chance to get exposure in a new market, an established magazine that will hopefully bring me some new readers.

Then on Tuesday, I got a reply about a couple of pitches I submitted to another new market, telling me they’ve been forwarded for the approval process. Nothing’s been given the go-ahead yet, but it’s a step forward.

And on Tuesday afternoon, I got something I’ve been waiting to see for a while now: the galley pages for my upcoming Analog story “Aleyara’s Descent,” which I sold nearly half a year ago. Assuming the headers and footers are accurate, the story will appear in the May/June 2023 issue of Analog, which means it should probably come out in April or thereabouts. I really feel this is a special one, and I can’t wait for people to see it at last.

So since I’ve been working on the galleys, I wasn’t able to make any progress on Arachne’s Legacy today. But I’m still figuring out how to write the next scene, reintroducing one set of the main characters and their situation. Beginnings are often the hardest parts to crack. I plan to do another proofreading pass through the “Aleyara” galleys tomorrow, and hopefully letting the book simmer for another day will help me figure it out.

Assuming, of course, that even more business doesn’t crop up in the days ahead…

New Troubleshooter fiction now on Patreon: “Legacy Hero”

Last year was a slow period for my Patreon Original Fiction tier, but I’ve been preparing some new material that will let me keep it more active over the months ahead, and hopefully bring in some new subscribers or bring back some old ones.

First up, it’s a brand new Troubleshooter story, “Legacy Hero” – a sequel to “Conventional Powers” from the Sept/Oct 2019 issue of Analog, reprinted on Patreon back in 2020. While my previous Troubleshooter stories on Patreon have been character vignettes peripheral to or expanding on parts of Only Superhuman, “Legacy Hero” is the full-fledged next installment in the Troubleshooter series, a nearly 10,000-word novelette focusing on Ekundayo DeMarais, the new Troubleshooter Corps recruit and Emerald Blair’s love interest from “Conventional Powers,” on Ekundayo’s first official Troubleshooter mission, with Emry tagging along as the Watson to her Holmes.

That’s right – “Legacy Hero” is a murder mystery, in keeping with its new protagonist’s role as a detective. When the newest Troubleshooter inherits the legacy identity of Lodestar from the Corps’s director, she also inherits the one cold case that the original Lodestar, Sol System’s greatest detective, never managed to solve: a brazen murder committed by one of three men who shared a common, impenetrable costumed identity as brutal enforcers for a police state, and who have closed ranks for six years to conceal the real killer. Can Lodestar and the Green Blaze find the one clue that will finally crack their sinister shell game?

“Legacy Hero” is available to Patreon subscribers at $10/month, and both the story and its annotations are be available at the $12 Behind the Scenes tier. And I’ll have more new Troubleshooter content over the year ahead!

A fresh start

I’m beginning 2023 in a much better place than I’ve been in for a while, though it’s for a regrettable reason. My late Uncle Clarence, who passed away in early 2021, was surprisingly generous to me in his will, so thanks to him — and to the diligent efforts of my cousins, the executors — I’ve finally been able to pay off the entirety of the crippling credit card debt I’ve been burdened with for more than five years now.

I fell into debt in 2017 when multiple sources of expected writing income were all simultaneously delayed far longer than anticipated. I kept being assured that one or the other would pay off soon, so I didn’t make alternate plans; and I didn’t realize how steep the monthly interest on the debt was getting, so I thought I had more time to spare than I did. Since then, the interest has been so steep that it’s cancelled out any gains I’ve been able to make, so I’ve spent the past five years basically running in place, managing to survive from gig to gig but never making enough at one time to pay down the debt to a significant degree. My GraphicAudio work over the past couple of years helped me gain some ground at last, but that’s on pause at the moment, and Star Trek prose fiction has been reduced to a handful of books a year, so I’m not sure when I might get further work from them. So I was afraid I might backslide again if I didn’t find some new gig to tide me over, and I wasn’t having much luck with that.

So I’m deeply thankful that this inheritance came when it did. I can now afford to wait until things pick up again with contract work — and more importantly, I can use the time to finally focus on some long-delayed original writing. I’m getting ready to begin the manuscript for Arachne’s Legacy, the sequel to Arachne’s Crime and Arachne’s Exile, which I’ve been meaning to get to for more than two years now but never found time for. I’ve already been working on some new Troubleshooter material in recent months, with an eye toward serializing it on my Patreon before compiling it for print, so hopefully I’ll have time to continue that as well. (Just wait, though — now that I want free time to work on my own stuff, I half-expect someone to offer me a contract assignment with a tight deadline any day now.)

It’s also a relief to be able to ease some of the austerity measures I’ve been living under for so long. Already this week, I’ve indulged myself in some better, more varied foods from the grocery store, and it’s been so refreshing to get to do that. (Although one of my current favorite foods is one I discovered while searching for the cheapest foods available: canned refried beans. They’re fantastic on a faux chili dog with chopped onions, dijon mustard, and grated cheddar.) I also have the option now to buy some stuff I need, like new shoes and shirts, a new vacuum cleaner, a new laptop, maybe even a modern TV.

Although my priority at this point is to try to build up some real savings for the future, since after spending five years teetering on the brink, I’d really like to avoid going broke again if I can. With no more interest or late fees, my monthly spending will be considerably less, so hopefully I can finally start making more per year than I spend. (Being broke is really expensive.) If I can save enough, it will give me more of a cushion to tide me over through slow times. And hopefully that will give me more freedom to devote time to expanding my catalog of original work and building a larger audience.

Moreover, being broke has exacerbated my tendency toward depression, and it’s often been a struggle to motivate myself to write. I’m hoping that being in a more comfortable place financially will make it psychologically easier to be more productive. Of course, depression is not that simple or predictable, but removing a major stressor (at least for the time being) certainly can’t hurt, and being able to afford getting some new things and varying my environment more could help. (Though it’d be easier if the pandemic weren’t still around. I’m still not willing to go to the movie theater or any crowded indoor place if I can avoid it.)

Although I want to reiterate how grateful I am to my readers. You’ve provided invaluable assistance in keeping me afloat over the past few years through your donations, autographed book purchases, Patreon subscriptions, and Kickstarter support for my eSpec publications. I’ll do my best to continue repaying your generosity by producing cool stuff for you to read and listen to.

TANGENT KNIGHTS 3: GEMINI ASCENDANT annotations are now up!

I got my author copy of Tangent Knights 3: Gemini Ascendant, the conclusion of my audiobook trilogy from GraphicAudio, so I was able to listen and add timings to my annotations, which are now up on the site.

You can find the direct link to them on the info page here:

https://christopherlbennett.wordpress.com/home-page/original-fiction/tangent-knights/#Gemini

There’s also a new link to an index page giving a listing of all the Tangent Knights’ multiple forms and their respective powers and weapons, with spoilers for the whole trilogy. This was something I made for myself to help me keep track of it all, but now that the whole trilogy is out, I’m sharing it publicly.

First batch of books mailed!

I apologize for the delay in sending out the first batch of autographed books from my book sale, but they’re now at the post office, beginning their journey to their buyers. I optimistically say “first batch,” since there are still plenty more books available! Find the full list here:

https://christopherlbennett.wordpress.com/2022/11/23/at-last-the-return-of-the-holiday-book-sale/

You can buy them for yourself, or ask me to autograph them to a friend or loved one as a holiday gift.

The TANGENT KNIGHTS trilogy is 65% off through December 11!

GraphicAudio is now offering the entire Tangent Knights audio novel trilogy as a single set, and from now through December 11, the entire set is available at a 65% discount! You can get 21 hours of full-cast, fully dramatized audio, the equivalent of an entire season of tokusatsu action, drama, and comedy, for only $23.09 as a download or $41.95 in MP3 CD format. That’s the entire trilogy for close to the price of a single book.

https://www.graphicaudio.net/tangent-knights-series-set.html

Oh, and if you’ve already gotten the first one or two books, or if you want to try the first one before committing to the rest, the three volumes are also discounted individually, to $8.00 for download and 14.68 for CD.

https://www.graphicaudio.net/our-productions/series/tangent-knights.html

If you’ve been hesitant to give my audio novels a try, now’s your chance to discover how fun they can be!

At last, the return of the holiday book sale!

It’s been three years since my last autographed book sale, since I kind of got out of the habit during the pandemic, and I’ve been pretty busy the past couple of years with writing projects such as the Tangent Knights trilogy. But I’m not too busy right now, since I have very little work lined up at the moment, and I’m still waiting for answers on various feelers I’ve put out. Which means I need to raise funds however I can to help tide me over.

With three years gone by, I now have several books to offer for the first time, including my two most recent Star Trek novels, my Arachne duology, and even my Hub collections, of which I now finally have a handful of print copies to offer. I’m afraid I’m out of nearly all my older mass-market paperback stock. I wish I could offer signed copies of Tangent Knights, but the CD versions are only available as print-on-demand.

Since I hardly have any specific projects lined up, it wouldn’t be feasible to offer a Tuckerization reward like I did the last couple of times, so I’ll just have to hope the signed books themselves are enough of an enticement. But you could always help me out with donations through PayPal, or better yet, by subscribing to my Patreon, where you can read a variety of exclusive short fiction (and a couple of reprints) and behind-the-scenes notes, as well as my ongoing TV and movie reviews, which mostly cover vintage TV, though I’m currently reviewing The Orville. (Indexes: Fiction, Reviews.) I’m also working on something big for the Fiction tier, so now (or soon) would be a good time to subscribe.

You can buy books or donate by clicking on the PayPal “Donate” button on the right-hand side of my blog page. If you’re seeing this on Goodreads, click on the “View more” link below to go to my main blog and you’ll see the button. All book buyers, let me know who to make out the autograph to.

As always, I’ll try to keep this list updated with regard to availability, but if you have doubts (particularly with the single copies), query first. For buyers in the US, add $4.00 postage per book.  For buyers outside the US, pay the book price and I’ll bill you for postage separately once I determine the amount.

If you have a PayPal account of your own, please pay through that instead of a credit card.  PayPal charges a fee for credit card use, so if you do use a credit card, I have to ask for an additional $0.50 per book.

This sale will continue as long as I have books in stock, and the call for donations is always open. I hope we can help each other out.

Here’s the list of books:

Arachne’s Crime — $15.00: 8 available

Is this a dream… or a nightmare? 

The crew of the interstellar colony vessel Arachne is roused from artificial hibernation to face a horrific reality, as an alien boarding party takes them into custody to answer for the deaths of tens of thousands of sentient beings.

But there is more to their trial than meets the eye, and the threads of intrigue weave a tight web as crewmates and friends are divided between those who feel they owe restitution for the actions of the ship’s AI in their defense, and those who refuse to bow down to a judgment they see as persecution.

What future can they hope to build among aliens who see them as mass murderers… presuming they have a future at all?

Arachne’s Exile — $15.00: 8 available

What a tangled web…

When the colony starship Arachne unwttingly destroyed a deep-space habitat of the Chirrn, her crew committed themselves to a lifetime of penance to repay their debt. But a brutal act of vengeance has now forced them into exile in a distant part of the galaxy.

Drawn into a cosmic conspiracy spanning millennia, the colonists learn that the Chirrn’s ancient choices have exacted a terrible toll on human history. Now, their only way to win true freedom may be to carry out a perilous theft aboard an extraordinary megastructure orbiting a neutron star.

Will Arachne and her crew pull off the heist of the millennium? Or are they being manipulated into committing a far more awful crime… one for which all humanity could pay the price?

The Arachne Omnibus trade paperback — $30.00 ($2 off current list price): 9 available

Deluxe trade paperback volume containing:

“Comfort Zones” prequel story (first time in print)Arachne’s CrimeArachne’s Exile“The Weight of Silence” (connected story)“Among the Wild Cybers of Cybele” (connected story)

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Only Superhuman — $20.00 (20% off!): 14 available

In the future, genetically engineered superhumans, inspired by classic Earth comic book heroes, fight to keep the peace in the wild and wooly space habitats of the Asteroid Belt

2107 AD: Generations ago, Earth and the cislunar colonies banned genetic and cybernetic modifications. But out in the Asteroid Belt, anything goes. Dozens of flourishing space habitats are spawning exotic new societies and strange new varieties of humans. It’s a volatile situation that threatens the peace and stability of the entire solar system.

Emerald Blair is a Troubleshooter. Inspired by the classic superhero comics of the twentieth century, she’s joined with other mods to try to police the unruly Asteroid Belt. But her loyalties are tested when she finds herself torn between rival factions of superhumans with very different agendas. Emerald wants to put her special abilities to good use and atone for her scandalous past, but what do you do when you can’t tell the heroes from the villains?

Only Superhuman is a rollicking hard-sf adventure set in a complex and fascinating future.

Library Journal‘s SF/Fantasy Debut of the Month for October 2012!

Among the Wild Cybers: Tales Beyond the Superhuman — $12.00 (20% off!): 2 available

When the line between life and technology blurs, humanity must adjust its understanding of the universe. From bestselling author Christopher L. Bennett comes Among the Wild Cybers, eight tales portraying a future of challenge and conflict, but also of hope born from the courage and idealism of those heroes willing to stand up for what is right.

An intrepid naturalist risks her future to save a new form of life that few consider worth saving.An apprentice superhero must stand alone against an insane superintelligence to earn her name.A cybernetic slave fights to save her kind from a liberation not of their choosing.A seasoned diplomat and mother must out-negotiate fearsome alien traders to save a colony’s children.A homicide detective serves in a world where curing death has only made murder more baffling.

These and other heroes strive to make their corners of the universe better—no matter how much the odds are stacked against them.

Includes the brand-new tale, Aspiring to Be Angels, prequel to the novel Only Superhuman.

Footprints in the Stars — $12.00 (20% off!): 3 available

To follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, first we must find them.

Dreaded hope settles over mankind as we stare into the heavens, looking for a sign we are not alone. Fearing we will find it, puzzled when we don’t.

Among the stars or in our own backyard, lose yourself in the wonder of these tales as we humbly posit mankind’s reaction to the awesome certainty that ‘they’ are out there…or at least, they were…

Footprints in the Stars

With stories by Gordon Linzner, Ian Randal Strock, Robert Greenberger, Dayton Ward, Aaron Rosenberg, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jody Lynn Nye, Christopher L. Bennett, James Chambers, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Russ Colchamiro, Judi Fleming, and Bryan J.L. Glass

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Hub Space: Tales from the Greater Galaxy — $8.50 (15% off!): 4 available

The Hub is the most important place in the galaxy — the single point through which all interstellar travel must pass. Yet no one in the galaxy understands how it works. David LaMacchia, an unimportant man from an unimportant planet called Earth, is determined to change that. He’s got no qualifications and no skills. His only friends are a cynical, sharp-tongued space pilot named Nashira Wing and a smugly philanthropic alien named Rynyan, and they both think he’s crazy. On top of that, the powers that profit from the Hub might just be trying to kill him. Still, that won’t stop David from trying to prove that humanity can make a difference to the greater galaxy.

Now the tales of the Hub from the pages of Analog are collected for the first time in one volume, newly revised and expanded! Includes “The Hub of the Matter,” “Home is Where the Hub Is,” and “Make Hub, Not War,” plus exclusive bonus material!

(Note: Print edition has blank spine, as it’s just a bit too thin for spine text to fit)

Crimes of the Hub — $11.00 (~15% off!): 4 available

The hapless heroes of Hub Space return with new jobs, new allies, and new adventures at the heart of the galaxy, in a novel expanded and revised from stories originally appearing in Analog.

Just when cynical space pilot Nashira Wing has finally started to enjoy helping David LaMacchia with his clueless quest to crack the secrets of the Hub Network, he’s hijacked by a crew of kittenish thieves and trapped in the treasure vault of a far older civilization. What he finds there gives Nashira a shot at the score of a lifetime—but changes David’s life in ways that threaten their friendship. To keep the devious masters of the Hub from getting their tentacles on Nashira’s prize, she and David must mend frayed relationships and navigate new ones, all while facing adventures in larceny, sex, bureaucracy, hyperspatial geometry, and radical body modification. Can they come through it all with their hearts, their identities, and their dignity intact?

Star Trek: The Original Series — The Higher Frontier — $16.00: 8 available

An all-new Star Trek movie-era adventure featuring James T. Kirk!

Investigating the massacre of a telepathic minority, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise confront a terrifying new threat: faceless, armored hunters whose extradimensional technology makes them seemingly unstoppable. Kirk must team with the powerful telepath Miranda Jones and the enigmatic Medusans to take on these merciless killers in an epic battle that will reveal the true faces of both enemy and ally!

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Star Trek: The Original Series — Living Memory — $16.00: 8 available

An all-new Star Trek movie-era adventure!

While attempting to settle in as commandant of Starfleet Academy, Admiral James T. Kirk must suddenly contend with the controversial, turbulent integration of an alien warrior caste into the student body—and quickly becomes embroiled in conflict when the Academy controversy escalates to murder. Meanwhile, Captain Spock of the USS Enterprise and Commander Pavel Chekov of the USS Reliant are investigating a series of powerful cosmic storms seemingly targeting Federation worlds—unstoppable outbursts emitting from the very fabric of space. Endeavoring to predict where the lethal storms will strike next, Spock and Chekov make the shocking discovery that the answer lies in Commander Nyota Uhura’s past—one that she no longer remembers….

Star Trek: The Original Series — The Captain’s Oath — $16.00: 5 available

The saga of James T. Kirk’s historic command of the U.S.S. Enterprise is known throughout the galaxy. But one part of the legend has barely been touched upon until now: the story of Kirk’s first starship command and the remarkable achievements by which Starfleet’s youngest captain earned the right to succeed Christopher Pike as the commander of the famous Enterprise.

From his early battles with the Klingons to the rescue of endangered civilizations, Kirk grapples with difficult questions: Is he a warrior or a peacemaker? Should he obey regulations or trust his instincts? This thrilling novel illustrates the events and choices that would shape James T. Kirk into one of the most renowned captains in Starfleet history.

Star Trek: Mirror Universe — Shards and Shadows — $12.00 (25% off!): 3 available

Fractured history. Broken lives. Splintered souls. Since the alternate universe was first glimpsed in the classic episode “Mirror, Mirror,” something about Star Trek’s dark side has beckoned us, called to us, tempted us — like forbidden fruit on the Tree of Knowledge. To taste it is to lose oneself in a world of startling familiarity and terrifying contradictions, where everything and everyone we knew is somehow disturbingly different, and where shocking secrets await their revelation.

What began in 2007 with Glass Empires and Obsidian Alliances — the first truly in-depth foray into the turbulent history of this other continuum — now continues in twelve new short tales that revisit and expand upon that so-called “Mirror Universe,” spanning all five of the core incarnations of Star Trek, as well as their literary offshoots, across more than two hundred years of divergent history, as chronicled by…

Christopher L. Bennett – Margaret Wander Bonanno – Peter David – Keith R.A. DeCandido – Michael Jan Friedman – Jim Johnson – Rudy Josephs – David Mack – Dave Stern – James Swallow – Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore – Susan Wright

Star Trek: Titan — Přes dravé moře (Czech translation of Over a Torrent Sea) — $12.50 (~20% off): 4 available

As the Federation recovers from the devastating events of Star Trek: Destiny, Captain William Riker and the crew of the U.S.S. Titan are ordered to resume their deep-space assignment, reaffirming Starfleet’s core principles of peaceful exploration.  But even far from home on a mission of hope, the scars of the recent cataclysm remain with them as they slowly rebuild their lives.

The planet Droplet is a world made mostly of water without a speck of solid ground.  Life should not exist here, yet it thrives.  Aili Lavena, Titan‘s aquatic navigator, spearheads the exploration of this mysterious world, facing the dangers of the vast, wild ocean.  When one native species proves to be sentient, Lavena finds herself immersed in a delicate contact situation, and Riker is called away from Deanna Troi at a critical moment in their marriage.

But when good intentions bring calamity, Lavena and Riker are cut off from the crew and feared lost.  Troi must face a life-changing event without her husband, while the crew must brave the crushing pressures of the deep to undo the global chaos they have triggered.  Stranded with her injured captain, Lavena must win the trust of the beings who control their fate — but the price for Riker’s survival may be the loss of everything he holds dear.

(Federace se pozvolna zotavuje z ničivých událostí popsaných v trilogii Volání osudu. U.S.S. Titan a jeho kapitán, William T. Riker, přebírají nové rozkazy – mají pokračovat v průzkumu hlubokého vesmíru, aby tak stvrdili, že mírové bádání je stále tím hlavním posláním Hvězdné flotily. Avšak utržené rány se nechtějí zhojit ani tak daleko od domova. Planeta třídy O, přezdívaná Kapka, je zcela pokryta vodní plochou – jediným velkým oceánem. Život by tu vůbec neměl existovat, přesto se mu až neobyčejně daří. Navigátorka Aili Lavena, sama vodního druhu, je ideální kandidátkou na průzkum tohoto ohromného a divokého moře. Když náhodou objeví jeden vnímavý druh, ocitá se na delikátní stezce k prvnímu kontaktu. Jak to tak často bývá, dobré úmysly však přivodí situaci, ze které se Lavena a Riker nemusejí vrátit. Posádka bez kapitána mezitím čelí drtivým tlakům temných hlubin, ve snaze odčinit globální chaos, který nedopatřením sami rozpoutali.)

ST: ENT — Rise of the Federation: Patterns of Interference (Book 5) — $8.00: 3 available

The time has come to act. Following the destructive consequences of the Ware crisis, Admiral Jonathan Archer and Section 31 agent Trip Tucker both attempt to change their institutions to prevent further such tragedies. Archer pushes for a Starfleet directive of non-interference, but he faces opposition from allies within the fleet and unwelcome support from adversaries who wish to drive the Federation into complete isolationism. Meanwhile, Tucker plays a dangerous game against the corrupt leaders of Section 31, hoping to bring down their conspiracy once and for all. But is he willing to jeopardize Archer’s efforts—and perhaps the fate of an entire world—in order to win?

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TANGENT KNIGHTS 3: GEMINI ASCENDANT is out!

Today’s the day! Tangent Knights 3: Gemini Ascendant, the epic conclusion to my tokusatsu-inspired full-cast audio drama trilogy from Graphic Audio, is now on sale as a download (with MP3 CD release to follow in mid-December).

https://www.graphicaudio.net/tangent-knights-3-gemini-ascendant.html

At the moment, it’s exclusively available at the above link, but it will soon become available at other audiobook sites such as Audible and Google Play. I’ll update links on my Tangent Knights page when the time comes. And I’ll update the page with annotations once I get a chance to listen to it myself and add the time codes.

Meanwhile, here’s a larger version of the nifty cover art from Amelia Grace Buff, which is my favorite of the three covers (click to enlarge):

I’m really happy that the complete trilogy is finally out. Tangent Knights is my first novel-length trilogy. The three Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations novellas were written as a trilogy, as were the three Hub stories collected in Crimes of the Hub. A couple of my Star Trek novel series have run longer than three books, but they were never commissioned more than two at a time. And I intend to add a third book to the Arachne duology if I can ever find the time. But Tangent Knights is the first time I conceived a complete trilogy of full-length works, wrote them nearly back-to-back, and saw the entire thing published fairly close together (about 15 months). It’s a milestone achievement in my career.

Although, since the three audio novels run about 7 hours each, that’s comparable to a full year’s worth of 24-minute episodes of Kamen Rider or Super Sentai. So you can see it as a complete trilogy, or as a complete “season” of a tokusatsu series.

Naturally, I’m hoping I’ll get the chance to do a second Tangent Knights trilogy/”season,” and I already have a premise in mind. But whether GraphicAudio asks for more depends on how well the first trilogy sells. So if you haven’t tried out Tangent Knights already, I hope you’ll give it a shot. Even people who aren’t fans of tokusatsu will find plenty of my usual hard science fiction concepts, worldbuilding, and humor, and feel I’ve rarely if ever written anything with such potent and compelling character drama, or such cosmic scope. I’m really proud of this series, and the folks at GraphicAudio are great to work with. So I’d really love the chance to continue expanding the Tangent Knights multiverse.

Phase in!