ANALOG takes “Aleyara’s Flight”

It’s been a couple of years since I last had a story in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, with the cover story “Aleyara’s Descent” in the May/June 2023 issue. But I can now announce that I’ve signed a contract for its sequel, “Aleyara’s Flight.” I’ve been told it’s slated for the September/October 2025 issue, but the contract took longer than expected, so I can’t be sure of that. (Analog has recently come under new ownership and they’re still settling in. Don’t worry, they’re committed to keeping it in print and retaining the same editorial staff.)

“Aleyara’s Descent” cover art by Eldar Zakirov

“Aleyara’s Flight” returns to the lush alien world of the colorful Biauru species, saurian brachiators who evolved in the nearly solid canopy of the vast rainforest that covers 2/3 of the planet Rulenau’s main continent. This time, I expand the story to explore the lands beyond the rainforest, whose distinct culture has been shaped by the struggle to survive amidst the dinosaur-like megafauna who thrive in Rulenau’s hot climate. I examine the impact of Aleyara’s innovation of the scientific method upon the Biauru’s Bronze Age civilization, and elaborate on Biauru society, biology, and spirituality, as well as deepening my exploration of the characters and their relationships. There are also plenty of exotic new settings and creatures and thrilling action sequences.

At nearly 19,900 words, “Aleyara’s Flight” is my first published novella outside of licensed Star Trek fiction, and is my fourteenth contribution to Analog. It’s my first sequel to a previous Analog story since the last of my Hub stories, “Hubstitute Creatures” in 2018, and my seventh Analog story set in the Arachne-Troubleshooter Universe (versus six Hub stories and one standalone), though as a tale set in an alien world’s pre-contact past, it has only an implicit connection to the rest of the universe.

This is one of two sequel stories I wrote back-to-back, and though story #3 took longer to get right than I’d expected, I finally got it sorted out (I hope) and submitted it just last Friday. My hope is to write a fourth story and then collect them all as a fixup novel.

Stay tuned for more Aleyara news!