Tales from Plexis

by Julie E. Czerneda (Editor)

Authors explore new corners of the Clan Chronicles universe in an anthology that brings readers into the lives of the alien inhabitants of one of the sci-fi series's most memorable locations

Welcome to one of the iconic settings of the Clan Chronicles: the infamous interstellar shopping extravaganza of the Trade Pact known as Plexis Supermarket! A market and meeting place, Plexis is where pirates rub shoulders with freighter crews, where the rich come to party and the out-of-luck chase that last opportunity, where anything can be bought or sold and only your airtag tells the truth. Most of the time.

Dock your starship, pay your parking fee, and enter. You'll never know what you'll find. Or who you'll meet. Because here, for the first time, Julie E. Czerneda has opened the airlocks to her fellow scribes and lovers of all things Trade Pact to produce this anthology of remarkable, all-original stories.

Learn the beginnings (and kitchen secrets) of the famed Claws & Jaws: Interspecies Cuisine. Solve mysteries. Slip through service tunnels or shop with goldtags!

Want the truth about Turrneds? The Neblokans? How Terk met his partner? More of Raj Plexis and Bowman? The way to Ansel's heart? Kurr di Sarc. Huido. Manouya. Those balloons.

Plexis awaits your pleasure.

A Hold Full of Truffles © 2018 Julie E. Czerneda
The Stars Do Not Dream © 2018 Amanda Sun
Finding Parker © 2018 Doranna Durgin
A Traded Secret © 2018 Donald R. Montgomery
Anisoptera With a Side Order of Soft Blast © 2018 Fiona Patton
Jilly © 2018 Paul Baughman
Chicken © 2018 Elizabeth A. Farley-Dawson
An Elaborate Scheme © 2018 Marie Bilodeau
The Sacrifice of Pawns © 2018 Mark Ladouceur
Little Enigmatic Monster © 2018 Wayne Carey
A Thief by Any Other Name © 2018 Violette Malan
Memory © 2018 Sally McLennan
Home is a Planet Away © 2018 Ika Koeck
Will of the Neblokan Fates © 2018 Natalie Reinelt
The Rainbow Collection © 2018 Nathan Azinger
A Song of Plexis © 2018 Janet Elizabeth Chase
Cinnamon Sticks © 2018 B. Morris Allen
The Locksmith’s Dilemma © 2018 Rhondi Salsitz
A Traitor’s Heart © 2018 Karina Sumner-Smith
The Restaurant Trade © 2018 Chris Butler
The End of Days © 2018 Tanya Huff
Good With Numbers © 2018 Heather LaVonne Jensen
The Materials at Hand © 2018 Jessica McAdams

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies

463 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2018

About the author

Having written 23 novels (and counting) published by DAW Books, as well as numerous short stories, and editing several anthologies over the past 25 years, Julie E. Czerneda was inducted in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2022. Her science fiction and fantasy combines her training and love of biology with a boundless curiosity and optimism, winning multiple awards. Out in August 2022 is Julie’s first short story collection, Imaginings, followed in November by her standalone sf novel, To Each This World. For more visit czerneda.com Julie is represented by Sara Megibow of KT Literary.

Reviews

[Susan]

"The Stars Do Not Dream" by Amanda Sun 7/2/21
"Finding Parker" by Doranna Durgin 7/2/21 ❤ (telepathic alien puppies, hell yeah)
"A Traded Secret" by Donald R. Montgomery 8/8/21
"Anisoptera with a Side Order of Soft Blast" by Fiona Patton 8/8/21 ❤
"Jilly" by Paul Baughman 8/9/21
"Chicken" by Elizabeth A. Farley-Dawson 8/9/21
"An Elaborate Scheme" by Marie Bilodeau 8/10/21
"The Sacrifice of Pawns" by Mark Ladouceur 8/10/21
"Little Enigmatic Monster" by Wayne Carey 8/11/21
"A Thief by Any Other Name" by Violette Malan 8/11/21
"Memory" by Sally McLennan 8/12/21

"Home is a Planet Away" by Ika Koeck
"Will of the Neblokan Fates" by Natalie Reinelt
"The Rainbow Collection" by Nathan Azinger
"A Song of Plexis" by Janet Elizabeth Chase
"Cinnamon Sticks" by B. Morris Allen
"The Locksmith's Dilemma" by Rhondi Salsitz
"A Traitor's Heart" by Karina Sumner-Smith
"The Restaurant Trade" by Chris Butler
"The End of Days" by Tanya Huff
"Good with Numbers" by Heather LaVonne Jensen
"The Materials at Hand" by Jessica McAdams
"A Hold Full of Truffles" by Julie E. Czerneda

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plexis was my favorite setting in the Clan Chronicles. I've always been partial to space stations. Plexis is particularly special in that it is a marketplace. Filled with shops, restaurants, and commerce of all sorts.

It doesn't even stay in one place (few space stations are mobile!). The best part, to me, was that Plexis is full of MANY different alien species, most just doing the best they can, which is all you can really ask.

So, I was very much looking forward to returning to this setting within the Clan world even if the Clan Chronicles, per se, had come to their conclusion.

As with all anthologies, I liked some stories better than others. This anthology was quite different in that it had a Sira/Jason Morgan story in between each of the shared world stories, linking them. (I had never seen anything like this in other shared world books.)

The book even included a story by one of my top favorite authors Tanya Huff!

Highly recommended to all who enjoy space opera, multi-species settings, and stories about all kinds of beings!

[A. A. Breitling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel brings together a variety of authors to round out the stories from the galaxy's supermarket, Plexis. Czerneda has put together a fun read bringing together these stories of characters that have appeared in her other books. I loudly applaud this book. If you enjoy SF then I highly recommend this book and anything else written by Czerneda.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These types of anthologies are always challenging projects for an author to pull together, and Czerneda did an excellent job of weaving together the stories and wrangling authors.

[Ira Nayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and great fun.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy but sad

I'm sad that I am finally finished this anthology but I sm happy to have it in my collection finally. Now... Julie we ,your fans, need MORE PLEXIS !

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this as part of my Short Stories 366 project, and you can find the reviews as they pop up under this tag.

[Garrett Olinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!