The stories here are short (some very short) and are mostly sf – that is, speculative fiction: fantasies, myths, science fiction, slipstream . . . all the flavors of fabulation except, I hope, for the mundane. Many were written with the audience of the Usenet newsgroup talk.bizarre in mind, back when text was the thing. —APS . . .
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It was a land of sword and sorcery, knights and castles, adventure and heroics . . . but that was a thousand years ago. The Gods are Bastards brings high fantasy forward into the Industrial Revolution, to a more complicated and more cynical era. In the world of Tiraas, an ancient Church is making its final grab for ultimate power, an upstart young . . .
Aeterna is a kingdom ruled by order, where everyone knows their place. The shy Miss Grace Ainsworth never expected to find herself to flung into a world of chaos, but after her marriage to Lord Frey, everything changes. Soon, Grace is torn between her love for the cosmic order of the stars and a coven that seeks to take power . . .
Raizel just wants to get to the capitol to pay her taxes and register her family for the census. Somehow, that’s going to take all month. . . .
When Felicity ‘Flick’ Chambers boards the bus for the first day of her junior year in high school, the most important thing on her mind is how to make everyone else take the school newspaper as seriously as she does. As a self-styled investigative reporter, she’s spent years picking through the monotony of her small town to find those few . . .
Nic Tutt is a good student. He excels at all subjects. But his education serves only one purpose—to gain entry into the Ransom School. Ransom is the most prestigious school in the country. Its alumni are destined to become the future leaders of Ranvar. Politicians, statesemen and, in some exceptional cases, mages. Only the brightest and the best get . . .
Alexis is a girl at the height of her high school career, a social butterfly with no shortage of friends, popularity, or things to do on the weekends. Until she falls victim to a vicious attack, and is brought to the brink of death. She survives, but it soon becomes clear that she cannot return to the same life she . . .
A young man dies, and a grim reaper offers to revive him in exchange for servitude. Responsibilities include saving other people’s lives and occasionally fighting unspeakable horrors. But this particular young man is cripplingly shy. No, seriously. He can barely even speak to people. It’s really bad. Takes place in the modern fantasy world of Eleg. . . .
Heather Blackthorne once hunted necromantic cults in the service of the Church. But one villain slipped her grasp, and her husband and son paid the price. Her life and career shattered, mysterious forces conspire to plant her in the high North. And what peace is to be found is all too quickly shattered, as her past comes hunting for . . .
Amba begged the demi-god Krishna to train her as a warrior. His price: to make her a pawn in his grand scheme. Aryavarta, Northern India, 864 BC Krishna rested in a clearing, giving Amba a clear shot. She raised her bow longing for the satisfaction of a kill. A doe distracted her as it bounded between mangroves to . . .
Goblins craft their greatest weapon, a massive body of iron and enchantment. To complete the war golem, they summon the most evil being in existence and bind his spirit to their creation. What they wanted was a video game character; unfortunately, what they got was a teenage griefer. . . .
The intense, complicated, intriguing, journal of a noble lady. . . .
City of Roses is about what happens when Jo Maguire, a highly strung underemployed telemarketer, meets Ysabel Perry, a princess of unspecifiable pedigree. It’s also about hearts broken cleanly and otherwise, the City of Portland, Spenser, those moments in pop songs when the bass and all of the drums except maybe a handclap suddenly drop out of the bridge leaving . . .
Jul 14, 2008: If you like stories that jump right into the action, Mirrorfall is the way to go. The storyline itself spans a rather short amount of time but there’s a lot of story to tell. The characters are dynamic and varied; some wanting to appear two dimensional but, much to their chagrin, a third layer is there to be found. Steph Mimosa is a compelling character to follow, what with her antisocial behavior and her conflicting emotions for human contact. She’s more at ease with a computer but there were a [more . . .]
Jun 17, 2011: I had writer’s block so I took a step away from my own projects and looked for something fun to read. After a few disappointments, I stumbled upon Darkside and devoured the whole story in one sitting.
Having played White Wolf’s Changeling, Werewolf and Vampire, I felt at home in the story. The main character, James, narrates in the first person with humor and descriptive visuals that really help you ‘see’ the strangeness that envelopes him.