Publisher's Synopsis
US Edition (US English)
33 Short Stories - SF, Fantasy, Horror, Historical, Humor, Romance, Urban, Philosophical - fiction with a touch of fact.
Derelict
At great expense an exploration and survey vessel is commissioned and is investigating VIRGOHI121. If you're into astronomy you'll know that this is a place where the proportion of dark matter to normal matter is abnormally high. Dark matter galaxies can be risky and if you find a space derelict there, you can bet the risk factor goes up. Just to make things interesting UK-WorldGov (the British Empire in all but name) is sponsoring this mission.
Night of Life.
Humanity are putting a lot of effort into cleaning up the planet. That's the deal or they won't get access to star drive technology. You see the earth has just been discovered by aliens - the epheleri. By day Eddy works the Mississippi levees; after dark he hooks into shared dream world. By the way, nobody knows what an epheleri looks like. Take it from there Eddy...
Joe
The Earth has been overrun by xenophids - giant sized creatures from outer-space. Joe is trying to contact survivors and he's looking for them in the Appalachians. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, yet not everyone he meets is pulling the same way. First Contact with a vengeance. Shades of Orson Welles!
Aeschia
A story has a shape - and a function. Like clay, in conveying the artist's intent, it acquires form and becomes fine or lumpy. A pottery of words. If the Earth is the cradle of mankind, then the radio and TV signals we've been hammering out for almost a century are the baby alarm. Will we be heard and if so, what will come? Aeschia is one answer - a creature sensitive to the thoughts of others.
Orby
Brant is a knight errant and he's off to Orby to buy one of the famed Brychon ponies. His work is risk, adventure and doomed quests. Orby is a township in the troubled kingdom of Tyrikhon. It also happens to be the place where Princess Aralie, the rightful heir, is held captive. What could go wrong?
Impressions
"I like the countryside better than the town. At night the stars light up the sky. They twinkle in God's firmament... This is his creation. The realm is vast. Not small and petty, like the minds of men, but stretching to the far shores of infinity. And we can see just the smallest filament of a loose thread, at the hem of His mighty garment." So says the wheelchair bound protagonist.
Ice Made
Ice sculpting nowadays is fast and furious with power tools and time saving gadgets galore. Allen has the perfect spot, twenty miles from Labrador City - Lac Opiscoteo; but he hasn't moved with the times. Over the years his commissions have grown less and less. He clings to his old fashioned ways, laboriously chipping away at his creations. What future can there be for him?
Eggman
Frederick is the much put upon assistant to Harry West, re-animator and general mad scientist. The subject of this re-animation experiment is an ex-beatnik, who was renowned for breaking into poetry part way through each song. Any mad scientist's assistant worth his salt would rely on more than moral force should things get tough. Frederick has 'Good Night's Rest'. No Lovecraft imitation would be complete without a monster. The action - dangerous, illegal and morally repugnant - takes place south of the Adirondacks, in HP Lovecraft country.
Master of the Universe
How near have you been to the halls of power? What was it like? Were you seduced? Do you find yourself attracted by a life of affluence, collecting the rare and the unique simply in order to deny others the chance to do the same? What would it take to change your point of view? And if you did, would you look at your collection of pointless plenty the same way? Master of the Universe tells of a city trader (who else?) with a big secret. He's done well for himself, yet his life is full of
