Author Archives: James Pyles

A Rose for Amélie

bridge

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

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His name is Alec Plisken now. Periodically, he found it convenient to change identities. That didn’t mean he could change his past.

This night he stood on the Pont de Pierre. His steady hand placed a red rose on the walkway. This was where his wife had fallen.

There was peace now, but not so in Nazi occupied Bordeaux in 1940. He had been sent to England not realizing his beloved wife would not escape France, even with a falsified Portuguese visa. This is where she was shot and killed by the fascists. Unlike him, Amélie was not an immortal.

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Book Review of “The Andromeda Evolution” (2019)

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© James Pyles

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I heard about Daniel H. Wilson’s novel The Andromeda Evolution almost by accident and found that my local public library had a copy.

I read Michael Crichton’s 1971 novel The Andromeda Strain way, way back in the day and I’ve seen the 1971 movie adaptation a number of times and enjoyed them both.

But fifty years later and written by another author, even with the Crichton family’s blessing, how would this turn out?

A lot better than I expected.

The book started out very slowly and I was afraid it would be a hard slog all the way through. On top of that, Wilson sometimes decided to lecture the reader on the evils of colonialism and how bad white people and civilization is for indigenous people (the main action takes place in a protected reserve in the Amazon). I thought if this was going to be the tone of the book, it would be tedious and I almost stopped reading it once or twice.

Fortunately, Wilson didn’t belabor the point too much and then things began to pick up.

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No Dancing For Me

door

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

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Jeffrey stood at the bottom of the steps confronted by a barrier and closed doors.

“The bloody thing’s closed. Dodged that one,” he said aloud.

He was turning to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard her say, “Where do you think you’re going?”

He gritted his teeth behind his lips, then choked out, “It’s closed, Marcia”

“Keeps folks from sleeping on the landing. I can unlatch it and have a key.” She pulled him up the steps.

“I don’t want to dance,” he complained.

“Come on. It’s fun.” The gleam in her eye was evil.

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Book Review of “Cobra” (1986) by Timothy Zahn

cobra

Original cover art for “Cobra” by Timothy Zahn

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When I first read Timothy Zahn’s Cobra back in the 1980s and I liked it. Decades later, I still had that feeling but only vague memory of the book’s contents.

So I downloaded it onto my Kindle Fire and finally got around to reading it.

The novel holds up well. It’s really the “hero’s journey” of Jonny Moreau, a young boy from a backward frontier planet, who volunteers to undergo surgical procedures and specialized training to become an augmented soldier, a cyborg known as Cobra.

His idealism is stripped away when he and his fellow Cobras are sent to another world in their Dominion to fight the alien enemy known as Trofts. He sees destruction, death, and loss. He also first experiences distrust from his own allies. Cobras are highly dangerous. They were created that way. But because there was always the possibility they could turn on those they were helping, no one wanted to get too close.

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Get “Spring Into SciFi 2024” Today!

2024

Cover art for “Spring Into SciFi 2024.”

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It’s here!

Spring Into SciFi 2024 from Cloaked Press is available TODAY!

Download it from Amazon onto your Kindle device and start reading right now. The price is very reasonable.

If you’d rather have the paperback, that’s available too for $15.99 USD.

This anthology features my short story “I Don’t Want To Be Human.”

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Movie Review of “The Marvels” (2023)

marvels

Blu-Ray case for the 2023 film “The Marvels”

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I went to my public library’s local branch yesterday (as I write this) to pick up a few books I had on hold. Lo and behold, in the new movies section, I found a Blu-Ray of The Marvels (2023). If you’re aware of this film at all, you probably know about the controversy surrounding it.

The movie didn’t do well at the box office. This was attributed either to the sexist, racist, white supremist, patriarchal attitudes of (male) audiences or to the overdose of “wokeness” in combination with bad writing of the Disney-made movie.

When the movie was released on Disney+, there was a power surge of positivity for it on social media combined with harsh criticism for anyone daring not to like the movie for any reason (reasons being listed again as sexism, racism, white supremacy, and the patriarchy).

I dithered when I saw the Blu-Ray case. Did I want to avoid wasting one hour and forty-five minutes watching a movie that was probably a turkey or did I want to give it a fair chance? In the end, I settled for “fair chance.” I’ve viewed films before that were generally panned in the reviews but turned out to be, if not great movies, more or less “okay.” That’s what I thought about Captain Marvel (2019). Maybe “The Marvels” was just a victim of bad press.

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Visiting Mom

roger

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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Every morning, she opens the window and walks out onto her small balcony. Her apartment is the only one like it.

Every morning, I wait for her to come out and I watch her. I keep my curtains shut so she doesn’t know she’s being spied on. I’m still deciding what to do.

Nineteen years ago, she went to have an abortion. The baby survived and was born, but she was told it wouldn’t live long. She left without another thought.

Should I confront her, tell her I’m the son she abandoned, or use my rifle and kill her now?

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So This Is Romantic?

beach

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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“Come on, Scott. What’s the point of renting a beach house for a week if we don’t walk along the beach?” Jeannie tugged at her husband’s arm, coaxing him along.

“What’s the point of freezing my ass off? It’s March, not July. What possesses those nuts to bundle up under some tent just to watch the waves?”

“Spoilsport. This is supposed to be romantic.”

“Watching the ocean through the window with a roaring blaze in the fireplace is romantic.”

“Some romance. You just want to be writing that story of yours. I should never have let you bring your laptop.”

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Death by Incense

gas

PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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Henry only needed to turn the gas back on for a little while. He’d arranged for the stove to have a significant leak. Rachel would smell it, but he would tell her she’s imagining things. Then he’d go outside pretending to tend to the garden.

When she came out complaining of a headache or dizziness, he’d suggest she stay with her sister Jeannie for the weekend. Anything to get rid of her and her damned nagging. Then he’d fix the leak, air out the house, and finally be able to relax.

He didn’t count on her lighting an incense stick.

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Spring Into SciFi 2024 Coming Soon!

2024

Cover art for “Spring Into SciFi 2024.”

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Almost there.

My short story “I Don’t Want To Be Human” is featured in the upcoming Cloaked Press anthology Spring Into SciFi 2024. Click that link to pre-order a digital copy for download from Amazon to your Kindle device on March 21, 2024.

If you prefer a paperback, pre-order that right here, but there’s more.

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