Artist’s interpretation of interstellar asteroid 1I/’Oumuamua. [M. Kornmesser/ESO]
However, it does mean my “mystery story” is the second short story acceptance for 2020, which, of course, thrills me to no end.
“The Norton Book of Science Fiction” cover art
A little while ago, I checked out The Norton Book of Science Fiction from the library because it contained the late Mike Resnick’s classic SciFi short story Kirinyaga. I reviewed that story, but went on to read some of the other tales the book contains.
First of all, it was edited by the legendary Ursula K Le Guin and Brian Attebery, who back in 1993, were both young. I got a kick out of Attebery being in Idaho, which isn’t where a lot of folks would think a SciFi guru and associate of Le Guin would be found.
The anthology features notable science fiction short stories published from 1960 to 1990, which is a nice cross section of the evolving genre.
Le Guin wrote what is no doubt an insightful but overly long introduction, which I skimmed through. I also didn’t read all of the stories, and skipped the ones I was already familiar with such as Harlan Ellison’s “Strange Wine” and Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Lucky Strike.”
Promotional image of the upcoming science fiction anthology “Infinity and I” by Sam Phillips
Just found out that Sam Phillips, co-founder of Australian indie publishing house Zombie Pirate Publishing is coming out with his own anthology of 70 science fiction stories.
Promotional image for the Immortal Works anthology “A Mighty Fortress”
My short story “The Deseret War” has been accepted by Immortal Works publishing for their anthology “A Mighty Fortress: Being an Anthology of Mormon Steampunk”. This is the fourth volume in this annually released series of tales merging the themes of the LDS church and steampunk. This edition includes my story and 16 others.
Here’s a short summary of my tale:
Once Stephen Isaac Eddington converted to Mormonism in his native London and realized the severe persecution the Church was enduring in the United States, he knew he had to use his unique skills to help defend the faith. But to do that, he would have to steal an incredible invention devised by his scientist mentor who had recently perished, and the greedy and corrupt tycoon who had financed the venture.
Promotional image for the anthology “Bloody Valentine.”
Pre-order links for Eleanor Merry Presents Dark Valentine: Holiday Flash Fiction Anthology (US)
And there’s more:
Just thought I’d throw this one in. Remember, CLOCKWORK DRAGONS: A Fantasypunk Anthology is available now for pre-order to be delivered to your Kindle device on January 15, 2020.
Cover art for the anthology, “The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century
Note that I’ve previously reviewed individual stories presented in this anthology, such as Brad Linaweaver’s novella Moon of Ice, Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Lucky Strike, and Susan Shwartz’s Suppose They Gave a Peace. This review applies to the entire book.
The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century is a 2002 anthology edited by Harry Turtledove with Martin H. Greenberg. As the title suggests, it’s an eclectic collection of short stories and novellas crafted by various science fiction luminaries over a span of nearly fifty years.
As with all anthologies, it is pretty uneven.
Ward Moore’s “Bring the Jubilee” was the toughest to slog through. It’s depressing and seems to be overly long, including details that may not have been necessary to tell the core story. Also, it’s hard to believe that the Confederate Army could have won the Civil War based on a single engagement, one that our hero managed to change by sheer ineptitude.
Both “The Lucky Strike” by Kim Stanley Robinson and “Suppose They Gave a Peace” by Susan Shwartz were anti-war stories, the former being Robinson’s wish fulfillment of a world with no nuclear weapons, and the latter, an alternate history that bore little difference from the actual one, as told through the eyes of one family.
Promotional image for “Clockwork Dragons”
Zombie Pirate Publishing is running a promotion on Patreon. Sign up for as little as one US dollar, and gain exclusive access to their soon-to-be published CLOCKWORK DRAGONS: A Fantasypunk Anthology.
Promotional image for the published anthology of drabbles “Dark X-Mas.”
The 48 hour promotional offer of Dark X-Mas Holiday Drabbles: 100 Word Holiday Horror Stories is about to end, and I thought I’d do some checking.
Seems the anthology, which features two of my Christmas horror drabbles, has garnered a whole 10 reviews, 9 of them five stars. The 10th is a one star by someone I suspect doesn’t understand the nature of microfiction, but that’s neither here nor there.
Promotional image for the published anthology of drabbles “Dark X-Mas.”
I just found out that the ebook for Eleanor Merry Presents: Dark X-Mas Holiday Drabbles will be offered absolutely free on December 25th and 26th. I’ve contributed two “dark” Christmas tales among the vast multitude of 100-word tales of Yuletide horror.
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