June 29, 2012 – Hillsboro, NH — Amazing Stories, the world’s first science fiction magazine, will begin its return to regular publication this July 1st with Volume 0, Number 1, the Relaunch Prelaunch issue.

All kinds of wonderful things have been happening at Amazing Stories over the past several months and some of them have prompted a change to the overall plan for Amazing Stories return.

As some of you may recall, I was planning on beginning the funding effort following the presidential elections in November.  I’d originally wanted to go for the whole enchilada all at once and scale back from there as necessary.

Recent developments have caused me to accelerate certain aspects of the plan and to modify my approach to launching.

Now the plan is to break the project up into smaller pieces and fund those individually. Instead of scaling back, we’ll be building up.

This change has been engendered by a very exciting recent development that will both strengthen Amazing’s brand and create a revenue stream.  The details of this development will be announced the weekend of July 14-15.  The announcement will take place at the San Diego Comic Con (CA) and Readercon (MA) conventions.

I felt that it would be foolish to waste such an opportunity and decided to create the Relaunch Prelaunch issue of Amazing Stories so that there would be somewhere to go and something to look at when the announcement was made,

Since I had already gathered a fair amount of material for the blog, I decided to put it all together and create an issue of the magazine with it.  The content ranges from reminisces on Amazing from Robert Silverberg, Barry Malzberg and Patrick L Price, to fiction by Jack Clemons (all of which is being reprinted from earlier renditions of the magazine) to an extensive series of round-robin interviews with 13 of the Book View Cafe authors – Maya Bohnhoff, Brenda Clough, Chris Dolley, katharine E. Kimbriel, Sue Lange, Vonda McIntyre, Linda Nagata, Pati Nagle, Phyllis Radford, Deborah J. Ross, Sarah Smith, Jennifer Stevenson, Judith Tarr and Dave Trowbridge and some (short) editorializing from me.

I think there’s plenty of good stuff there that will be released throughout the course of the month.  Anyone who hears about Amazing Stories from the announcements (I’ll be sending it out to you all as well) will find several pieces to read when they visit and the promise of more to keep them coming back.  And this will not be the last Relaunch Prelaunch issue;  I’ve already started getting stuff in for the next one (an essay on Tarzan & Burroughs from John M Whalen) and more on the way (though I am not anywhere close to the three-months-out I ought to be).  Hold on to your fiction, but if you’ve got an interesting article, interview, review, feel free to send it inI.  I’m not paying and I can’t promise I’ll use it, but….

It now seems that the time to pull out all of the stops has arrived a few months earlier than I had originally anticipated.  I am now putting together the outline of a Kickstarter (or similar) crowd-funding plan and presentation that will be released in the next couple of months.

In order to make it all work I will need everyone’s help.

So what can you do?

Nothing if you’d prefer.  Or you could:

Visit the site. Share it with your friends.  Comment on something you find here.  Link to it. Sign up on the Facebook page.

Say nice things and think good thoughts.

The more Amazing Stories resembles a going concern, the easier it will be to obtain the funding and the closer we will all be to seeing what we want to see, the return of Amazing Stories!

The website and blog can be found here: Amazing Stories

The Facebook Page is here: Amazing Stories

I have plenty of space on the site to help promote and publicize fellow travelers.  If getting a spot up on Amazing’s site will help you promote the magazine, please send your artwork and link or get in touch so we can put a plan together.  I’m happy to do what I can in return for your support.

And finally,

Thank You All for your support, your kind words and your good wishes.

Steve Davidson

Buy Now From Amazon.com

It’s been far too long since we last delved into some of the great short science fiction available for ebook readers everywhere, so let’s head back into it with three great selections!

“From Above” by Jeremy Robinson

Jeremy Robinson is best known for his Jack Sigler series of adventure novels that began with Pulse in 2009 and currently running through a series of novellas termed Chesspocalypse, leading into this year’s release of Ragnarok, as well as his novel Antarktos Rising and its related young adult series, The Last Hunter.  “From Above,” a novella also included in Robinson’s short story collection Insomnia, is one of the author’s earlier works, and admittedly it shows at times, mainly in the setting, which felt distinctly underdeveloped.  That said, this science fiction noir adventure was a blast to read, in large part because of the excellent characters that Robinson peopled his story with.  A far future cop, Priest exudes noir, as a sarcastic, short tempered, and quick witted detective who captures all of the sexism and toughness that all detectives from the noir era embody.  Partnered with the strong-willed Rehna, who constantly challenges Priests sexist attitudes with her personification of strong female solidity, and Gawyn, a little girl who is as gruff as Priest and technological savant, Priest sets out to find who is behind two deadly blasts that both nearly killed him, and murdered untold civilians.  The story explodes from the page, and is as gripping as it is entertaining.  Especially for fans of science fiction mystery, this SF noir workhorse will be sure to please.  Get it while it is free!

“Jigsaw” by Douglas Smith

Douglas Smith’s short fiction output is exceptional, to say the least.  Sadly under read, Douglas Smith is deserving of an entire “Science Fiction You Haven’t Read…But Should” article all to his own, and you’ll likely see it one day.  My introduction to Smith’s work was the short story “Jigsaw,” a space opera beauty.  In a future where humanity uses the artifacts of a lost alien civilization to travel among the stars, Cassie Morant, a geologist exploring new worlds, is part of a crew that has a disastrous mishap, with their ship in a degrading orbit and hostile natives taking the landing crew hostage, with the threat of death.  It is up to Cassie to explore the religious artifacts of the society holding her captive if she hopes to save the ship and its crew, both in space and captives of the local beings.  The story is a lot of fun, with rollicking adventure and a nice, neat conclusion that had me aching to read more from Douglas Smith.  “Jigsaw” is available for cheap on its own, as well as part of Smith’s brand new collection, Chimerascope.  Fans of Smith are also encouraged to check out the film version of “By Her Hand, She Draws You Down.”  The story is found in Chimerascope, as well as part of By Her Hand, She Draws You Down: The Movie Companion Book.  Those hesitant about the price tag on Chimerascope are directed to the three story collection Impossibilia, which is both brilliant and cheap.  However, after you read it, it will be even harder to stay away from Chimerascope.

Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2011 Edition edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden and Liz Gorinsky

Tor.com has quickly become a powerhouse when it comes to strong science fiction and fantasy short stories.  Available free on their website, and for less than a dollar on the kindle, the broad range and big name authors have really ratcheted up the quality of the storytelling, and creating a wonderful online presence.  Celebrating the culmination of a year’s worth of storytelling, Tor released Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2011 Edition, which is available for free on ebook readers.  Containing stories from Charlie Jane Anders, Michael Swanwick, James Alan Gardner, Matthew Sanborn Smith, Yoon Ha Lee, Paul Park, Nnedi Okorafor, and Harry Turtledove, this collection is filled with excellent stories.  The story quality seems to come in three tiers.  Tier One contains Smith’s “Beauty Belongs to the Flowers,” Lee’s “A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel,” and Okorafor’s “Hello, Moto.”  These stories were engaging and enjoyable, but didn’t leave much of a long lasting impact.  That said, each of these authors is more than worth reading, and that this collection gets readers out and exploring their works is a strong positive.  Tier Two contains Swanwick’s “The Dala Horse” and Gardner’s “A Clean Sweep with All the Trimmings.”  Swanwick’s story is an exquisitely crafted tale of post-apocalyptic, mythic science fiction, while Gardner’s story is, as Robinson’s “From Above,” a wonderfully fun noir SF adventure, this one poking fun at the noir genre more than Robinson’s piece did, but embracing it just as often as it satirizes it.  Both are excellent stories that shouldn’t be missed.  In the Third Tier are Anders’ “Six Months, Three Days,” Park’s “Ragnarok,” and Turtledove’s “Shtetl Days.”  Anders was a brand new author to me, but she blew me away with her powerful story of love predestined to failure between two people who can see the future.  When I first heard the story description, I couldn’t believe it would work, but Anders really tore out an emotionally wrenching and powerful drama that still managed to end with hope.  Park’s epic-styled poem was a brilliant tale of violence, vengeance, and revenge, set in a future after an apocalyptic event, but that seems more like the ages of Beowulf.  The poetry was brilliant, and sucked the reader in.  When it ended, this reader was crushed that there was not more, and instantly checked to see if Park had a sequel poem available elsewhere, or even any other fiction at all.  Turtledove’s longer novella was a nicely woven tale of Nazis pretending to be Jews, only to discover that, in a world run by Nazis, being Jewish might just be the best thing you can be.  A tale filled with drama and emotion, Turtledove shows once again that he is the master of the alternate history story, and that he is a brilliant storyteller none should miss.  These three pieces surpass the rest of the collection, and shouldn’t be missed by any science fiction fans.  Truly, these are three of the best stories of the year from any venue.  Don’t miss out on this free collection!

Buy Now From Amazon.com

I imagine most of you haven’t heard of L.M. Preston.  With the deluge of young adult science fiction being written right now, new authors seem to be popping onto the scene every day.  However, during my time running Luke Reviews, I had the distinct opportunity to wade through a bunch of books that fit in this genre, and try to sort the good from the bad.  Through this, I lucked into finding a number of great authors writing books for young adults who are fans of science fiction.  One of these authors, Hugh Howey, I discussed in my first article here at Digital Science Fiction.  Another great choice is the aforementioned L.M. Preston.

L.M. Preston is currently the sole author working at Phenomenal One Press (although POP is looking for more great YA fiction, for the authors out there reading this!), whose stated goal is empowering kids and young adults through entertaining fiction.  L.M. Preston’s work excels at this.  Each of her books treats the young adults who are her intended audience with respect, not talking down to them, and showing kids the world over that they can accomplish great things and overcome terrible burdens, just like the protagonists of Preston’s novels.

Preston’s first book was just released early in 2010.  Explorer X – Alpha follows a group of kids, led by Aadi and his partner Eirena, who head to space camp, only to find out that the camp is a front for something far more sinister.  When disaster strikes, Aadi and Eirena must work together to stay alive on an alien planet as their bodies become something out of their nightmares.  At times, Explorer X – Alpha shows that it is a first novel, with some awkward phrasing, but the story is a blast to read.  Preston’s style is, put plainly, smooth, and her character interactions feel real.  These parts of the novel far outweigh any slight moments of awkwardness.  The story leaves the reader more than ready to dive into the next book in the series.

Preston followed this up a few months later with The Pack, the first book in a duology set on Mars.  Shamira, a blind teenager who is constantly shunned and outcast among the other teens on Mars, realizes that more than a normal amount of children are disappearing, and that it seems there might be more to all of this than what meets the eye, especially when Shamira’s own beloved brother is kidnapped.  Setting out to instigate some vigilante justice, Shamira comes across others who are seeking the truth, and a dark conspiracy that lies under the surface of the red planet.  While I personally didn’t enjoy The Pack as much as I loved Explorer X – Alpha, it still has some strong moments, and after going back and reading it for this article, I’m looking forward to Preston’s release of The Pack: Retribution, out later this year.

The following year saw the release of L.M. Preston’s third novel, Bandits, another book set to have its story concluded in a second novel.  Daniel is set to save the world after his father’s death, but his father’s murderers have another plan.  As Daniel sets out, his is joined by his cousin and his friend’s sister, Jade, who he is starting to realize he may care about more than he wants.  The action is fast paced, and the story blazes by, as Preston writes a futuristic pirate thriller.  Bandits is a very different book from Preston’s first two, but it is just as good.  A great fit for the pirate craze, this one will find plenty of fans, and keep them all happy.

The real excitement, and the impetus for this look at L.M. Preston, is the recent release of her fourth novel.  Explorer X – Beta picks up right where Explorer X – Alpha left off, with Aadi and Eirena trapped on an alien planet trying to escape both the planet itself and its denizens, who see all sorts of possibilities in two mutated children.  However, with all of this against them, the two partners head off to save another of their friends, all the while with Aadi forced to realize that, with the changes thrust upon him, there really may be no going home again, where his friends would see nothing but a monster.

Explorer X – Beta deals with some pretty serious and dark themes in Aadi’s internal struggles, yet it plows ahead at a fast pace through the plot, with Aadi and Eirena’s quest proving both engaging and thrilling.  Beta takes all of the best parts of Alpha, especially the character interaction, and cranks them all up a notch, while also shedding some of the new writer shakes of the first novel.  Explorer X – Beta is bigger in scope and more polished in execution.

L.M. Preston is a blossoming writer who started out great and is only getting better.  Her books are perfect for young adult readers, as well as adults who get wrapped up in fast paced, exciting storylines that manage to both feel comfortable while still pushing moral and emotional boundaries in young minds, leading its readers to let their minds leave the pages and think for themselves.

It seems most fitting to let L.M. Preston herself get the final word in on this.  When I interviewed her for Luke Reviews after I was first introduced to her work, she closed out her comments by saying,

I want my readers to know, that as a young person you have your entire life in front of you. Even when things look bad, you still have the ability to fight through to make it better. Always blaze your own path and never get discouraged while you are becoming stronger through the battles of life. Imagine yourself as the hero that you are, and you will do amazing things despite your challenges. How do I know this? Well, because I have and I know you can too.

Welcome all to the long overdue Digital Science Fiction status report. We’ve been awfully quiet lately, sleeping parrot quiet. I have received a lot of questions on the status of the Digital Science Fiction anthologies, where book 5 is, and if there will ever be a book 5 (or more). In the interest of full disclosure, which may or may not be a good idea, and may or may not come across a little pathetic, here’s what’s up:

Digital Science Fiction is not dead. It’s not folded, wrapped up, closed down, or toast. We’re still here, we still get mail, and most importantly we’re still selling books. In fact, the first four Kindle version anthologies are doing quite well in their genre and category (science fiction anthologies) on Amazon. They’re consistently in the top ten for digital science fiction anthologies; Therefore I Am is, as I write this, sitting at number 1 again on the Kindle science fiction anthology Best Seller list, as a matter of fact.

The paper versions don’t do that well though. I’d say we sell less than 12 of each edition per month, sometimes less, rarely more. They’re still great to have and I personally love them on my shelf, but they’re not big sellers. That’s alright though, as the paper versions were never intended as the main objective for Digital Science Fiction. They’ve always been a bit of an afterthought and just something nice for friends, family, and people that love science fiction and hate new technology (so, like, 5 people).

The biggest hurdle to selling paper books in stores, to be honest, is how the book industry handles returns. Currently we only print books when they’re sold, using print on demand technology. It’s a great system that eats into profit margins because it’s more expensive, but results in no unused inventory. If Digital wanted to be available to regular stores we would have to allow returns of all unsold printed books, at our full expense. Imagine how nasty that would be if a chain printed 2000 books and returned 1600 of them. Whatever the numbers, the situation is untenable for a small publisher with virtually no war chest to speak of. Maybe someday we will be able to fund unsold inventory, but until that day the Digital Science Fiction paper versions will only be available through online sales or stores that are prepared to fund their own unsold inventory. (On a positive note, Amazon now stocks the Digital printed anthologies in regular inventory – which is cool.)

Alright, so if the Kindle and other digital versions of Digital Science Fiction are selling, then how come there’s no book 5? Fair question, and simple answer. There’s not enough money, yet.

The first four editions of the anthology were 100% funded in house through a small internet marketing/advertising company I was running in my spare time. I have never funded Digital with my regular income or savings nor has the company borrowed money for the books. Each edition of the anthology costs about $5,500 to $6,000 to produce, including digital and print layouts, art, stories, and editing. All of these costs, including the author’s fees and editing are paid up front, in advance of the books release. In addition to this amount, there are expenses for some limited marketing of each release (as much as could be afforded) and maintenance of the website and content for the website. Again, this was all shouldered by the internet advertising company in hopes the books would get off the ground and support themselves.

This funding model is where the trouble started. In October 2011 the internet company stopped earning an income. In fact, in October it ended up losing a substantial amount of money for reasons that need not be discussed. Suffice to say though it was the equivalent of about two full runs of the anthology, down the drain, drawn from the war chest, and then some.

As soon as that happened I notified the anthology 5 authors that I was in trouble. I don’t recall getting into the details with them, but I was clear that the first four anthologies were not financially able to fund, on their own, the publishing of the next anthology and beyond. Accordingly, and with much disappointment in losing such great stories to other venues, I advised each of the selected authors in October that I was not able to use their story and encouraged them to immediately submit them elsewhere for publication. I also asked them to remain quiet about what happened, at least until I could regroup and get a sense of things. Each of them has honored that request, to their credit and with my thanks, notwithstanding that they have been asked by others what is happening at Digital. I suppose now they are welcome to say what they like as the cat’s out of the bag.

The good news is, Digital is still selling a good number of digital versions of the first four books. They seem to be popular, have received some great reviews (I know it was you, mom), and are holding their top positions in their genre/format on Amazon. That means they are generating regular and real income. That income is designated for exactly two things: getting the next anthology published and maintaining a Digital Science Fiction presence online.

With respect to the second objective, keeping up online appearances, I have been lax. While I had to suspend my content agreements with two writers as belt tightening, Luke Forney and Kyt Dotson have been writing away, providing awesome content for the website. The problem has been at my end in getting the content posted; I simply have not been doing so. That’s just plain lazy on my part, as it’s not much work, and while I have lots of excuses none of them are particularly compelling. I’ll do better! (But I won’t post all the back-content on the same day, because that would be silly.)

With respect to the first objective, publishing more books, I’m working on it. The sale are building up something of a bank to be used on the next run. While I have considered other funding models, and payment plans for authors and editors, I have rejected them all thus far. It has always been an important goal to be a SFWA qualified venue. That requires, among other things, that authors be paid up-front for their work. Luckily I think that’s the right way too, so there will be no compromise on how and when money changes hands. For authors and editors, it will be when the work is ready to publish. For that reason alone I will not undertake the fifth book until the money is available to finish it. That time WILL come, but it’s not entirely clear when that will be.

As for story submissions, there’s really no point in opening that door at all for the foreseeable future. When it comes time to embark on book 5, I will first go back to the authors previously selected to inquire if their story might still be available, and if they would like to give me a second chance. If it is and they will, then they will be in book 5 — as many as I can get. Thereafter we actually had some terrific submissions past book 5 that were not ‘selected’ for now obvious reasons, and we will revisit those to fill in any gaps. If we still don’t have a complete book 5 then we will open for submissions and put our fabulous troika of story selectors back to work.

In the meantime I will continue to attempt resuscitation of the internet business. It is a finicky field though, with substantial risks, so that’s an undertaking best taken in small steps. Very small steps. If it comes around I will happily redirect income from that venture to Digital Science Fiction. If it does not, Digital will still get to book 5, it will just take much longer.

So, that’s the skinny on Digital. If I’m allowed to have future plans under the circumstances, then I’d say I do. I want to publish more anthologies and continue to introduce new and established writers to our readers. I want to continue to publish quality books with their own style, substance, and unique content. I want to branch out and do specialty anthologies, and in particular one or two dedicated to younger readers. Finally  I want to do full length novels. “What!! That’s nuts!”, you say. Maybe, but Digital has a fairly strong base on the internet now, and I have a few techniques that can really drive visibility for our books. This is why the anthologies remain strong in their niche. There’s no reason these techniques can’t be applied to full length stories. The downside will remain, of course, the draconian consignment policies and fully funded return practices of book stores for printed versions of anything Digital produces.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Please comment and ask any questions you like. I’ll answer them. But, it’s not dead yet, may be the answer.

Michael

Two time Digital Science Fiction author Martin L. Shoemaker has earned a very impressive Second Place prize in the 2012 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest.  This contest is for stories that show the near future of manned space exploration, which Martin excels at in his Tycho Under stories.

It was Martin’s very first Tycho Under story, “Scramble” that snatched the Second Place prize.

You can get more details about the contest here: http://www.williamledbetter.com/contest.htm

Learn more about Martin’s work here and about Martin and Tycho Under here.

Brilliant work, Martin!

Mike

I’d like to congratulate Ken Liu for not one, but two, Nebula award nominations.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America proudly announced the nominees for the 2011 Nebula Awards (presented 2012). Included for Ken are the following:

Novella – “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing)

Short Story – “The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Go Ken!

The Breach - Patrick Lee

Thrillers With a Science Fiction Edge

Frequently, exploring the edges of the science fiction genre expands the reading possibilities of most genre readers.  Sometimes it is near future murder mysteries, or science fantasy, other times it is science fictional tales of super heroics, or even the subgenre currently growing in popularity, science fiction romance.  However, one subgenre that is quietly building momentum is thrillers with science fiction elements.  Fast paced action/adventure tales written by writers suited to thriller stylings and pacings, embracing elements that have made our genre exciting.

Here, let’s explore five thrillers that are running with their science fiction ties.

1) The Breach by Patrick Lee

Patrick Lee’s Travis Chase series is grabbing readers with its fast pace and exciting concepts.  In The Breach, Lee introduces us to Travis Chase, a hero with a shady past, who comes across a torture scene while hiking in the wilderness.  Thus, Chase is drawn into a secret research initiative exploring the Breach, a hole of some sort in our dimension, which occasionally releases inexplicable devices and contraptions from…somewhere.  Is the breach a link to another dimension, or to our future?  Lee carries the book well, with plenty of excitement and believable characters, leaving the book with a strong conclusion that also leaves things open for further novels.  The series continues in Ghost Country and the brand new Deep Sky.

2) Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

A modern classic in the subgenre of science fiction/horror thrillers, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s first novel hits all the right notes.  Introducing series characters Vincent D’Agosta and Aloysius Pendergast, Preston and Child set up a tightly plotted story of a monster unleashed in a museum.  As the killer creature travels through the museum, murdering people as it goes, our heroes try to track down its origins, exploring genetic mutation and genetic manipulation, as well as the history of death.  An in-depth, engaging, and interesting thriller from two masters.

3) Deep Storm by Lincoln Child

The duo above occasionally take time to write novels by themselves, and the most exciting I have read is Lincoln Child’s Deep Storm.  Deep Storm tells the story of an underwater research base exploring an unexplainable object.  The pace is astounding, the sense of claustrophobia in the enclosed environment is well executed, and the ending is sufficiently overwhelming and exciting.  Well written, and well worth a read.

4) Antarktos Rising by Jeremy Robinson

Jeremy Robinson quietly began a career writing exciting thrillers before really taking thriller readers by storm with novels such as Antarktos Rising and Pulse.  With Antarktos Rising, Robinson explores an Antarctica that has become ice free, and the multinational race to claim the island.  As the nations begin to clash, the secrets of the seventh continent begin to surface.  Robinson shows that he knows how to slowly reveal the secret history of the Antarctic while racing through a powerful plot.  A member of the top tier of Antarctic thrillers.

5) Contest by Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly, with his Shane Schofield novels, quickly became my favorite thriller writer.  In Contest, Reilly’s first, originally self-published novel, a gladiatorial death match between alien warriors is set in a museum in New York.  As the ferocious beasts clash, one man must fight to survive and protect his son.  Reilly uses the enclosed environment well, creating a labyrinth setting that is well-leant to suspense.  Contest is as fast-paced as they come, a true treat to thriller lovers, and a brilliant synthesis of thriller and science fiction.

The Mother Anthony

I am thrilled to introduce “The Mother Anthony” by Martin L. Shoemaker, available now for Kindle and Kindle Apps at Amazon.com, from publisher Old Town Press.

“The Mother Anthony” (11,300 words, approximately 60 pages in print) tells how young teacher Bess Anthony struggles to protect her students as their damaged starship seeks out a habitable world. Can she teach them to overcome their fears? Can she teach them to survive against long odds? With help from the handsome Lieutenant Masterson, she’s going to try her best; but what will it cost them?

A science fiction adventure with a mix of romance, humor, and tragedy, “The Mother Anthony” is also a tribute to dedicated teachers everywhere. It is suited to all ages.

Martin tells me that “The Mother Anthony” was a Finalist in Writers of the Future contest. Please check it out for yourself!

– Michael

By Luke Forney

In this installment of “eBook Short Science Fiction,” we have a bunch of authors to look at, so let’s head straight to it!

“Return to the Twentieth Century” by Paul Di Filippo

I’ve been reading Paul Di Filippo’s book reviews in Asimov’s for years, but had managed to never read a single word of his fiction.  So, when I came across this novella on amazon, I snapped it up pretty quick.  Di Filippo sets up an alternative world in which a new continent has been constructed to help the population problem, and all sorts of scientific achievements came about decades before they happened in our world.  However, there is a very real battle between the sexes on the rise, and only the leader of the new nation, his wife and father, and leader of a cannibalistic tribe-cum-white society girl can solve the problem.  And they’re going to have to build an elevator to the moon.

Di Filippo’s story is fast-paced, comically stuck in its past’s cultural mores, and a wonderful adventure.  Don’t miss out on this on.

“Clockwork Chloe” by Ian Thomas Healy

Ian Thomas Healy is an self-published author I had never heard of before, but he is offering his story “Clockwork Chloe” for free, and what better incentive to try something out is there?  In the Old West, a man passing through town discusses his romantic conquests, until someone asks him about Clockwork Chloe, a girl run over by a train and given clockwork prosthesis.  However, not everyone listening to the man’s stories in the bar are doing so with innocent ears.

Healy’s story is very short, but it is a fun, fast read.  I’ll be checking out more from this author.

“Grace Immaculate” by Gregory Benford

Benford’s latest, “Grace Immaculate,” has not been getting great reviews.Many see this as more of an outline than a story, something I will get to soon.  “Grace Immaculate” follows the course of humanity after SETI successfully receives a transmission from a sentient alien species.  After the usual information trading, religious groups get in on the discussion, only to find the alien species completely without religion.  However, things are about to change.  Drastically.

Benford’s story deals with far-reaching ideas and is an engaging read.  With its dealings on religion, its comings and goings in particular, the writing feels at times very similar to some biblical texts, with its focus on brief stories about moments, followed by large historical periods skimmed over.  In that sense, I found the story to be a wonderful addition to stories of that sub-genre, and a nice change of pace from all of them that focus on the doomsday found in Revelation.  An intriguing piece, and at the current price of $0.00, well worth a look.

“The Legionnaires” by T.C. McCarthy

Another new author, T.C. McCarthy is the author of the brand new Germline, released very shortly after this novella.  In “The Legionnaires,” which appears to take place well after the events of Germline but doesn’t give away plot points of the novel, the reader follows an all-female group of legionnaires as they struggle through training and fight to save a planet from invaders in a desperate bid to save the children of the city.

McCarthy brilliantly weaves together the interlocked plots of past and present in this story, and creates gripping characters in strange but relatable circumstances.  Mixing military science fiction with plenty of interesting world-building, “The Legionnaires” does a brilliant job of storytelling.  Read this, and you will understand why I cannot wait to read Germline.  A writer to watch, without doubt.

“UR” by Stephen King / “Mile 81” by Stephen King

Stephen King on a science fiction website?  Really?  Well, one story has a device to view parallel universes, and the other an alien, so I feel justified, and many readers of science fiction likely read King as well, and vice versa.  “UR,” which has been out for a while now, follows an English professor who finally gives in and buys a kindle, only to receive one with interdimensional powers.  “Mile 81” watches an abandoned car as people stop to see if the passengers need help, only to have the car eat them.

Both stories are an interesting mix of new King and old King.  “UR” has the bizarre, Lovecraftian powers from beyond that gave some early King so much power, but the smoothed, involved style of his literary shift in later years.  “Mile 81” has the classic King device of “an evil car eats people, there is no reason for it to be there or do that, and if you think too hard about the framework here, this story makes no sense” that made so many successful stories for him, e.g. “Chattery Teeth” or “Sneakers,” among many, many others, not to mention The Long Walk, which I loved and think is one of King’s best novels.

However, “UR” is wonderful and “Mile 81” is unbelievably bad.  “UR” takes the bizarre and runs with it, with characters that are distinctly King at his best, running through a fast-paced, fun plot that the reader can’t escape until it is over, with ties to King’s Dark Tower series that are perfect for readers of those books, but that work just as well for those who are new to King as well.  It is a great read and a great story.

The brand-new “Mile 81” comes across disjointed, stilted, and one of many King rehashings of the haunted car trope he created and drove into the ground.  The main, over-arcing character, a young boy, doesn’t act, speak, or think like a young boy, and King absolutely takes the reader out of it with his poor characterization of him.  “Mile 81” is Stephen King at his weakest.

Forget the hype of King’s newest story, and step back a few years to get “UR,” the most fun I have had with a novella in a while.

Buy Now From Amazon.com

Heir Apparent – Digital Science Fiction Anthology 4 (50,950 words; about 190 pages in print), is an anthology of ten original science fiction short stories from professional writers. We are pleased to present in our fourth anthology an exciting collection of new stories from established authors. Heir Apparent includes 10 never-before-published science fiction stories by Robert Lowell Russell, Brandon Nolta, George Walker, Paul Cook, Eric James Stone, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ed Greenwood, Ronald D. Ferguson, Alex Kane, and Martin L. Shoemaker.

Our fourth edition of the Digital Science Fiction anthology series serves up a smorgasbord of terrific stories; however, each story has its own unique version of an heir, and we look forward to hearing from our readers on whether those heirs truly do represent a passing down of some type of human bond or connection. We welcome back Christine Clukey as editor for anthology 4. Thank you for your continued support of Digital Science Fiction. Enjoy.

Author and story list:

Robert Lowell Russell — Floaters
Brandon Nolta — Persistence of Memory
George Walker — To Titan on the Daily
Paul Cook — Ghostbook
Eric James Stone — A Lincoln in Time
Cassandra Rose Clarke — Hooked
Ed Greenwood — My Silent Slayer
Ronald D. Ferguson — Philosophy
Alex Kane — In the Arms of Lachiga
Martin L. Shoemaker — Father-Daughter Outing

Purchase from Amazon.com for Kindle and Kindle apps – $3.99 (or less)
Purchase the print version now available from Amazon.com – $11.99 (or less)