A Bushel and a Peck of eSpec Stories

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I've particpated in a bunch of Kickstarters over the past few years. As a result, I wind up with not only a bunch of books to read, but bonus stories and gaming pdfs as nice little extras. These get sorted into folders on my hard drive. So I decided to knock off a few of them while I'm between books.

Since my last foray in reading short stories was a A Bushel of eSpec Stories, and before that a Peck of eSpec, this one is a "bushel and a peck", mostly because there isn't a bigger unit to use. Actually, I've been selecting them mostly by file size, starting with the shortest, so there will likely be fewer entries by the time I post it. Once again, this batch should all be from eSpec Books bonuses and stretch goals, unless something else sneaks in.

I sorted the directory by size, smallest to largest, although there are epub, mobi and pdf files all in the same place. In the order that I read them:

• Slow and Steady by John L. French was a special Kickstarter reward (2012). This was a shorter story that must've gotten lost in the shuffle. It should have been read sooner. Captain Emma Wilder is in command of the final flight of the Galapagos as it brings a colony to a new world. She might stay there or take a shuttle back. The ship's name comes from its overall tortoise appearance (complete with the ability for the smaller section to withdraw into the larger one). They are chased by pirates in a rather hare-like vessel which will overtake them. Wilder must come up with a plan to win this race. John L. French is editor of the anthology Devilish & Divine, which I will also appear in, when it is published.

• Time Factor by Michael A. Black was a special Kickstarter reward (date?). The story is reminiscent of "A Sound of Thunder" and Timeline in that there is a time portal, but it goes back to the cretaceous period. Doc Riley is a combat medic who is being sent into the field for a rescue operation. The people needing to be rescued are in New Mexico but are also 65 million years in the past. The portal to get them will be closing. He goes back with two soldiers (Marines?) named Wilson and Coyle to effect a rescue without getten eaten by prehistoric beasts or changing the past. Something will change because a dinosaur skeleton appears in the crater than hadn't been there before. The story is told in "real time" in the past, with flashbacks to present-day inserted, which is interesting to think about. A good read. Michael A. Black will appear in the anthology Devilish & Divine, which I will also appear in,when it is published.

• Comfort Zones by Christopher L. Bennett was a special Kickstarter reward (date?). The story opens on Hayakawa City, Mars, 2142.
  I don't know why I didn't make any notes on this story.

• Of Metal Men and Scralett Thread and Dancing with the Sunrise by Ken Scholes (date?). The story originally appeared in Realms of Fantasy. There is a note from Brenda Cooper about Ken Scholes and selecting this story (I assume for an anthology). Lord Rudolfo of the Ninefold Forest Houses, General of the Wandering Army is brought a metallic man found in the ruins of a city-state by his Gypsy Scouts. The metal man initially talks backwards, but Rudolfo figures this out quickly. He questions it about the destruction of the Knowledgable City of Windwir and the death of so many of the Androfrancine Order. The metal man, given the name Isaak, says that a spell on a parchment, the Seven Cacophonic Death, from the ancient Wizard Xhum Y'zir was the cause, and that he, the metal man, must have initiated it. Rudolpho comes to believe that Sethbert, leader of another army was the cause. Sethbert had many metal men in his possession, along with a consort Lady Jim Li Tam of House Li Tam, who prefers Rudolpho's company. Rudolpho knows that Sethbert needs to answer for this.

  I enjoyed this story but it seemed like a piece of a longer work. We learn what happened before the start of the story, but what happens after is only hinted at.

• The Inner Light by John L. French, Kickstarter Reward edition (????). John L. French is the editor of an upcoming angels & devils anthology that I will be included in. This story takes place in Bethlehem on the night of the birth of Jesus from the perspective of the angel, Nika, who was sent to watch over Maryam during childbirth. Started rereading this, realized that I'd read it before, probably in a different document format. But it was short so I read it again because I was already eating and I didn't want to look for something else. Good story.
• Joy to the World by John L. French, Special eSpec Kickstarter Reward edition (????). A "Simon Tombs" story. I was unaware who Simon Tombs was, but he's magical. The story starts a couple days before Christmas at Sebastian's in Baltimore, a place where people who don't have other people can spend for the holidays. Simon is there when he gets a message from someone who glides across the floor unseen by everyone else to rendevous at the top of the Empire State Building. It's there that he meets an angel named Nika. (It did not immediately dawn on me that the angel in the last French story I read, see above, was also named Nika.) Santa Claus is missing and they need to find him before it's too late. He's known to be around NYC at this time of year. Can they find him before the Spirit of Christmas rejoins the Essence?
• Every Second of Every Day by John Chambers, Kickstarter Reward edition (????). Another reread, but from much farther back. I knew it seemed familiar but didn't place the anthology until the name "Henderson" popped up. This story was included in the anthology The Society for the Preservation of CJ Henderson (Ackley-McPhail & Schauer, ed). Henry Lin is the descendant of the great poet Gao Chi Lin. He's also a young man, and an overeager author with his too many boxes of his first book, The Mercurial Hearts of the Stars on his way to his first science-ficition convention, against his mother's wishes. (She'd rather he became a lawyer or a computer programmer.) It seems as if the Universe is against him, which driving down the New Jersey Turnpike or navigating their infamous jug handles (right to go left) would do to any same mind. After a miserable weekend, the Monkey King appears to him to tell him to pack it in (literally, he helps pack). That's when Henderson steps up (though accurately described physically, he doesn't get named as the actual C.J. Henderson, but you just know). Note that you don't have to be aware of who Henderson was in real life or have read anything of his to follow this story. That's an added bonus. Henderson, having written about the Monkey King and extended the King's lengends, has the ability to see what others might miss. He sets both of them straight about who gets to decide what is best for whom. Things pick up a little after that. John Chambers will appear in the anthology Devilish & Divine, which I will also appear in, when it is published.

**** 2022 ****

• Blankets by Jeff Young, Kickstarter Reward edition (????). Military sci-fi. I need to read more of it so it'll be less confusing to me. (Or maybe I should watch more movies?) Also, the more I read of it, the better chance I'll have at writing something more than 500 words. Anyway ... I don't know if these are existing characters from an existing universe. It seems like they should be familiar to the reader. It's far future, and Earth has colonized other worlds. Trips take years, but it appears messages can be sent quicker. The story is divided between a drop team putting down a rebellion, and finding dead people who didn't die of exposure, and a Transcript of a Committee Hearing into the Sylvan Seven Atrocities between Senator Wellheim and Gemeral Pressman. Even though they are interspliced, the hearings take place after the fact. (Yeah, I couldn't write committee hearings, either, if I wanted to.) The general carried out the mission he was supposed to even with the funds, equipment or backing. To explain the title "Blankets" would be a spoiler for anyone stumbling across this page. An interesting story. I do have other military sci-fi (from eSpec, mostly) in my TBR pile, both ebook and paper.
• Parole by Ty Drago, Kickstarter Reward edition (????). Robert O'Malley is a prisoner who stares at gray walls and never sees outside. He doesn't know if there even is an outside. He's brought into a room before the Parole Board, which consists of a female Chairperson, who speaks in a clipped, profession tone, and two disinterested gentlemen, who don't appear to speak at all. She has O'Malley recount the details behind his six murder counts (four first, two second degree). O'Malley is also concerned about his only friend, a fellow inmate named Burt Pinkerton. People in this prison are tortured, put back together again, and totured some more. The Warden is brought in for questioning, and threatens to tear both inmates about. The Chairperson grants O'Malley parole, but O'Malley wants it to go to Pinkerton. That is not allowed and he cannot protest it, but Pinkerton will get an immediate parole review and will be removed from the Warden's charge. Then there's a final twist which seems to come from left field, but you can see Drago setting it up. A quick read, and an enjoyable story.
• Paintbox by Lisanne Norman, Special eSpec Books Kickstarter edition (????). Anne, Heather and Glen are artists on a field trip, staying at a hostel, going out along the city and the beaches to paint. They mention stories of the Culzean Castle ghosts. Later Anne (and the others) meet Cassandra, who tries to paint but she is not skilled at it. Anne and Cassandra become friendly over the week even though Cassandra's brother thinks that the students should avoid his sister. She isn't well. She shows Anne stones she paint that change the nature of the rock in an odd way that Anne can't explain. Anne wants to know more about this. And this becomes one big ghost story. I enjoyed it. There's a mention of a pub in Kirkoswald, which I "googled" and found to be in Cumbria, England. I wasn't exactly sure where the story took place. Somehow I had France in my head, but I don't see where I got that idea.
• House Hunting by Keith R. A. DeCandido, Special eSpec Books Kickstarter edition (????). Glenn and Brandy are looking for a house, and Glenn hates all of them. This is mostly because he is 6'7" and the two of them plan are buying a house for the rest of their lives, so they both have to like it. After several tries, the agent shows them something that's perfect for them that's under market value. It has electrical issues because it's so old. And electricians when they hear the address don't want to go there. And then strange stuff happens that makes perfect sense for a short story, if this case, everything seems to be shrinking and Glenn is hitting his head a lot. Humorously tragic ending followed by a postscript that the author (Keith) has known Glenn and Brandy for decades, and he wrote them into this story. So I'm curious is Glenn is actually 6'7" because that opens a world of possibilities for friendship story writing. Anways ... I didn't know what I'd be getting with an innocuous title like "House Hunting". After the first couple, I thought it might turn into "Haunted House Hunting". It wasn't haunting, but it wasn't alright.
  This story slipped through -- it's one of the shorter ones and should've been read sooner. But it's a good story to end this "bushel" of eSpec with.

This will likely be the last group of eSpec Books stories bundled together into one post. The stories I have remaining to read are getting bigger and bigger, and short probably merit they're own entries. As it is, the next three books to read are all in a series, so depending upon their actual length and how long it takes to read them, they may get one or three blog entries.