Another great story from this master wonderful story teller. A silly man decides to buy a kraken egg to hatch in a bathtub because he thinks it’ll make him rich: how foolish some people are.
You can read it for free at Uncanny Magazine.
If you would prefer to listen to the audio book then you can listen to it in the ‘Uncanny Magazine Podcast’.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories and Solaris Rising 1.
A really good story. Not too long, just long enough for Alastair to make his point about the universe.
Alastair has a good physicist moment in this when two characters are discussing about the expansion of the universe and what it will mean for future peoples of the universe: very interesting and well worth reading this story for alone.
Next up from Alastair will be Magic Bone Woman.
Bye for now.
Available in the anthology, The Year’s Best Science Fiction #29.
A rather short short which would be great if Alastair expands upon it at some point in the future. A rather different relationship is revealed between the pilot and the ship.
Next up from Alastair will be For the Ages.
Bye for now.
Available in the collection, Beyond the Aquila Rift.
Another of Alastair’s Mars stories. This one is set in Mars’ future after a few goes at terraforming have happened before getting things right.
But what happened to all that old terraforming equipment?
I really thought this was a wonderful story, a lost stowaway girl meets an old man who takes her to see a Martian sea.
Next up in Alastair’s timeline is Ascension Day.
Bye for now.
Available in the anthology, Shine.
A wonderful twist on the “should we resurrect dinosaurs” theme. Especially for the heavy rock types out there.
Next up in Alastair’s time line is The Old Man and the Martian Sea.
Bye for now.
A good little bit of background about the language and naming system of all things Fortune.
Best read before any of the books as it’ll help make sense of some of the words used.
You can read this by clicking here and play with the big red synth as well.
A super good little story, really enjoyable.
And best of all, it’s free. So have at it and try some Robin Sloan if you haven’t already.
Bye for now.
A super good story continuing Gideon Quinn’s adventures after all the shenanigans we all totally enjoyed in Soldier of Fortune.
I found the pacing of this quite different to Kathleen and her co-writer’s other books, which was not a bad thing at all, i rather liked it. While the story mostly drives along in Kathleen’s usual fast paced style we are also left with the crew back at Doyle Street who have no idea what is going on with Gideon — and all the others who have gone missing — while getting the cafe ready to open and having a baby. So it’s quite nice to get these little breathers between the fast paced scenes involving Gideon and co. to catch our reading breaths.
And not only do we have all our favourite characters back and in the thick of it, but we have a few new ones to meet and enjoy reading about, yes, even those nasty ne’er-do-wells.
All in all, once again, brilliant writing, great characters, and great story telling. I just can’t wait for Kathleen to add the finishing touches to the next Fortune book, The Crew Who Came in From the Cold, which i will be diving into with absolute joy.
And i’ll say it again, like i say on all of books coming out of Outrageous Fiction, if you’re looking for some great action packed character driven story telling then look no further than their website for all your reading needs. You shall be satisfied.
If you like really good steampunk with really good characters navigating a really good world then The Fortune Chronicles by Kathleen McClure will be right up your alley.
Every one of the Fortune books i’ve read so far has left me really glad i bought it and always leaves me eagerly awaiting more. Kathleen is one of those writers who, once she’s got you started in a book, just ain’t gonna let you off the hook until the very last word. It’s just non-stop, gritty, character driven stuff with great world building that will keep you up late reading when you should be getting some sleep.
The Longest Shard is a really well written, fast paced novella giving us the full tale of Gideon Quinn’s time in Morton Barrens up to the time he leaves at the start of Soldier of Fortune. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to have read it before Soldier of Fortune, so if you missed it and want some more Fortune and Gideon Quinn then jump straight into this as soon as finished Soldier of Fortune.
Seriously folks, if you like steampunk give Kathleen, Fortune and Gideon Quinn a chance: you won’t regret it.
This is a back story to the main Gideon Quinn adventures, giving us a bit more of Gideon’s past than is revealed to us in the main books.
In this book we’re taken back to Gideon’s time in the war when Gideon takes a couple of his soldiers to go behind enemy lines to steal some secret documents. We also get to know how Gideon ends up with all the scars.
Only a short novella kind of thing, but still a good little episode that gives us a bit more history to Gideon’s character.
I would suggest reading this after Soldier of Fortune, and then follow it up with The Longest Shard, which i have jumped straight into after finishing this book.