“ ‘From this night forth, shall I call this maid my sister?’ ” “That’s all the old fellow requires of me?” Landly asked Mr. Ashwhit. “I just march up to the gate, knock, and when he steps out I say those words?” Mr. Ashwhit confirmed that it was so. He continued reading from Landly’s father’s will: “ ‘Mr. […]
Tag Archives: speculative fiction
(fantasy short story) Lazarus Thirrup was a farmer of cabbages, and his cabbages were renowned throughout the districts north of Ib, where the farmlands are rich enough to grow cabbages the size of pumpkins. Each Samhain following the first frost, it was the custom of Lazarus Thirrup to take a barrow of cabbages to Ib, […]
(fantasy short story) Harry Fenton had a habit of arriving early at The Black Crow, at least an hour before any respectable patron could reasonably be expected to have finished his day’s work and show up for a pint and a chat. As far as Harry’s day’s work went, well, his employment was a subject […]
The King Ouroboros Turan-Vor didn’t care overmuch for being cheated at dice, despite the fact that during the waning of the green moon Islith it needs must be that his luck wane along with that baleful sphere, the domain of those spirits who follow the cult of the amphibious, phosphorescent marsh wyrms so beloved of […]
A couple of weeks ago I complained about the lack of depth, metaphysical depth particularly, in the Harry Potter books and in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. Both novels let us down in that regard, because both deal with magic, the supernatural, and environments where people ought to be preoccupied with The Way Things […]
Isn’t 2012 supposed to be the year it all ends? Better get this down fast…. When the news about Apollo 1265 leaked out and was finally confirmed, the cynics said we were all so calm because we just didn’t know how to react. We’d never been told the world was going to come to an […]
Torrence was so jealous of the woman he ignored, that he was quite beside himself…. The Man Who Talked to Himself William Brace scowled with irritation as the conversation in the tap room hushed before the door had quite closed behind the slouching figure now standing under the Tiffany glass lamp. The old man shivered […]
Doctor Faustus by Keith Azariah-Kribbs S.D.G. The candle guttered, and the cold draft brought with it the taste of sulfur, the stone that burns, the sound of claws grating on the dank crypt floor where Faustus had left the circle where he had made the marks and said the words and, the rite completed, he […]
The short story “Borrowed Blood” was supposed to stop with The End, but it didn’t–it went on to turn into the novel The Understudy. Here’s how it all began…. He walked on her right side, next to the curb, the wet asphalt glimmering with light from shops trying to catch some pre-theater traffic. The […]
What deluded miserable creature doesn’t want to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and thwart the unjust? It’s not only fair and right and good, it’s even cheaper that way. That’s just cold, hard reality. So we have a world full of serious, sober-minded men and women doing their best to make this all happen. […]
