With Worlds Collide II, the second volume of Rob Shelsky's dark stories, we pick up where the first volume ended. Included in this anthology is a novella, An Imperial Death. This intricately wrought tale could be called space opera, but is also much more! Along with this piece are dark science fiction stories, a dark fantasy about a spirit elemental, and an Indiana Jones-style tale of treasure hunting.
This anthology is of dark science fiction with a touch of dark fantasy. If you like interstellar wars, civilizations destroyed, enemy aliens, evil spirit elementals, parallel worlds colliding, infinite minds offering immortality to humanity, hard cho0ices that involve life and death, kidnappings and treasure, then you'll love Where Worlds Collide II
This anthology includes Brane Drane (a tale of lost and found love set in parallel worlds colliding), Ancient Enemies (two teenage boys unleash an evil spirit elemental), Cry Of A Distant Child (the Ultimate Mind offers the gift of immortality to humanity, but the price is very high), An Imperial Death (novella, and a tale of conspiracy, intrigue, and interstellar war), Lost Beacon Of The Vanished (a cozy murder mystery set in space), Red Flag (a practical joke gone terribly wrong), Shepherd Of Babylon (a Catholic archbishop must either give in to his Pope, or defy him, and the Dagon of Lovecraftian lore), and Treasure Of The Guardian Templar (an Indiana Jones style adventure story).
Excerpt
“Once, before there was an Empire…” Jebella said this in a voice that had gone sand-whispery with age. This made her hard to hear. Perhaps this was partly on purpose. Jebella often commanded with quiet where others tried to dominate with noise.
We ceased our frolicking. One by one, we drifted over toward her and knelt in the long blue grass there. We formed a tight cluster near the base of the moss-spattered bench upon which the Great Lady sat. So still was she, this last descendant of the Marcher Lords. With skin like ivory parchment and hair of alabaster, she looked as if she were some sculpture carved of marble, just a mere extension of the very stone supporting her.
We waited, strained to listen over the gentle breeze that blew so constantly here in this valley on the Planet Tiartha, for it was rare these years when Jebella spoke of such ancient things as empires. It was rarer still when she would speak of those times before such times.
“…and before the Sacred Moonflower bloomed for the Imperial Vasilovs,” she now continued. It was as if there had been no pause at all in her speech while we had gathered.
“In the days when aliens still troubled humanity and those others known as the Elders ruled all. Humanity labored under the grave oppression of the Status Quo. Our own distant forebears, Kavin Dubaire, and his beautiful wife, Deidre von Holstead, were the ones tricked into lifting that burden, but it was at such a terrible price…”
Chapter 1
A strident hissing, one dopplered with urgent warning, like a viper’s angry sound before fangs sought flesh, came from out of the darkness.
“Ssshh,” the older of the two men whispered. “We have company.”
Kavin nodded, not knowing if his uncle could see the gesture in such dim light, but he dared not speak. Melkor Shin-Jo was not one for needless theatrics. This caveat was real.
Kavin heard the reason for the warning. Voices wafted from the adjacent balcony. Although he could clearly hear them, Kavin could not see who was speaking. The privacy partition hid the participants in anonymity, despite their being just a few feet away from them.
Professional Reviews
Where Worlds II
Review by: Rose Renee Shelly on Oct. 24, 2010 : Five Full Stars Out Of Five
Where Worlds Collide by Rob Shelsky is a fascinating read. His stories tend to be dark, but always seem to involve some hope, which I like. And his novella, an Imperial Death was VERY well written. The planet Tiartha--it's as if I was there! You could visualize everything about it. And there are the people you love to hate, such as the dastardly Magnus Vasilov. The entire anthology is terrific, though. I loved Treasure Of The Guardian Templar, a heck of an adventure/treasure hunting story set in modern times. And I particularly liked the one done as a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, a darker look at religion and immortality, in Shepherd Of Babylon. This book is a five out of five stars for me!
(reviewed the day of purchase)
In the second book in the Ember Reign series, Megan and her friends decide to investigate a haunted mansion to discover it was once a secret government laboratory dealing with extraterrestrial biological entities.
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Michael, just Michael, simply wanted to live life his own way. He had no intention of becoming a revolutionary. Yet destiny calls even the uncertain and the arrogant to duties beyond themselves. Hidden agendas, false friends, and his own confusion le
