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It's that time of year again: the new issue of Cirsova is out! Not only is it out, I'm in this issue myself, and it's for quite a doozy of a story.
Before we get into it, lets get the issue summary out front so you can see all the talented writers and their cool stories in greater detail. for those curious, the beautiful cover is also drawn by Wistmoor. It's quite a packed issue.
Now, lets get to the stories:
Flight From Reckoning
(Part 1)
By MICHAEL TIERNEY
The Wild Stars hope to find some sign of their distant cousins beyond the Milky Way, humanoid races descended from other extragalactics! Rather than friends or allies, however, an ancient enemy lies in wait at the scene of a long-ago bloodbath!
The American Dream
By RODICA BRETIN
Kayla Blackmoon’s life is about to be turned upside down when Russell Morgan, a mysterious huckster politician, appears in her town of Dartmouth ready to promise the stars…
Salt Roses
By JIM BREYFOGLE
After her family is killed by merfolk, Aelia, a young diver, seeks out a legendary sunken treasure that is said to have the power to restore both emperor and empire!
Waegnwyrhta
By WILLIAM SUBOSKI
Ill-thought out regulatory changes catch up with the new Principal Administrator Waegnwyrhta when she finds herself stranded and at the mercy of her rescue crew!
The Siege of Verisa
By RICHARD RUBIN
The evil cult of Dewi has kidnapped Burke Fletcher’s wife Llana, forcing her to aid them against Baron Amalrik… whose Alchemist Stone Llana and Burke stole!
Void Railway
By JD COWAN
Things may not be all they seem on a routine escort gig when a mysterious woman approaches Galactic Enforcer Stone with a glowing gem and an offer of a side job!
The Demacron
By GARY K. SHEPHERD
A Peacekeeper on the Demacron, a hollowed-out planetoid that is home to a dwindling population of myriad species, must find a repairman who has gone missing!
Machine Dreams for Wired People
By JAIME FAYE TORKELSON
A family infiltration team is hired to break into a cybernetic AI factory to rescure the itinerant daughter of a wealthy benefactor before her mind can be liquified!
Cracking the Cyber Ziggurat
By KEVAN LARSON
A band of cyber pirates has been given the job of a lifetime: breaking into the central databanks of Abraham Kursk, one of the wealthiest men on or off the Web!
Paying the Doctor’s Due
By WILLIAM DRELL
Mickey Vance is due for a tune-up on his illegal military-grade wetware, but his doctor is dead! Can he and his doctor’s assistant evade a bounty hunter on his trail?
In the Last Days
By JAMES HUTCHINGS
A lot of great stuff, as usual.
For my story, you might have been able to tell, but it is another Galactic Enforcer story. This time, however, you might have noticed the main character's name is a little different. This is because this story introduces a few new characters into the mix that will be important going forward. Well, if they survive, that is.
The protagonist of "Void Railway" is Detective Brandon Stone, a giant lummox of a man who does not seem to take his job as seriously as our usual protagonist, Detective Renfield, and in fact has rumors going on about him. This is what causes him to be approached by the mysterious woman at the story's start and his personality clash against hired merc Shiro. But when the chips are down and the safety of the Railway and the passengers becomes in doubt, can he rise to the challenge, or is that Renfield guy really just full of hot air about things like this? You'll have to read it to find out!
The stories I've written in the Galactic Enforcer series so far have been more or less standalone adventures that have little relation to each other, though there is some carryover. The ones written since Star Wanderers, however, are more tightly connected, even though they can still be read standalone. Void Railway's events actually does have direct repercussions for later stories, though it might not be in obvious ways. At least, not at first.
I also wanted to expand the world around Detective Renfield more while still keeping the encroaching darkness that exists around the corner due to the nature of his job. You might have remembered the introduction of Dana from Star Wanderers working to lighten up his life when he's outside the fray, well, there are others now dealing with what he has run into out in the abyss away from the safe roads of home, and it might be more than any of them can handle.
In other words, if you enjoyed Star Wanderers, you really should check out "Void Railway" in the new issue. It is the next step forward for the series. There will still be standalone adventures, as there always are with this series, I'm hoping to drastically expand the scope with the next batch of stories going forward. You might have seen hints of that before, but now we're really going into it going forward. It's a wild galaxy out there: how can you possibly tame what can't be tamed?
The goal of the Galactic Enforcer series has always been the quest to explore the idea of enforcing law against the Unknown, and we're about to see just how that can be done so far from home. How do we hold our ground with no firm base to stand on? The Green Hills of Earth are far away from here, after all . . .
You can read all about it, as well as many other exciting tales of adventure and wonder, in the new issue of Cirsova! Check it out today!
It should also be mentioned that this is the tenth(!) anniversary of Cirsova. They've been in operation as a publisher for a decade now, and with no signs of stopping. I could highlight the many releases other than my own they've put out, but I would be here for ages. Suffice to say, head to their website and check them all out for yourself after picking up the new issue. There is no shortage of great stuff to dig into.
That's it for today! Thank you for checking out the blog and supporting my work. It makes all of this a lot more fun than it would be otherwise. And I've got a few more surprises up ahead! I can't wait to show you what's coming . . . but it'll have to wait for now. They aren't all just my secret to divulge, after all.
Once again, you can find the new issue of Cirsova here. I'll see you next time!
