A Science-Fiction - sort of - blog...
   G. L. Parry's anthropomorphic short stories and novels

     * For the occasional update, visit me on Facebook: FB-1.png (1450 bytes)

    

     * Stranger, my Brother: Stranger, my Brother.png (28561 bytes) available as a Kindle ebook

 

     * A Sunburnt Country: A Sunburnt Country.png (30715 bytes)  available as a Kindle ebook

 

     * The Fertile Crescent: The Fertile Crescent.png (32229 bytes) available as a Kindle ebook

     * The Tiger & the Raven: Question.jpg (10846 bytes) coming soon...

 

 

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                      The bad ol' days: Banging away at                                                              Ah, the joys of today's technology!
                      The Fertile Crescent on my faithful
                      old IBM Selectrix II, ca 1985

 

      I first started writing shortly after finishing Icerigger by Alan Dean Foster.  I was somewhat disappointed that his hapless
protagonist, Ethan Frome Fortune, never got to sleep with Elfa Kurdagh-Vlata, the buxom daughter of the lord ruling the remote
island kingdom upon which they found themselves stranded after crashing their shuttle-craft on the icy world of Tran-ky-ky.  I understood
there were good reasons why he wouldn't have placed himself or his comrades in danger by succumbing to her advances, and
felt determined to write a fresh new story where such sexual tensions were resolved as romantically, poignantly - and
safely - as possible.  The end result was The Fertile Crescent, the first manuscript I completed after writing the initial draft out in longhand
prior to discovering the joys of electronic word-processing.   Since then I have written some twenty-five short stories and two additional
novels, totaling approximately 500,000 words.  All are set in my 'Commonwealth of Humanity' Future History, most
taking place before the
Expansion or the early years of the new great Age of Exploration made possible by the invention of a practical FTL drive

     I've had it up to *here* with dark, gloomy SF: those stories based on brutal 'realism' with graphic gunfights, gory death and a
oppressive sense that life just sucks instead of focusing on the sheer wonder of space and the existence of non-human intelligence.  The
trendy style which seems focused on how the lives of characters are full of misery, injustice and sudden violence.  Who would ever want to
live in a world like that?  Certainly not me!  I prefer to write strongly character-based fiction exploring the predicaments aliens and humans
might experience upon discovering a mutual physical attraction, avoiding Dystopian post-cyberpunk, fantasy, or derivative swords-and-scorcery
tales.  Unfortunately, there seems to be little market for this sort of story despite a growing online 'furry' fandom and the popularity of sites
offering stories such as AnthroArchives and Sofawolf Press, to name but a few.  
     Here they are, in chronological order:

 

     Blueline Fever [2140] - 5,400 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Doggie in the Window [2200] - 3,700 words: 1st chapter

     Duty of Care [2232] - (???? words) currently in work...

     Loner [2270] - 4,000 words: 1st Chapter & pitch

     The Surface so Bright [2300] - 5,800 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Eye of the Beholder [2311] - 5,400 words: 1st chapter & pitch    

     Pennies from Heaven [2390] - 8,700 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Return Ticket [2684] - 4,100 words: 1st chapter

     Bitter Wine [2728] - 7,000 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Nightlife [2814] - 6,100 words: 1st chapter & pitch [NEW]

     Diplomatic Incident [2815] - 4,600 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     The Lady of Flame [2831] - 5,200 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Here be Dragons [2981] - (???? words) currently in work...    

     The Fertile Crescent [3065] - (130,000 words) novel: 1st chapter, synopsis & pitch

     Stranger, my Brother [3081] - (104,500 words) novel: 1st chapter, synopsis & pitch

     Many Happy Returns [3085]* - 8,200 words: 1st chapter, synopsis & pitch

     A Sunburnt Country [3089] - (120,600 words) novel: 1st chapter, synopsis & pitch

     [New] - Paradox's Eyes [4012] - (5,800 words) 1st chapter, synopsis & pitch

 

     * short-story sequel to 'The Fertile Crescent'

 

     I also greatly enjoyed Larry Niven’s excellent ‘Gil the ARM’ stories, and wanted to write detective stories of my own in a similar vein. The laws
that govern the behavior of the Universe disallow so-called ‘psychic’ powers, so I needed something else to set Senior-Detective Clinton
Ravenscroft apart from other law-enforcement officers. What better than a white Snow-tiger with an IQ in the high 110’s and a
keen, albeit cynical view of human beings and the world around him? Enter Ravenscroft’s unusual and outspoken four-legged assistant, Officer
Gabriel.  

     "The Tiger & The Raven" Martian crime-fighting stories:

 

     Mitigating Circumstances [2620] - 7,000 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Routine Inquiries [2620] - 7,900 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Registered Owner [2621] - 6,600 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Unreliable Witness [2621] - 7,600 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     In Plain Sight [2621] - (???? words) currently in work...

     Harm Minimization [2621] - 6,500 words: 1st chapter & pitch     

     Next of Kin [2622] - 11,100 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Right to Remain Silent [2622] - (???? words) currently in work...

     Reasonable Grounds [2622] - 23,200 words (novella): 1st chapter & pitch

    
Still to come...

     Double Jeopardy

     Burden of Proof

     Zero Tolerance

     Insufficient Evidence

    

     In addition to two novels (see above) there are also five short stories set in the Golden Empire of the wolflike Arukai, employing their dating
system but intersecting with affairs in the human Commonwealth both prior to and following First Contact.  AK stands for "After Kanukar", their
greatest Emperor and founder of the Hanaj dynasty which still rules 4,500 years after the Great Fall destroyed Homeworld's first high-technology
civilization in a limited nuclear war:

     For Future Generations [4000 BK] - 4,900 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     A Passage Home [3997 BK] - 7,700 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Proof of Concept [2561 BK] - 6,300 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     The Meat that Talks [4014 AK] - 7,400 words: 1st chapter & pitch

     Backward and Forward [4017 AK] - 4,300 words: 1st chapter & pitch


Some of my favorite SF, in no particular order: The 'Planet of Adventure' series - Jack Vance
                                                                                 Midnight at the Well of Souls - Jack L. Chalker               
                                                                                 Titan/Wizard/Demon - John Varley
                                                                                 The Mote in God's Eye - Niven & Pournelle
                                                                                 King David's Spaceship - Jerry Pournelle
                                                                                 The Jupiter Theft - Donald Moffitt
                                                                                 Beyond the Blue Event Horizon - Frederik Pohl
                                                                                 Serpent's Reach - C. J. Cherryh
                                                                                 Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
                                                                                 God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert
                                                                                 The 'Pride of Chanur' series - C. J. Cherryh
                                                                                 Brightness Falls from the Air - James Tiptree, Jr
                                                                                 Songmaster - Orson Scott Card
                                                                                 The Cyborg and the Sorcerers - Lawrence Watt-Evans
                                                                                 Fire Time - Poul Anderson
                                                                                 Anvil of Stars - Greg Bear
                                                                                 Accelerando - Charles Stross
                                                                                 Geta - Donald Kingsbury
                                                                                 The 'Moreau' series - S. Andrew Swann


* "Three Days at Woomera" - this article appeared in the Nov 2001 issue of 'Novosti Kosmonavtiki'

    For the Russian version, click here: page 1 and here: page 2

    To read the original in English, visit here

 

                                                     Want to contact me? My email addy: pargoo@netspace.net.au