This collection of science-fiction short stories tells a handful of the tales about Lt. Daisy Wong, Space Marshal. She lives and works on, Diligence, a Lagrange colony poised between the Earth and the Moon. Now and then, her work takes her to Mars and other dangerous places.She never lets go of a case, and her record of arrests stands second to none.And with good reason. Unlike her colleagues, she has a wealth of inside information. How? Because she grew up on the ...

In an early twentieth century forged by the failure of the American and French revolutions, Europe has flung itself into a global war over helium. The world's empires will stop at nothing to guarantee their own supplies while cutting off those of their enemies.It's a brutal war, but Captain Sidney Bowen tries his best to keep his head down as he commands the British Navy's cargo dirigible Saturna. Alongside his official cargoes, he transports French wine, pilfered engine p...

Have you ever attempted something that didn't work out the way you'd imagined it would or that turned out to downright sketchy?I remember trying to ride my motor scooter over a large pile of dirt, thinking the "jump" would be great fun. I ended up breaking my arm. No big deal in the great scheme of things, but a broken arm is small potatoes compared to some of the jams people—and governments, by the way—get themselves into. Sadly, the boys and girls have never been home by Christma...

A serial killer with a warped sense of humor doesn't appear on this particular retirement center's list of amenities, but neither do Jack and Betty Pamir.One by one, Jack and Betty's neighbors are going face-down in their morning oatmeal. Admittedly, the perky prune surprise can be pretty wretched, but the hearty lumberjack oatmeal ought to be about as benign as last year's keratosis.If you've ever wondered what you'd do if your buddies started to die off for no apparent re...

Dystopian fiction enjoys a seemingly inexhaustible popularity. It can, I suppose, be considered a branch of horror, but with the gloves off. Dr. Frankenstein seeks to create a new man out of pieces salvaged from the dead. At the same time, no matter his stated intentions, Big Brother seeks to create new levels of power out of the pieces he has carved from the living.More annoying, whereas Dr. Frankenstein sought to create life, Big Brother seeks to control life, to bend it to his w...

This short story features Naerian. He is a young, gifted mechanical tinkerer attached to Clan Iredale. If a waterwheel needs fixing, he's the guy to fix it.These days, however, he spends most of his time agonizing over an age-old dilemma: when is a weapon of war deadly enough?This is no mere philosophical question. Indeed not. The destiny of Clan Iredale hinges on the answer Naerian comes up with.And he doesn't have much time to do it.This isn't like fashion...

This novella has a simple premise: just a few acts of ecoterrorism can ruin your whole summer.July runs into August, and Holiday Warrior, a trawler yacht, runs into a drifting naval mine. The resulting explosion echoes across much of the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. The debris rains down onto the otherwise serene waters of Queen Charlotte Strait, dusting the low, westerly swell. The gulls and the seals race to the spot and chow down on anything edible.A...

Karl Bradford, a proud citizen of a space habitat at Lagrange Point 5, has a life-and-death problem. No, really, he does.His grandfather, the last living human being on Earth has just died, and a journalist wants to interview Karl about the old man's life.He had, after all, been the last refusenik, the last of the renegades who had refused to emigrate into space, to leave their homes in order to save the Earth from humanity's predations.Now, today's elites fear that...

Living on a comfy boat in a cozy marina has its rewards. Often, sadly, the neighbor's dog is not one of them, just the opposite. However, the marina in this story is a bit of an odd duck, and its B Row is the sort of place where the unexpected is taken for granted. In other words, the liveaboards call it home. As for their problematic dogs, well, they would do well to treat it with the utmost respect. No peeing on the hose bibs!I have several B Row adventures in the pipeline. They ...

Chief Petty Officer Lawton Francis Edgecombe has been asked a momentous question: Would he care to become an officer?He serves aboard His Imperial Majesty's starship Reticent. He is the captain's personal steward, as well as the ship's chief steward. Needs must. The ship is of a certain age, and her captain has his little ways, and the war with the vile, underhanded snail-eating Phrawghs isn't going as well as everyone had once hoped it would.Only the dead are gett...

This publication contain two science-fiction short stories.The setting of the first is organized crime in space. The problem isn't about territorial conflicts, corrupt politicians, or supply problems. Rather, on the surface, it's about a domestic arrangement gone sour.When one of tong boss Snakeskin Wong's favored concubines disappears, he calls in his beloved niece, Space Marshal Daisy Wong, to track her down and return the gallivanting, horribly misguided young woman to t...

This novel is about an outrageous pissing match, strictly familial, one that involves an unfinished floating home called Enoch's Folly, and an enigmatic river dragon called Chanzilla.The family in question are Portland, Oregon, Winstons and the various branches thereof. They used to be regional movers and shakers, but not anymore. These days both they and their jointly held business face financial ruin.As the major shareholder, Chauncey Winston controls the company, Winston...