Book Brouhaha

Summary: Two Frigate Victory short stories. Dramatic Solution: The Terran Federal Republic frigate Victory is escorting colonists to their new home world. Upon arrival they find a pirate ship orbiting the planet. Dealing the the pirates is easy. How can the crew prevent the pirates’ leader from finding his missing ship? First published in “Just Because,” September 1998. The Allergy Factor: There’s trouble on the colony world Vliets between settlers and a mining company. Captain Jason Ayers and the Victory are sent to resolve the dispute. One of his crew falls ill from a sip of beer. Could the explanation point to a solution? First published in “Hadrosaur Tales,” Volume 17, 2003. Review: This collection is composed of two stories, “Dramatic Solution” and “The Allergy Factor,” both part of a series entitled “Frigate Victory.” The sci-fi shorts follow the adventures of the crew on the frigate Victory, particularly Lieutenant Shannon Fournier and Captain Jason Aye...

Summaries: What To Change: Doug Patterson is nearing 30 and feels his life has been one mistake after the other. A mysterious professor sends him a letter, offering him the chance to go back in time to change his life. Will Doug take that chance? If he does, what will he change? A Stop At Stanford: Doug Nyren makes videos. He wants to move to a place where the other artists aren’t snobs and his neighbors won’t try to push him to be a sell-out. He visits the tiny town of Stanford on the planet Gypsum. He meets some interesting people there, but will Stanford be the new home he’s looking for? Review: In “What to Change” and “A Stop at Stanford,” Robert Collins combines science fiction with realism, exploring the banality of everyday life through the lens of time and space travel. In both stories the main character is named Doug, despite the fact they don’t seem to be the same character. Apparently Collins just loves the name Doug. Although it is refreshing t...

Summary of "The Sagas of Surgard The Traveler": Foolish giants. Suspicious savages. Duplicitous wizards. Monsters with attorneys. It's all in a day's work for Surgard the Traveler!  The collection has 13 short stories, all fantasy and all humor. Why he feels anyone should read any of his short stories: We all need a good laugh from time to time.  There's lots to poke fun at in the genres of fantasy and myth.  An inspiration for one of the stories was a satirical RPG character Steve Jackson invented called "Conman the Barbarian."  Another was inspired by one of the "Hitch-Hiker's Guide" books.  In another I got to reference "What's Opera, Doc."  They were loads of fun to write; I hope readers enjoy them as much. Buy now: The Sagas of Surgard the Traveler on Amazon The Sagas of Surgard the Traveler on Smashwords