urassic Publishing House is gone. I’ve talked about them at length HERE, of my relationship with them and all the fine novels I’ve read that they produced. And with their downfall comes The End, a collection of their best short stories.
It’s a wonderful collection (what I’ve read so far, and I will be reviewing the stories as I proceed through them like chocolates in a box, one or two now and again, just making them last). I’ll mention that the book itself is physically a superb effort, leather bound (or simulated such – I’m too uneducated to know the difference) but it looks nice. Comes in its own box-sleeve, too. And inside, it is stamped (like all the Jurassic short runs are stamped) with a personalized number. I’ve got number 49 out of 150, so there you go. And there are author signatures too, so this one’s top shelf.
So, the stories. As I mentioned, more to come, but what I’ve read so far were wondrous!
We’ll Always Be Here – a super scifi about two little girls, shadowy Pluto and darling Sharon, two “orphans” (you gotta read it to understand the quotes) stuck on a convent-asteroid in a wobbly solar orbit, the sole survivors of an onboard plague that wiped out everyone but themselves and a couple of freeze-brained Canadian girls. Earth is in ruins, there are only a small collective of survivors, but they’ve got a strange and desperate request to make of the girls.
Three Memories of Death – With my writing of Wenamon, I learned a lot about ancient Egypt. And this one was beautifully written, balanced and perfect. It is the story of the man who eventually becomes the head of the temple in Thebes, responsible for the perfection of mummification and a guarantee to the afterlife, and his ruler, the great lord Ramses, who he will eventually prepare. Just a perfect story, one that will haunt you.
Fealty to Apollo – A funny little alternative tale, one where NASA knows that PR is its most important mission. In this, they contact Hollywood for some actors to make that first moon landing, from a little known show by some Roddeberry guy.
Shatner: This is one small step for a man, on giant leap for my career-
Nimoy: I told them I should have gone first.
I’m not going to cover them all – there must be thirty to forty in their collection. But I’m going to note out the ones that really catch me over the next few weeks as I read this one in the background to all my other efforts.
Good luck on finding this one. Limited edition, I’m afraid!