Having read Ken Liu’s PAPER MENAGERIE, a collection of his short stories, plus his bio and credits, I felt I’d had the good fortune to ‘stumble’ upon an excellent writer and translator whose work gave me a new perspective on … Continue reading INVISIBLE PLANETS – Ken Liu, editor and translator
With a mix of disgust and shame, Tepunia saw that every last bit of his suit was gone. He was altogether naked! Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Twelve: The Hayloft
Shvaart gathered a pawful of pebbles and stuffed them into his mouth. Bending over and hacking, he threw up a hairball and spewed it along with the pebbles many tail lengths away. They crashed into a distant row of crumbling corn stalks. Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Eleven: Hiding
Tepunia felt nervous flutterbugs inside her belly. She sniffed the door’s threshold, then stepped back and waited for the sound of Shvaart’s reaction. Who knew what else was inside that big, dark place? Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Ten: Was It the Kibble?
Tepunia ducked her head as claws raked across her shoulder. She leaped away from the hole and flattened her ears. A loud, moaning wail gurgled from her throat—a wail she didn’t know was in her. Shvaart was standing a tail’s … Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Nine: Into the Light
“Where is the kahk? I was sure it was only two tail lengths ahead of us,” whispered Tepunia. “I…to track it,” answered Shvaart, his voice muted by annoying static. He drifted to the ground and searched the dusty, gray dirt. … Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Eight
Those of us who are versed in Greek mythology know the story of Theseus and his captivity on the island of Crete. There with the help of King Minos’ daughter, Ariadne and her thread, he kills the human-eating Minotaur–a beast … Continue reading The King Must Die, by Mary Renault
On the third orbit pass, Tepunia ordered Shvaart to check the landing gear while she prepared their protective suits and visibility shields. After securing all their supplies and giving the suits a final pat check, she engaged the scanner and … Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Seven
Tepunia reassured herself that ever practical and observant Ensign Prrrup would keep the ZooCatron Quest steady as it orbited the planet. She licked her flank to calm a nervous twitch. All this stress was thinning her fur; little dust kittens … Continue reading A New ZooCatron – Chapter Six
A fan of LeGuin’s writing since adolesence, I appreciated the author’s effort to amplify and enrich the Aeneid. Her novel in a way completes Virgil’s epic poem by continuing the narrative after the hero Aeneas, a Trojan survivor of the … Continue reading Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin
