Terran Shift Anthology, Vol 1 now at Smashwords

Last year we put together an anthology ebook of stories set exclusively in our Terran Shift universe. The result is a collection of seven stories from five authors, spanning from the high-tech cyberpunk dystopia of the Bio-Tech Era to the Sol-Bect War Era.

When we originally released this ebook, we decided to make it an Amazon Kindle exclusive, because we wanted to see firsthand what that would do for (or against) the book. Now that that period of exclusivity has expired, we decided to make the ebook available to other stores. I have uploaded the ebook to Smashwords, and it will be sent to all the other stores that Smashwords syndicates to in the next few weeks.

 

The Berkutchi Trial by Alan Belanger
An American spy in Kazahkstan accidentally breaks local law and must win a berkutchi trial to get out alive.

Things Taken by Cynthia Ravinski
Only when you’ve put everything you have into obtaining your hopes and dreams do you find what you’ve really been after.

Handbook For A Better Society by Jamie Alan Belanger
A misguided man bases his utopia on a satirical novel.

The Unders by Timothy Lynch
The Landers and Unders are at war. The Landers just don’t know it yet.

Moroned by Paul J Belanger
Fortune favors the prepared. As for the unprepared, well…

Moon Sweepers by Alan Belanger
Youth on a moon base learn the dangers of regolith mining.

The Sol-Bect Setup by Paul J Belanger
In a missing chapter from The Sol-Bect War, Part 2, Peter McCabe visits the past to lay the groundwork for his future.

 

This ebook is currently available at Amazon Kindle Store and Smashwords

I put together a comprehensive sample on our site that includes a short excerpt from each story. Read the sample.

Review: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I grabbed this book at my local library two days ago and have already read the entire thing. It’s not that it’s a short book, at slightly more than 300 pages it does take some time to read through. This book is just one of those few nonfiction books that I can call a page turner. Brutally candid, very interesting, and consistently entertaining, this book spends some 300 pages talking about the small details of life in space that most people don’t think about (including quite a few points you probably don’t want to think about), then very quickly says a few things about Mars just before ending. That’s really my only gripe — that the book’s title indicates it’s about Mars, when it’s really about life in space and the history of living in space in general. Still, it gives astronaut wannabes some things to think about.

Hackathons Seem To Be In Vogue Now

What The Heck’s a Hackathon?

I’ve seen quite a few articles, magazines, and websites talking about hackathons lately… as if they are something new. These articles don’t always explain what hackathons are. So I thought I’d take a moment to talk about them, some of the hackathons I’ve done in the past, and what I’m planning to do in the next few weeks.

Continue Reading…

Review: Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and the Government Bailout Will Make Things Worse

Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and the Government Bailout Will Make Things Worse by Thomas E. Woods Jr.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting analysis of where we are today and why. The author draws some fascinating comparisons between our current economy and the Great Depression, and offers insight into what really caused the Great Depression and what made it last so long (hint: we’re doing the same thing now). That history lesson alone makes this book worth reading.

Sometimes the economic analyses can get a little dry, but I got the feeling that the author knew when that was happening and tried to get through it as quickly as possible. Overall, the book offers good explanations of why we are in the situation we are in now, why bailouts will make things worse, and a lot of historical information about recessions and depressions.

Review: Tales of Terror

Tales of Terror by Time-Life Books

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Terror? There wasn’t anything in here that I would call terrifying. I read these stories right before going to bed, sometimes reading two or three in a sitting. I didn’t get a single nightmare, and I was hoping for some since they tend to give me good story ideas I can use later. But this book did have a lot of good stories, and I was happy to see the editor put each story in its own chapter, as opposed to the other volumes in the series where the stories often run together in a big confusing mess. The artwork was just as good as other volumes. Overall, it’s hard to pick a favorite with this series, but this volume would certainly make my top three.