Cosmosis

by Thomas Pryce

WINNER of the 2014 Southern California Book Festival for best Compilation/Anthology

As means to an overview of what to expect in the
coming pages, an analogy might serve best. Think
old school drive-in, at least in terms of format. A sci-fi double feature, replete with preview and even a cartoon. For logistics, I’ve reworked the order a bit, sending the preview to the end instead of the open (I mean they call it a trailer, don’t they?)

Two novellas—War Torn and Bad Trip—will lead the evening, set the mood. The double bill will be followed by White Light, a preview to the next novel (at least based on current propulsions). And rounding out the gala, serving as bonus cartoon—General Maps.

So grab your bag of popcorn, park it, adjust the volume on the nibbled alloy speaker, wrap yourself in an old blanket, and sit back and enjoy a Cosmosis night.

The line-up:

War Torn

Nathan Bhat is an E6 medic aboard a celestial cruiser in the war between humankind and the Phraaks. When their vessel is shot down, Nathan and several soldiers find themselves marooned on an uncharted planet, hunted by a legion of Phraaks. As they race across the barren planet in search of cover, he soon realizes that the Phraaks are not their only worry; the planet, it seems, has an agenda as well. [Story is @ 28,000 words]

Bad Trip

Following a suicide attempt Sarah Billings is remanded to a psych ward. Her husband, Ryan, an NYPD detective is perplexed by the incident. Especially when he learns that it was an entity from outer space that had convinced his wife to slit her wrists. When she disappears the next day, Ryan begins an investigation that will not only test his sleuthing skills, but have him rethinking his beliefs, and ultimately questioning his own sanity. Meanwhile, terrified and lost in a mysterious realm, Sarah is forced to battle demons on her own. [Story is @ 38,000 words]

White Light

Garrett Lang has stage-four leukemia. On the advice of a good friend, he takes up meditation to help cope. As his relaxation methods improve, he begins to see a curious white light behind closed eyes. At first he’s bewildered, then worries that the white light might be the phenomenon of near death experience (NDE). Soon, through an extraordinary course of discovery, he finds that the light is more than he could’ve ever dreamed.
[Story is @ 5000 words]

General Maps

Sequestered in a command bunker beneath the Pentagon, General Maps along with a skeleton crew direct the global battle against alien invasion. The Hormellians had arrived months earlier and seeded the atmosphere with a deadly virus. The virus infects sleep centers of the brain, causing insomnia that is eventually lethal. With the world on the verge of collapse, General Maps and his beleaguered team must find a cure before it’s too late. But sometimes heroes are only in fiction. [Story is @ 1200 words]

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2014

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of two novellas and two very short stories. Each one was a breath of fresh air. The endings were totally unexpected and the plots moved quickly (given that the short stories are around ten pages each, that is pretty much a given). In the last story, "General Maps," the author pokes fun at himself. That brought a chuckle out of me.
This author has a great imagination. I hope he continues to put out work like this for a long time to come. Five glittering stars.