What do you think?
Rate this book
Chronicles from the Starship Warden #1
Metamorphosis Alpha: Chronicles from the Warden Vol 1
A vast starship, a virtual world in itself, carrying colonists, livestock, and the flora and fauna of Terra is struck by a cloud of unknown radiation while en route to a distant star. Chaos reigns when the radiation kills most of the crew, and in the ensuing madness, the knowledge of what the ship is and where its destination lies is lost to the survivors – and there are many survivors. Intelligent mutated animals and plants now populate the vessel, and these compete or perhaps cooperate with the humans aboard. In METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA, you are aboard the stricken starship and struggling to survive, trying to gain knowledge of the strange devices and mechanical apparatus of the vessel, attempting to learn the secrets of the strange “world” you inhabit… Eight authors come together to help bring the world of METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA alive. Led by James M. Ward, the game’s original creator, enter the starship Warden, and through the eyes of the authors, enjoy the adventures of the bold as they struggle to complete their quests to understand what their “world” is all about. Metamorphosis Alpha is the world's FIRST science fiction roleplaying game. It was designed by James M. Ward, who also wrote numerous Dungeons and Dragons supplements and modules. MA1 - Chronicles from the Warden is a collection of stories from the game, by gamers, and for gamers.
- GenresScience Fiction
198 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2017
About the author
Craig Martelle
332 books7,900 followersVisit Craig's web page, craigmartelle.com for the latest posts and updates or find him on Facebook, Author Craig Martelle. Send an email to craig@craigmartelle.com to join his mailing list for the latest on new releases, information on old releases, and anything related to his books.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 2, 2018
Metamorphosis Alpha the RPG came and went years before me. I only knew the name due to an oblique reference in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and a handful of early, enigmatic articles collected in _Best of Dragon Magazine Volume One_. This was enough to capture the imagination and fix the product in my memory.
The setting material, as I recall, was vague about the internal structure of spaceship _Warden_ and of the larger situation; this was left as an implementation detail for the local group. That philosophy carries through to this story collection. The ideas are plentiful and evocative, even jaw-dropping, but are mutually incompatible and can't be taken as a 'shared universe': the bio-dome enclosures and the crew-descendants and the cryosleep engineers and the bodily engineered technicians. None of it really speaks to the other parts. If this was deliberate, it is never explained.
My preference was for "Malleable Minds" and "Fear in a Handful of Stardust", both of which resemble Orphans of the Sky or Non-Stop more than Captive Universe in being dungeon-crawls through the broken-down corridors and service passages.
I can't _highly_ recommend it due to proofreading and editing issues that frankly were highly distracting and affected the cadence of reading.
The setting material, as I recall, was vague about the internal structure of spaceship _Warden_ and of the larger situation; this was left as an implementation detail for the local group. That philosophy carries through to this story collection. The ideas are plentiful and evocative, even jaw-dropping, but are mutually incompatible and can't be taken as a 'shared universe': the bio-dome enclosures and the crew-descendants and the cryosleep engineers and the bodily engineered technicians. None of it really speaks to the other parts. If this was deliberate, it is never explained.
My preference was for "Malleable Minds" and "Fear in a Handful of Stardust", both of which resemble Orphans of the Sky or Non-Stop more than Captive Universe in being dungeon-crawls through the broken-down corridors and service passages.
I can't _highly_ recommend it due to proofreading and editing issues that frankly were highly distracting and affected the cadence of reading.
January 12, 2018
A while back a new series of books around the game Gamma World came out and I was excited to see them, yet after one average book and one really good book there were no more. I was even more excited to see this book as Metamorphosis Alpha has been a favorite game for me since I first discovered it back in the 70s. This is a theme I've always enjoyed, reading books like Brian Aldiss' Starship and watching shows like The Starlost so I dived right in, looking to enjoy stories around one of my favorite games. And enjoy it I did, though it seems rather rough around the edges. Like any collection of short stories, some are better than others and there were a few minor editing issues but nothing that distracted me too much. I've seen and read plenty from James Ward over the years but everyone else was a complete unknown to me. A second volume has recently been released so I'll pick it up and see how it compares. Recommended to any fans of the game or anyone who enjoys the generation ship gone wrong theme in sci-fi.
September 29, 2025
I do not read an abundance of Science Fiction. I read this because I have the Metamorphosis Alpha game system, although I have yet to play it. I thought buying this book and reading some other peoples ideas of the Warden might spur some additional ideas for me. When I bought it I did not realize it was a portfolio of short stories by a number of different people.
I enjoyed most of the stories. It was a breathe of fresh air to read shorts from people with different perspectives on the Warden. I enjoyed them, some more than others, but if you are an MA player I recommend the book. I also recommend the book for people who do not play MA, but like Science Fiction. I plan on buying the second volume after reading this one.
It is a quick and enjoyable read.
I enjoyed most of the stories. It was a breathe of fresh air to read shorts from people with different perspectives on the Warden. I enjoyed them, some more than others, but if you are an MA player I recommend the book. I also recommend the book for people who do not play MA, but like Science Fiction. I plan on buying the second volume after reading this one.
It is a quick and enjoyable read.
June 16, 2019
Not for me - warning rant about language below
First short story segment was choppy with the back and forth time jumps but when we had to refer to a colony ship as largest”woman built” I threw up in my mouth a little and tossed the book. Get woke- go broke. I’m female I don’t like deliberate pandering or feminist opinions that require torturing the English language. Quite frankly,unless no men worked on building the ship “woman built” is inaccurate language. The historical usage of man, mankind etc is not offensive and if it was necessary to de genderize then use humanbuilt. Ok. I’m off my soapbox and have added another author to the never again pile.
First short story segment was choppy with the back and forth time jumps but when we had to refer to a colony ship as largest”woman built” I threw up in my mouth a little and tossed the book. Get woke- go broke. I’m female I don’t like deliberate pandering or feminist opinions that require torturing the English language. Quite frankly,unless no men worked on building the ship “woman built” is inaccurate language. The historical usage of man, mankind etc is not offensive and if it was necessary to de genderize then use humanbuilt. Ok. I’m off my soapbox and have added another author to the never again pile.
November 12, 2020
I really enjoyed this anthology. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the conservative way the characters talked. Never cursing at all yet having some pretty violent battles and scenes. I don't know it seems disingenuous to have a character rip the heads off of humans and then hollows them out before burying them in shallow graves. But then one of the humans screams out the word "Cheesus!" when seeing the character Rani the Lahmya. However despite this minor niggle I really enjoyed the setting and as a fan of the RPG It really helped the world come alive.
November 25, 2024
Stories from the Starship Warden
A collection of short stories based in the game world of Metamorphosis Alpha and the Starship Warden. I picked this ebook up since I’m a huge fan of generation colony ships, especially doomed ones like the Canadian TV show The Starlost. The stories are a mixed bag, however. Some read like session reports from the game. The best stories were by Michael Curtis, Christopher Clark, and Craig Martelle. I think most of the stories could use more action.
A collection of short stories based in the game world of Metamorphosis Alpha and the Starship Warden. I picked this ebook up since I’m a huge fan of generation colony ships, especially doomed ones like the Canadian TV show The Starlost. The stories are a mixed bag, however. Some read like session reports from the game. The best stories were by Michael Curtis, Christopher Clark, and Craig Martelle. I think most of the stories could use more action.
June 17, 2017
Great stories about Warden
MA rules gets you started but there is so much to consider when you design your adventures on the Warden, where to begin. These stories open the doors of the colony ship to give you a peak inside. What could it be like inside? Subdecks? Who would have thought that? Mutants yes? Aliens too! Reading this opens ones eyes while enjoying a good yarn. Plus you help out the Father of Science Fiction role playing. Buy it now!
MA rules gets you started but there is so much to consider when you design your adventures on the Warden, where to begin. These stories open the doors of the colony ship to give you a peak inside. What could it be like inside? Subdecks? Who would have thought that? Mutants yes? Aliens too! Reading this opens ones eyes while enjoying a good yarn. Plus you help out the Father of Science Fiction role playing. Buy it now!
October 22, 2017
Anyone who is a fan of the Metamorphosis Alpha game, as well as a fan of science fiction in general, will enjoy the short stories in this book. My favorite story was “Ties That Bind, Ties That Break” by Michael Curtis.
March 25, 2018
Nice set of short stories based on the Star Ship Warden. Metamorphosis Alpha was the first RPG I ever own and or played. This is the game that got me started as a DM. These stories were fun to read and I enjoyed them a lot. I am looking forward to read the next in this series.
October 18, 2025
I think I would have gotten more out of reading the RPG book, available currently on DriveThruRPG.com for about $10.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews