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At the Helm, Volume 3
Conflict across the cosmos. New frontiers discovered. What it means to be human reimagined.
Dreams of tomorrow become reality in this third collection of bestselling authors and newly emerging writers from Sci-Fi Bridge. From the inner worlds of unforgettable characters to alien planets at the farthest reaches of our galaxy and beyond, our writers examine the human experience from within and without. They hold up a mirror to the human experience. Who are we as a species? Who do we want to be? How do we achieve that greatest vision of ourselves for us and our children?
You'll wonder at the possibilities of what we can accomplish together. You might even come to believe that a better tomorrow can be more than a dream....
Foreword by Chris Fox
"Centurion" by M.G. Herron
"Geospermia" by Patty Jansen
"Storming the Norse Wind" by M.D. Cooper
"The Far Side of Psyche" by Rhett C. Bruno
"Sparkle Ship Shine" by Hall & Beaulieu
"Latecomers" by Chris Ward
"Fool's Gold" by Zen DiPietro
"The Tribe" by Andreas Christensen
"The Theta Patient" by Chris Dietzel
"The Last Ship" by Chris Pourteau
"Taken For a Walk" by Justin Sloan
"Playing Doctor" by Robert Jeschonek
"Awaken Me, Paper Robot!" by A.K. Meek
"Refurbished" by Artie Cabrera
"Steel's First Temper" by David VanDyke
"Siren Song" by Jon Frater
"Digital Commander" by J.S. Morin
"Little Blue" by Chris Reher
Want to know more about Sci-Fi Bridge? Visit our site at scifibridge.com and subscribe to receive giveaways and great Sci-Fi deals straight to your inbox.
Dreams of tomorrow become reality in this third collection of bestselling authors and newly emerging writers from Sci-Fi Bridge. From the inner worlds of unforgettable characters to alien planets at the farthest reaches of our galaxy and beyond, our writers examine the human experience from within and without. They hold up a mirror to the human experience. Who are we as a species? Who do we want to be? How do we achieve that greatest vision of ourselves for us and our children?
You'll wonder at the possibilities of what we can accomplish together. You might even come to believe that a better tomorrow can be more than a dream....
Foreword by Chris Fox
"Centurion" by M.G. Herron
"Geospermia" by Patty Jansen
"Storming the Norse Wind" by M.D. Cooper
"The Far Side of Psyche" by Rhett C. Bruno
"Sparkle Ship Shine" by Hall & Beaulieu
"Latecomers" by Chris Ward
"Fool's Gold" by Zen DiPietro
"The Tribe" by Andreas Christensen
"The Theta Patient" by Chris Dietzel
"The Last Ship" by Chris Pourteau
"Taken For a Walk" by Justin Sloan
"Playing Doctor" by Robert Jeschonek
"Awaken Me, Paper Robot!" by A.K. Meek
"Refurbished" by Artie Cabrera
"Steel's First Temper" by David VanDyke
"Siren Song" by Jon Frater
"Digital Commander" by J.S. Morin
"Little Blue" by Chris Reher
Want to know more about Sci-Fi Bridge? Visit our site at scifibridge.com and subscribe to receive giveaways and great Sci-Fi deals straight to your inbox.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2017
65 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 26, 2018
The third ‘At the Helm’ anthology from Sci-Fi Bridge is another cracking collection. Taking it a story at a time:
Story 1: 'Centurion' by M.G. Herron
Off the starting blocks with a tale of humans on Alpha Centauri. It was fun and pretty cute. 4 stars
Story 2: 'Geospermia' by Patty Jansen
While there were some good ideas here, I couldn't get on with the author's writing style and felt that the story would've benefited from an editor with a firmer hand. 2 stars
Story 3: 'Stormi
ng the Norse Wind' by M.D. Cooper
There is a type of science fiction that gets so bogged down in the technical details of the ships, weapons, armour, etc. that it forgets that a story is supposed to actually be about something. While this wasn't the worst offender I've ever encountered, this story was a bit like that. 3 stars
Story 4: 'The Far Side of Psyche' by Rhett C. Bruno
A great story of a asteroid mining expedition going disastrously wrong. I really enjoyed it, but I wouldn't expect anything less from Rhett! 4 stars
Story 5: 'The Genesis Revelation' by Hall & Beaulieu
Quite a nice little story of thwarted ambition. 3 stars
Story 6: 'Latecomers' by Chris Ward
Imagine Ellen Ripley at 90 and you're halfway there. Hilarious. 5 star
Story 7: 'Fool's Gold' by Zen DiPietro
Some futuristic wheeler-dealing. I liked the characters' voices and the author's writing style more than the actual story. 3 stars
Story 8: 'The Tribe' by Andreas Christensen
This story was a sequel to Christensen's story 'The Tunnel' in a previous volume of 'At the Helm'. I enjoyed it quite a bit. 4 stars
Story 9: 'The Theta Patient' by Chris Dietzel
An interesting tale of a Big Brother-style dystopian future. Interesting but I didn't quite 'believe' the protagonist, if you know what I mean. (Probably not.) 3 stars
Story 10: 'The Last Ship' by Chris Pourteau
An excellent story that should appeal to Star Trek fans (or just fans of good SF). I loved it. 5 stars
Story 11: 'Taken For a Walk' by Justin Sloan
A clever, eye-opening tale of subjugation. 5 stars
Story 12: 'Playing Doctor' by Robert Jeschonek
A funny take on the mad scientist, seen through the eyes of their assistant. I really enjoyed it but it ended a little abruptly. 4 stars
Story 13: 'Awaken Me, Paper Robot!' by A.K. Meek
A futuristic fairy tale of survival, told in the second person. I loved it. 5 stars
Story 14: 'Refurbished' by Artie Cabrera
A SF take on domestic abuse. I enjoyed it but felt it needed to be a bit longer and less rushed at the end. 4 stars
Story 15: 'Steel's First Temper' by David VanDyke
More military SF. It was OK but read a bit too much like 'Aliens' fan-fiction in places for my tastes. 3 stars
Story 16: 'Siren Song' by Jon Frater
A depressing story about the future of the music industry. I really liked it. 4 stars
Story 17: 'Digital Commander' by J.S. Morin
One of the best pieces of short military SF I've read so far. There was a small continuity error, though (unless I read it wrong). 4 stars
Story 18: ‘Little Blue’ by Chris Reher
Not the strongest story to end the book on but not bad either. 3 stars
Taken as a whole, this was a pretty darned good bunch of stories. I enjoyed it a great deal, for the most part.
Story 1: 'Centurion' by M.G. Herron
Off the starting blocks with a tale of humans on Alpha Centauri. It was fun and pretty cute. 4 stars
Story 2: 'Geospermia' by Patty Jansen
While there were some good ideas here, I couldn't get on with the author's writing style and felt that the story would've benefited from an editor with a firmer hand. 2 stars
Story 3: 'Stormi
ng the Norse Wind' by M.D. Cooper
There is a type of science fiction that gets so bogged down in the technical details of the ships, weapons, armour, etc. that it forgets that a story is supposed to actually be about something. While this wasn't the worst offender I've ever encountered, this story was a bit like that. 3 stars
Story 4: 'The Far Side of Psyche' by Rhett C. Bruno
A great story of a asteroid mining expedition going disastrously wrong. I really enjoyed it, but I wouldn't expect anything less from Rhett! 4 stars
Story 5: 'The Genesis Revelation' by Hall & Beaulieu
Quite a nice little story of thwarted ambition. 3 stars
Story 6: 'Latecomers' by Chris Ward
Imagine Ellen Ripley at 90 and you're halfway there. Hilarious. 5 star
Story 7: 'Fool's Gold' by Zen DiPietro
Some futuristic wheeler-dealing. I liked the characters' voices and the author's writing style more than the actual story. 3 stars
Story 8: 'The Tribe' by Andreas Christensen
This story was a sequel to Christensen's story 'The Tunnel' in a previous volume of 'At the Helm'. I enjoyed it quite a bit. 4 stars
Story 9: 'The Theta Patient' by Chris Dietzel
An interesting tale of a Big Brother-style dystopian future. Interesting but I didn't quite 'believe' the protagonist, if you know what I mean. (Probably not.) 3 stars
Story 10: 'The Last Ship' by Chris Pourteau
An excellent story that should appeal to Star Trek fans (or just fans of good SF). I loved it. 5 stars
Story 11: 'Taken For a Walk' by Justin Sloan
A clever, eye-opening tale of subjugation. 5 stars
Story 12: 'Playing Doctor' by Robert Jeschonek
A funny take on the mad scientist, seen through the eyes of their assistant. I really enjoyed it but it ended a little abruptly. 4 stars
Story 13: 'Awaken Me, Paper Robot!' by A.K. Meek
A futuristic fairy tale of survival, told in the second person. I loved it. 5 stars
Story 14: 'Refurbished' by Artie Cabrera
A SF take on domestic abuse. I enjoyed it but felt it needed to be a bit longer and less rushed at the end. 4 stars
Story 15: 'Steel's First Temper' by David VanDyke
More military SF. It was OK but read a bit too much like 'Aliens' fan-fiction in places for my tastes. 3 stars
Story 16: 'Siren Song' by Jon Frater
A depressing story about the future of the music industry. I really liked it. 4 stars
Story 17: 'Digital Commander' by J.S. Morin
One of the best pieces of short military SF I've read so far. There was a small continuity error, though (unless I read it wrong). 4 stars
Story 18: ‘Little Blue’ by Chris Reher
Not the strongest story to end the book on but not bad either. 3 stars
Taken as a whole, this was a pretty darned good bunch of stories. I enjoyed it a great deal, for the most part.
October 7, 2017
My favorites were Geospermia (Jansen), Storming the Norse Wind (Cooper), Steel’s First Temper (VanDyke), Siren Song (Frater), Digital Commander (Morin), and Little Blue (Reher).
Read
December 30, 2018I picked this up to read M. D. Cooper's short story about Tanis Richards. The whole book is worth WAY more than the price tag. Very entertaining group of writers!
October 15, 2017
A very good collection
Frequently one can read the first few and toss the rest. This one has great stories mixed throughout with good stories. Enjoy.
Frequently one can read the first few and toss the rest. This one has great stories mixed throughout with good stories. Enjoy.
December 15, 2017
🌟🌟🌟🌟⭐
A varied collection of science fiction stories, all with their own merits. It was a blast to read, they are a good way to see an author's style.
A varied collection of science fiction stories, all with their own merits. It was a blast to read, they are a good way to see an author's style.
August 24, 2018
Introduction: Chris Fox
One of the very good things about this series (and others from the SciFi Bridge mob) is that the stories are all new (I think) and while many of the authors are unfamiliar there are several favourites, who may be visiting their universe(s) in short story form - David Vandyke gives us another Repeth story: here she is meeting 'Bull' ben Tauros for the first time (see also the story in Bridge Across the Stars for another ben Tauros story in which Repeth has an offstage voice appearance). The Patty Jansen story, by way of contrast, is set in yet another timeline, separate from her series (I think). There are a handful of other familiar name as well.
One of the very good things about this series (and others from the SciFi Bridge mob) is that the stories are all new (I think) and while many of the authors are unfamiliar there are several favourites, who may be visiting their universe(s) in short story form - David Vandyke gives us another Repeth story: here she is meeting 'Bull' ben Tauros for the first time (see also the story in Bridge Across the Stars for another ben Tauros story in which Repeth has an offstage voice appearance). The Patty Jansen story, by way of contrast, is set in yet another timeline, separate from her series (I think). There are a handful of other familiar name as well.
November 15, 2018
This was a pretty good collection of stories. As with any collection, there are some great stories and some not-so-great. There weren't any bad ones here. Also with short stories, I sometimes really get into a story, only to have it end. A few of these felt more like just the first chapter of a book, rather than a complete short story. Anyway, it was a decent read.
April 30, 2018
Excellent collection
Fast paced and beautifully written stories that demonstrate the highest levels of sci-fi talent and professional achievement. I urge any reader to catch up with the first two volumes.
Fast paced and beautifully written stories that demonstrate the highest levels of sci-fi talent and professional achievement. I urge any reader to catch up with the first two volumes.
May 24, 2020
Excellent collection
Great way to get introduced to writers I have not ready yet. Almost every excerpt was intriguing to me. I used this collection to connect to other authors and bought several books I plan to read, even a couple of series.
Great way to get introduced to writers I have not ready yet. Almost every excerpt was intriguing to me. I used this collection to connect to other authors and bought several books I plan to read, even a couple of series.
September 10, 2018
Excellent reading!
Definitely worthwhile with enticing ideas here. Very good fuel for the imagination and a good addition to any personal collection.
Definitely worthwhile with enticing ideas here. Very good fuel for the imagination and a good addition to any personal collection.
January 15, 2019
The best Helm
Thoroughly enjoyed this the 4th anthology, mainly because most ,if not all of the stories ,left me wanting the theme(s) to continue. More please!
Thoroughly enjoyed this the 4th anthology, mainly because most ,if not all of the stories ,left me wanting the theme(s) to continue. More please!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews