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Windship: The Crazy Plague
A hard science fiction novel of struggle and survival, told across nine interlinked stories.
On the colony world New Hope, a plague has broken out. Its victims become delusional. Some experience moments of crazed religiosity, while others fall into uncontrollable violence. Still others fall into a stupor, and either starve to death, or wander onto the vast desert playa that makes up most of the planet, where they die.
So far, the plague is confined to the northern hemisphere. But it’s in danger of spreading, via the “windships” (wheeled landships driven by sails) that serve as long-haul cargo carriers between cities in the planet’s northern and southern temperate bands.
Nine tightly integrated stories, written by seven different authors, tell the tale of Fusheng, a windship captained by Min Long, a woman who clings to the romance of windships in an era in which coal-powered landships are becoming the norm. Fusheng seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time - sailing into the thick of the plague.
Ultimately, the crew of Fusheng will be the ones to tip the balance, for good or ill...
www.windship.space
On the colony world New Hope, a plague has broken out. Its victims become delusional. Some experience moments of crazed religiosity, while others fall into uncontrollable violence. Still others fall into a stupor, and either starve to death, or wander onto the vast desert playa that makes up most of the planet, where they die.
So far, the plague is confined to the northern hemisphere. But it’s in danger of spreading, via the “windships” (wheeled landships driven by sails) that serve as long-haul cargo carriers between cities in the planet’s northern and southern temperate bands.
Nine tightly integrated stories, written by seven different authors, tell the tale of Fusheng, a windship captained by Min Long, a woman who clings to the romance of windships in an era in which coal-powered landships are becoming the norm. Fusheng seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time - sailing into the thick of the plague.
Ultimately, the crew of Fusheng will be the ones to tip the balance, for good or ill...
www.windship.space
720 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 22, 2018
1 person want to read
About the author
Lisa Smedman
79 books114 followersLisa was very much the tomboy growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia--playing in the woods behind her house, building tree forts, damming the creek, playing army with GI Joe dolls, swinging on ropes, playing flashlight tag, building models and go-carts (which she later rode down the street). She also liked reading science fiction novels from the 1940s, the Doc Savage series, and the Harriet the Spy books.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
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