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The Secret World Chronicles
Echo One: Stories from the Secret World Chronicles
“Stirring action, appealing character growth, and shocking, vivid violence. . . . Series readers will be pleased with this return to the Secret World.” — Publishers Weekly
In the late 1930s something fell from the sky and landed in an area of the Atlantic not yet known as the Bermuda Triangle. After that event, part of the world irrevocably changed . . . and the mysteries began. Something else would change as well—seemingly ordinary men and women on both sides of the Allied/Axis war suddenly began to manifest uncanny powers. Super powers. The advent of the age of metahumans had begun. And hidden in the heart of the ocean, the masterminds sat back to watch. This collection contains stories of that time, as metahumans enter and change the Second World War forever. From the streets of Paris to the beach at Dunkirk, from the Battle of Britain to the Atlantic Deeps, metahumans meet and clash, while all around them rage the battles of ordinary men and women.
“[C]omes together seamlessly . . . an awesome and lightning-paced read it on a day when you will not have to put it down.” — San Francisco Book Review
In the late 1930s something fell from the sky and landed in an area of the Atlantic not yet known as the Bermuda Triangle. After that event, part of the world irrevocably changed . . . and the mysteries began. Something else would change as well—seemingly ordinary men and women on both sides of the Allied/Axis war suddenly began to manifest uncanny powers. Super powers. The advent of the age of metahumans had begun. And hidden in the heart of the ocean, the masterminds sat back to watch. This collection contains stories of that time, as metahumans enter and change the Second World War forever. From the streets of Paris to the beach at Dunkirk, from the Battle of Britain to the Atlantic Deeps, metahumans meet and clash, while all around them rage the battles of ordinary men and women.
“[C]omes together seamlessly . . . an awesome and lightning-paced read it on a day when you will not have to put it down.” — San Francisco Book Review
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2020
78 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
432 books9,556 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 27, 2021
I didn't know that this book existed until fairly recently, when I was searching on Amazon for a couple of books I needed, and came across this one.
So, as it had Misty's name on it, I bought it, just to see what it was about - and I'm just sooo glad that I did!
I hadn't even known that the book had short stories, whose ideas came from a whole new series I'd known nothing about and, after reading the first couple of them, went online, once again, to look up - and order - every single one of the Secret World Chronicles!
I'm actually half way through another of Misty's series: the Serrated Edge books, but am waiting - very impatiently, I must add - for the two books in the middle: Spiritride & Lazerwarz, which I hadn't realised I didn't have - but it won't be turning up for another 2 weeks so, as I couldn't wait that long without reading something Misty, I decided to start on what I thought was just a book of short stories.
This is why my book shelves are always bulging, as I just can't resist buying books from authors whose work I love!
So, cutting a long story short - and yes, I meant the pun - I loved this book so much, that I had to buy all the previous books in this series!
If you haven't read any of this series yet, then maybe do what I did, and buy Echo One to read first!
I'm not sure what I'll read next, while I wait on the Serrated Edge books to come, but I'm sure there are more of her short story collections on my shelves to keep me going!
So, as it had Misty's name on it, I bought it, just to see what it was about - and I'm just sooo glad that I did!
I hadn't even known that the book had short stories, whose ideas came from a whole new series I'd known nothing about and, after reading the first couple of them, went online, once again, to look up - and order - every single one of the Secret World Chronicles!
I'm actually half way through another of Misty's series: the Serrated Edge books, but am waiting - very impatiently, I must add - for the two books in the middle: Spiritride & Lazerwarz, which I hadn't realised I didn't have - but it won't be turning up for another 2 weeks so, as I couldn't wait that long without reading something Misty, I decided to start on what I thought was just a book of short stories.
This is why my book shelves are always bulging, as I just can't resist buying books from authors whose work I love!
So, cutting a long story short - and yes, I meant the pun - I loved this book so much, that I had to buy all the previous books in this series!
If you haven't read any of this series yet, then maybe do what I did, and buy Echo One to read first!
I'm not sure what I'll read next, while I wait on the Serrated Edge books to come, but I'm sure there are more of her short story collections on my shelves to keep me going!
May 29, 2021
Exactly what it says on the tin --- a selection of short stories set in The Secret World Chronicles. Note that many of them were included with the podcast, but not with the printed books, so arguably, a better value for readers rather than listeners, but many were included w/ other short story collections, or published separately.
- Rise: January 5, 1935 --- the setup (which is something of a spoiler, so read this book last)
- Rise: September 9, 1940 --- another first
- Sgian Dubh (also published as "Dunkirk")
- White Bird --- WWII
- Valse Triste --- WWII
- Retrieval --- WWII
- Exemplar --- Victoria Nagy origin
- Into the Night --- another VN story
- Save a Prayer --- third
- The Longest Night --- fourth(a Christmas story)
- The Heir Apparent --- backstory on Jack
- Strike a Pose --- Echo image-making after the initial attack
- For Those About to Rock --- VN and Red Djinni character development
- Waiting On --- John Murdoch character development/backstory
- Further On Up the Road --- short story about a new character and The Program
- All Mine --- another new character or three, another Program story
- Runnin' --- the escape of Red Djinni and Victoria Nagy
- Rise: January 5, 1935 --- the setup (which is something of a spoiler, so read this book last)
- Rise: September 9, 1940 --- another first
- Sgian Dubh (also published as "Dunkirk")
- White Bird --- WWII
- Valse Triste --- WWII
- Retrieval --- WWII
- Exemplar --- Victoria Nagy origin
- Into the Night --- another VN story
- Save a Prayer --- third
- The Longest Night --- fourth(a Christmas story)
- The Heir Apparent --- backstory on Jack
- Strike a Pose --- Echo image-making after the initial attack
- For Those About to Rock --- VN and Red Djinni character development
- Waiting On --- John Murdoch character development/backstory
- Further On Up the Road --- short story about a new character and The Program
- All Mine --- another new character or three, another Program story
- Runnin' --- the escape of Red Djinni and Victoria Nagy
January 6, 2022
This is a book of short stories set in the Secret World Universe. It is a mix of of back stories, side stories that didn't make it into the core books, and tying up a loose end or two. Almost all the characters also appear in the Secret World main series.
I would not recommend reading this unless you have already read all 5 of the mainline series. It doesn't really stand on it's own, though a few stories are self-contained Most though need prior knowledge to understand them properly. This is why I have only given it 3 stars. If you have already read the Secret World series it would rate a 3 1/2 stars.
The stories are very light weight and of very mixed quality, but they are all well written, and there are no actual lemons amongst them. As lightweight reading they are fine, some are very good, but don't expect too much.
I would not recommend reading this unless you have already read all 5 of the mainline series. It doesn't really stand on it's own, though a few stories are self-contained Most though need prior knowledge to understand them properly. This is why I have only given it 3 stars. If you have already read the Secret World series it would rate a 3 1/2 stars.
The stories are very light weight and of very mixed quality, but they are all well written, and there are no actual lemons amongst them. As lightweight reading they are fine, some are very good, but don't expect too much.
May 20, 2020
4 1/2 stars actually.
If you enjoy the current superhero movies and TV shows, and even the urban fantasies with supernatural elements, you will enjoy these stories. They intrigued me enough to want to now read the books. I guarantee your imagination will thank you for a way out of reality to a great read.
Read the rest of the review at http://www.ismellsheep.com/2020/05/bo...
If you enjoy the current superhero movies and TV shows, and even the urban fantasies with supernatural elements, you will enjoy these stories. They intrigued me enough to want to now read the books. I guarantee your imagination will thank you for a way out of reality to a great read.
Read the rest of the review at http://www.ismellsheep.com/2020/05/bo...
December 18, 2022
A series of short stories of meta humans in World War Two.
April 29, 2025
really good.
Enjoyed all the stories. Will be looking for more. The characters were interesting, and the stories although short, were very readable.
Enjoyed all the stories. Will be looking for more. The characters were interesting, and the stories although short, were very readable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews