Melt

Eclipse Phase

by Rob Boyle, Davidson Cole, Leeann Buckley (Illustrator)

"It’s simple, really, to wind up on the winning side when you’ve created the winner. And the loser."

The political chess match between the dominant Planetary Consortium and the newly-independent Morningstar Constellation on Venus threatens to ruin the lives of three individuals caught in the plot of an immortal oligarch.

“Melt” takes place in the Eclipse Phase universe.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Short Stories

13 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2010

Reviews

[Ernesto I. Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I assume this short story fuction is basically to show "Eclipse Phase" Setting, because that is the only thing it does. It shows a grim future where people can change their bodies, but most can't afford it. It shows political battles but we see almost naught about the characters.

Too many characters, developed with too much haste, we see no change, no development. So as a story 'Melt' doesn't stand on its own. As a product de facto which only purpose is to present different aspect for a RPG setting is decent, but most players would not read it.

[FAE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was interesting, but a little too disjointed to be outstanding, in my opinion. I liked the political machinations, which is mostly the only thing that pulled it up to 3 stars for me.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the figure on the cover is intended to be Vijja, and I'm disappointed that the art isn't actually androgynous, like the character is described.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining short story, and a fun look into the eclipse phase world.