D. L. Morrese

Awesome Allshorts: Last Days, Lost Ways

Awesome Allshorts: Last Days, Lost Ways
This superbly written short story anthology showcases talented Awesome Indie authors from around the globe. Though from a variety of genres, the stories are all entertaining, contemporary and thought-provoking.   Indulge your taste for good fiction with this short story anthology by authors with bold new voices. Though from diverse genres, the stories share a contemporary and contemplative feel that will linger long after the reader has read the last one. Awesome Allshorts showcases talented authors from around the globe, many whose novels have received multiple honors, including Awesome Indies approved status. Stories selected by Tahlia Newland, Dixiane Hallaj and Richard Bunning.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

 

An Android Dog’s Tale

An Android Dog’s Tale
Title: An Android Dog’s Tale
ASIN: B00GPLTRVG
Publisher:
Published: November 16, 2013
The Galactic Organic Development Corporation searches the galaxy for primitive sentient species to save from extinction, and then transplants colonies of them to Corporation agricultural planets where they can live happily and safely. The transplanted species survives, and the Corporation Project planets produce some of the most expensive and sought-after food in the galaxy, which it sells to developed worlds with this guarantee: Caringly grown, cultivated and harvested by simple sentient life forms. No artificial ingredients, pesticides, herbicides, or mechanized equipment used in processing. Guaranteed 100% organic. Of course, keeping the primitives primitive enough to ensure the Corporation’s promise of natural purity can be a challenge, especially when they’re like those it found twenty thousand years ago huddling in caves and scraping a meager and precarious existence on a pale blue planet in the Milky Way’s Orion–Cygnus spiral arm. The humans keep trying to change things.

Assessed 

The Warden Threat

The Warden Threat
Title: The Warden Threat
ASIN: B005MAWTUM
Published: March 1, 2012
Prince Donald, the idealistic third son of the king of Westgrove, believes he may be the only one capable of protecting his country from an invasion spearheaded by an ancient, massive, and magical stone warrior known as the Warden of Mystic Defiance. When he recovers a mysterious scroll he believes may allow him to take control of the Warden, he eagerly takes on the task. Donald, unfortunately, is woefully unprepared. His only understanding of such things comes from reading fictional tales of epic adventures and brave heroes. He dreams of being one, but to his dismay, his quest unfolds nothing like he imagined. The books in his library seriously understate the complexities and hardships involved, and the real world can be much more confusing and complicated than those in stories. Sometimes it is not easy to identify the villains, and what things seem may not always be what they are. The real threat to the kingdom may not even be what everyone seems to think it is. Most disturbing of all is the realization that the hero is not necessarily predestined to save the day. Heroes can fail. This lighthearted parody is unique—a soft science fiction counter-fantasy, which pokes a fair amount of good-natured fun at the serious tone and dependence on magic common to many epic fantasy adventure genre novels. With its charming and truly likeable characters, witty, intelligent humor, and prose style blending positive science fiction and epic fantasy elements, The Warden Threat is a delight, perfect for readers of these genres yearning for something fresh and different. This book is also available in the omnibus edition Defying Fate, which includes both The Warden Threat and its sequel, The Warden War. Defying Fate is a Kindle exclusive.

Assessed 

Amy’s Pendant

Amy’s Pendant
Title: Amy’s Pendant
ASIN: B00BRV0X4Y
Publisher:
Published: March 9, 2013
Amy, the only child of a poor family living in the bustling city of Dolphin Point, is given an amazing and potentially dangerous pendant as a present for her fourteenth birthday. She does not know how amazing or how potentially dangerous it is. If she did, she would cherish it even more. She is that kind of girl. Through her investigations of the mysterious pendant, she uncovers an ancient mystery—the remnants of a vast alien commercial enterprise buried beneath surface of the planet. Unfortunately, the central computer for the complex is aware of her intrusion and it cannot let her escape with knowledge of its existence.

Assessed 

Disturbing Clockwork

Disturbing Clockwork
Title: Disturbing Clockwork
ASIN: B00CGMZT24
Categories: ,
Publisher:
Published: April 20, 2013
Not so long ago, on a planet not too far away, a quirky inventor washes up on a desert island and discovers devices that defy belief. They appear to be clockwork automatons, but he has never seen their like, and, brilliant as he is, he cannot imagine how they can do the things they do—which is pretty much anything asked of them. Such amazing technology! Where did they come from? How do they work? Benkin, a lifelong student of natural philosophy, sees them as a key to unlock scientific secrets and the wonders of the universe. Snyde, a dangerous fugitive from the king’s justice, sees them as a means to power.

Assessed 

The Warden War

The Warden War
Title: The Warden War
ASIN: B005MRNIA0
Published: January 7, 2014
Prince Donald’s father, King Leonard of Westgrove, has been told that the neighboring kingdom of Gotrox has discovered a magical means to animate a mysterious and gigantic ancient stone warrior, the Warden of Mystic Defiance, which it plans to use it to spearhead an invasion of his country. Donald is convinced this is a hoax carefully crafted by his father’s chief adviser to bring about a war to gain control of Gotroxian resources. Donald is determined to thwart him. It will not be easy. Chief Adviser Horace Barter has resources, connections, influence, and the almost unquestioned trust of the king. Donald, sadly, has none of these. What the young prince does have is a nominal position with the diplomatic team being sent to Gotrox and the companionship of a few rather unique friends including a pair of 15,000-year-old androids, one of which is a dog–or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Assessed