Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Test Tube Frankenstein, a short horror story by Wayne Robbins appeared in the May 1940 issue of Terror Tales. It is interesting to draw connections between this pulp story and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Both stories involve a mad genius creating a creature that deceives and kills those around them. However, in this short story, the creature takes on the form and demeanor of its creator, Chester Vermis, which differentiates it from Frankenstein.

Excitement and sorcery mixed with blades of steel. The mysterious stranger who appears out of nowhere to avenge injustice and defend the defenseless. Robert Howard, in this early story of his, gives us Solomon Kane; the man who walks like a leopard, wears all black and is relentless in pursuing evil doers. But he is pitted against voodoo and the superbly skillful opponent - Le Loupe - The Wolfe. Has Solomon Kane met his doom?

Isaac Asimov wrote "The Magnificent Possession" early in his career. This is one of the few humorous stories that Asimov created.

"The Thing Behind Hell's Door" is a science fiction short story written by renowned author Robert Silverberg. It was originally published in 1973 as part of the anthology "New Dimensions II." The story explores themes of exploration, otherworldly beings, and the unknown. Mike Vendetti's narration style proves to be an excellent choice for capturing the grim atmosphere and otherworldly ambiance that pervades the novel. His deep, resonant voice and skilled delivery brought the sinister tale to life.

The Rocket Man introduces us to an astronaut who spends his life traveling through space, leaving his family behind. Ray Bradbury's powerful storytelling shines through as he explores the complexities of familial relationships and the sacrifices that come with exploration and adventure. The way Bradbury weaves a tale of longing, loneliness, and human connection is both thought-provoking and deeply moving.

The story takes place on Mars, where a lone narrator lives in a well, waiting patiently for unsuspecting Earth explorers to arrive on Mars, only to fall victim to his terrifying presence. Ray Bradbury's masterful storytelling and vivid descriptions bring the eerie atmosphere of the Martian landscape to life. The story explores themes of isolation, loneliness, and the consequences of human curiosity. Bradbury's ability to create a sense of unease and apprehension keeps readers engaged from start to finish.

This gripping tale takes place in the late 19th century and follows the protagonist, Mr. Hapley, a famous entomologist who becomes embroiled in an ongoing feud with Professor Pawkins a rival in his field. Hapley has a devasting retort to Professor Pawkins's most recent attack on him, but before he can deliver the ruinous blow, Pawkins dies leaving Haply ready for battle with no opponent. The physical Pawkins may be gone, but a mysterious moth that no one but Hapley can see or feel the presence of appears.

It's been weeks since Angelina has left Neverland. James Hook is desperate to follow her off the island and find her in this notorious town called London when he makes a grave mistake. The consequences alter the life of his once-arch-enemy, Peter Pan, in a way no one could have foreseen. The boy who wouldn't grow up swears revenge, and what better way than by stealing Hook's love? Through a shower of falling stars, a loop around the moon, and then a hard left at the Clock Tower...

Hugh Kellard stepped over his grandfather's home threshold with a weak smile and slumped shoulders as if the weight of all he'd been through had finally caught up to him. He had no plans to ever return to space, but he knew that Halfrich wouldn't accept this answer. When asked why he was leaving, Hugh refused to explain, an unspoken acknowledgment that there was something more than he was letting on. As pressure mounted, Kellard resigned himself to the inevitable: he would have to return and show Halfrich what he saw on Mercury.

It was very simple. Some combination of low temperature and high pressure had forced something from the seepage at the ocean bottom into combination with something in the water around them. And the impregnable armor around Subatlantic Oil's drilling chamber had discovered a weakness.

Lisbeth is labouring under the delusion that she is Catherine the Great. In today's world she would be confined to an asylum. However, in the future, a more imaginative method of treating people with discordant world views has been developed. Will this therapy work in Lisbeth's case?

Professor Carver and his assistant Fred are investigating the culture of the primitive Lorayan community. The snobbish professor is ready to dismiss the Lorayans as uneducated savages until he witnesses the healing power of the locally produced sersee juice. He is very keen to accumulate a store of this remarkable restorative in order to learn how to manufacture it on Earth and become extremely wealthy. However, he soon discovers that the application of the juice can produce unexpected effects.

Though written in the 1930s, Anthem addresses controversial subjects in society that are still relevant today: equality, environment, sexism, mental health, the role of government. In revisiting this book and its many subjects, one keeps catching glimpses of understandings, and connections with our society today.

A space portal to remote colonies held by Earth is captured by a hostile species, which wants to place a toll on it. While authorities on Earth and considering whether to wage war, they manage to capture an alien spaceship, and hand it over to a group of scientists for military research. Will the scientists succeed in discovering any secrets that will give humanity the upper hand in the impending conflict?

Although Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales, she never dreamed of falling right into one. Literally! But who is this flying boy who saved her? And why doesn't he want to grow up? Desperately trying to find a way off this cursed island, Angelina runs into a ruthless pirate. Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on the Jolly Roger to lure the flying boy out of his hiding. But is James really the heartless man she heard about? The more time Angelina spends with him alone, the more she starts to wonder who actually is the bad guy in this story... and who isn't?

When on Pru'ut, you must do as the natives do—and that includes dying as they do! Finding himself trapped on a planet inhabited by an unfriendly species, Earthman James Grady is searching for an ingenious way to escape execution resulting from his breaking a local taboo.

The Leech was waiting for food. For millennia it had been drifting, without consciousness, across the vast emptiness of space. A planet claimed it, with other stellar debris, and the leech fell, still dead—seeming within its tough spore case. One speck of dust among many, fell to the Earth. Nourishment soaked in, permeating the spore case. It grew—and began to feed.

Yorkan Varr was exiled to the prison planet for a crime he knew he had never committed. Oddly, the man who had sent him there was a prisoner too!

Thunder on the Left is a story about—but not for—children. It's a public domain mystery by one of the foremost mystery writers of the early twentieth century, Christopher Morley. The title also has nothing to do with politics. It's a story about children who make some declarations at a birthday party about growing old, only to find themselves whisked into the future for all but the last chapter of the book. Here they live the lives of adults, wanting more out of life, struggling with issues unimagined in their childhood.

Under the double moons of Barsoom, an invisible flier sped to the mysterious city of Jahar where Sanoma Tora, the kidnapped princess of Helium, had been taken. Hadron of Hastor was at the controls, hatching a rescue plan that required unusual daring and great ingenuity. For invisibility alone was not a great enough weapon against "The Death." And should Hadron succeed, what fate would await him at the hands of the madman whose very genius had created the means of that rescue?