Of Strange Worlds and Stranger Tales: Volume 1

By Sam Middleton

"A haunting collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories exploring the darkest corners of the human psyche and the farthest reaches of the galaxy."

Step into a mix of cyberpunk, dystopian, and grim dark science fantasy worlds, in which protagonists question the very nature of their existence as they navigate the murky waters of power, morality, and truth.

Chrome and Dishonesty
Curtland Dee, a solitary and delusional Hyperlane taxi driver with a questionable mental state is disgusted by the androids who control society. He's also disgusted at himself and his own weaknesses, which are only made more apparent by the androids' chrome perfection. Navigating the android controlled future, Curtland tries to reassert his own humanity - often very violently.

By Graceless Humanity Are We Ruled
Humanity is ruled by the Nekkra, a race of reptilian-like humanoids who feed on fear. Unluckily for Alicia Beckett, a MET police inspector specialising in amygdala dampener surgery, fear is all she's known. When Grace Talbot, a fearless nine-year-old marked for inspection lands on her desk, Alicia is drawn into the shadowy world of the resistance. But saving Grace means coming to terms with her own fears.

The Ace in the Hole
Carlisle Jags searches the galaxy for the last pure breed human beings. Masquerading as a 'tracker' - a genetically enhanced being designed to hunt humans - she joins a crew of pure breed bounty hunters. When the hunt takes them to an industrial moon, Jags must hide her true identity while finding the human being and escaping with it from under the noses of her crew, some of whom are becoming suspicious of Jag's motives and her real identity.

Bad Grandma
A documentary maker is hell-bent on creating an award-winning documentary about drug trafficking along the Colombia-Panama border. His search for the hit story quickly spirals into a search for senora Rivera, a seventy-year-old widow hit by cross-fire during a local skirmish. Now revered as something of a saint, the documentary maker desperately wants to find out how she's put local people under her spell, and how she might be linked to the drug trade.

The Lazarat Moon: A Tale of the Fromryr
Torquen Veranquis, gyre star Admiral and hero of the Heiron campaign, has lost everything. The Ecclessius, the religious rulers of the underground kingdoms of Formaria, have taken his family's assets, disbanded their ice mining operations, and executed his father for treason. With few options left, Torquen hunts down the Ecclessius' secret gyre miner in the hopes of selling it to the church's enemies. With the gold from his prize, Torquen will be able to rebuild his family's fortunes and secure a future for his family, but doing so will cost him everything he holds dear.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1739374207
• ISBN13: 9781739374204
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: Darkenheit Publishing Ltd
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 8.0"