Success only flourishes in perseverance -- ceaseless, restless perseverance.
--Baron Manfred Von Richtofen

Monday, February 1, 2010

February Story Feature: Casualties of War

"Casualties of War" first appeared in AlienSkin magazine in their April/May 2005 issue. Previous to that, the story won third prize in the Science Fiction Writers of Earth contest in 1998, which was my first real success as a writer.

SFWoE reviewer, Dilip Agarwal, had this to say:

"Casualties Of War", establishes itself quickly and draws steadily to its conclusion. The war . . . is an interstellar crisis, and in this case, of the diplomatic, rather than military variety . . . This is economics imagined in the language of combat. And it is combat, one of the most vicious where populations are exhausted through slow starvation and civil unrest rather than by bombings and battlefield weapons.

Called by Ed Bryant, "a heart-felt examination of culture clash," "Casualties of War" tells the story of Joshua Parrott, a trade negotiator from Earth, and the dilemma he faces when a young woman comes to him begging for help.

I hope you will enjoy "Casualties of War." Click on the story title to download the PDF. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know what you think.

9 comments:

ali cross said...

Awesome! Thanks Angie!

Rosslyn Elliott said...

I really liked that, Angie. It's hard to create such a solid world in a few short pages. Great work!

Anonymous said...

You have such skill with science fiction. I'm not a huge fan of the sci-fi (although I do like it) and you make it so fascinating.

Carolyn V. said...

Sweet! Thanks for the link! I'm going right now. =)

Tess said...

I'd agree w/ LT. It's not my bag unless done well and you do it well, my friend :D

precious pic, btw

Angie said...

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! You made my day. =D

* said...

Those were great reviews! Great tribute post, I'm off to read it now.

Cynde L. Hammond said...

Hi, Angie!

Your story was fantastic! It was so heartwrenching to think that poor Ruthin had to give up her baby like that, but it was also amazing that Joshua found a way for the baby to be saved. It was definitely a creative solution and very exciting!

Hey--did you ever get a chance to visit the "Tinsel Tales Flash Fiction Contest" and look at the stories on it? I was just wondering. If you voted, did you happen to remember which one(s) you voted for?

By the way...don't miss the "Guest Author Interview" on my blog today--my guest author is KATHRYN CASEY!

And...did you notice "The $5,000 LuShae Sweepstakes" on my blog? Enter the online sweepstakes competition for the chance to win $5,000 cash (to spend anywhere you like). They also draw one $200 monthly random winner EACH MONTH! You aren't going to want to miss this one--it's easy--TRUST ME! Just check out the details on my blog by clicking here.

Talk to you soon,
Cynde
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff

Mary E Campbell said...

I read the excerpt below great job. I want to read the whole thing, but I need to finish my book club book. I'll be back.