L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 33: Award-Winning Sci-Fi & Fantasy Short Stories of the Year

For 34 years, the Writers of the Future contest has sought out the best new, amateur authors of science fiction and fantasy, publishing an annual anthology of stories by three winners per quarter (plus occasional stories by contest judges and by contestants who almost made the top twelve). For 29 years, the Illustrators of the Future contest has identified a dozen new illustrators as well and given them a chance to illustrate stories in the anthology – now in phenomenal color!Winners of this contest have gone on to win all of the major prizes in science fiction and fantasy, and also to hit bestseller lists. Major careers have been launched by this series, including many authors who have returned as judges. And as the competition has grown, we often find winners who have already published in other markets, and are on the verge of being new professionals when they win. This is the series to read if you want to know who you’ll be reading in the future.And this year’s Volume 33 fits well in that tradition. It contains 6 science fiction stories and 11 fantasy/horror stories. (This year’s entries seem a bit shorter than usual, so there are two Published Finalist stories and three judge stories.) I read this one faster than past volumes because the stories drew me in and wouldn’t let me go. The cover, a classic Larry Elmore dragon illustration, makes the experience complete!I highly recommend this book. Details for each story follow.----------------------------------------------------------------“Moonlight One”I like hard science fiction. I like mysteries. And so I REALLY like hard science fiction mysteries (as witness my own "Murder on the Aldrin Express"). So Moonlight One is aimed squarely at me -- but the rest of you should read it, too! In this exotic twist on a classic locked room mystery, Lunar explorer Gwen Kennedy wakes to a nightmare: Her husband Ehrly is dead, and the two of them are the only humans on the Moon. Did she kill him in her sleep? Did he have an accident? Have aliens attacked? Or...This is a fine, short hard science fiction mystery. It was written by Stephen Lawson and illustrated by Jason Park. Highly recommed for readers of science fiction and mystery.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Armor Embrace”A wounded soldier struggles against his own damaged powered armor to break orders and return home to his daughter Flora. Meanwhile, police and military close in, hoping to shut him down and drag him back to war. Flora helps him to remember his distant past -- as well as darker, more recent memories.I don't normally think of powered armor stories as tender, but that's exactly what author Doug Souza has accomplished here, with help from illustrator Christopher Kiklowicz. The ending is haunting.----------------------------------------------------------------“Envoy in the Ice”Pilots Sang and Lukas transport two ambassadors to Antarctica to meet the Envoy, a mysterious alien presence who has lived there for decades but who refuses most contact and all attempts to record it. Very little is known about the Envoy, though Sang grew up in a cult that worships the giant alien. For Sang and Lukas, the Envoy is not a mystery to be solved. It's just a fact in their lives -- until the ambassadors go missing, and the pilots put together a rescue mission.Written by Dustin Steinacker and illustrated by Yader Fonseca. The sense of wonder (and of cold!) is powerful in this one!----------------------------------------------------------------“The Devil's Rescue”Edward Lanson is the last commander of the Gloucester Maid, bound for the Cape of Good Hope. When the ship is lost to a storm, Edward and a small handful of survivors flee in a lifeboat. Over the next three weeks, the rest of the crew pass away, one by one, until only Edward survives. As his fate grows bleak, he decides that it may be simplest just to die -- but his life takes an even stranger twist when he encounters the fabled Flying Dutchman. Is Lanson doubly cursed? Or will he find salvation in the most unlikely of rescuers?This is a story from the archives of contest founder L. Ron Hubbard, illustrated by Preston Stone.----------------------------------------------------------------“Tears for Shülna”This is another great story for fans of the sea (like me). Seaman William Ghallchoir returns home to care for his dying father, the man who taught him to sail; but what his father wants most can only come from his first love, the selkie Shülna. Once William finds Shülna, she teaches him about his own past, his father, and the ways of the selkies.Written by Andrew Roberts and illustrated by Rachel Quinlan. The ending is touching and bittersweet, exactly what the story called for.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Drake Equation”Like Moonlight One by Stephen Lawson, this story is one of my favorites in this volume, because it's the sort of hard science fiction I like best. Only the science in this one is a BIT more advanced: as the title implies, this story explores the question of why we haven't been visited by aliens. The structure and setting are unique: the entire story starts when Carol is yanked from her ship into empty space, and it all takes place in the moments between the accident and her imminent death. Alien presences surround her and try, as best she can comprehend, to answer her questions -- and their own. The story has faint echoes of Contact and 2001, but stands on its own in the same tradition.Written by CL Kagmi and illustrated by Golden Brush winner Michael Michera. The illustration excellently captures the moment of crisis. Between the words, the ideas, and the picture, this is the perfect combination.----------------------------------------------------------------“Acquisition”This story falls somewhere on the edge between fantasy and horror. My own tastes run to science fiction (and usually the harder, the better), but there's room on my palate for a few bites of fantasy now and then. And this one is tasty indeed! Barlow is a most unusual collector. I can't say much beyond that without spoiling the story, but I can say his work is guided by troubled ghosts, and not to their benefit -- until one ghost disturbs his sleeping conscience, and Barlow must decide if there is a line he will not cross.Written by Golden Pen winner Jake Marley and illustrated by Ryan Richmond. This is one creepy, atmospheric little tale.----------------------------------------------------------------“Obsidian Spire”Varga is sent by her father, Lord Ulvran, to investigate the mysterious sightings made by the villagers and to assuage their fears. They are sure that the mage has returned and will soon send glass beasts to assault them once more. With the help of Fiske, a hapless hunter, she sets out to prove herself, though she is sure the fears are groundless. Each of them has something to prove -- and unforeseen dangers will give them the chance.SPOILERSI said earlier that I'm not much into fantasy these days. This is a very traditional fantasy quest, so it's not my thing. But it's very well written, with two engaging characters who play off each other well. And the descriptions are effective: I have a phobia about broken glass, and I _felt_ every slice by the glass beast. Every cut made me wince. This story gave me the creeps!Written by Molly Atkins and illustrated by Aituar Manas. (At least there's no broken glass in the illustration. Brrr...)----------------------------------------------------------------“Gator”Ludlum wanders through the sewers of New York, searching for something. Through flashbacks, we learn what he seeks and why; and it's much more ominous than the gator in the title. The story takes an unusual twist near the end, and becomes... something else. I think it raises more questions than it answers, and I'd like to see more.Written by contest judge Robert J. Sawyer and illustrated by Joshua Meehan.----------------------------------------------------------------“A Glowing Heart”This is another traditional fantasy, another hard sell to me; but the core image is vivid, and used nicely throughout the story. And the core dilemma is powerful and high-stakes: the narrator can get the medicine needed to save their mother's life, but only at the cost of the heart of a light-hawk, the most beautiful bird this falconer has ever seen. Family pressures mount, and the falconer cannot escape the decision.The story is lyrical, and the emotion is strong. Written by Anton Rose and illustrated by Anthony Moravian.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Long Dizzy Down”This is the oddball of the anthology, very difficult to describe. Bill, the narrator, is not all there. Literally. Part of Bill's mind is given over to Ship, an artificially intelligent starship with an agenda of its own. This leads Bill to think and talk in a non-linear, not-quite-simple-minded fashion which starts out difficult to follow but soon draws you in. The more you read Bill's thoughts, the more you learn to think like he does -- and the more you figure out what's really going on.This story is more on the experimental side than the rest. It took me a while to get into the language; but once I did, the story progressed nicely to a surprising conclusion.Written by Ziporah Hildebrandt and illustrated by Asher Ben Alpay.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Woodcutters' Deity”This is a story of myths long-past -- or are they past? Young Nduka is beset on all sides. His cruel, laughing brothers torment him (though he sometimes gets the better of them); and at the same time, the forces of nature themselves seem out to get him. His only confidant is... the Tree. No ordinary tree, the Tree talks to him, and listens to his troubles. Is it his ally? Or something darker?This story is told in the form of African folklore, with hints of a story told by a campfire; but through the strong voice of Nduka, it feels current as well. And the ending has a nice, satisfying twist that I never saw coming.Written by Walter Emeka Dinjos and illustrated (very effectively!) by Chan Ha Kim.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Dragon Killer's Daughter”Another traditional fantasy (What's a poor hard SF guy to do?), but one that's surprisingly small and personal. A generation ago, a village hired the knight Calbert to slay the dragon that menaced their village. Today, Calbert and his daughter Paksa live in wealth as a result; but the villagers are learning the Law of Unintended Consequences, and that there are worse things than having a dragon in the neighborhood. Calbert, meanwhile, prepares Paksa for some future change of fortune that he has known was coming since the day the dragon died.This personal dragon story was written by contest judge Todd McCaffrey (for whom dragons are very personal indeed) based on the cover by Illustrator judge Larry Elmore.----------------------------------------------------------------“Useless Magic”John is a doctor, but just a little bit more. The world of this story is an unusual one: recognizably a rural corner of our present world, but a world where everyone can do magic. Unfortunately, the magic fades with each generation: each person in John's generation can do only one spell, and not necessarily even a large one; so John finds he can do more and help more with medicine than with magic. This makes him a disappointment to his father, a much more powerful magician who always expected more from his children.This story is the most literary in the collection, with small action but large emotion. It's about loss and acceptance and finding your place in a changing world. The mood is compelling, and the rural setting is nicely conveyed.Written by Andrew Peery and illustrated by Hanna Al-Shaer.----------------------------------------------------------------“Adramalech”This story is dark. Dark, dark, dark, dark, dark.Did I mention dark?But well done. Mr. Brooks is tricked into accepting an ancient book in a mysterious language; and his life only goes downhill from there. Despite his best efforts, he is possessed by the demon Adramalech (look it up -- dark, dark, dark, dark, dark) and drawn deeper and deeper into a series of dark deeds that he tries in vain to stop. Can he win his freedom? And at what cost?Written by Sean Patrick Hazlett and illustrated by Aituar Manas.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Fox, the Wolf, and the Dove”Another fantasy (sigh), but just exotic enough to surprise me. Rooted (SPOLIER: that's a joke) in Finnish folklore, this is the story of three young sisters on a quest to revive the world tree and bring an end to endless winter. Along the way, they face dangerous terrain, biting cold, and the hungry, cunning wolves. They fight back with stories, with magic, with weapons, and with persistence -- and especially with loyalty to each other and to their absent parents.The structure is folklore, reminding me of Tolkien and Grimm, while the relationships are modern and relevant. I loved the surprise at the end. It was very satisfying.Written by Ville Meriläinen and illustrated by David Furnal.----------------------------------------------------------------“The Magnificent Bhajan”This story has coincidental similarities to Useless Magic in that a person with limited magic must find new ways to get by; but that's where the similarities end (well, except that they're both well-written and enjoyable). The Magnificent Bhajan was once the Maharaja's court magician, and saved his lord from Ranjeet the Usurper; but Bhajan never understood court politics, and thus he was dismissed. Through the ensuing decades, his powers have faded, until today he can create only simple illusions; but when he learns that Ranjeet has returned, Bhajan must use his diminished powers plus his wits and experience to defuse another plot against the Maharaja.I mentioned in other reviews that I'm not much into fantasy, but this one struck me right. The recreation of ancient India is very rich for a short story, just enough for flavor without overpowering. The magic had the perfect flavor for the setting. And the court politics were well-handled. This was my favorite of the fantasies in the anthology.Written by David VonAllmen and illustrated by Chan Ha Kim.----------------------------------------------------------------AdviceAs always, Writers of the Future includes advice for writers and artists.In "Search for Research", L. Ron Hubbard teaches of the importance of research as well as several research methods. Some of these pre-internet methods may seem quaint today, when whole libraries are just a click away, but they're still effective. I particularly like where he discusses research as a way of generating story prompts, a practice I have always found effective.In "A Thousand Or So Words of Wisdom", Anne McCaffrey teaches of the importance of story. She gives a nod to other virtues -- grammar, voice, structure -- but she also points out how a strong story can make up for a lot of weaknesses.In "How to Become an Illustrator", Larry Elmore touches on the business side of an art career; but his main emphasis is on how passion and work and sacrifice will help you to get that business, while business alone won't lead to great art.In "Notes on Art Direction", Bob Eggleton discusses how the illustrators are selected. He also discusses the delicate dance through which he suggests ideas and enhancements on the way to their final art while maintaining their freedom to create art that is uniquely their own.

WRITERS OF THE FUTURE VOLUME 33 has everything you need in a sci-fi/fantasy short story collection. As with each anthology, Editor David Farland chooses a veritable mix of speculative fiction of superb quality and variation, from aliens to high fantasy to murder mystery sci-fi to grimdark.The first thing I noticed with Volume 33 was the cover—in a word, gorgeous. Renowned artist Larry Elmore’s “Crimson Dawn” is a sublime representation of what got me into fantasy long ago: dragons. The cover serves not only as a prelude to the stories inside, but an invitation to the reader to prepare for an unforgettable adventure ahead.But enough about the artwork…onto the stories!Instead of reviewing each story in painstaking detail, I thought I’d give you a taste of two standouts that portray the diversity in this anthology, “Adramelech” by Sean Hazlett and “Envoy in the Ice” by Dustin Steinacker.“Adramelech” is grimdark, a subgenre of fantasy that contains darker elements, much of the way horror instills dread in our hearts. In this case, it tells of a man who has made an unwitting pact with the demon lord, Adramelech. (On a side note, this demon is one of the more obscure ones you’ll find in apocryphal lore, which bumps up the “fascination factor” quite a bit if you’re interested in angelology, fallen angels and such.) The more our hero (or should I say, antihero) attempts to free himself of his infernal bond, the more it drags him toward his inevitable end. Can he break the pact? You’ll have to read the story to find out. (Evil laugh.) The language is gorgeous and crafted of the Victorian era. You won’t be disappointed with this cautionary tale.“Envoy in the Ice” is a story about a visiting alien entity (called Envoy) and its effect on us earthly beings in a subliminal sort of way. Fans of the movie “Arrival” will find this piece intriguing in how the hero, who has worshipped Envoy since childhood, must uncover its secret. What will he find that causes him to lose faith and find it again? You’re right: you need to read the story! I enjoyed the dialogue between the different players and the unfolding of the mystery behind the identity and purpose of Envoy. It has a natural feel that draws you in…well, much the way “Arrival” did for me. Bon appetit!Now that I’ve given you a taste of what’s inside WRITERS OF THE FUTURE 33, what are you waiting for? Dive in!

Ein jährliches Highlight, welches wieder gut erkennen läßt, worum es bei Zukunftsliteratur eigentlich geht. Es beinhaltet sowohl ausgewählte Shortstories als auch begründete Grundlagentipps für Einsteiger und Fortgeschrittene.