Centuries ago, St. George fought and killed a dragon—or so the legend goes. The truth is somewhat different. George failed in his mission, and the Dragon still walks the Earth, protected by an undead army, hiding in the shadows and slaughtering men, women, and children for its prey. Each of George’s descendants through time has been tasked with killing the Dragon, and each has failed. Twenty-five-year-old Georgia Quincey is the last of the line—the last, best hope for defeating the Dragon once and for all. But Georgia is also an addict, driven to the warm embrace of the needle by the weight of her responsibility and the loss of everything and everyone she has ever loved. Tracking her nemesis to the small town of Buckshot, New Mexico for their final showdown, Georgia is about to discover the truth about the Dragon, a terrible secret that could put all life on Earth in peril.
A dinner conversation takes three lifetimes to finish.
A geologist faces a planet-sized, eons-old puzzle to save her crew.
The hero of the Fall of Earth must choose between love and revenge.
A mysterious dancer leads a businessman to a most exclusive nightclub.
A man is born each day into a new life—only to die each night.
A sentient aurora threatens the last of humanity.
A Norse god’s bar in Toronto hosts an unplanned family reunion.
A woman descends into insanity—or is it the end of the world?
A house as big as the world.
These are some of the stories you will encounter in Chimerascope, the first full collection of short fiction from award-winning Canadian author, Douglas Smith.
Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction, including one Aurora Award-winners, a Best New Horror pick, and nine Aurora finalists, that take you from love in fourteenth-century Japan to humanity’s last stand, from virtual reality to the end of reality, from alien drug addictions to a dinner where a man loses everything.
When she turns eighteen, Angel McAllister forcibly endures an incestuous relationship with her father. Angel’s long-time friend and sarcastic, stand-up comedian Uncle Brew pays her a visit to catch up on old times and consoles Angel when she learns of her father’s death. And strange things start happening when she moves back home.
“All that grows must decompose.” —Cletus J. Diggs.
When Cletus J. Diggs gets a visit from his buddy Jasper and learns about the dead man sticking boot-first out of the fishing hole, he has no idea what it will lead to. How could he? Old Mill is famous for a lot of things, good fishing, barbecue, over-sized satellite dishes and disappearing beer; it is not known for genetic research, ancient rituals, or alien abduction. From the moment Cletus and Sheriff Bob drag the corpse from the fishing hole to the final moments of terror, the action is non-stop, tense, and filled with surprises. Between the Reverend Dozier and his church, the swamp witch, the albino twins, and the local lodge’s well-hidden secrets, the strange events in Old Mill, NC are pretty much out of control. Only Cletus, ordained minister, common law attorney, journalist, private investigator and jack of all trades can draw together the people and resources necessary to set things right. The question is, can he do it before it’s too late?