The next issue of Sci Phi Journal, featuring chapters 8 and 9 of Beyond the Mist as well as some excellent other stories and articles, is in the final proofreading stage and on schedule to be ready for its release at the end of this month, so here is a little sneak peak at the cover and internal art by Cat Leonard:
Issue 4 of the Sci Phi Journal, featuring chapters 6 and 7 of Beyond the Mist, is now available for purchase in ebook form at Amazon and Castalia House and in paperback form at Amazon and Createspace.
Patrick S.Baker, author of On the Ethics of Super Soldiers, The Crescent and the Hammer and many others, had this to say about it:
My reviews of this fine publication have become a bit redunant, I’ll admit. But sadly there are only so many synonyms for excellent and thought- provoking.
The continuation of Beyond the Mist by Ben Zwycky alone is worth the price.
Needless to say, upon reading his comment I was jumping about for joy like an excited three-year-old (Luckily we had one to hand for calibration purposes, all relevant parameters matched well beyond the accepted level of statistical significance)
Get your copy today and see if you think his embarrassingly high praise is justified.
I have just finished proofreading Issue 4 of Sci Phi Journal, which includes chapters 6 and 7 of Beyond the Mist. The final version should be off to the distributors in a couple of days and ready for you good people to enjoy in exchange for a small amount of your hard-earned local coinage before the end of the month. In the meantime, feast your eyes on the delightful cover artwork by the irrepressible Cat Leonard:
Sci Phi Journal Issue 4
The ever awesome artist Cat Leonard has been at it again, producing evocative painting after painting to illustrate stories from the Sci Phi Journal. You can take a look at them here:
http://www.sciphijournal.com/teaser-art-for-issue-4/
Additionally, through the wonders of modern technology, you can now order all sorts of merchandise incorporating those paintings, so for example you can have a tasteful Beyond the Mist T-shirt (or even pillow or duvet cover, to help you dream about the Gravity Ring) delivered to your door:
I trust that at least some of my fine readers and followers have taken a look at an issue or two of the Sci Phi Journal and have liked what you saw there, I certainly have. It is showing a lot of promise, but the economic realities of publishing mean that in order to be sustainable in the long term, its readership will need to keep on growing, as the editor outlines at the link below:
http://www.sciphijournal.com/how-sci-phi-is-going/
I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there who like depths to their stories and to explore the depths of the stories they like, and so would love the journal if they knew about it. The next part of Beyond the Mist will be appearing in the next issue, which is in the works, but how long it will take until it and subsequent issues appear will depend on the level of readership. So, my discerning friends, I would ask if any of you are part of a community of science fiction fans or writers, or of philosophers; or know anyone in a philosophy department, or in the media, please consider suggesting to them to take a look, every little increase in the potential audience will help.
Last month I was interviewed for the Sci Phi Journal in connection with my ongoing contribution in the form of the serial Beyond the Mist. Be amazed at my boring voice and semi-coherent ramblings!
http://www.sciphijournal.com/meet-the-contributor-ben-zwycky/
(This was the first audio interview I have ever given, so hopefully I will get better at it with practice, assuming there will be a next time)
Sci Phi Journal Issue 3, including Beyond the Mist chapters 4 and 5, is now available in printed form from Amazon:
Sci Phi Journal Issue#3
Sci Phi Journal Issue 3, including chapters 4 and 5 of Beyond the Mist is now available at amazon:
And Castalia House:
In the official review of Sci Phi Journal Issue 2 over at Castalia House, the reviewer had this to say about my contribution:
There were two standouts in the fiction category: “The Quantum Process” by David Hallquist, a frightening snapshot of a mind duplication procedure gone wrong, and “Beyond the Mist” by Ben Zwycky, a new serial with a mind-bending beginning that hopefully will keep getting better.
Read the first chapter of Beyond the Mist and see if you agree with the reviewer.
I have to agree with the reviewer about “The Quantum Process”, it was the most powerful and best-written fiction contribution in the issue in my opinion. For my work to be placed alongside is praise indeed. I also hope that the continuation of the serial, appearing in Sci Phi Journal Issue 3 in January, will live up to people’s expectations.
Chapter 1 – The Mist
Am I falling or flying? I thought to myself as the endless mist rushed past my face, feeling the buffeting ripples up and down my skin but hearing almost nothing. How long has it been – hours? Days? Months? Is this all there is? I asked myself, unable to remember anything. And who am I?
A small plastic packet of water drifted past, travelling slightly faster than I was, and I caught hold of it. A tube of some sort of food followed shortly afterwards.
Where do these come from? I silently asked as I consumed them, then allowed the empty wrappings to float away.
There was a faint light up ahead and I began to deliberately drift towards it.
“Dive away! Dive away! Avoid them at all costs!” cried out a voice behind me, and I leaned away from it. “That is a ledge placed there by our cruel overlords. If you hit one of those, not only will it hurt you more than you can bear, but it will also rob you of your freedom. Seek refuge in the mist.”
“A ledge? But what are they for?” I asked, turning to see who was speaking, but could see no-one, only a disturbance in the mist that indicated something was there.
“The overlords seek to lure us to our doom with promises of ‘truth’ and ‘life’,” explained the voice, spitting out those two words with disgust. “Do not listen to them, they only seek to hurt and enslave you. Here there is life, here there is freedom! Here they cannot touch us.”
“Reach out for your life, find the truth and save yourself,” called a different voice from the light as it came rapidly closer.
“Don’t listen to him! Dive away! Dive away! Don’t let him reach you!” screamed the first voice as the light flashed past. “That was close, despicable creatures.”
“So you know them?”
“I know what they are,” replied the first voice, full of bitterness, “I have heard the stories, they speak of ‘truth’ and ‘light’, ‘right and wrong’, ‘responsibility and self-control’, it is nothing but lies to ensnare and enslave you. The mist is life, the mist is safety, here we fly! Here there is no failure or shame, duties or consequences, here we are kings!”
“How can there be lies if there is no truth?” called the second voice from a distance. I looked back to see a light approaching.
“It is one of them!” screamed the first voice, “Cover your ears, dive away! Dive away! You will not enslave us!”
The second voice spoke with an authoritative calm as it gained on us. “To lie is to knowingly deny the truth. How can there be lies without a truth to be denied?”
“Stay away from us!” shouted the first voice. Continue reading
The Zwyckyverse 