Core Values

Core Values

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

Inspired by real life and ripped from the daily headlines, ‘Core Values’ is a parody of a 1950’s drive-in movie sci-fi thriller. Charles Henry Brubaker is the other guy. Everything bad happens to poor old Chuck. When everything is going well, that is not the true test. It's when everything and everyone is against you. It's what you do then. That is the measure of a man.Inspired by real life and ripped from the daily headlines, ‘Core Values’ is a parody of a 1950’s drive-in movie sci-fi thriller. Charles Henry Brubaker is the other guy. Everything bad happens to poor old Chuck. When everything is going well, that is not the true test. It's when everything and everyone is against you. It's what you do then. That is the measure of a man. In this framework tale, using a series of short stories, scenes and vignettes, the author explores what it is like to be marginalized in an already corrupt environment, both natural and social. A dark comedy.
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The Fae

The Fae

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

Blanchard has been tramping all up and down this valley with a rucksack and a camera on his back for as long as he can remember. And yet there is something, someone else out there. After exactly two short glimpses and a few indistinct tracks in the mud, he’s determined to get the shot of a lifetime. A short fantasy story.A short collection of stories set in 1980's Berlin before the wall came down. Quirky, funny, thought provoking by turns, Ewan Alexander Lawrie's book tells how it might well have been, without falling foul of libel laws.
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Third World

Third World

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

Hank Beveridge and Lieutenant Newton Shapiro are a couple of nice guys whose worlds just happen to collide. Hank's getting up in years and Newton has his first independent field command. On Third World, women of marrying age are scarce as hen's teeth. Hank's still looking though. Newton has a job to do, no matter who gets hurt. The Empire is a long ways away, but the locals are at least peaceable.
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The Conqueror

The Conqueror

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

The Great Khan, Jumalak of the Horde, leads a victorious army which must be fed and which might be dangerous to disband. His navy has doubled in size in two or three short years. His neighbours, including King Lowren of Lemnia and Eleanora, Queen of Windermere, can see which way the wind is blowing. In the coming conflict it will not be possible to remain neutral. An alternate universe.
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The Art of Murder

The Art of Murder

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

Inventor Theo Duval appeared to be having the perfect life. A locked room with the only key in the decedent’s pocket, a book on hypnotism, and one very rich and very dead inventor, present Inspector Gilles Maintenon of the Surete with a problem. Why would a young, healthy, successful man, one with a beautiful fiance, and a thriving company ever want to kill himself?
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The Mysterious Case of Betty Blue

The Mysterious Case of Betty Blue

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

Betty Blue is personal companion to Olympia Cartier and worth an estimated $3.8 million. She's also a robot. Betty Blue opens the front door one evening and simply walks away. Why would she do such a thing? Is it a malfunction, or did something else happen? She's like a daughter to Olympia and her industrialist husband Doyle. Olympia is worried about Betty, lost and alone in America, 2030 A.D.
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Convoy Duty

Convoy Duty

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

The Nike and other Fleet units are convoying a small fleet of civilian ships to Cancri system. When one of their number goes up like a flashbulb, it quickly becomes clear that the enemy has developed some new and very stealthy little ships. The civilian vessels can run and scatter, but flagship Nike's duty is clear. The one thing they will not do is turn their backs. A short story.
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Speak Softly My Love

Speak Softly My Love

Louis Shalako

Science Fiction & Fantasy / History / Humor

To fall in love is to be young again. To count the cost is to die a little bit inside. In Speak Softly My Love, Inspector Gilles Maintenon goes out for a quart of milk and stumbles across a dead man. The trouble is, when the dead get up and walk away. They have one too many missing-person reports, too many wives, girlfriends and other mysterious blondes.
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