Short Stories 366:306 — “A Hold Full of Truffles,” by Julie E. Czerneda

Throughout The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis, edited by Julie E. Czerneda, there's an ongoing novella, "A Hold Full of Truffles," happening between the other short stories. Sira and Morgan (the main characters from Czerneda's series) have been hired to bring a load of truffles to Plexis, the interplanetary trading-post/space-mall where "If you want it, …

Short Stories 366:207 — “Home is a Planet Away,” by Ika Koeck

One thing that struck me in this shared world collection was how often the protagonists in The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis are of the same alien species as some of the worst villains (or even just minor antagonists from a scene or two). It works, though, precisely because it shows different sides of alien …

Short Stories 366:200 — “Memory,” by Sally McLennan

Of the many planets, ships, aliens and other fantastical pieces of Julie E. Czerneda's Clan Chronicles universe, Auord and the residents thereof, the Auordians, is a place that we only see through awful events, and with some horrific villains at the forefront. In "Memory," tucked in The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis, we find out …

Short Stories 366:193 — “A Thief By Any Other Name,” by Violette Malan

I do love a good grifter story, and in this latest trip to the interstellar supermarket in The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis, Violette Malan delivers exactly that. A woman who lives on the edges of legality on Plexis finds herself at the wrong end of a "negotiation" with a "Scat." The Scat are often …

Short Stories 366:186 — “Little Enigmatic Monster,” by Wayne Carey

One of the great things about a shared-world anthology for me as a reader is how you get to see slice-of-life stories from characters who aren't the protagonists, and how easily that lends itself to various other kinds of stories, even within science fiction. Case in point? "Little Enigmatic Monster," by Wayne Carey, which puts …

Short Stories 366:151 — “The Sacrifice of Pawns,” by Mark Ladouceur

I'm not sure how to approach this particular story without semi-spoilers (consider yourself warned), and it's further complicated by the format of this particular anthology. The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis is a shared-world anthology taking place in Julie Czerneda's Clan Chronicles universe, and takes side characters from said world, places them into the hands …