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Brain Leakage Profile picture
@BrainLeakage03
May 31, 2023 • 10 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
200 new followers since yesterday. Folks asking where to find my other writing, so I'm making a pinned 🧵.

My first published story, "The God Whisperer," appeared in Writers of the Future Volume 31.

You can read it free on my website: brainleakage.com/blog/the-god-w……

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"The God Emperor of Lassie Point" is a MilSF/Space Opera satire, about a Laundryman 3rd Class who accidentally becomes a messianic leader.

You can find it in the anthology ALIEN ARTIFACTS:

amazon.com/Alien-Artifact…

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"Mistaken Identity" is a satire on the superhero genre, particularly Batman.

An Assistant DA becomes the unfortunate target of an unhinged vigilante called The Night Mallard.

You can find it in Unidentified Funny Objects 5: a.co/d/0gJjE4F

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"Pilot Program" is a dark comedy about a future veteran struggling against soulless bureaucracy of the Department of Interstellar Veteran's Affairs.

My second pro fiction sale.

You can find it in Galaxy's Edge Magazine Issue 29: a.co/d/gXZwUpU

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"Pax Mechanica" is an alt-history SF tale, about a steam-powered Roman war machine in Celtic Britain.

My first straight adventure piece. Also, I got to appear in a cool-looking hardcover alongside Robert E. Howard.

You can find it in Swords & Steam: a.co/d/j9R7mzo

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"Antares Needs Actors" is a tribute to the classic Sword & Planet pulps, especially Edmond Hamilton's "Kaldar, World of Antares."

You can find it in Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue 61 a.co/d/dYjL9Eg

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ELF HARD is a Christmas story about a misfit human raised by elves. He can't do anything right. His supervisor at the toy factory hates him. Life couldn't get worse.

Then the terrorists attack.

Short novel. You can find it here: a.co/d/58GvCw2

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"The Isekai Detective" is a serial about a Private Eye who specializes in cross-world investigations.

If they go missing, you call the cops. If they disappear into another world, you call Dillon Cross.

You can read it free here: royalroad.com/fiction/57445/…

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"The Dungeon Mucker" is a serial about a lovesick orc, and his attempts to win the filthy, blackened heart of the Dark Lord's head torturer.

You can read it for free here: royalroad.com/fiction/61176/…

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"The Meat Shields" is a serial about a band of mercenaries in a #DnD-like game world. Contains both isekai and #GameLit elements.

Inspired by Glenn Cook's BLACK COMPANY, Xenophon's ANABASIS, and a bunch of shitty anime.

You can read it free here: royalroad.com/fiction/65442/…

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More from @BrainLeakage03

Brain Leakage Profile picture
Apr 27
Time for another short MilSF story review.

Today I’m taking on another mostly forgotten gem, George H. Smith’s “The Last Crusade.”

Originally appearing in IF magazine in 1955, it features an early, pre-STARSHIP TROOPERS depiction of powered armor in combat.

Let’s dive in.

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The story opens in media res, in the bombed-out ruins of Paris.

The POV character is a mechano-armor soldier named Ward.

His squad is shooting the shit to pass the time, while weathering an enemy bombardment.

Not the most exciting opening, but it has a ring of realism.

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We get our first description of the mechano-armor on page two.

In the anthology’s introduction, Joe Haldeman speculates that Heinlein might have read this story before penning STARSHIP TROOPERS.

Compare Smith’s passage to Heinlein’s later description of the Marauder suit.

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Read 18 tweets
Brain Leakage Profile picture
Mar 9
There’s an excellent point here about the thematic difference of a fantasy story vs an SF story.

In SF, the weapons used to fight the enemy are “new.” You fight the bug aliens with the most advanced, cutting edge tech. Mech suits armed with nukes, orbital strikes, etc.

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In a fantasy, the weapons used to fight the enemy are ancient. They carry the power of Ages.

You fight the nameless Evil with the sword of your father.

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There’s something invigorating about the idea of going into battle with the weapons of your forefathers.

3/
Read 5 tweets
Brain Leakage Profile picture
Mar 7
ONE

“There’s an old tradition in the Corps. At least there was back when us old farts were first on active duty. If the company is deploying to a place you’ve never been, then you shave your head.

Dumb, I know. But it allows for fun team-building exercises. Like the brawl—
“—currently underway in the barracks. Four of us old timers had Ruiz pinned by the arms & legs. It took that many to hold him down.

‘F*ck no, you guys! F*ck no! I’m not a boot! You get away from me with that f*ckin thing!’

That ‘f*ckin thing’ was a pair of hair clippers, and—
“—it was edging closer to his perfectly-trimmed low reg. Or it was trying to. He kept thrashing his head back and forth like his life depended on it.

I didn’t want to risk hurting him—not really—so I let go of his arm to hold hush head still. I ate a punch to the mouth for my—
Read 9 tweets
Brain Leakage Profile picture
Dec 14, 2023
With Christmas approaching, I don’t have time for more full-length #MilSF reviews. I’ll resume in January.

But before I go dark for the year, I wanted to highlight an underrated classic of the genre: Keith Bennett’s all-but-forgotten short, “The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears.”

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Say what you want about the pulps. Editors understood how to get your attention.

Love the WWII vibe of the illustration. You could easily swap out those lizard-men for Japs.

And that tagline?

We’re in for some good shit, and we haven’t even started yet.

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The narrative opens with Hague, a gunnery officer in the Rocket Corps, waking up in a daze.

Patrol Rocket One has crashed in the Venusian jungle, and the survivors must walk through 500 miles of hostile territory to reach friendly lines again.

It’s a classic set-up.

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Read 36 tweets
Brain Leakage Profile picture
Dec 7, 2023
Time for the Crash Course in #MilSF wrap-up.

To recap, I reread and live-tweeted my responses to four classics of the genre, along with a brief analysis of each.

The goal was to examine one of the foundational works of the genre, and three major responses to it.

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If you’ve missed out on any of the previous threads, they can all be found here:

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Anyway, the reason I began with STARSHIP TROOPERS is that he occupies a place analogous to Tolkien or Howard in the genre.

He isn’t the inventor of the genre. Indeed, he has several clear precursors, like Doc Smith.

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Read 25 tweets
Brain Leakage Profile picture
Nov 27, 2023
The read-through of John Steakley’s ARMOR continues. Creating a new thread to avoid Xwitter’s long-thread issues.

If you need to catch up, part 1 is right here:

50/
With all the time Steakley takes to set up the subplots, players, and conflicts of the “Jack Crow” section of the book, it takes him a while—about 120 pages or so—to get to the the point of it all, and connect the business on Sanction with Felix’s story.

51/
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TBH, this part of the book runs a little too long. Steakley could probably trim about 50 pages from this section, and not really lose anything.

Bottom line, the scout armor is damaged, and the only way for Holly to get the data is by syncing his brain waves to Felix’s.

52/
Read 46 tweets

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