With Not Like Us now released, where is Doc Honour going next?
The anthology Tales of Verdant has been in work since before I started on the novel, and I’m now returning to finish it. It’s a series of thirteen short stories placed on Verdant, where looming global war threatens to destroy the planet. How can people live with the constant fear and threat? And yet, we do.
Three stories from each Verdant country show the different attitudes of the people in their different cultures. While each story is self-contained, the series tells a larger story of the upcoming planetary demise.
- From Winter, an insular tribal culture, Elder Narnit Dearling travels to primary schools to teach about peace, Marta Bloom struggles to make good her captaincy of the family fishing boat, then Marta again discovers the international threats inherit in simple cultural differences.
- From Verdant Prime, a totalitarian socialist society, we see Zofia Dobrunik learning to use an AI programming tool, Alba Castilan trying to find peace in the midst of government control, and finally Zofia and Jake finding a way to break free.
- From Rathas, a benevolent but controlled theocracy, Fenet Powrfaith seems to be losing his Elláh-given power to perform miracles, Thoret Speakeach discovers that even the most respected pastors are not immune to danger, and Morat Intelact becomes involved in an international incident leading to war.
- From Tileus, a chaotic pure democracy, Detective Soren Moller chases a pedophile while threading the confusion of constantly-changing laws, Yana Levin realizes that protest movements can do as much harm as good, and Lisa Westhof watches her diplomatic efforts slide toward war.
The final story sums up the conflicts as Elder Narnit Dearling faces the opportunity to leave Verdant for something new—but is there really anything new under any sun?
Watch for Tales of Verdant in Spring 2023—and in the meantime, read Not Like Us to follow Jake and Zofia in the first novel about Verdant.
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