Ten Worlds Away
INFINITE WORLDS. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.
A woman visits her teenage grandfather on the day he meets her grandmother. A young married couple comes to a fork in humanity’s road on Mars. A detective meets an unusual amnesiac in postwar New York City. A pair of explorers confront a frozen sky. An old man questions his sanity when he begins receiving strange calls. A little girl spends one last day with her beloved father before he goes off to war. A man loses the ability to worry while exploring a planet orbiting a distant star.
These are just some of the stories in Ten Worlds Away, a gripping collection of speculative fiction inspired by the classic science fiction of the mid-20th century and Rod Serling’s groundbreaking television series, The Twilight Zone.
"Mari … collects 10 poignant and contemplative speculative shorts that run the gamut of human emotions, endeavors, and faults. ... This clever collection is sure to please fans of wistful sci-fi." —Publishers Weekly
The Beachhead
After Earth is decimated, the entire remaining human population is marooned on an unfamiliar beach. The enigmatic winged Orangemen leave the survivors with instructions to remake their society, basic tools and weapons, and a few thousand books, including Bibles in many languages. As two generations are born and raised, conflicting theories as to the nature of the apocalypse continue to simmer.
Fifty years later, the arrival of a new family that shouldn’t exist threatens the delicate peace holding humanity together. Two young soldiers, John Giordano and Kendra McQueen, venture into the unexplored wilderness beyond the city walls in search of answers. But their disquieting discoveries only raise more questions, forcing mankind to reconsider what it means to be human.
In this reflective, provocative postapocalyptic novel, John, Kendra, and the remnants of humanity must find the strength to love and the will to forgive—or they will all perish.
“An intriguing look at the end of the world.” —Booklist
“Mari has written a smart and fascinating tale about a postapocalyptic society, built upon the juxtaposition of religious history and an advanced civilization.” —Library Journal
“One of the comforting aspects of reading genre fiction is that you often have a decent sense of how the book is going to end. Not in The Beachhead. But in Mari's hands, this unpredictability is a refreshing experience…” —Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review
Ocean of Storms
In the near future, political tensions between the United States and China are at an all-time high. Then a catastrophic explosion on the moon cleaves a vast gash in the lunar surface, and the massive electromagnetic pulse it unleashes obliterates Earth’s electrical infrastructure. To plumb the depths of the newly created lunar fissure and excavate the source of the power surge, the feuding nations are forced to cooperate on a high-risk mission to return mankind to the moon.
Now, a diverse, highly skilled ensemble of astronauts—and a pair of maverick archaeologists plucked from the Peruvian jungle—will brave conspiracy on Earth and disaster in space to make a shocking discovery.
Ocean of Storms is an epic adventure that spans space and time as its heroes race to fulfill an ancient mission that may change the course of humanity’s future.
“This fast-paced read will keep readers engaged to the final twist and turns as the conspiracy unfolds. Mari and Brown’s first SF collaboration is a good pick for those new to the genre as well as more seasoned readers.” —Booklist
“Ocean of Storms is an action flick in book form!” —Revolution SF
“Impending apocalypse. A heart-pounding Space Race. Political thrills. Ocean of Storms has all this and more, and it is also a story made up of many different parts. With scenes and situations reminiscent of movies like Independence Day, Armageddon, or Jurassic Park, the book also felt to me a lot like a Hollywood summer blockbuster in prose form. Indeed, looking back at the notes I took while reading, the thing that kept cropping up in my comments and descriptions was the word ‘cinematic.’” —BiblioSanctum