The Vega Incident and Other Stories by Joseph Elliott-Coleman

Publisher - Red Socks Press

Published - Out Now

Price - £2.99 Kindle ebook

Welcome to a world of imagination.

From the author of 2000AD'sJUDGES: THE PATRIOTScomes his first collection of short stories.
From the far flung future, to alternative African histories, from the streets of a post Eurowars Europe to the depths of deep space the short stories of Joseph Elliott-Coleman will ignite your imagination and chill your blood
Stories of magic, science fiction, and horror contained within this tome.

And here collected for the first time are the alternate history stories "Death Aid" and "Terms and Conditions"

And as an added bonus, the first four chapters of the authors forthcoming novelFROSTFELD: THE MOURNING SON AND THE STEADFAST KNIGHT.

A lot of fantasy and science fiction is about deciding to not go with the flow and fight back. It is for me the genre that is less about restoring order to the world and more disrupting it be it with new technology or overthrowing a Dark Lord (again). It’s an important message that even when looks are back don’t give in or give up. In Joseph Elliott-Coleman’s impressive debut short fiction collection The Vega Incident and Other Stories we get a fascinating collection of science fiction and fantasy tales that put its characters in difficult situations to decide what is the best outcome?

With ‘Immortal Beloved’ we start with a terrible spaceship accident on a mission out of the solar system that kills all bar one of the crew. The Captain and the Ship’s AI must decide what to do next as they can’t get back to Earth. I was impressed as I was expecting an old school problem solving in space tale and instead Elliott-Coleman delivers a weirder tale of love, going beyond the human into something strange that future humans will find unsettling when they find the truth. Aided by deeply poetic and a touch of the myth in what the story turned into.

Then with ‘Dad’ a daughter writes to her father saying how proud she is of him. It’s a warm story of progress, alternative history and a touch of hope. I liked the way the history is told so matter of fave you as if it was real.

‘The Witch-Boy of Croydon’ feels the starting tale of an epic magic tale for YA readers but with an African diasporas family at the heart. A strange child with unique abilities such as reading anything from 2 and mysterious animals to guard it starts to gain attention. How are these powers coming about and what are they for leads to teacher confrontations, family secrets and a glimpse of a dangerous future. It’s a story that packs a lot in it and keeps the reader engaged - I want to see more!

I really enjoyed ‘The Waystation’ where a security every morning finds ghosts waiting for him. This story though reveals that the security guard has many secrets not just his desire to be an engineer and the way staff treat him but that his family heritage from Ghana will link to the ghosts and their own chance for freedom at last. Lovely storytelling.

For a more epic feeling ‘Invoked’ is a fascinating story of a witch finding out people are being attached by slave traders. This story though imagines that people could ask their gods for support and so we have a mystical trek to a sacred mountain, talking parables of beasts and a very strong final as our witch and allies fight back. Audaciously we get a glimpse of a fascinating alternate history. All impressively packed into a short story.

For something deliciously nasty a condemned prisoner finds a truly horrific fate awaits in ‘Doom’ a simple but well told tale of terror.

We have touch of noir in ‘Be Careful What Uou Wish For’ an interrogation scene between a wily detective and an enigmatic suspect. Neatly explaining he situation we get car and mouse playing with each other trying k get what each wants. The dialogue pulls the tale together tightly.

There are two stories in the collection labelled Decayed London and this is a fascinating post-Brexit, post future European war, post capitalism style world that reminds me of late 90s SF but with more focus on working class non-white communities rather than middle class bohemian ones. The first tale ‘Terms and Conditions’ is an action tale of a very tight trio of soldiers with a strong record of fighting fascist seeking something in Croydon. A father gets to meet his daughter who when to fight years ago. The alternate history explained, the vibrant way of life and the central mystery and resolution really come together well.

The enigmatic ‘Death Aid’ returns us to this world and initially I thought this was more a slice of life tale. But slowly it reveals the interesting quandary as we follow an ex-soldier decides what’s next. It links to the wider theme of the collection that sometimes you have to do what is right even if dangerous to yourself to help others. The moral discussions and dilemmas here didn’t make the options easy but I loved the characters we meet. I hope we visit Croydon again sometime.

Finally an unusual piece of space opera as we find a starship just as it’s been hit by its enemy. Elliott-Coleman makes us understand our brave Captain, the orders and then plays with time as we zip to events after revealing this stolen weapon has itself got secrets of its own. It’s a very neat mystery combined with action adventure that pays homage to Trek but the more grittier versions of it.

This was a hugely enjoyable collection and the variety and versatility of stories kept me engaged and yet you can sense an author’s voice connecting the stories in approach and themes which really came together. I can’t wait to see what Jospeh Elliott-Coleman has for us next! Highly recommended