Off the Beaten Path: 22 Stories by Gustavo Bondoni

by Gustavo Bondoni

Overview

22 science fiction and fantasy stories, including two new, never-before published pieces, from the award-winning Argentinian author Gustavo Bondoni.

Set in corners of the world oft forgotten, these stories will take you from the Namib desert, to the Amazon rainforest, to the far side of the moon.

When you dare step Off the Beaten Path, the results could be catastrophic, but the possible rewards are great.

Can a small band of of scientists use robotics to save the the last of an endangered New Zealand parrot from a genetically engineered menace?

A student journalist desperately tries to save the world from a malevolent spirit using a recording of a dying old woman's last words.

A firefighter at Chernobyl finds comfort from an unexpected source.

Can an ageing musician calm the vengeful ghost of his old friend?

Were fairies responsible for humanity's oldest story?

Some of these stories will shock you with a horrifying twist; others will tug at your heartstrings with their emotional resonance. But all will intrigue and move you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911486404
Publisher:	Guardbridge Books
Publication date:	07/24/2019
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Gustavo is an Argentine writer with over two hundred stories published in fourteen countries, in seven languages. He is one of the few - if not the only - Argentinean fiction writers writing primarily in English. His fiction spans the range from science fiction to mainstream stories, passing through sword & sorcery and magic realism along the way. He is a winner in the National Space Society's "Return to Luna" Contest and the Marooned Award for Flash Fiction (2008). His fiction has appeared in the Texas STAAR English Test cycle, The Rose & Thorn, Albedo One, The Best of Every Day Fiction and many others.

Table of Contents

Wyrm of the Mangroves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Bridge over the Cunene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Eyes in the Vastness of Forever . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Ménage à Trois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Anchored Down in Anchorage . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Old Man of the Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Defending Fiordland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Happy Hour at Lilu’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Primal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Protein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Rain Over Lesser Boso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Poupée’s People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

A Position of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

The Barber of Manaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Gualicho Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

A Gathering of Ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Darkness Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Superior Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Scratching Through Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Racial Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289