sciencefiction

76d

A Review of Science and Magic and Lions, OH MY!: https://lydiaschoch.com/a-review-of-magic-science-lions-oh-my/

#Books #BookReview #ScienceFiction #Fantasy

Book cover for Magic, Science, & Lions, OH MY! by JD Bennett. Image on cover simply shows the title and author written in a gold cursive font against a light yellow background.

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28d

Diving in the warm seas around Bearsden,
cased in our superchitin scuba-gear,
we found a world so wonderfully clear
it seemed a heaven given there and then…

—Edwin Morgan, “Carboniferous”
published in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 2020)

A time-travelling science-fiction poem for National Fossil Day

https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781784109967/centenary-selected-poems/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #Bearsden #Glasgow #EdwinMorgan #fossil #fossils #NationalFossilDay #sciencefiction #scifi #scifipoetry

Edwin Morgan
Carboniferous
For I.R.

Diving in the warm seas around Bearsden,
cased in our superchitin scuba-gear,
e found a world so wonderfully clear
it seemed a heaven given there and then.
Hardly! Et in Arcadia, said the shark,
ego. We stumbled on a nest of them.
How could bright water that hid nothing stem
our ancient shudder? They themselves were dark,
but all we saw was the unsinister
ferocious tenderness of mating shapes,
a raking love that scoured their skin to shreds.
We feared instead the force that could inter
such life and joy, in fossil clays, for apes
and men to haul into their teeming heads.

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53d

10 Classic Films That Defined the Sci-Fi Genre’s History

From A Trip to the Moon to Godzilla, these ten films showcase the evolution and impact of sci-fi cinema throughout the decades.

https://www.thecollector.com/classic-films-defined-sci-fi-genre-history/

#film #ScienceFiction

The movie poster for “Forbidden Planet” features the words “M-G-M Presents Forbidden Planet” at the top. Just below, a box displays the word “Amazing!” To the left, Robby the Robot is shown holding an unconscious blonde woman dressed in a short gold dress. He stands on an alien landscape with purple rock formations, ringed planets in the sky, and green clouds. In the lower right corner, a flying saucer rests on the ground.

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76d

📚 Station Eleven by: Emily St. John Mandel

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Ki...

https://bookblabla.com/book/station-eleven

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #literary

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST • Set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. • Now an original series on HBO Max. • Over one million copies sold!

Look for Emily St. John Mandel’s bestselling new novel, Sea of Tranquility!

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74d

Chapter 8 of The Book of Newts: Witchhome is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/102509/the-book-of-newts

The Blackwell sisters have a family meeting in the front yard, regarding both Hobard and Marta's condition.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #webseries

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51d

Chalk Scribblers: Meet the Author
7 October, 7–9pm BST, free online

An evening with leading science-fiction novelist Charles Stross @cstross

Charlie will open with a reading from his latest novel, The Regicide Report, which concludes The Laundry Files which started in 2006 with The Atrocity Archives.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chalk-scribblers-meet-the-author-charles-stross-tickets-2000172679327

#Scottish #literature #scifi #sciencefiction #CharlesStross #LaundryFiles

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21d

📚 Monsters of Ohio by: John Scalzi

Richland, Ohio is a sleepy rural community. But it’s now facing ruin after a predatory private equity firm defrauds the local factory. Now, Richland is primed to explode. Just not in the way anyone expected. Because when corporate greed threatens this town, its citizens don’t just...

https://bookblabla.com/book/monsters-of-ohio

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #humorousfiction #fantasy #urbanfiction

Richland, Ohio is a sleepy rural community. But it’s now facing ruin after a predatory private equity firm defrauds the local factory. Now, Richland is primed to explode. Just not in the way anyone expected. Because when corporate greed threatens this town, its citizens don’t just take it silently – they make a change. A big one. Which might involve a few unexpected tentacles.

Mike Boyd left Richland decades ago to find his way in the world. But when he's called back to tie up loose ends, he finds far more than he bargained for. Teaming up with the overwhelmed Police Chief, Mike becomes entangled in a wild sequence of events that will bring this tiny village to global attention, change humanity forever . . . and, perhaps, spell its doom.

Might becoming a monster make you a better human?

From John Sclazi, the blockbuster author of The Kaiju Preservation Society, comes Monsters of Ohio – a thrilling speculative adventure with tentacles, hope amidst hardship and the (potential) end of the world.

* * *

Praise for John Scalzi:

'Enormously entertaining'
– Adrian Tchaikovsky

‘I haven’t enjoyed science fiction this much in years’
– Christopher Paolini

‘Hugely enjoyable, intelligent and good-humoured fun’
– The Guardian

‘Clever dialogue, fast-paced story and strong characters’
– The Times

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21d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheInvertedGlass
Series Ebook omnibus: https://books2read.com/TheWizardsScion

After the death of his wife and child, destruction of his home world, an addiction forced on him by the one responsible and a third of the galaxy falling under the heel of that tyrant, Levi Jacobs, a wizard, seeks to unravel the secrets of time and fate.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of The Inverted Glass, by Owen Tyme.

The Background is a pink and purple nebula in space.

The foreground is largely line art, in white, with a black shadow outline.

At the center is an hourglass. The bottom has black sand, with a white figure standing in it. The top has is an inverted mirror image of the bottom, with a black figure in white sand.

The hourglass serves as the balance point for a set of scales, which hold a heart and a feather. The heart is on the left and the feather on the right. The heart is lower than the feather.

(Right) Lying in blue sand is a heart made of the same sand, full of cracks. It glows from the inside in a warm, yellow color. Over that is the following quote:

Nicole felt an extreme kind of loss, realizing she’d been stolen away from the afterlife, just before finding out if she deserved punishment or not!

“How dare you do this to me? Why?”

“I’m always in need of strong spirits and I’ve seen none stronger. You have unique talents I refuse to see go to waste.”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheInvertedGlass

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51d

📚 Termination Shock by: Neal Stephenson

One man, a visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humani...

https://bookblabla.com/book/termination-shock

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #literaryfiction #sciencefiction #generalfiction #thrillers

One man, a visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?
Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?

Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.

New York Times Bestseller
From Neal Stephenson--who coined the term "metaverse" in his 1992 novel Snow Crash--comes a sweeping, prescient new thriller that transports readers to a near-future world in which the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.
"Stephenson is one of speculative fiction's most meticulous architects. . . . Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and gr

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51d

Let your imagination gallop with these speculative horse stories. From spaceships bearing gifts to a little girl's wish gone awry, enjoy these tales.

📚💙🪐🐴

https://books2read.com/horsesaremagic

#Fantasy #ScienceFiction #Horses #SmallPress

(no description)

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72d

📚 Never Let Me Go by: Kazuo Ishiguro

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for t...

https://bookblabla.com/book/never-let-me-go

#books #reading #libraries #fiction #sciencefiction #generalfiction #literaryfiction

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

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54d

I've got fresh bonus content up on Patreon! Follow for a free exclusive reprint of "Fruiting Bodies", a short story about colonialism, alien spores, and small-town community values that the editor of Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy said reminded him of Stephen King!

https://www.patreon.com/xauriel/posts/fruiting-bodies-169857630

#ScienceFiction #SciFi

fruiting-bodies-169857630

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78d

Fresh newsletter incoming in one week! I'm genuinely proud of what I'm doing with this, and I think some of you might find it of value. Check out the archives to see if you agree, and if so, sign up and get a free ebook in the bargain!

https://www.books.xaurielzwaan.ca/NewsletterArchive

#ScienceFiction #SciFi #AmWriting

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71d

Chapter 9 of The Book of Newts: Witchhome is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/102509/the-book-of-newts

After spending an inordinate amount of time searching, a cloaked star ship becomes visible and drops down for a landing in Amelia's back yard, something Lieutenant Bluewind has very specific orders about...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #webseries

the-book-of-newts

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71d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TrollSong
Series Ebook omnibus: https://books2read.com/TheWizardsScion

Having an abusive assassin for a sister was bad enough, but when Lyra’s older sister, Nicole, becomes obsessed with killing the teenage troll, her life becomes a special kind of nightmare. Will she escape, or become just another victim of the unstoppable woman?

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of Troll Song, by Owen Tyme, Illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

There's a woman in mud spattered white, leather armor crossing a pair of short swords against the neck of a terrified, shirtless dwarf.

The woman has white hair and a darker skin tone on the left side of her face. Her left eye is green and her right eye is blue.

The dwarf's hair and beard are blond.

The background is a green forest, with some flowers among the tall grass.

(Right) The background is a snow-covered forest, with a pair of dark silhouettes in it, one small and the other large, like a giant. The smaller silhouette is of a young woman walking away and the interior is filled with musical symbols, in green, white and two shades of blue. The larger silhouette is a woman wielding two swords and the interior is full of blood spatter. The larger one appears to be chasing the smaller one.

The following text is laid over the scene:

“I can’t die until Lyra takes her last breath! She’ll regret betraying her sisters!”

“There’s no price I won’t pay to see that happen, no pain I won’t endure and I’d sacrifice the whole world to seal her fate!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TrollSong

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20d

Why Pronouns Matter in Science Fiction

Readers should be invited to identify with nonbinary protagonists, and gain a new perspective on old beliefs.

By Annalee Newitz

https://reactormag.com/why-pronouns-matter-in-science-fiction/

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay & Books in Precursors of Science Fiction at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1329
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/62

#books #literature #sciencefiction

David Lindsay borrowed the names "Surtur" and "Muspel" from Surtr, the lord of Múspellsheimr, shown here in a 1909 painting by John Charles Dollman.

A black-and-white illustration of a huge, long-bearded, bare-chested giant rising from icy mountains, one hand gripping a ledge as the other raises a gleaming sword overhead. Snow swirls through the stormy sky. Signed “JCD” at lower right.

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70d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TymeStarwitch
Audiobook: https://owentyme.bandcamp.com/album/the-book-of-newts-starwitch

The undead queen of the space pirates kidnapped Amelia’s sisters and damaged her ship, leaving her with little fuel. Amelia’s a dead woman without her sisters, forced to attack the pirate’s mountain-sized star ship, despite how slim the odds are…

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books #audiobook

(Left) The cover of Starwitch, by Owen Tyme.

In the background is a red, orange and white nebula.

In the foreground is a line drawing of a red spotted newt, in white. The lines of the newt are outlined in black, to help it stand out. The interior is red, with an appearance similar to stained glass.

(Right) In the background is a red and orange galaxy, with a blue core, which bears a resemblance to an eye. It has the following text over it:

“First you turn my dog against me, then you steal my ship’s core? What’s next, pulling my teeth?”

“We didn’t ask for this! You attacked us! Why don’t you just let us go?”

“I might as well cover myself in tartar sauce, then go swimming in shark infested waters! My lieutenants would tear me to shreds, just the same!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TymeStarwitch

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69d

Chapter 10 of The Book of Newts: Witchhome is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/102509/the-book-of-newts

Amelia is bothered by the many worlds she has a foot it, including witch, engineer and governor of Rimestar.

Then there's the roles that have been denied to her, which she craves: wife and mother.

She feels like a fraud that doesn't measure up.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #webseries

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69d

https://mastodon.art/@adhemara/117161175746692302

Est-ce qu'on aurait 160 personnes francophones fans de SF qui voudraient s'offrir une super bédé indé ?

🔁 Il reste trois jours, si tu peux faire tourner le lien de la campagne, ça serait vraiment super ! (pitié)

https://fr.ulule.com/dissension-jim182/

#bookstodon #scienceFiction

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20d

Chapter 31 of The Book of Newts: Witchhome is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/102509/the-book-of-newts

Amelia reveals her plans for Rimestar in grand fashion, via three-dimensional illusions of the model Newton built, as displayed in every crossroads of the city.

Kane is, of course,quite furious...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #actionadventure #fiction #webseries

the-book-of-newts

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68d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/LegacyOfNewts

The undead witch that rules the space pirates, known as the Dead Queen, has finally been defeated. That only makes it worse for the witches that pulled it off. She’s livid and coming for them, at least once she gets her star ship back under control…

@bookstodon #author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/LegacyOfNewts

The undead witch that rules the space pirates, known as the Dead Queen, has finally been defeated. That only makes it worse for the witches that pulled it off. She’s livid and coming for them, at least once she gets her star ship back under control…

Amelia Blackwell’s sisters were kidnapped by an ancient, undead witch known as the Dead Queen and Amelia attacked the pirate’s mountain-sized star ship out of pure desperation. She never expected to actually rescue her sisters, let alone defeat the pirate on her own ship. Nonetheless, she pulled it off, got her sisters back and left the pirate queen’s ship helplessly listing through space.

Unfortunately for the Blackwell sisters, that’s only the beginning, because the Dead Queen survived and she’s absolutely livid. She seeks revenge, because the sisters made her look weak, forcing her to save face by killing them, lest her own lieutenants kill her.

Worse, the soul of Amelia’s oldest sister, Marta, has been intertwined with that of the Dead Queen, who was using necromancy to consume it, to extend her own life. That leaves them both stumbling through the thoughts of the other, each looking for some advantage in a battle of soul vs. soul, winner take all – even though Marta has no desire to steal the undead witch’s soul.

Iris, the middle sister, fares no better. Since she managed to resist interrogation by torture, the Dead Queen instead forced an addiction on her, offering hits of a pleasure spell for information, until she broke. Her brain chemistry is so screwed up, she’s unlikely to survive withdrawal.

The Queen soon gets her ship moving and the chase is on! Will the Blackwells find refuge and allies to fight off the Queen’s massive ship, or will everyone shun them, unwilling to take the risk of standing up to the queen of the pirates, who terrifies even the rulers of the star system?

#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

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68d

If you're looking for a weekend read, check out this collection of speculative reads!
https://books.bookfunnel.com/speculative_fiction_09/9ui4aiyx6p

#Bookstodon #sff #fantasy #sciencefiction #scifi #books

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67d

Chapter 11 of The Book of Newts: Witchhome is available to read on #RoyalRoad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/102509/the-book-of-newts

Amelia speaks with her sisters while supplies are loaded for a journey into the mountains. Mostly, they discuss Denholm's boundless loyalty and her nighttime vigilante-like activities, which Iris has been observing...

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #webseries

the-book-of-newts

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49d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/WrathOfTheSky

Zechariah Jacobs has angered a vast empire that spans a third of the galaxy, which is far too much for his planet to stand against, but in a clash of wizards and magic versus technology, it’s hard to say which will win.

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of Wrath of the Sky, by Owen Tyme.

On a black background, a planet much like earth burns, set aflame. The flames are on the top and sides, but haven't yet reached the bottom.

(Right) An ogre stands on a rocky cliffside path, clearly quite upset, with both his head and arms raised as he cries out! The background is blue sky with white clouds. The following quote is laid over the top of the scene:

Winzon grinned evilly. With great slowness and ceremony, he undid the draw-string of his sack and up-ended it, dropping an ogre skull at the brute’s feet!

The massive ogre’s entire demeanor changed in an instant! He backed away, carefully stepping out of reach of Winzon’s ax, even though it was still strapped to his back!

The brute whispered, “Ogre-slayer!”

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/WrathOfTheSky

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67d

Ebook and paperback: https://books2read.com/TheThirdWish
Series Ebook omnibus: https://books2read.com/TheWizardsScion

Spies, aliens, trolls, wizards and a disowned prince try to change history, but Levi Jacobs stands in their way, despite having just lost his parents in war. Will he stop them or will they kill his father at a pivotal moment, on which the fate of the galaxy hangs?

@bookstodon
#author #indieauthor #writing #fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #sff #sciencefantasy #scifi #actionadventure #fiction #books

(Left) The cover of The Third Wish, by Owen Tyme, illustrated by Ryan Johnson.

A wizard in a black robe that glitters with hints of gold stands on a mountain and looks down at a city of sky scrapers covered in greenery. In his shadow lurks a creature with glowing red eyes.

In the background, the sun is setting and stars are becoming visible.

(Right Background) Four images separated by black lines, with the silhouette of a woman wielding two swords laid over them. She's outlined in black and her interior is yellow clock-based imagery that spirals outward from the center.

The upper left quarter is a queen in a red, furred robe, wearing a gold and diamond crown. She has dark eyebrows and blond hair.

Upper right is a planet seen from orbit.

Lower left is a symbolic wire frame representation of the view inside a wormhole, in green and yellow.

Lower right is dandelions among grass.

The angle of the planet, one of the woman's swords, the yellow highlights of the wormhole and some of the dandelions form a line that draws the eye along a sweeping curve.

(Right Foreground) The following quote:

He admired the flawless beauty of the insane swordswoman’s fluid movements as Ida took desperate step after step, backwards!

He felt waves of mental energy pour off the panic-stricken troll, but the energy bounced right off of Nicole’s mind, as though she’d shut herself inside a solid, red-hot, steel box of rage!

(Bottom) https://books2read.com/TheThirdWish

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