| A Whisper of Caladan Seas Excerpt, Kevin J. Anderson 1999 Artwork, Mark Zug 
Safe, but trapped, their only way out was a path that began in the mind and continued until they could hear . . . An excerpt from A Whisper of Caladan Seas by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Elto thought of his first view of the sweeping wastelands of open desert beyond the Shield Wall. His initial impression had been nostalgic, already homesick. The undulating panorama of sand dunes had been so similar to the even patterns of waves on the sea . . . but without any drop of water. Issuing a strange cry, Deegan rushed to the nearest wall and clawed at the stone, kicking and trying to dig his way out with bare hands. He tore his nails and pounded with his fists, leaving bloody patterns on the unforgiving rock, until two of the other soldiers dragged him away and wrestled him to the ground. One man, a hand-to-hand combat specialist who had trained at the famous Swordmaster School on Ginaz, ripped open one of their remaining medpaks and dosed Deegan with a strong sedative. The pounding artillery continued. Won't they ever stop? He felt an odd, pain-wracked sensation that he might be sealed in this hellhole for eternity, trapped in a blip of time from which there was no escape. Then he heard his uncle's voice. . . . Kneeling beside the claustrophobic gunner, Uncle Hoh leaned close, whispering, "Listen. Let me tell you a story." It was a private tale intended only for Deegan's ears, though the intensity in the Jongleur's voice seemed to shimmer in the thick air. Elto caught a few words about a sleeping princess, a hidden and magical city, a lost hero from the Butlerian Jihad who would slumber in oblivion until he rose again to save the Imperium. By the time Hoh Vitt completed his tale, Deegan had fallen into a stupor. Elto suspected what his uncle had done, that he had disregarded the ancient prohibition against using the powers of planet Jongleur, ancestral home of the Vitt family. In the low light their gazes met, and Uncle Hoh's eyes were bright and fearful. As he'd been conditioned to do since childhood, Elto tried not to think about it, for he too was a Vitt. Instead, he visualized the events that had occurred only hours before. . . .
Table of Contents Introduction
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Fondest of Memories Music Played on the Strings of Time Tide Pools Reflections in a Magnetic Mirror
(with Doug Beason) Entropy Ranch Dogged Persistence Human, Martian—
One, Two, Three Scientific Romance Canals in the Sand Dune:
A Whisper of Caladan Seas
(with Brian Herbert) Prisoner of War Much at Stake New Recruits Final Performance The Old Man and the Cherry Tree Sea Dreams
(with Rebecca Moesta) The Ghost of Christmas Always Drumbeats
(with Neal Peart) |
© Golden Gryphon Press 1999, 2000, 2001 | 
