Michael Clark

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 347

The King met the party of travelers at the border, where the Silverthorn Gates had been replaced by a simple white picket fence, notably without a gate. Oberon stood ten feet behind the fence. Five feet behind him were a row of his royal guard in enchanted plate armor with spear and shield. Four further rows of pikemen backed up these twenty soldiers, the entire formation forming a deadly kill pocket for anyone who tried to climb the fence. Which, of course, was not simply a fence. The pike f...

Fantasy Reading

Someone in an author's forum asked about books to read if they hadn't read much fantasy. This was the answer off the top of my head and includes some of my favorites.

Who fears the Devil by Manly Wade Wellman..
(A collection of his Silver John short stories of weird things happening in Appalachia. Several books in the series from the 40's and 50's. )

Conan, Conan of Cimmeria by RE Howard
(The early short stories from Weird Tales, collected and published again by L. Sprague ...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 346

The screams of pain subsided as the cold iron disappeared, replaced by the roar of battle and the spectacle of holy fire roaring from the skies. Finally, there was a moment of silence, where anyone with a bit of drama to their soul knew fateful words were being spoken before someone met their end. The crowd at the gate was enthralled and knew what was coming: the mortals would die, some souls would go to Hades, and some would not. Duchess Midnight would walk to her gates as if nothing had hap...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 251 RAW (grammarly down)

Somehow Grammarly is down, and I can't do my normal editing on this chapter. So here it is with possibly some grammar errors or needing some word tweeks.

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"LLAMA??! This is where LLAMA came from?"

When Milo and his siblings had been hacking banks and corporate databases, LLAMA had brought a windfall of profits their way. What they thought was a virus at the time wasn't robbing the banks as it was cracking open the vaults, sending up a flare, and movin...

Tunnel Rat 250

The underlying problem that the unknown engineer had was a lack of power. He'd been surrounded by ways to store power, generate power, and move energy. But he had a chicken and egg problem. To start the big diesel engines, he needed enough power to run their air compressors to build enough pressure to ignite the high-octane fuel they ran on. He'd had a smaller engine that could provide the power for the compressor but nothing to provide the electrical power it needed. He'd sketched out numero...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 249

The small adventuring party of one engineer, one brave Roomba scout, and a train of crawling support vehicles made their way through darkened tunnels filled with gasses unsuitable for supporting life. No one in the party seemed concerned about this, even the weakest link with biological lungs that needed oxygen. This was the start of a job, and he was happy to get started.

The first task started back at the entrance. He needed to clear the larger delivery tunnel so that he could bring...

Mining Science for Science Fiction

Part of the fun of writing science fiction is looking at where current science is and where it's headed. At the start of Butcher, I was amazed at what a current quantum computer could do. We can't even measure how fast they are now. It was an easy step to see how an AI could generate an entire world and progress it through a billion years. Need more speed? Add one quantum circuit for 16 times the computing power.

For Tunnel Rat, I started looking at carbon fiber and graphene, things I...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 345

Rather than leave you hanging from yet another cliff, here's the next chapter a little early.
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The enraged bug flew at Midnight, intending to take off her head with a razor-sharp wing-tip, but the slash was shallow, cutting from the collarbone and along the side of Midnight's neck; the inch-deep gash oozed thick, green blood that smoked when it hit the ground. Squirmie's wing burned as acid and poison on her wing tried to take hold and failed. Rolly's in...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 344

A few moments before the spiteful attack on a loyal hound...

Oberon felt the strain of controlling the myriad conflicting agendas swirling around him. What had begun as a casual lark and a chance to get out of the palace started sliding towards the chaos where things that weren't in his control happened. It wasn't the size of the gathering. The seasonal festivals were a hundred times as large. It was the potency of the people present without the structure of a traditional even...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 343

"I desire flame-etched rubies, enough to fill a bathtub. Pearls of white, gold, and black from the giant oysters of the smoke. Blackened wood staves filled to the brim with Smoke and Corruption. The breath of a cyclone, the flesh of a kraken, and cutting of the strangling weed."

Ozzy looked down at the Hound. "You have all that?" The dog nodded meekly.

"Yep, I can do all that. Do you want the Kraken smoked or barbeque flavor?"

The question seemed to confuse the Duchess, a...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 342

Emotions ran high at the lands that divided those of the High King and Duchess Midnight. Oberon positioned his camp in the middle of the area, a stone's throw from the Silverthorn Gates. A green silk tent with golden trim covers the entirety of his camp, and a banquet hall sits in the center where he holds court to a rotating guest list of noble fae and fantastical creatures. Around his camp, the other nobles do likewise, taking their cues from their King. None are fooled, of course. While fl...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 341

The road made of white paving stones stretched ahead of Ozzy, winding through green hills topped with thorn vines bearing red and purple clusters of fruit and small blue flowers. Birds circled overhead of several types. Occasionally, a bird would descend to feed, carefully landing on the bushes and avoiding the six-inch-long thorns. Eating greedily from the fruit, they became disoriented and then plunged into the bushes or fell in front of them. The bushes benefitted from the dead birds that ...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 248

A little short, but I like where it ended. More importantly, I know exactly how it leads into 249, and starting that chapter now, and setting up for a Butcher chapter or three.

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Things were the same as when he had left. The hallways were dark and filled with inert gases. He left most of his supplies outside and worked his way through the pneumatic tubes, followed by the smallest of his CaveCrawlers. The three crawlers carried air supplies, hydrogen cell...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 247

The trip down took Milo several hours. Shepherding two cargo haulers loaded with supplies was much slower than just running through the tunnels with several drones. The tunnel floors were rough, and even with a steep six percent grade, there was a lot of horizontal movement to get down to the level of the entrance to the strangely abandoned building. There were only two things Milo could find evidence of that would require the huge expense of a collapsium shell. One of those was a fusion gene...

Schedule for new chapters.

I meant to write all last night, but lack of sleep coupled with relief of being done with the first book resulted in an early crash. I'm writing the next Tunnel Rat chapter tonight and tomorrow, then the next Butcher chapter. Ideally, some of that gets up before Sunday. Then, Sunday will be devoted the entire day to writing. The goal is 2 chapters to each story by Sunday night.

Monday I have a funeral to attend with a two-hour drive on either end, so I'm doubting I'll have much time a...

Tunnel Rat Volume 1

I've just sent the first volume of Tunnel Rat off to Aethon Books. There's still some time until it will head to KU, so I can post the files here for those interested. It's still the same essential story with small things changed and several awkward things removed, more foreshadowing added for events I now know will happen.

Butcher of Gadobha Chapter 340

As several weary travelers approached the domain of Duchess Midnight, the crowd surrounding gates parted to let them pass. Several hundred Fae Lords and Ladies were present, many bringing an entourage of knights or a small battalion of bodyguards. The Court of the High King was eventually so depleted that he laughingly declared he was taking a holiday and rode out to see what all the fuss was about, taking the rest of the court with him.

Colorful tents were erected, parties were held,...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 246

As he hurried through the main air duct between Section E and Section H, Milo wondered just when he had gone from being bored with all the time in the world to having no time at all and too many jobs. The nature of the buried building and its treasures weighed heavily on his mind, and he desperately needed to return to it and further his investigations. But he feared what might happen to Belinda.

They had talked some while playing games, and he noted that her problem-solving ability a...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 339

Suzette was enjoying a series of history books that the dogs had found on a lower shelf. The unknown author had spared no one from their sarcastic accounts of petty plots, revenge, and maneuvering at court. Each of the great houses had a separate chapter devoted to their transgressions, with intricate notes in the margins and genealogies to help the reader keep track of the players. From some of the comments, Suzette wagered that if the Fae used DNA testing, those genealogies would look a lot...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 245

Traveling across Section E to Section H wasn't a problem. Butch and the gang had previously traveled the corridors and stairways, moving all over the section to attend swap meets for games and tournaments and just hanging out with other people their age. As long as you traveled in a group, stayed in the lighted areas, stayed out of some of the gang-controlled areas (Or asked permission. Respect went a long way.), and in general didn't do anything stupid, then there was about a 90% chance of a...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 338

The Duchess quickly grew bored with her newest captive. The girl alternated between trying to put on a show of bravely ignoring her and begging for her release. But the blubbering and begging was mundane and pitiful. Any threat seemed to scare the half-breed, making threatening her not worth the effort. Poisoning her mind proved immensely entertaining, though. It had only taken a few hints about how careless Alwyn had been to gain a small tantrum where she stomped her foot and declared, "I di...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 337

The simulacrum of thorns shifted, leaves and vines moving in a horrible way until it took the seeming of Duchess Midnight, posture and voice included. She stared at Alwyn.

"You have grown too bold, little lord. Did you think your arrogance and recent success would shield you from my ire? I opened negotiations with the Captain from the Smoke and even left an obvious mark for you to see when you also sought an agreement. A mark you ignored when you created your agreement scant hours late...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 244

The word sat on the screen, blinking. Milo stared at it. Every other part of this facility was dead, with no power, and filled with a neutral gas that couldn't be breathed. Yet this room had power and possibly a working operating system that had noticed him as he entered.

[Would you like to play a game?]

(What games do you have?)

[Games: Tic Tac To, Chess, Berzerk: Roomba Style, Reactor Control System]

Milo selected Tic Tac To. A simple board appeared, and he play...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 336

Duchess Midnight, The Graceful Lady of Silent Daggers, was roused from her brooding by a messenger. He seemed resigned to his fate as he morosely marched into the room, bowing, kneeling, and finally prostrating before her. She gestured, and barbed thorns restrained him in that position, crushing and cutting into his skin. She breathed in deeply. The combination of pain and despair was one of her favorite scents.

"State your message and hope it is enough to warrant your interruption."<...

A free weekend! (not a chapter).

Nothing going on this weekend except writing and walking the dog. Lots of time to write. I am working tonight on the next Butcher chapter and will follow that up with another Butcher chapter and at least one Milo chapter. Can't leave you all hanging on the edge of that cliff.
If all goes well, I'll get out more, but that's the minimum for this weekend.

I'm also working on the second run-through of the rewrite of the first book of Tunnel Rat. When done, I will post the files here for...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 243

A little rough around the edges. I've had trouble writing lately. Trying to cut out bread and sugar from my diet and that puts me in a state where some days I'm tired, and the words flow like tar. I solved that tonight by cheating with two bottles of mountain dew. The sugar rush is exquisite.

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The drone flitted back and forth slowly at the end of the tunnel. No active scanning was detected. Milo moved along the side of the tunnel, taking his time...

Tunnel Rat Chapter 242

After a fine meal of tacos, Milo was unsure what to do. Rather than keep playing without Belinda, he paid for a room at the inn next to where he'd just eaten and logged out of the game. He sent a message to Butch about visiting Belinda the next day and then put some time into solving a puzzle that had been bothering him.

His small tunnel scouts had been doing their job, mapping out the dimensions of the obstruction under Section E. From just the preliminary data; it was quite large. Wh...

The Scrapyard Dungeon Chapter Seven: Rolling Dice

Huck cursed as the pain hit, and the dogs looked up, wondering what was going on. He pulled the fork out of his aching arm and wrapped it in the gauze bandage after dousing it with alcohol. The disinfectant stung like hell as well. He couldn't feel it anymore, all the protection was gone, and the wounds were real now. He understood what she was taunting him about. He looked at the other dice but shook his head and went for a glass of water and some aspirin for the pain. Every bit of him was h...

The Scrapyard Dungeon Chapter 6: Cleaning Up

While he hated the idea of going back outside, Huck needed some things. At least he could turn on the porch lights now and look out the windows first. He left the table jammed between the two doors and went out the front. Houses were close together in this part of town. A side yard was the three feet between one house and the next. In some neighborhoods, you didn't even have that; one rowhouse started where the other stopped. They had a bit of grass and a porch in front and a larger back yard...

Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 335

"So you can see that everything is going to depend on location. My great-grand'ther used to say, "The three most important things for a successful bridge are location, location, and location." He's been gone these last three centuries, but his words still come back to me. When I was a young brigand roaming from bridge to bridge, I used to think the old guy wasn't that smart. Ninety years later, when I gave up the folly of youth, I was amazed to find out how much the old boy had learned."
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