The Grendel's Shadow [Kindle Edition]

Andrew Mayne (Author)

Book Description

T.R. Westwood: distinguished professor of biology and the galaxy's greatest hunter is in for the biggest challenge of his career. When an unknown animal starts killing off settlers on a backwater planet run on coal and steam power, he's the only person who can help stop the slaughter. Rocks and spears or shotguns and canons, he'll use whatever is allowed to get the job done.

In a post-singularity future where the human race has spread to millions of worlds, sometimes the native animal population isn’t exactly compatible with our expanding civilization. Taking advantage of a mind as sharp as his aim, Westwood is the only man you call if local wildlife gets out of control and starts devouring your local population.

The Grendel's Shadow is 35,000 word novella mixing elements of post singularity science fiction, steampunk, horror and western.

Product Details

• File Size: 343 KB
• Print Length: 115 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004TYYNEW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,065 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #75 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Steampunk

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable read April 2, 2011

By David B. Egleston

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great Title!

I am giving the story a "5 star" rating on content alone, this is a very compelling story the puts the reader in mind of STAR TREK, STARGATE and the PULLMAN trilogy.

The story opens with the central characters landing on a planet whose population has made a choice to live with technology analogous to Earth's (America and Europe) late 19th century where steam was the latest technology. Though it is mentioned in the story there are thousands of planet with advanced technology, there are a large group of these planets that are Chartered as "Covenant" planets, wherein the colonists can decide how they are going live, somewhat like communes and reclusive religions. There seems to be an agreement Galaxy/Universe wide to honor the decisions made by the individual world's population and abide by the Covenant by bringing in no "modern" technology to help with any problems that may occur on those particular planets.

Dr. Westwood is the main character, the most "Famous Hunter In The Galaxy" who travels to this planet with an embedded reporter to hunt a heretofore unknown animal who has developed a taste for human flesh. Westwood has to accomplish this mission under constraints posed to him by the Covenant agreements (his "elephant" gun is the most powerful weapon on the planet) and the particularly dangerous and aggressive native fauna and flora.

It is my hope this Author will continue to write and in particular, write about this fascinating universe he has created, Westwood is interesting enough to warrant another story or two in order to delve deeper into his psyche, quite truthfully there isn't enough information in his background to satisfy my curiosity about some of the actions and statements made by and about him, though it is easy to fill in the blanks.

This is a highly entertaining read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The (Triumphant!) Return of the Dime Novel May 23, 2011

By Edward Lee

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

In days gone by, even the most voracious reader could have his appetite whetted by the dime novel. These were often produced quickly -- and relatively cheaply, as one can surmise by the name -- so as to provide a growing literary audience with the staples of a down-and-dirty read: razor sharp fast characterization backed by plenty of action & adventure with a healthy dose of intrigue thrown in for good measure. Dime novels were the kind of taut experiences to be soaked up one after the other, and, thankfully, author Andrew Mayne has reproduced the feel of this era with his space-faring THE GRENDEL'S SHADOW.

Like a good dime novel, the story is kept simple: the people of a frontier planet are being terrorized by a menacing creature, and only the galaxy's greatest mind and adventurerer, T.R. Westwood, and his unlikely sidekick -- a journalist named Allan -- can answer the call-to-duty, solve the mystery of this new predator, and return the town to its peace ... but not without confronting the vengeful beast head-on! THE GRENDEL'S SHADOW is told in this quick, narrative style ... light on nuance but heavy on pulp as these two men are joined by a beautiful doctor-turned-protector in the race to save their very lives!

In all seriousness, this is the kind of book that folks would've scarfed up in a lazy afternoon of reading, then they'd rush on to the next dime novel. THE GRENDEL'S SHADOW captures this essence perfectly. Told sparsely, Mayne manages to capture the derring-do of light sci-fi adventure told against the backdrop of a new world. He's produced -- at it's heart -- a monster story ... the great beast terrorizes the countryside until the great hunter can save the day. It's a welcome throwback -- both in style and in setting as this frontier world feels equally like the bone-chilling worlds of Alan Dean Foster if not reminescent of Edgar Rice Burroughs -- and I immediately searched for the next 'dime novel' only to learn sadly that Mayne hasn't yet told it, at least not here in Amazon's hallowed cyberhalls.

Rest assured, Mr. Mayne ... I'll be watching. And waiting. Oh, yes, I will.

THE GRENDEL'S SHADOW is a young boy's delight that deserves to be discovered by all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars ePulp September 14, 2011

By R. Mark Troutman

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This thing is, like another reviewer said, a dime novel. It was a fun read, but only because I knew going in that it would not take much time or effort to get through it. I kept going because it was pulpy to the point of being comical.

The quality of writing is most problematic, with some laziness in word choices (repetition) and less-than-thoughtful sentence structure. I do see some kind of potential in the author, but there is more than a hint of a lackadaisical approach in many aspects of the writing. The pacing and characters are fun, and the anachronistic elements are presented in a straight-faced matter-of-fact way that really works. But in the end, the strengths here are somewhat tarnished by writing that often reads like a rough draft.

My star-rating is based on overall quality of writing, level of reader engagement, consideration for the genre or niche context of the work; and most importantly, whether or not I want Amazon to recommend more like it to me.

More About the Author

Known for his creative and visual style of magic, Andrew has made ghosts appear on the screens of borrowed iPhones, shrunk himself to one foot tall and even made a town think they were besieged by UFOs. With over 45 published books, DVDs and effects, Andrew is considered one of the most creative magicians of his generation. His creative repertoire stretches from both intimate close-up magic to grand illusion.

He's the publisher of WeirdThings.com, iTricks.com - magic's number one daily magic news site, co-host of Weird Things the podcast and co-founder of Jaras/Mayne productions and has produced content for the Cartoon Channel and the G4 network.