I’m taking a week’s break from War’s End to give a snippet from Horse Power, which is free on Amazon this weekend. Horse Power fills an important gap in the history of Coralie’s planet, Horizon, and tells of how dogs like Bounce became a part of Horizon culture. The book is free March 16, 17 and 18, and I’d love reviews. Just click on the cover.
The sun, less than an hour now from setting, was reddening as it sank. Silkies, their backs no higher than Roi’s chest, cast blue shadows half a dozen armspans long, their recently shorn white coats reddish in the dust they stirred up. The sheared hair could be spun into a luxury fabric prized throughout the Confederation, the skins, with or without the fleece, tanned into an extraordinarily light, supple leather likewise classed as a luxury item, and while Roi himself tended to eat whatever was placed in front of him, he knew enough gourmets to recognize that certain cuts of silkie meat were sought after by the finest chefs of the occupied planets. “Profitable beasts,” he commented.
Timi snorted. “They should be,” he agreed. “Trouble is, the colonization agreement gives the Company the power to set whatever price they want for silkie products. And they set it low enough, and that of the imported fossil fuels high enough, that most of the colonists aren’t even breaking even.”
Horizon’s a terraformed planet, with no history of life to produce deposits of fossil fuels, and the Company has pretty well legislated out the use of other forms of portable energy.
Next week I’ll be back with Coralie and the other castaways.
Do check out the other snippets posted today, through either Weekend Writing Warriors or Snippet Sunday. We all like comments, but you can enjoy without commenting if you choose.
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The company town lives on, I see. I’m headiing to Amazon to check out Horse Power. Thanks, Sue Ann. 🙂
The Company planet, in this case. It’s only a short story, but I hope you like it.
Fascinating set up, you answered my questions even as I was thinking them LOL. You’re so thorough with the details and world building! Off to amazon!
I’m also setting up for the book with Coralie (who is one of Timi and Amber’s remote descendants.)
The poor can’t win even in fiction. Thanks for the free read.
One of the purposes of science fiction (IMO) is to hold a mirror up to ourselves.
I love your attention to detail, it brings everything to life.
I try to see (and hear, smell, and feel) what the characters’ senses are conveying. And taste, if they’re eating.
Great description in these 8Sentences – very nicely done along with raising issues that keeps the reader reading. Good job
Hope you like the whole thing.
I think you did a great job with this book. It was a fun read!
Great praise from someone who knows farm life. I just know horses and herding dogs.
I chuckled while reading Elaine’s comment. I agree with her. True!
Sadly, humans always want more, even if at others’ expense. Even at the expense of the general welfare.
Like always, you create your scene with fantastic details! I’m off to Amazon to pick up a copy. 🙂
Good. I hope you like it and I’d love some reviews. The one on Amazon.uk is lobely.
How cool is this. I’ve said it once, and I’ll keep saying it—your world-building skills are excellent, Sue Ann!
Horizon’s a pretty important world for me.
Question: Are the Silkies what Roi calls horses or are they more like large sheep? I really liked the economics of them, Sue Ann.
At the time of this snippet there are no horses on Horizon–you’ll have to read the story (it’s not very long) to see why there’s a horse on the cover. A silkie is a bioengineered grazer that partakes of traits from cattle, sheep, vicuna and chamois.
This sounds like a fantastic book! You really showed a lot about it in this snippet. Great job!
Really a short story, but it’s free today and tomorrow.
Very strong world building. Well done. 🙂
Literal world building–it’s a terraformed world with a planned ecology.
Wow! I loved this Sue, the detail of everything was amazing. I want to read this book. I love the name also.. Great way to pull us in. 🙂
It’s free today and tomorrow.
You depict a vivid picture of struggle and pending revolution.
Well, a revolution of sorts, but not a military one!
You are a master of description, Sue Anne with a wonderfully vivid imagination. Fascinating!
Thanks and try the book–I think you’d enjoy at least the canine character!
I actually read this story and remember this scene. I kinda liked Timi. Glad you’re sharing snippets from Horse Power
Only on the days it’s free. When I’ve finished the scene from War’s End, I might go back to published books.
I was having a hard time visualizing this snippet because I see “silkies” and think of the Celtic myth of sea lion/humans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie
But in the comments above, you describe them as bioengineered grazers – ok, now I can re-read with that in mind! So much world building you’ve done!
Think of something between a cow and a sheep, with a vicuna-like coat very silky to the touch.
That sounds like a really rough deal for the colonists. It sounds like a really interesting world. I already have a copy of Horse Power and I’m looking forward to reading it as soon as I’ve got blog tour reading obligations out of the way!
Thanks. It’s a short read.
Just picked up a copy, will review when time permits…my to be read list is getting kind of long!
It’s a fairly short one.
This struck home with me. We raise hogs and the price of feed is so high after the midwest drought last summer that what was a hugely profitable business last year is break-even this. I hope it rains on this year’s corn, LOL!
Farming’s a shaky way to make a living–especially if you have the big guys against you.