Open Writing

The two surviving crew members of the spaceship Hermes, who travelled further and faster than anyone before them on a journey that was to change the course of human history, pay tribute to fallen colleagues.

Here are the final paragraphs of Brian William Neal’s epic sci fi adventure story.

And so it ends…

But as with all great novels, there is no end. Once read, a well-told story stays with you for ever, working on your imagination in unexpected ways.

If you have not been involved in this gripping tale from the beginning, please do click on Denizens in the menu on this page. Hours of satisfying reading lie ahead of you!

Continue reading "Epilogue 2" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...Rabbi Johannan is a great healer and teacher, and he knows he is in this place for a purpose. What that purpose is, however, not even he is certain. What he is certain of is that the answers he seeks are on the brittle, yellowing sheets he holds in his hands. From the first day, when he entered the village on the plain at the foot of his hill, more than thirty years before, and began his first tentative attempts at communication, he has known that this is where God means him to be...

This Rabbi is Jonathan Edge, a member of the crew of the spaceship Hermes, who travelled further and faster than any other humans.

And now Jonathan is living in Biblical times, and sudden enlightenment makes him aware that he has a mission of paramount importance.

Brian William Neal's great novel is a work of utter seriousness. To read this wonderful narrative from the beginning please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Epilogue 1" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...With their new longevity, humans were now able to do things that they could only dream of before; accumulate several former lifetimes of knowledge, gain a dozen PhD’s from the still prestigious University of Earth, and travel to the far reaches of the galaxy. With so few people on earth, and getting fewer all the time as more left, everyone remaining lived like a multi-millionaire. The orbiting automated factories and the earth-bound farms produced all they could ever want or need, and people were actually competing for what little work still needed to be done...

The results of the epochal voyage through space and time of the spaceship Antares has resulted in astonishing changes in the lives of the inhabitants of Planet Earth.

Brian William Neal's monumental sci-fi novel nears it conclusion - and still there are surprises in store! To read this great story from the beginning please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "37 - Absent Friends" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...And there was one other effect that became noticeable even before any of these others, one that was the most fabulous of all. Virtually from day one, the obituary columns in the newspapers emptied. People simply stopped dying. Hospitals all over the world reported that their patients, even the terminally ill in the final stages of the most ravaging of diseases, began to improve, their cancers disappearing, their tumors shrinking to nothing...

The longest and fastest human journey through time and space undertaken by the crew of the paceship Hermes has resulted in a "new'' Earth.

Brian William Neal's sci-fi epic is a thrilling read and deeply satisfying.

For earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "36 - Destiny" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Tom pointed at the sky. “You call that non-violent?”

Karen nodded. “Yes. This is not destruction we’re seeing. I believe we are witnessing a birth. Something has happened here, just as Jonathan said. Something awesome.”

They all turned to look at the sky again, wondering what it meant. Then Arnold made his way to the bridge and instructed the captain to set course for Guam. The Halsey pointed her bow away from the Technicolor sky, and headed for home...

As Brian William Neal's magnificent sci-fi novel moves towards its conclusion something epic is happening in the Pacific Ocean.

For earlier chapters of this great story please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "35 - Metamorphosis" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...“What I will say is that, from the time this recording ends, you will have twelve hours to get at least fifty miles away from the ship. You cannot take it to the surface; it must remain where it is, but those who have found you must have a vehicle capable of taking you with them. Something truly awesome is about to occur. There is no way to stop it; even if you could, you would not want to, once you knew what it was.”...

After he longest, fastest journey through space and time - and a sleep of 2,000 years - the surviving crew of the spaceship Hermes are back on their home planet - there to be greeted by a monumental surprise.

Brian William Neal's mighty novel is sci-fi at its very best. On second thoughts, it is much more than that. It is imaginative fiction at its best. To read earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "34 - Resurrection" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...The alien ship sat on the floor of the trench, there at the bottom of the world, protected from the crushing pressure by the marvelous alien metal of its construction. The years passed...

This brief chapter in Brian William Neal's epic novel of travels through space and time sets the stage for a dramatic discovery.

If this is your first encounter with Brian's magnificent sci-fi epic please click on Denizens on the menu on this page to read earlier chapters.

Continue reading "33 - History" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 09:22 AM | Permalink

...Jonathan looked at them for a long moment, placed his hands on their shoulders, and said, “God be with you both, and deliver you safely home.” Then he hoisted his sack, and walked away across the flat landing area to the edge of the slope. He turned and waved, and was quickly out of sight.

The two remaining members of the Hermes team remained outside the ship for a long while, watching the spot where they had last seen their friend. He re-appeared, just for a moment, a tiny figure on the plain below. As they watched, he turned and raised a hand, then was lost to sight behind a small hill...

Jonathan says goodbye to his Hermes spaceship colleagues Cal and Karen and walks off to his appointment with Biblical history.

Master storyteller Brian William Neal convincingly weaves space and time into one of the most satisifying sci-fi novel you are ever likely to read. For earlier chapters of this magnicient tale please click on Denizens in the menu on his page.

Continue reading "32 - Parting" »

Written by Brain William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...They were quiet for a moment, then Karen asked, “Jonathan, have you given any thought to what the effect on the earth’s environment will be with the release of these creatures? Up until our time, nothing like them has ever existed on our world. Maybe we run the risk of changing history, or creating a paradox or something. Aren’t we likely to do some serious damage?”...

The three surviving crew members of the spaceship Hermes return to their home planet after a historic mission. They have been charged with giving the most astonishing creatures in the galaxy a chance of life.

Brian William Neal's sci fi epic continues to enrance. To read earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "31 - Earth" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...Home, thought Cal, as he lay on his bed, dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts, his gear ready. But will it be, really? There will be no one there that he or any of them ever knew. No Joe, no Broken Arrow, no Flagstaff, not even a United States. Nothing but semi-cavemen, or whatever lived in America two thousand years ago.

Then he had another thought. Depends where we go, he reasoned. After all, we don’t have to go to America. The Egyptians, the Chinese and the Romans had a thriving civilization then; we might be able to go to one of those places. Might even be hailed as gods, or something. Then another, less pleasant thought occurred to him; might be murdered as devils, too...

But before the human space voyagers can lift off and set course for planet Earth a terrible battle has to be fought, and a terrible price has to be paid.

Brian William Neal, master of excitement and suspense, writes so commandingly that he makes his readers forget the passing of time. To begin this epic novel at Chapter 1 please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "30 - Pilgrim" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

The humans who have crash-landed on an alien planet and there been befriended by an intelligent being who requires of them a mercy mission to save the most incredible creatures in the galaxy, prepare for a sudden departure as hostile forces gather against them.

Brian William Neal's story has every possible thrilling ingredient you could require of a mature sci-fi novel. For earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "29 - Enemy" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...[When we first met, I inquired of your affliction, and why you chose to endure it. I recall that you said you did so because it was beyond the ability of your science to cure]. Jonathan nodded, but made no reply, and the alien continued.

[That which you and your companions are doing for my world and my people is a great thing, ensuring the survival of the Loti. I have met with the council, and they have agreed, by a margin of four to one, that we should do something more for you than merely provide a vessel, for which we have no further use, to enable you to reach your world.]...

Earthman Jonathan agrees to an operation to restore his physcial abilites - and has difficulty in coming to terms with the results.

Meantime spaceship skipper Cal and crew member Karen finally realise they are made for each other.

Brian William Neal's epic space adventure deeply involves you in the lives of its characters. The narrative drive more than fulfils its primary task: you are left at the end of each chapter wondering what will happen next.

To read those earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "28 - Miracle" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 10:10 AM | Permalink

The crew of the Hermes spaceship, which has crash-landed and sunk into the sea of an alien planet, are shown the most amazing creatures in the galaxy and charged with saving them from extinction.

Brian William Neal's bold imagination has spanned space and time to produce a story which will take hold of you and stay with you for ever. If you are coming to the novel for the first time please click on Denizens in the menu on this page and start reading it from the beginning.

Continue reading "27 - Leviathon" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

Cal and the crew of the spaceship Hermes, which has crashed into the sea on an alien planet, learn of another amazing civilisation - then they are charged with a special mission.

Brian William Neal's mighty sci-fi adventure produces yet more startling revelations.

To read Brian's great novel from the beginning please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "26 - Exodus" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:44 AM | Permalink

...Bill spoke up. “Why don’t we just talk out loud?”

’Tau glanced at the members of the council, then back at the four. [I regret that that will not be possible. Quite apart from the fact that we could not speak each other’s languages, my people lost the power of speech several millennia ago].

Now it was the astronauts' turn to register shocked surprise, and ’tau went on. [As the ability to mind-speak evolved within us, there was less and less need for us to actually speak aloud to each other. A few tried to keep the tradition alive; there was even, for a while, a department at the university that dealt exclusively with speech, but over the centuries the practice died out. Finally, there was no one left who remembered how. Eventually, people began being born with either stunted vocal cords or none at all, until we became as we are today]....

Humans and aliens meet, assessing their differences. If this is your first encounter with Brian William Neal's mind-blowing story please click on Denizens in the menu on this page, and begin reading at Chapter 1. Allow yourself the delight of being caught up and swept along by the irresistible tide of a great story.

Continue reading "25 - Council" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:42 AM | Permalink

...The being stopped about three meters away, and they both started when the voice sounded clearly.

[I bid you welcome].

Bill stared hard at the alien. He was certain the man had not moved his lips, nor had the voice sounded aloud, yet he had heard it clearly. He tried to speak, cleared his throat, and tried again.

“What did you do to my rifle?”...

After their spaceship Hermes has crashed into the sea of an alien planet there's is first contact between humans and another intelligent being.

Brian William Neal's sci-fi novel is a thrilling read. Come on, lose yourself in another world! If you are coming to the story for the first time you can find earlier chapters of this epic tale by clicking on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "24 - Alien" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:58 AM | Permalink

...They watched solemnly as the Hermes continued to settle lower in the water; slowly at first, then faster, it sank, lower and lower.

Then, with a great roil and bubbling of water, it slipped beneath the surface and was gone. Only a few boiling eddies and swirls marked the spot where it went down, and soon they were gone also, leaving just the flat calm of the sea.

Cal started the engine of his boat, as did Karen, and Bill followed with Jonathan as they headed for the shore. After a moment, the alien figure retreated into its craft and followed at a discreet distance.

Fighting down a collective feeling of rising panic, the four travelers turned their attention towards the city. Looking back would accomplish nothing now; ahead was where their destiny lay. For better or worse, they were marooned on an alien world, totally at the mercy or otherwise of the inhabitants. Whatever they might be...

The first human crew to travel faster than the speed of light have crash-landed on the sea of an alien planet. And now... Wow! Master story teller Brian William Neal grabs your attention and holds it in an unyielding grip. You really must read on!

Continue reading "23 - Marooned" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:54 AM | Permalink

...Cal smiled back, and entered the code. Slowly, the heavy door swung open, and the four astronauts looked out on the first alien civilization ever seen by man...

The first space ship to exceed the speed of light is severly damaged in a landing attempt on an alien sea. Skipper Cal and his much-travelled crew are about to take mankind's biggest-ever step...

Brian William Neal has an abundent supply of the story-teller's greatest gift - the ability to make you long to read on when you reach the end of each chapter.

To read earlier episodes of his thrilling and mighty sci-fi novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "22 - Touchdown" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Their laughter was a happy sound, out there in the lonely reaches of deep space. They were more alone and further from home than any explorers had ever been in the entire history of human endeavor. They did have, however, one distinct advantage. They were also heading homeward faster than anyone ever had before....

But the laughter fades when the crew of the Hermes realise the cost of breaking through the speed-of-light barrier.

Brian William Neal's magnificent sci-fi novel heaps wonder upon wonder. To read earlier chapters of this great story please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "21 - Planetfall" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:52 AM | Permalink

The first submersible and its crew are missing. Tom and Jennifer descend in the second submersible, deeper, and deeper yet, seven mile down to the floor of the Pacific ocean - and there they find...astonishment!

For earlier chapters of Brian William Neal's superb novel click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "20 - Contact" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

On the most epic space journey ever undertaken by man, lightspeed is achieved. And then... "The others all turned to look at Karen, who had been quiet until now. She was staring at the shapes, which had penetrated the bridge and were now floating all around them...''

Depend on the thrilling words of gifted story teller Brian William Neal to take you into a new dimension.

To read earlier chapters of Brian's epic novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "19 - Lightspeed" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

Submersible number one dives deep, deep into the Mariana Trench, deeper than humans have ever been beneath the seas. Then...

...There was silence for a few moments, and then Arnold came back on the line. “We’ve spotted some movement a little further down the slope, Tom. Heading down now to investigate. We’ll call you again in a few minutes. Out.”...

And after that, nothing.

Ace sci-fi writer Brian William Neal makes the reader's heart beat ever faster. If you are coming to this great sci-fi epic for the first time, do please begin at the beginning by clicking on Denizens in the menu on this page. And allow hours and hours to read a great adventure story. You're sure to be hooked!

Continue reading "18 - Lost" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...A few days later the Hermes crossed the orbits of Neptune, then Pluto, and they left the solar system, headed into deep space. They were, finally, going “where no one had gone before”...

The Hermes continues to accelerate, faster, ever faster, nearing the speed of light.

...For the moment, now that there was nothing to do but wait for the big event, all they could do was get as much rest as they could and wait out the last few hours. One way or another, they were about to find out if the barrier existed. And if it did, whether anything or anyone could pass through it...

Brian William Neal's dazzling sci-fi novel takes you to places where your imagination has never been before. To read earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "17 - Space" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:22 AM | Permalink

...On either side of the sub, as far as the eye could see, stretched the barren seabed of the Pacific. A few deep-sea creatures, blind sea worms and the occasional mollusk, shied away as their bodies reacted to the massive outpouring of light. But it was the scene directly ahead that held the crew spellbound.

Submersible number one was suspended, as if in space, a mere fifty meters from the most awesome void ever looked into by man. Its abyssal grandeur stretched before them, an undersea vista that made the Grand Canyon look like a plow furrow...

They crew of the submersible are about to descend into the Mariana Trench, the deepest dive ever undertaken.

Tension tightens, notch by exciting notch, in Brian William Neal's epic sci fi adventure. To read earlier chapters of this thrilling story please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "16 - Abyss" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 10:22 AM | Permalink

“Well, as the man said, last chance to turn around.” Nobody spoke, and for a moment there was silence on the bridge. Then Jonathan said, “I don’t wish to impose on anyone, Cal, but do you think it would be all right if I said a short prayer before we begin our journey? Sort of a benediction, if you like.”

A prayer is said, then Cal fires the attitude thrusters and the ship drives out of orbit and away from their home world. They watch quietly as the earth moves out of their forward view screens and the ship heads towards deep space...

Oh boy! Master story-teller Brian William Neal makes you feel as though you are in the spaceship, heading out on the greatest journey every undertaken by humans.

To read earlier chapters of this thrilling novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "15 - Lightship" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

The Mariana Trench, site of the deepest place yet discovered on the planet. The place had been named Challenger Deep, and it was home of…what?...

The research teams prepare to descend deeper into the Pacific Ocean than any human has ever been before, investigating the sightings of giant creatures.

Tension builds in Brian William Neal's brilliant sci-fi adventure. To read earlier chapters of this marvelously imaginative novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "14 - Guam" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...The four had met for the first time in this very briefing room. They had reacted warily, mentally circling each other like a group of tag-team wrestlers, uncertain and awkward in each other’s company...

And now the four are together at the Kennedy Space Centre, waiting to set out on mankind's first attempt to travel at the speed of light.

Brian William Neal's thrilling sci-fi story pins you back in your seat and compels you to read as fast as your eyes will go. To read earlier chapters of this great adventure please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "13 - Meetings" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...what if Arnie decides he wants to take it all the way to the bottom of the Mariana Trench?” Tom gesticulated, slopping a little whiskey on his hand. “Thirty seven, thirty eight thousand feet, for Christ’s sake! Almost two miles deeper than Everest is high.” He sipped at his drink, and continued. “That’s a pressure of about thirteen hundred atmospheres! Can you imagine what it would be like to have that weight of water between you and the surface?”...

The team assembled to investigate the sighting of huge creatures in the deepest ocean reaches begin to contemplate the enormity of their mission.

Brian William Neal's great sci-fi adventure novel leaves you each week begging to read the next episode. For earlier chapters please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "12 - Departure" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

“I rounded a bend, and there in front of me was something I can only describe in the haziest of terms. I’m still not really sure what it was; part vision, part of it really there. To this day, I still can’t adequately describe what I saw.”

Jonathan Edge, a brilliant scientist confined to a wheel chair and a recruit to the Hermes project to investigate huge creatures reported to have been sighted in the sea depths, was told a strange tale by his friend-to-be Father Sean Driscoll.

Brian William Neal writes exciting and intriguing science fiction. His characters are so real you feel as though you have read about them in newspapers and magazines. For earlier chapters of this hugely entertaining novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "11 - Saint" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Arnold shrugged. “Who knows? I will admit, I was as skeptical as I imagine you were when I first heard the story, but you and I both know there are a lot of places on this planet that haven’t been explored. Who knows what might be found in a place like the Mariana Trench? These sightings…Well, Cheeseman didn’t strike me as a particularly credulous sort. More like your typical spook, actually.”

“What do you suppose they might be? The sightings, I mean,” asked Tom.

Arnold shook his head. “I don’t know.” Then he brightened. “But it’s going to be fascinating to find out.”...

Tom Stoppard gets to know the members of the team, including the delectable Jennifer Oates, who will be investigating the sightings of huge creatures in the deepest ocean levels.

For earlier chapters of Brian William Neal's gripping sci fi novel please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "10 - Jennifer" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 11:04 AM | Permalink

...Bill had answered the door. But it was not his wife on the doorstep. Instead, two young policemen stood there. The look in their eyes was so final, so irrevocable, that he knew immediately why they were there.

The world reeled around him, and he only dimly heard the police telling him of the drunken maniac who had crossed the median strip on the freeway and collided head-on with Kathleen’s car at ninety miles an hour. In one stroke, with that one insane act, Bill’s life had been ruined, destroyed, the life he and Kathleen had planned wiped out as though it had never existed....

But widower Doctor William O’Rourke, probably the country’s foremost nuclear fusion engineer, may be about to do what no human has ever done before - travel at lightspeed.

For earlier chapters of Brian William Neal's inventive and satisfying sci fi saga please click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "9 - Cowboy" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:02 PM | Permalink

...Katzmeyer took Julia by the arm. “Come, my dear. Let the young man get settled in. Lunch downstairs in the canteen in about half an hour, Tom. Just turn left at the bottom of the stairs and follow your nose.”

Then they left Tom alone, and he stood in the middle of the room and looked around. “Welcome to the booby hatch,” he said aloud. Then he laughed, and began to unpack his bags...

Tom Stoddard arrives at a secret research institute and is welcomed by the eccentric Dr Katzmeyer.

For earlier chapters of Brian William Neal's stunning novel of the future click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "8 - Arnold" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

Calvin T Ferguson and his Navajo pal Joe McCulloch are climbing a vertical pillar of rock in Arizona – aware that this might be their last adventure together. For Cal is about to embark on the greatest adventure ever attempted by humankind…

Brian William Neal’s magnum space story gathers momentum. Brian not only creates compulsively readable plots. His characters are so believable that you one day expect to meet them. For earlier chapters if this great story click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "7 - Pilot" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Cheeseman sat forward in the chair, hands clasped in front of him. “Mr. Stoddard, Professor Kleinman has assured me that I can rely on your complete discretion, and I’m sure that’s true. So I’ll ask you to please forgive me if I stress that everything you hear in this room today is highly classified and top secret, and any unauthorized repetition would be regarded as tantamount to treason.”...

Tom Stoddard, a bright young marine biologist currently teaching at UCLA, is recruited for a top secret mission to investigate sightings of astonishingly huge marine creatures in the Pacific.

Brian William Neal, writing with great style, creates believable characters and situations which fully engage the imagination in his latest sci-fi novel. To read the story from the beginning click on Denizens in the menu on this page. Read also in Open Writing Brian's novels The Last Star Trek and The Kingdom Of The Blind.

Continue reading "6 - Tom" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

Karen Purdy, a gynaecologist, an attractive woman in her 30s, is reduced to selling lingerie in a department store after being struck off the Medical Register for performing an illegal pregnancy termination. But she is about to face an extraordinary and unexpected challenge.

Brian William's Neal's great sci-fi novel continues to surprise. To read earlier chapters of this story click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "5 - The Doctor" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...They melted it, froze it, beat it, stretched it, rolled it and literally did everything to it that it was possible to do. They bombarded it with lasers, gamma rays and ultra-violet. During the course of their tests, they discovered, among other things, that it had an extremely high melting point, unprecedented for such a soft metal, of over ten thousand degrees Celsius. This made it perfect for the heat shields of spacecraft such as re-entry vehicles.

But the oddest property they found was that it only existed in two states, metal and liquid. After melting, which turned it into a liquid resembling mercury, further heating had no visible effect. Try as they might, the scientists could not make it turn gaseous, even at temperatures approaching one hundred thousand degrees...

The properties of the metal found on an asteroid defies the best investigative efforts of Earth scientists.

Brian William Neal is that rarest of sci-fi writers - he tells exciting must-read-on tales, and makes them believable in every detail. For earlier chapters of his thrilling new novel click on Denizens in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "4 - Metal" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...The outer door of the lock slid open, and Zac looked out at the blackness of space. It was a sight he had never tired of, even though he had seen it all day every day for the past three months. The stars glittered against a backdrop of black velvet, like diamonds in a jeweler’s case. Zac stared in wonder at the grandeur of the cosmos, and grinned behind his faceplate...

Zac and his Aussie good buddy Digger are about to make a discovery while mining the asteroid belt which will make them extremely rich men.

Brian William Neal's gripping space adventure conveys the drama and loneliness of working beyond Earth's confines.

Continue reading "3 - Strike" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...By the time he was sixteen, Zac was making regular dives into the caves under the farm, some of which went so deep that the excursions often took a whole day. Often he could be seen trudging across the fields in the twilight, tired but happy, his young shoulders weighed down with large coils of rope, his belt festooned with caribiners and pitons, still wearing his caver’s helmet and lamp...

Zac Brody, an Ohio farm boy who thrives on being in enclosed spaces, is aboard a space ship, heading out to help mine an asteroid.

Brian William Neal sets the scene for a long, gloriously entertaining space adventure. Settle down for a ride to places you never imagined.

Continue reading "2 - Miner" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Not that the Chaffee was a bad ship; on the contrary, as miners went, it was considered one of the better postings. But although being on it had put him where he wanted more than anywhere else to be, it was still a miner, and Roland had his sights set higher than the merchant fleet. Tooling around the asteroid belt capturing rocks the size of a small island was not going to be his life’s work, not if he could help it.

Career-wise, his eyes were on the newly created United Space Federation, formed in the wake of the scientific discoveries that had revolutionized space flight in the early years of the twenty-first century. The Federation’s recruitment quotas had been filled for the year by the time he had completed his basic astronaut training, and he had accepted this posting to the mining fleet in order to gain valuable off-planet experience. But next year….

Ensign Roland Parke is made for space travel, for excitement and high adventure - and when master story teller Brian William Neal is at work you are guaranteed a plentiful supply of these ingredients.

Today Brian launches into another gripping sci-fi tale. Though set in the future it has huge releveance for today. Follow the story week by week in Open Writing.

Read also Brian's novels The Kingdom Of The Blind and The Last Star Trek by clicking on those titles in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "1 - Lobster" »

Written by Brian William Neal - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...So now it falls to me to set down this history. The Antarian shuttle disaster of last June claimed six hundred and fifty-seven lives, chief among them (at least from my partisan point of view) my parents. Consequently, I find myself unwillingly released from my promise to my father that an account such as this would not be published in his lifetime. He felt that turning the Event into a story would cheapen his and my mother’s part in it; such was never my intention, nor my wish. However, the final judgment will, as always dear reader, rest with you...

So begins an epic tale that will seize hold of your attention and hold it in thrall during forthcoming weeks and months.

Master storyteller Brian William Neal already has two great novels in Open Writing - The Kingdom Of The Blind and The Last Star Trek. Click on those titles in the menu on this page for hours and hours of reading pleasure.

Today we begin the serialisation of another of Brian's unforgettable books - Denizens. Read this prologue, and you will be hooked. Then watch out for the continuation of the story, chapter by chapter, every Monday in Open Writing.

Continue reading "Prologue" »

Written by - Published at 12:12 PM | Permalink