Of Stars and Shadows

Two very good novellas in this 2fer.

Jeffrey Turner's This Instance Of Me is a straight-up whodunit/adventure set on an orbital habitat. It's well-written with good dialog, good characterization & world-building, and a nicely flowing narrative. The mystery is pretty good too. Kept me guessing until the denouement.

Mark W. Tiedemann's Of Stars & Shadows is a Genghis Khan in space story. It imagines a massive horde of spaceships that swarms throughout the galaxy conquering as it goes. Killing the Emperor is the only way to stop the horde. Or is it? What happens when you realize your dream of vengeance against the ancient emperor - and then step into his place? How do you dismantle such a construct without the entire galaxy descending into chaos? Deep stuff with no easy answers for the protagonist - or the reader. I'm a fan of Tiedemann's writing and, once again, he does not disappoint here.