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    Murphy's Law
    Murphy's Law
    Murphy's Law
    Ebook40 pages

    Murphy's Law

    By Douglas Smith

    ()

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    About this ebook

    As First Officer on the part passenger ship, part space freighter, The Fiscal Restraint, Dex thinks he knows all there is to know about "Murphy's Law": If anything can go wrong, it will. And on the perpetually under-staffed, under-funded Restraint, it generally does.

     

    But when Dex hires Orville Sod onto the Restraint, he meets a real-life "Murphy"—one of those sad souls who attract more than their fair share of calamity. By the time Dex has figured that out, things have become, uh, complicated. A VIP is almost killed… Food systems have shut down… The navigation computer has been destroyed.

     

    Well, at least things can't get any worse…

     

    Oh…wait…

     

    Science fiction, space, humour (short story)

     

    "Douglas Smith showcases his talent for creating strong characters who are believable and sympathetic—even when they inhabit an absurd world. That world is painted vividly with efficient brush strokes as Smith expertly weaves between Murphy's misadventures on board the Fiscal Restraint and Dex's retelling of the same to his captive audience at The House Limit. 'Murphy's Law' is a hilarious, yet poignant read." —Rainbow Dragon Recommends

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDouglas Smith
    Release dateJun 1, 2011
    ISBN9781928048053
    Murphy's Law
    Author

    Douglas Smith

    Douglas Smith is an award-winning historian and translator and the author of Rasputin and Former People, which was a bestseller in the U.K. His books have been translated into a dozen languages. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, he has written for The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and has appeared in documentaries with the BBC, National Geographic, and Netflix. Before becoming a historian, he worked for the U.S. State Department in the Soviet Union and as a Russian affairs analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He lives with his family in Seattle.

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      Book preview

      Murphy's Law - Douglas Smith

      Murphy’s Law

      by Douglas Smith

      As First Officer on the part passenger ship, part space freighter, The Fiscal Restraint, Jack Dexter (Dex to his friends) thinks he knows all there is to know about Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. And on the perpetually under-staffed, under-funded Restraint, it generally does.

      But he never expected to actually meet Murphy. The real Murphy.

      Dex hires Orville Sod onto the Restraint just before the ship makes the jump to deep space. Unfortunately, by the time that Dex figures out that Orville is a real-life Murphy—one of those sad souls who attract more than their fair share of calamity—things have become, uh, complicated. A VIP is almost killed… Food systems have shut down… The navigation computer has been destroyed.

      Well, at least things can’t get any worse…

      Oh…wait…

      ~~

      Douglas Smith showcases his talent for creating strong characters who are believable and sympathetic—even when they inhabit an absurd world. That world is painted vividly with efficient brush strokes as Smith expertly weaves between Murphy’s misadventures on board the Fiscal Restraint and Dex’s retelling of the same to his captive audience at The House Limit. ‘Murphy’s Law’ is a hilarious, yet poignant read.

      —Rainbow Dragon Recommends

      Table of Contents

      DESCRIPTION

      MURPHY’S LAW

      ABOUT THE STORY

      A REQUEST

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      ALSO BY DOUGLAS SMITH

      THE HOLLOW BOYS

      THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD

      CHIMERASCOPE

      COPYRIGHT

      MURPHY’S LAW

      DEX HADN’T PLANNED

      to save the entire human race. Mostly, he’d been trying not to die, while still keeping his job in the process—two goals that, Dex had learned, were often mutually exclusive. However, since humanity remained unobliterated, from Earth to the outer ring colonies, while Jack Dexter—Dex to his friends—remained broke, he figured that his fellow humans at The House Limit could at least buy him a beer.

      The Limit was the only spacer bar on Station Beta One, making it the perfect destination for two things: cheap beer and a good yarn. More importantly, Dex knew that the second could serve as payment for the first.

      Crash Carswell was lovingly polishing the long strip of white heat shielding that formed the top of the bar when Dex walked in. The shielding came from Crash’s old tug ship, a vessel that had provided both Crash’s nickname and much of the décor of the Limit. The big

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