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    Spirit Dance: The Heroka stories, #0.1
    Spirit Dance: The Heroka stories, #0.1
    Spirit Dance: The Heroka stories, #0.1
    Ebook41 pages

    Spirit Dance: The Heroka stories, #0.1

    By Douglas Smith

    ()

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    About this ebook

    AURORA AWARD WINNER
    Year's Best Fantasy & Horror honorable mention
    Internet SF database Top 50 stories of the year

     

    The Heroka are an ancient race of shape shifters, drawing their powers and vitality from their animal totems.

     

    Gwyn Blaidd, a Heroka of the wolf totem, has been a recluse ever since a deadly battle years ago with the Tainchel, the covert government agency that hunts the Heroka—a battle that cost him the only woman he ever loved.

     

    But when Gwyn is asked by the head of the Heroka to stop an old friend from killing a powerful logging baron, it begins a chain of events that will force Gwyn to again confront the Tainchel—and his own dark past.

     

    *** Prequel story to Doug's novel The Wolf at the End of the World ***

     

    Urban fantasy, shapeshifters (a Heroka novelette)

     

    "A vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King." —Challenging Destiny

     

    "The characters are intriguing and the story beguiling. I would like to read more about these characters." —SF Crowsnest Book Reviews

     

    "An [example of] the author's ability to place the possible and impossible side by side to excellent effect in an action packed story." —Hellnotes

     

    "An adventurous tale that's propelled by character drama ... If this was a Hollywood movie, this would be your blockbuster film, complete with adrenaline-pumping action, expensive special effects, and even a sex scene or two to lure in a mainstream audience." —Bibliophile Stalker

     

    "Draws on North American Indian myths, particularly the idea of shapeshifters... Smith once more creates a credible and sympathetic protagonist, Gwyn Blaidd, [who] returns to his old stomping ground to help out some fellow shapeshifters who have become embroiled in a conflict with a large logging concern." —The Fix

     

    "Does interesting things with a love triangle, were-animals and CSIS. (!)" —Christian Sauvé

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDouglas Smith
    Release dateJun 1, 2011
    ISBN9781928048114
    Spirit Dance: The Heroka stories, #0.1
    Author

    Douglas Smith

    Douglas Smith is an award-winning Canadian author described by Library Journal as "one of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction." His fiction has been published in twenty-six languages and thirty-two countries. His work includes the urban fantasy novel, The Wolf at the End of the World, and the collections Chimerascope, Impossibilia, and La Danse des Esprits. His non-fiction guide for writers, Playing the Short Game: How to Market & Sell Short Fiction, is a must read for any short story writer. Doug is a three-time winner of Canada's Aurora Award, and has been a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award, CBC's Bookies Award, Canada's juried Sunburst Award, and France's juried Prix Masterton and Prix Bob Morane. A short film based on Doug's story "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" won several awards at film festivals around the world.

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      Book preview

      Spirit Dance - Douglas Smith

      Spirit Dance

      by Douglas Smith

      Aurora Award WINNER

      A Heroka story

      The Heroka are an ancient race of shape shifters, drawing vitality from their animal totems. Gwyn Blaidd, a Heroka of the wolf totem, has been a recluse ever since a deadly battle with the Tainchel, the covert government agency that hunts his kind—a battle that cost him the woman he loved. But to save an old friend, Gwyn must again face the Tainchel—and his own dark past.

      ~~

      A vivid and wonderfully written tale about Native Canadian spirits, in the vein of Thomas King.

      —Challenging Destiny

      Draws on North American Indian myths, particularly the idea of shapeshifters... Smith once more creates a credible and sympathetic protagonist, Gwyn Blaidd, [who] returns to his old stomping ground to help out some fellow shapeshifters who have become embroiled in a conflict with a large logging concern.

      —The Fix

      Table of Contents

      DESCRIPTION

      SPIRIT DANCE

      ABOUT THE STORY

      A REQUEST

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      ALSO BY DOUGLAS SMITH

      THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD

      THE HOLLOW BOYS

      COPYRIGHT PAGE

      SPIRIT DANCE

      In the beginning of things, men were as animals and animals as men.

      — Cree legend

      VERA MADE A

      warding sign as I entered the store, my hound Gelert trailing behind me. She pretended to wipe her hands on her faded blue apron, but I caught the dance of her fingers.

      Hello, Vera. It’s been a while, I said.

      Yes, yes it has, Mr. Blaidd, she said too quickly, not returning my smile. Turning from where she’d been refilling a food bin, she addressed her husband. I gotta check something in the back, Ed. Almost running, she slipped behind the long wooden counter and into the storeroom at the rear of the store.

      Edward Two Rivers leaned on the counter beside the cash register, a newspaper spread in front of him, his long gray hair spilling onto the pages. He watched her leave then smiled at me.

      Ouch, I said.

      You still spook her, he chuckled.

      Are you going to run and hide too? I asked, grinning.

      The black eyes narrowed, but his smile remained. Vera’s a white woman. My people have told legends of the Heroka for generations, Grey Legs. I grew up with those stories. I’ve known others of your kind...and I think I still know you, even if it’s been...what?

      Four years, I said.

      Four years since you left Wawa. He took my offered hand in a strong grip.

      "Good to see you,

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