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    A Bird in the Hand: The Heroka stories, #0.2
    A Bird in the Hand: The Heroka stories, #0.2
    A Bird in the Hand: The Heroka stories, #0.2
    Ebook30 pages21 minutes

    A Bird in the Hand: The Heroka stories, #0.2

    By Douglas Smith

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    About this ebook

    Aurora Award Finalist

     

    Lilith Hoyl awakes to find herself a prisoner in a top-secret government laboratory. To win her freedom, all she needs to do is prove that she's human.

     

    Urban fantasy, shapeshifters (a Heroka short story)

     

    "A very interesting turn-around story, in which our expectations are upended at the last minute. ...a good read, and sadly, far too relevant to our own present world." —The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf

     

    "...great fun to read" —Dreams and Speculations

     

    "...has a woman fed chemicals to prove whether she's human or a shape-shifter ... well worth reading." —SF Crowsnest Reviews

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDouglas Smith
    Release dateJun 1, 2011
    ISBN9780991800759
    A Bird in the Hand: The Heroka stories, #0.2
    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

      A Bird in the Hand - Douglas Smith

      A BIRD IN THE HAND

      by Douglas Smith

      A Heroka story

      Aurora Award Finalist

      Lilith Hoyl awakes to find herself a prisoner in a top-secret government laboratory. To win her freedom, all she needs to do is prove that she’s human.

      ~~

      It’s a very interesting turn-around story, in which our expectations are upended at the last minute. ...a good read, and sadly, far too relevant to our own present world.

      —The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf

      ...great fun to read

      —Dreams and Speculations

      ...has a woman fed chemicals to prove whether she’s human or a shape-shifter ... well worth reading.

      —SF Crowsnest Reviews

      Table of Contents

      DESCRIPTION

      A BIRD IN THE HAND

      ABOUT THE STORY

      A REQUEST

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      ALSO BY DOUGLAS SMITH

      THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD

      THE HOLLOW BOYS

      COPYRIGHT

      A BIRD IN THE HAND

      "DID YOU CHECK

      the electrodes and restraints again?"

      A male voice, she thought. Hard, sharp.

      Yes, doctor. I didn’t like being in there with her.

      Different voice, but male again. This one sounded nervous.

      I wonder what she’ll be? the first voice asked.

      Only two of them? She kept her eyes closed, listening.

      Something beautiful, I think. She certainly is now.

      Where was she? She tried moving. The structure under her swayed slightly, creaking. Some kind of table.

      Stay focused, Steen. She’s one of them.

      We don’t know for sure, the one called Steen replied.

      Her arms were strapped down. She was wearing a short gown. She felt cold metal under her bare legs and more straps. Something soft and plastic pulled at a corner of her mouth.

      Look at the readings, man! Have they been wrong yet?

      "No. No, they

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