Raymund Eich

Science fiction and fantasy - from Middle America to the ends of the Universe

Hi ,

Raymund Eich here. My big non-writing news this week is that my son had his first ever tackle football game on Tuesday. You might have heard the term "Friday Night Lights" referring to the intensity that some folks in Texas devote to high school football. Middle school isn't nearly the same, but it is impressive to see Astroturf fields and cheerleading squads. Our school sent almost as many cheerleaders as fans.

My son's team lost, badly, but that's not the point. He worked hard and was part of his team. He plays offensive line--if American football isn't your thing, that means he's one of the big guys who tries to push defenders out of the way for the ball carrier to run or the quarterback to have time to throw.

Most people think offensive line is not an important position, but they're wrong. I keep thinking of a quote from Bertholt Brecht's poem Fragen eines Lesenden Arbeiter (Questions of an Educated Workingman). Paraphrasing from the original German:

"Alexander the Great conquered India."

All by himself?

Take a moment and thank the unsung people who work hard to make your life easier. You'll make their day. And maybe your own.

After the game, while I waited at my son's school for the team bus to return from the stadium, I read a story that touches on themes of good and bad leadership. Bad leadership, in this case. The equivalent of an alternate history where Alexander didn't turn back from the Indus River. (Brecht's history was wrong. Alexander didn't conquer India, because his soldiers had been campaigning for fifteen years and went on strike because they wanted to go home).

Don"t worry, the story wasn't preachy or dry. It was a fun mix of space opera and dystopia, chock full of paranormal powers. And it was free.

Beyond Their Reach

by Katherine Franklin

Sounds like your kind of story? Grab it at the following link, in exchange for signing up for Katherine's mailing list.

Beyond their Reach, by Katherine Franklin

If it's not to your taste, half an hour of reading time and an unsubscribe later and you're back where you started. If it whets your appetite for Katherine's Galaxy of Exiles universe, she'll be happy to tell you more. That link again:

Beyond their Reach, by Katherine Franklin

That's all for now. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. One of my novels will be on a limited time discount. Only $0.99 or equivalent for the ebook.

Which one? Check your email in two weeks. Till then,

Happy reading!

Raymund