Charles A Cornell
Speculative fiction
science fiction
When Charles Cornell isn’t trying to survive the chaos of everyday life, he’s dreaming up speculative fiction ranging from the mysterious to the macabre, often blending science fiction with fantasy and alternative history.
CRYSTAL NIGHT
From the anthology, The Prometheus Saga
Gold Medal - Best Novella 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Florida Writers Association Berlin, 1938. On the eve of one of history’s darkest moments, a Swedish bartender with unusual talents accidentally uncovers a woman’s hidden past while working in the heart of Nazi Germany. Crystal Night is a tale of intrigue and mystery with a twist of science fiction that follows ordinary German citizens as they struggle under the jackboots of marauding brown-shirts, the dreaded Gestapo and the infamous SS. Can the Prometheus probe as ‘Johann Nilsson’ remain detached during this ugly piece of our history, or will it become an accomplice as the Holocaust accelerates?
THE ORCHID MAN
From the anthology, The Prometheus Saga 2
Gold Medal - Best Novelette 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards Florida Writers Association The Vietnam War, 1968. Hidden deep in the jungles of the Central Highlands, a garden of orchids with medicinal properties attracts a mysterious Chinese student. When Viet Cong guerrillas raid a nearby hamlet to steal elephants, the stranger, known by the locals as the Orchid Man, and a boy from the village are taken to the VC's jungle camp. A large battalion from the North Vietnamese Army arrives. The camp in the rainforest is targeted by a US helicopter assault. The abducted pair become trapped in the crossfire of a brutal and deadly firefight. Many years after the battle, the involvement of the Orchid Man in the Vietnam War has created an enduring memorial in the heart of the Vietnamese jungle and left emotionally charged marks on the lives of everyone affected. A story of desperate survival in a time of conflict, as seen through the eyes of an alien.
CHILDREN OF THE STARS
From the anthology, Return To Earth
In modern day Japan, an American medical researcher discovers the deadly secret behind an eighty-year-old woman's ageless appearance and incredible fertility, and her connection to the bizarre disappearance of the freighter the Ourang Medan in 1948. The ship was found drifting, her entire crew dead, their blistered faces turned to the sky, their fingers pointing skywards. Two journalists claim to know what happened aboard the Ourang Medan that night. Who chartered it and why had been a deep mystery. That is, until now. And this secret— the origin of The Children Of The Stars— now threatens mankind.
THE SCREAM
From the anthology,
The Masters Reimagined 2
A man steps into the path of a tram. An art school love affair turns tragic. And the eccentric wandering of an antiques dealer catches the attention of a detective investigating the theft of Norway’s most celebrated work of art, Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Haunted by weird dreams and psychic visions, former mental patient Torsten Egland may provide the key in Detective Inspector Henrik Nordkapp’s search for the stolen painting. After a series of mysterious events, Nordkapp must decide if he should abandon traditional police methods and place his faith in a quirky man whose troubled mind may be communicating with the painting itself.
ANDROMEDA CALLING
From the anthology, The Light Fantastic
It’s October 1962 and the world is gripped by the Cuban Missile Crisis. But there’s more important things on ten-year-old Peter Piggott’s mind...how to get even with his nemesis, the class bully, Tommy Brant. When UFOs appear over Los Angeles, Peter has an idea. Using his Dad’s HAM radio, he enlists extra-terrestrial help.
SOD'S LAW
From the anthology, The Light Fantastic
Mack Lancaster earns a meagre living in orbit, recovering space junk to sell as souvenirs at the gift shop of the Galaxy Eye, a research station and hotel tethered to Earth by a space elevator. He hopes his latest find—the wreckage of a spacecraft that appeared out of nowhere—will make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But the Laws of the Universe have a surprise for our space cowboy. His adventures have only just begun.