[Image: one of 23kpc’s inspirations — science-fiction illustrator Frank R. Paul‘s rendering, from the mid-20th century, of an asteroid repurposed as a spaceship.]

For a couple of months now, over on Substack, I’ve been building an ongoing work-in-progress — a (sort of) science fiction novel, called 23kpc. I thought long-time RAMH readers might want to check it out, especially if you’re at all interested in — or at least willing to try — science fiction.

Now, I use the term “science fiction” advisedly. 23kpc is not serious science fiction, and will quite possibly offer few satisfactions to fans of that sort. The first-person protagonist, Guy Landis, is a private eye aboard a twenty-Nth-century spaceship: a retrofitted asteroid, now a luxury liner, dubbed the ISS Tascheter. The “vibe” falls roughly into the subgenre of something called Decopunk: science fiction with a mid-20th-century sensibility straight out of 1930s Hollywood. Guy’s not at all techno-savvy and must rely on others to explain the ship’s workings, as needed. There’s a lot of so-called “handwaving,” in other words: stuff just sorta-kinda works, without explanation. If you insist on knowing the mechanics of how the ship is moving, or how the passengers and crew live to survive what will likely be a centuries-long trip to the other side of the galaxy… well, save us both the distress at quite possibly never knowing, and just move along.

Otherwise, you might try out the first installment, called “Reviving an Inert Narrative,” posted in early September. (Each posted installment includes a link to the next installment, when the latter becomes available.) While I welcome subscribers, a subscription — or even a Substack account — shouldn’t be necessary (for now) to read that post and the subsequent ones. It’s up to 18 chapters so far, with a new post every Friday/Saturday.

(There’s also a reader’s guide available, but it won’t be of much use to you unless you’ve been following the story all along.)