Fiction
At the suggestion of one of my guides, I’ve decided to make available a small collection of my fiction. I enjoy writing speculative fiction of all kinds, from historical fiction to hard science fiction to high fantasy. For the present, I’ve made some fiction available for free. Any and all feedback is deeply appreciated. Thanks!
- The Last Man to Believe in God. John Doakes, of Gypsum, New Hampshire, is the last man to believe in God. Kate Wright, doctoral student in religious studies, has set herself the task of finding out why — why does he continue to believe, without support from family or community? What purpose does this belief serve, especially in an era when immortality drugs make the idea of an afterlife irrelevant? Is he psychotic? Or is he the last sane man?
- The Secret of the Day Rat. A story of a rat’s simple but determined quest for a higher standard of living.
- The Time Machine and the Prince of Mars. Frank really is a nice guy, once you get to know him. Of course, he did almost kill that one guy, and he killed himself too — at least twice, actually — but he’s not really a killer, when you get down to it. The first guy was really asking for it; and as far as killing himself, well, he did it to defend Ashley’s honor. Which, Ashely thinks, is really pretty sweet. Sometimes you just really can tell he’s a prince.
- Virginia Dare. What if North America were reversed east-to-west, with the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Appalachians to the west? In this alternate history story, the high Rockies slowed the advance of the Europeans enough that now, in the 20th century, Native Americans still live in powerful independent nations. This story covers a crucial episode in the 2nd World War.
- Wild Enough and Free. In Greenland, in the year 1100 AD, the Christian missionary Mona wanders into the remote fjord where Ulf, one of the last believers in Odin and Thor, is living alone. Their intertwined journeys will carry them far from everything the Europeans have ever known.
- Zopyrus. Babylon is under siege: it has revolted against Persian rule, and King Darius I is leading his armies personally against the ancient city. The siege is already twenty months old, and the Persians are growing weary. Young Zopyrus, head of Darius’s stables, hatches a daring plan to break the Babylonians, for the glory of Persia. But even as he prepares to betray the Babylonians, he begins to wonder whether he will find himself betraying the Persians instead.
All of these pdfs are downloadable completely free. Very soon I plan to offer them all as a short-story collection in physical book form, along with a general introduction, illustrations, and notes on each story, discussing why I came to write it, and its evolution.



February 17th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Jeff, I just read The Last Man To Believe In God. You have an awesome talent for the written word. I have said it before. You stretch my mind, my idea of what is possible. You help me to see new and exciting possibilities. Thank you for that.
February 17th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Oh, Patricia, I’m blushing…! Thank you. Stretching peoples’ minds is exactly what I’m shooting for in most of my fiction. Thanks so much for that affirmation!
March 6th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Jeff,
I’m working through your fiction bit by bit. So far my favorite is The Time Machine and the Prince of Mars. I love the style, exploring half-serious philosophical questions through the parody of its bizarre setting.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
That’s great to hear, Vitor! Thanks for carving out time for me. That’s one of my very favorites, too; and it was a lot of fun to write… once I figured out how to tell the story. The style is based partly on the GURPS Illuminati University game setting, plus some of my wife’s stories about MIT.