A Hill on Which to Die: A Fantasy Novelette
Is this the hill on which you want to die?
An aging orc war chief must decide which battles to fight and which to walk away from as he leads his clan on a desperate exodus to freedom, knowing that every choice could be his last.
The Curse of the Lifewalker: A Short Story
In a post-pandemic world where life ends at twenty-five, one man's immunity becomes his greatest curse.
Most people in Isaac Jameson's world don't live long enough to see their children grow. The Blight, a mysterious plague that has ravaged humanity, claims nearly everyone before their twenty-sixth birthday. In the mountain valleys of what was once the state of Utah, communities struggle to preserve fragments of the old world's knowledge while racing against their own mortality.
Isaac should have died like everyone else. Instead, he becomes the Lifewalker, a man condemned to watch every person he loves age and die while he remains untouched by time.
From author Joe Vasicek comes a deeply moving story that explores what it means to be human in a world where life is fleeting and death is certain. THE CURSE OF THE LIFEWALKER is a contemplative journey through a beautifully imagined post-apocalyptic landscape, where ancient ruins whisper of lost wonders and love becomes both salvation and tragedy.
This story was originally published in the Sci Phi Journal in June 2016.
In a post-pandemic world where life ends at twenty-five, one man’s immunity becomes his greatest curse.
Most people in Isaac Jameson’s world don’t live long enough to see their children grow. The Blight, a mysterious plague that has ravaged humanity, claims nearly everyone before their twenty-sixth birthday. In the mountain valleys of what was once the state of Utah, communities struggle to preserve fragments of the old world’s knowledge while racing against their own mortality.
Isaac should have died like everyone else. Instead, he becomes the Lifewalker, a man condemned to watch every person he loves age and die while he remains untouched by time.
From author Joe Vasicek comes a deeply moving story that explores what it means to be human in a world where life is fleeting and death is certain. THE CURSE OF THE LIFEWALKER is a contemplative journey through a beautifully imagined post-apocalyptic landscape, where ancient ruins whisper of lost wonders and love becomes both salvation and tragedy.
This story was originally published in the Sci Phi Journal in June 2016.
