Hope’s Song

June 1865: The Dimensional Veil has been breached, allowing monsters from beyond the Numinous to enter the human world of the Gaia American Union. They are the Eelees: reptilian invaders who blasted a dimensional pathway from their own realm into the human world in pursuit of conquest. Riding their monstrous spider-mounts, they begin a war with humanity that still rages seven years later. By sheer force of will, determination, and the resurgent powers of magic and technology, the Gaia Defense Coalition has forced a stalemate, but with little hope of a final victory. Five disparate souls struggle to survive: Nurse Matron Miriam Kosanavic serving aboard the hospital train Aesculapius; Lakota ＂ Demon Hunter＂ and ornithopter pilot Sky Wolf and his spirit-brother, the white cougar Torra; Jom, an escaped human prisoner from the Eelees, harboring a startling secret; and an Eelee shapeshifter who may be more powerful than anyone realizes. And amid the chaos, a young orphan girl named Hope strives to find her voice, to sing a song for the future of humans and Eelees alike.

Larry Ivkovich’s speculative fiction has been published in over twenty-five online and print publications. He’s been a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest and was the 2010 recipient of the CZP/Rannu Fund award for fiction. Larry has a story in an upcoming anthology later this year titled Tales from the Wood, which features fantasy stories inspired by the music of Jethro Tull. His four-part urban fantasy series, The Spirit Winds Quartet, is published by IFWG Publishing, and the first two books in his independently published science fiction series, The Magus Star Trilogy, are available on Amazon. Forthcoming from IFWG in 2024 is Larry’s SF/Steampunk novella, Hope’s Song. Larry is a member of the Pittsburgh SF organization Parsec, the writing/critique group WorD, Pennsylvania Statewide Writers’ Group Pennwriters, and the Pittsburgh Mindful Writers. He lives in Coraopolis, PA with his beautiful, multi-talented wife Martha and wonder cat Milo.