Curtis C. Chen – författare

When you hear of claw machines, what do you picture?In this anthology, claw machines aren't just beacons for lost dollars and frustration, filled with cheap toys that rarely make it home with us. The claw machine is a game, a curse, a tool, even a drug-induced metaphor. It gives omens of death, portals to other dimensions, plushies that aren't what they seem, eggs filled with things you'd never imagine, and so much more.Claw Machine is a collection of stories, with a special introduction, written by 18 established and emerging authors. Their unique speculative stories and dark fiction will grab and pull you in. Unlike the arcade game, you'll definitely walk away with something after reading these stories. *Stories by Angelique O'Rourke, Angela Yuriko Smith, Beth Cook, Curtis C. Chen, Elle Mitchell, Erik Grove, J.B. Kish, Katherine Quevedo, Laura K. Burge, Marriane Xenos, Mark Teppo, Pia Baur, Sarah Walker, Simone Cooper, Summer Olsson, Valerie Geary, Wes Mitchell / Introduction by Will Errickson / Edited by Elle Mitchell

Meet Kangaroo.He's a superpowered secret agent who's about to face his toughest mission yet:Vacation. Kangaroo isn't your typical spy. Sure, he has extensive agency training, access to bleeding-edge technology, and a ready supply of quips and retorts. But what sets him apart is the pocket: a portal that opens into an empty, seemingly infinite, parallel universe. Kangaroo is the only person in the world who can use the pocket, and he's pretty sure his agency only keeps him around to exploit this superpower for their own purposes.After he bungles yet another mission, Kangaroo gets sent away on a mandatory "e;vacation."e; While trying to make the most of his exile aboard an interplanetary cruise to Mars, two passengers are found dead, and Kangaroo risks blowing his cover to investigate. However, it turns out he's not the only spy on the ship—and he's just starting to realize that there is a massive conspiracy to unravel.Now, when a hijacker takes over the ship and threatens to crash it into Mars, Kangaroo has to stop the disaster which would shatter the delicate peace that's existed between Earth and Mars ever since the brutal Martian Independence War. A new conflict could devastate the entire Solar System. Billions of lives are at stake and it's up to Kangaroo, and Kangaroo alone, to save them.Weren't vacations supposed to be relaxing? A high octane science-fiction spy thriller that puts a new spin on the outer space adventure, WAYPOINT KANGAROO kicks off a blockbuster series full of adrenaline and intrigue.