Gowan
This is how Meistre Gowan became a quiet legend in Camelot, the humble craftsman who kept the Kingdom of Logres moving forward, one perfect silent step at a time.…
Europe writes itself. Again. And we are thrilled to have you here to read it.
The Anchor and the Roads
He was the richest man in the county, for in a world of constant motion, he had a treasure worth returning to.…
Speechless Hours
He wrote for ten or twelve hours a day. This was not an exaggeration, although people tended to assume it was when they first heard it. He began after breakfast and often did not notice the afternoon arriving. He would look up at four and discover that the light had…
Screwdrivers and Headshrinkers
It is a daily occurrence. Last month, I was asked to replace a broken door handle on Ward Four. Dr Gregory, the chief psychiatrist, cornered me in the hallway and spent forty-five minutes explaining that the brass handle had developed an Oedipus complex and was actively refusing to be turned…
The Hellstein Files
Consider Hell, for instance, where every virtue of mortal existence is systematically inverted to accommodate thieves, murderers, architects of global warming, warmongers, fraudsters and politicians. Especially politicians.…
The Complete Circle of Bread
Evening at my grandparents’ house always smelled of woodsmoke and roasting root vegetables. I was always happy to have dinner there, but my true delight came at the start of the meal, when it was time for my grandfather to slice the loaf. He would fetch the sharpest knife in…
An AI-Generated Love Affair
Their relationship became a secret. Zenia existed only behind a password. Zen existed in the ordinary world, where people expected him to work, eat, sleep and occasionally pretend that everything was fine.…
Notes on Petite, Polite Absurdities
A silver clock on the mantelpiece struck six, though its hands spun backwards, dissolving into a fine mist of copper dust. Outside their window, the pavement sloped upwards into a calm, infinite sea where fish with glowing lanterns debated the price of salt.…
Summa Cum Confusion (Part 1)
Dr Guy B. Cybelius had a summa cum laude PhD in Comparative Literature, specialising in Afro-European Culture. He was also as absent-minded as a scientist could possibly be. At least, that was what the visible signs suggested: He had red wine with ice for breakfast. He regularly wore two different-coloured…
The Three Mid-Lives of Giuseppe Parpanuel
In a quiet village nestled between rolling green hills, a boy named Giuseppe Parpanuel was born with a constitution so delicate he seemed made of tissue paper. His know-it-all Aunt Filomena looked at the pale infant and declared, he would last twelve months, twenty-four at most. Consequently, the family delayed…
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Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight
The tension is personified by Statler and Waldorf, the two elderly cynics perched permanently in the box seats. They are the ultimate…
Books of Our Continent
From the quiet shelves of forty-four national archives and ancient university libraries to the cosy corners of independent bookstores and modest home…
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