Fiction & Photos

Neil Struthers's Blog (7)

DELICIOUS HOME-GROWN VEGETABLES

Okay, a couple of warnings before we proceed. 1. This is over seven thousand words long. This was not my intention. I was going for something short. 2. It's a full story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. However, the plot--especially the ending--might make sense to me and only me. It might be one of those things that works only in my head. If so, if I didn't drop clear enough hints through the story, I'm sorry. I honestly just wanted to write something and get it out there. 3. It h… Continue

Added by Neil Struthers on May 11, 2008 at 2:30am — 2 Comments

LORD OF THE TOP FIELD

Antonio Delaguerra stood with his face a few inches away from the faded ferrotype of his father, Jose, where it hung on the wall beside the kitchen door. Whitewashed bricks, a dull nail, tobacco-stained parcel string, and the man's face: the casual madness of his round and staring eyes, irises black and full, the whites brilliant against the muddy dark of his skin, matching the high straight collar of his shirt. Deep wrinkles spilled from

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Added by Neil Struthers on August 5, 2007 at 11:07pm — 5 Comments

The Youth Of Today

I'm only messing around tonight as I am a bit on the tired side. Long week! But anyway--

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First, and from a long way off, came the sound of thunder.

Then the Howlers came running, hundreds of them condensing out of the shadows and miasmal fog, a spectrum of gaunt whites and hispanics decked out in black leather and dirty red plastic,… Continue

Added by Neil Struthers on July 7, 2007 at 2:26am — 7 Comments

The Grasscow's Heart

The Grassland at the height of summer.

Big flowers grew on wiry stalks that reached above the tallest of the wide-bladed grasses. Many-formed, they came in folded bulbs that pointed to the sky, heavy bells with petals that sloped down and curled back on themselves, and strange jug shapes displaying bunches of colourful stamens. They were vibrant hues o

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Added by Neil Struthers on July 1, 2007 at 12:05am — 7 Comments

VANDAL

Hussein Smith knelt and dug a hole in the grass with his finger. He couldn't help but look up; he was close enough to the Sunday crowds of Arcology Eight that he might have reached out and touched them were it not for the impenetrable polyglass wall in his way. He watched as a girl came to a halt right in front of him; she must have been in her early twenties, just a little older than him, tall and

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Added by Neil Struthers on June 24, 2007 at 1:45am — 11 Comments

Patriot Cable

The Internet: ...one nation under the web? Not on this man's watch, no sir. No longer can this electronic speakeasy of subversives, pornographers, free-thinkers and other international terrorists be tolerated within our borders. The path ahead will not be easy. But with God's help--praise JESUS!--we will prevail.

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Added by Neil Struthers on June 15, 2007 at 3:00am — 11 Comments

Brotherhood In The Age Of Space Travel Too Cheap To Meter

This is the start of something, anyway, inspired by the picture.

Epsilon Hailgarden picked himself up from the sawdust and spit, brushed himself down, and said "Mister Arn, it would appear that you've won."

Arn, a mute, toothless, red-headed giant, simply nodded and held out his great thick hand. Epsilon took it, shook it, and spat a gob of bloody froth on the floor. Arn did the same. No red in his. The giant had taken two, maybe three blows to the head, none of wh… Continue

Added by Neil Struthers on May 27, 2007 at 10:18pm — 9 Comments