Derek Des Anges

Obeying the powerful is easy. To resist takes courage.When interests collide-between countries, or social classes, or different notions of right and wrong-power and violence lurk close by. Do you submit out of fear? Or because it's the smart move? Fight to defend your honor or your home? Or do you fight because that is all you have ever known?In For the Good of the Realm: Stories of Power and Defiance, experience eight fantasy short stories by skilled authors-each with a different take on power and obedience. The succession to a noble title depends on the cunning of an underworld fixer. Wizards and common folk struggle for supremacy in a parliamentary democracy. A famous mercenary general returns to the village that he once conquered, with an unknown purpose. Cultures clash as a barbarian princess arrives at the court of a neighboring king with a shocking request. And more For the Good of the Realm features the following short stories: "Dinja Duwar," by S.R. Crickard"A Well-Placed Word," by Derek Des Anges"Magic and Steel," by Liam Hogan"Scars," by Jake Lithua"Birthstones," by Marshall J. Moore"For the Sake of a Dandelion," by Jennifer R. Povey"The Silk Code," by Samantha Rich"The Warrior Princess of Mogtesa," by JM WilliamsWith an introduction by editor Oren Litwin.

"I have no idea what that is, who he is, why the fuck you're asking me, or what the hell is happening," Alec said, simply. ...] "I don't like you, I don't like him, and you've probably resulted in me losing a job I only just got and had to bend over backwards to get by dragging me all over some bullshit hallucination and making me inexplicably late." *** Everything you believe about London is true. *** At least, it's true somewhere. What's also true is that Alec Archer Crowe and Opportunity Chioma Oluchukwu definitely didn't ask to be involved in any version of London other than the one they're in, and yet here they are: faced with disintegrating realities, constantly-changing rules no one will explain, and the world's smelliest witch. Something is horribly, terribly wrong... and not just Alec's sleep schedule.

A rogue surgeon is about to be offered the opportunity of someone else's lifetime. An artist's model and aristocrat's mistress is about to discover even seedier underbellies than she's ever dreamed of in her already troubled imaginings. Elsewhere, righteous fury is brewing beneath the streets of the city, and almost every single horror has the stamp of one mysterious man upon it.This is London as you've never seen it before and hopefully never will again: a world where Lamarckian inheritance is real, where nightmares and desires are satisfied with the flick of a surgeon's knife--if you can afford it.

The year is 1900. An Earl, an engineer, a suburban philosopher, and an enigma meet at University and make a pact to learn the art of conjuring. But nothing among the friends is quite as it seems, and soon the happy four are plunged into worlds of political activism, crime, despair, sordid trysts, and a Faustian compact which seems set to threaten their very lives, one by one...

With the number of UK cases hitting a hundred, it's clear that KBV is a problem which isn't going away. Downing Street have released the following statement: "The total number of KBV cases in the UK is still comparatively small, and we are confident that the disease can be contained. NHS leaflets advising on lifestyle and behaviour changes which can help protect against infection will be available soon. We ask the public to remain calm and to continue to behave responsibly about their health in all areas. // Vocational journalism student Ben Martin is the last person who ought to be investigating a major viral outbreak. He doesn't know a single damn thing about biology; he pays his rent by DJing for hipsters. He's nervous, easily-discouraged, and not over his ex. // But it's him who ends up with the assignment, and it's him who ends up facing down the truth: there is more to this than meets the eye.