The stories of Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter

All the stories

Do you remember the anthology Shoot the Devil?

As I said yesterday, it was a unique premise… confront demons; beat them to death.

My story back then was of a demon hunter working off his penance. It was the narrator, the damsel, and the demon. And the demon bounced back from being hit by a bus.

And then there’s Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter.

The premise here is fighting the demonic IN SPPAAACCCEEE.

Anyway, the stories.

Ahem…

“A Ship Without A Sail” by Frank Luke: The far space exploration ship Lexington comes across an alien derelict ship whose crew are reluctant to accept help; Chaplain Thomas Malcolm tags along, and discovers something dark hiding aboard that’s attuned to his personal demons.

“And Hell Followed With Them” by Michael Gallagher: An obnoxious tech billionaire enlists two disgraced astronauts to crew the Lightbringer with him, for a far-reaching voyage meant to pave the way for interstellar tourism. Upon reaching their destination, the seething and desolate planet TrES-2b, the magnate begins behaving erratically .

“Demon Bridge” by T.J. Marquis: Shore leave for Snake Division gets interrupted when the black ops team gets enlisted to track down a prototype ship from the military whose AI has gone and is heading for the dangerous and mysterious B-void.

“From Beyond,” by Stephen G. Johnson: When a member of a rough group of colonists settling a cold, poisonous planet goes missing, his compatriots risk their lives to find him, knowing his oxygen won’t last forever. What they don’t know is that their arrival awakened ancient alien beings that had been lying dormant for ages, waiting. Hungry.

“The Cleansing of Lethe” by N.R. LaPoint In this high-octane space fantasy tale, the battleship Principality’s Blade continues fighting the intergalactic Final Crusade against a demonically enthralled foe known as The Archenemy. A crew of human, elven, dwarven and Sindari soldiers fight to rescue a besieged research facility on a far-flung planet.

“The Heavens Declare His Glory” by James Pyles: A young woman with child awaits a brutal fate for false accusations leveled at her. Her people’s tribal justice is as darkly harsh as her home world’s dusky desert climate; but hope arrives from the most unexpected of places.

“Mark of Kane” by Declan Finn: When an ancient demon threatens a massive space station, Sean Patrick Ryan steps into action. But even the most dangerous man in the galaxy may need a little help.

“Daughters of Men” by Trevor Denning: It’s 1940s L.A., and detective Nick Pike wasn’t interested in finding a missing starlet, but the nervous studio heads were willing to pay him anything. His five o’clock shadow has barely hit half past when people around him start dying and his only clues point to a ruined German castle with more than secrets buried beneath the rubble.

“In the Place Called Har-Magedon” by Richard Paolinelli: When a whole colony is possessed by demons, the Catholic Church call in her oldest, and most surprising weapon.

“Better Than Being a Leopard” by L. Jagi Lamplighter: The immortal witch hunter Gregor Prospero has been imprisoned beneath the surface of Mars for his sins. With nowhere to escape to, where will he turn when the minions of The Evil One seek him out to torture him?

“The Last War” by Van Treeck: As the sentient all-consuming alien race known as The Rot threatens to devour all in its path, an unlikely alliance is formed between a technologically superior race of werewolf starfighters and an underpowered but cunning human fleet.

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Funny thing is? This might be the closest I get to a White Ops and Saint Tommy, NYPD crossover.

Because this is going to involve Sean Patrick Ryan versus a demon on a space station.

Yes. It is fun.

And we have an ad.

So let’s shoot the devil today.